Bastrop took a little longer than expected to turn its homecoming game against Franklin Parish into a rout, but it eventually happened.

Scoring on all seven possessions, the Rams disposed of Franklin Parish 46-6 Friday night in the District 2-4A opener for both teams. It was the Rams’ 49th consecutive victory and 40th straight at Ram Stadium.

“It took a half to get all the cake and ice cream out of them from homecoming,” Bastrop head coach Brad Bradshaw said.

Bastrop (5-0) started quickly enough, getting the upper hand on the 10th play from scrimmage.

Kelvin Perry returned the opening kickoff 13 yards to the 36.

Ladarien Henry dropped Bastrop quarterback Rueben Randle for a five-yard loss on the first play of the game. Undaunted, Randle connected with Jevante Watson on a 19-yard, third-and-seven aerial for a first down at the Patriots’ 43.
Stanley Moore’s 14-yard grab off of a tipped pass was good for another first down at the 26.

Facing fourth-and-two, Watson carried for 14 yards and a first down at the 4. From there, Randle waded through the middle for the first score of the evening. Randle also ran the 2-point conversion, stretching the Rams’ lead to 8-0 less than four minutes into the contest.

Mydarius Trent’s 15-yard burst on the Patriots’ first offensive play moved the sticks to the 43, but the drive quickly stalled.

Palmer’s long return on the ensuing punt was negated by an illegal block. Nevertheless,
the Rams took over with good field position at their own 46.

Dodging no less than seven defenders near the line of scrimmage, Randle broke off a breathtaking 64-yard run for an apparent touchdown.

Instead, the Rams returned to the 46 after another 10-yard stepoff for an illegal block.
Bastrop made its way back to the endzone 10 plays later, with Kevin Chatman doing the honors from 2 yards out. Taking a short pass to the left side, Stanley Moore went airborne to clear a defender and the goal line on the conversion, upping the Rams’ lead to 16-0 with 1:41 to play in the opening quarter.

Franklin Parish showed some heart, grabbing the momentum for a brief spell.

Desmond Wilson boomed the ensuing kickoff five yards into the endzone for a touchback and the Patriots set up at the 20.

On the first play of the second quarter, Adrian Gardner plunged ahead for just enough yardage to convert a fourth-and-one.

Two plays and a holding penalty later, the Patriots faced third-and-17 from the 23.
Beating double coverage, Nick Williams hauled in a perfectly-thrown pass from Sydney McMillon in front of the Franklin bench en route to a 67-yard TD strike. The try for 2 failed, but the Patriots had reduced the margin to 16-6 with 9:23 to play in the half.

Tyler Roberts’ fumble on the ensuing kickoff brought the Patriots’ offense back on the field at the Bastrop 45.

Brian White’s 10-yard reception on the second play of the series gave the Patriots a first down at the 44.

Three running plays netted negative six yards as Dontavious Moore and Rondarius Hawkins made tackles in the backfield.

Filling in for the injured D’Andre Bradshaw at left end, ‘Big Moe,’ a 6-2, 340-pound senior, recorded four tackles in his first varsity start.

“It felt good to be out there right beside two of the best defensive tackles in the state,” said Dontavious Moore said, referring to Josh Downs and D.D. Jones. “It was a special night, getting to start on homecoming in my senior year.”

Franklin’s fourth down pass fell incomplete and the Rams regained possession at their own 39.

Bastrop’s offense, which had been iced for seven minutes, was getting anxious.
“We were getting frustrated from being on the sideline that long,” said Bastrop right tackle Willie Graham. We were ready to get the ball back.”

Bastrop took out its frustration on the first play of the drive. When a screen pass broke down, Randle escaped three defenders in the backfield, cut to his right, picked up a downfield block from Preston Coleman and hit the sideline for a 61-yard TD jaunt.

Bastrop’s 2-point pass fell incomplete, but the Rams had opened up a 22-6 advantage with 5:23 remaining in the half.

Franklin (0-5) went three and out on its next series and punted from its own 15.
Setting up at the 42 on the plus side of the field, the Rams scored five plays later.

Randle and Heard hooked up on three of those plays for 23 and 6 yards, then a 5-yard TD in the middle of the endzone.

Jevante Watson’s 2-point run brought the score to 30-6, at 2:22 before halftime.
Bastrop added two more scores, before pulling its starters with just under four minutes to play in the third quarter.

“We wanted to get a big lead without getting anybody hurt, then let the seconds play,” Graham said. “Everybody had the opportunity to showcase their talent tonight.”

Randle threw to Hunter Freeland for a 17-yard score and Watson went 15 yards untouched for the Rams’ final touchdown. Bastrop converted its first extra point of the season after Freeland’s touchdown catch as Devin Richards knocked it through.

Leading 43-6, Bastrop’s starters were done for the night.

“It was good to get the young kids in and get them some experience,” coach Bradshaw said. “I probably should have put them in a series earlier, but I wanted to get the homecoming out of our ones.”

Bastrop’s second defense came up with a stop early in the fourth quarter.

On fourth-and-13 from the Bastrop 23, sophomore Robtavious Johnson returned an interception 17 yards to the 30.

Bastrop second offense then put together an impressive drive against Franklin’s second defense.

Jeremy Sorina carried for 12 and 14 yards and Chatman darted for 23 yards, helping the Rams advance to the 8. Sorina, a transfer from Critteaden County (Ky.), was just cleared to play this week.

From the 8, Patrel Moses bulled for seven yards all the way to the 1.

Bastrop was then flagged for delay of game, before Richards booted a 26-yard field goal to conclude the scoring.

It wasn’t necessarily pretty, but the Rams had taken care of business. There was little, if any, celebrating in the locker room after the game. Bastrop quickly shifted its focus to Friday’s upcoming game against Evangel at Ram Stadium.

“It was slow, dead, boring,” said Bastrop senior linebacker Trey Owens of the Franklin game. “It won’t be that way next week, though. Next week is going to be a firecracker.”

Added Dontavious Moore: “We’ll celebrate at the dance (Saturday) night, then come back Sunday and start getting ready for Evangel.”