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There may be some truth to the old sports cliché that a loss is sometimes the best thing that can happen to a team.
Some coaches like Bastrop’s Brad Bradshaw and Oak Grove’s Vic Dalrymple — by their own admission — will never buy into that theory.
Whether it was good for the Rams or not is up for debate. But I don’t think anyone would deny that the Rams were more attentive in practice following last week’s 28-22, 49-game winning streak busting loss to Evangel.
Despite grabbing the lead for good three minutes into the game en route to a 22-10 victory over Neville on Friday night, there was minimal chatter and celebrating on the Bastrop sidelines throughout the contest.
In the locker room prior to the game, the focus on the Rams’ faces was unmistakably written in the looks in their eyes.
“We knew we had our backs to the wall,” said defensive lineman D.D. Jones. “We had to get a win in a tough place to play.”
Despite the hype surrounding the game, the Rams maintained their focus.
“There wasn’t a lot of excitement, but we had a good week of practice,” Jones said.
Resorting to another cliché, the Rams played liked they practiced.
“I thought we played pretty good, overall,” Jones said.
As the Rams walked off the field Friday night, any lingering effects of the Evangel game had been vanquished.
“We couldn’t let that one game bring us down because we knew we had another big game coming up,” said running back Dwight Hawkins. “We just used (the Evangel game) to motivate us this week.”
DEFENSIVE ADJUSTMENTS: The night did not get off to a good start for the Rams. Starting defensive end Charleston Williams, who suffers from asthma, was taken to the hospital via ambulance after becoming ill in the locker room.
With Williams out, Dontavious (Big Moe) Moore was inserted into the starting lineup at defensive end and Jones moved from tackle to end. Making his presence felt early, Moore combined with defensive end D’Andre (Buck) Bradshaw on an nine-yard sack on the Tigers’ second series. He also teamed with Jones to blow up a running play for an eight-yard loss in the third quarter.
“It was a good job on Big Moe’s part tonight,” coach Bradshaw said. “He didn’t know he was going to play that much.
“We had to move some people around on defense, but the kids played hard and got through it.”
Linebacker Tai (Speedy) Alford’s status was uncertain until game. The stabilizing force of the Rams’ defense was held out of practice all week due to a bum ankle.
With Alford out, free safety RaDarius Winston took on the added responsibility of making the defensive calls in practice.
“We didn’t know if Speedy was going to play or not,” coach Bradshaw said. “Winston did a good job of making that adjustment and communicating on the field.”
Winston finished the evening with a team-high nine tackles and two interceptions.
There may be some truth to the old sports cliché that a loss is sometimes the best thing that can happen to a team.
Some coaches like Bastrop’s Brad Bradshaw and Oak Grove’s Vic Dalrymple — by their own admission — will never buy into that theory.
Whether it was good for the Rams or not is up for debate. But I don’t think anyone would deny that the Rams were more attentive in practice following last week’s 28-22, 49-game winning streak busting loss to Evangel.
Despite grabbing the lead for good three minutes into the game en route to a 22-10 victory over Neville on Friday night, there was minimal chatter and celebrating on the Bastrop sidelines throughout the contest.
In the locker room prior to the game, the focus on the Rams’ faces was unmistakably written in the looks in their eyes.
“We knew we had our backs to the wall,” said defensive lineman D.D. Jones. “We had to get a win in a tough place to play.”
Despite the hype surrounding the game, the Rams maintained their focus.
“There wasn’t a lot of excitement, but we had a good week of practice,” Jones said.
Resorting to another cliché, the Rams played liked they practiced.
“I thought we played pretty good, overall,” Jones said.
As the Rams walked off the field Friday night, any lingering effects of the Evangel game had been vanquished.
“We couldn’t let that one game bring us down because we knew we had another big game coming up,” said running back Dwight Hawkins. “We just used (the Evangel game) to motivate us this week.”
DEFENSIVE ADJUSTMENTS: The night did not get off to a good start for the Rams. Starting defensive end Charleston Williams, who suffers from asthma, was taken to the hospital via ambulance after becoming ill in the locker room.
With Williams out, Dontavious (Big Moe) Moore was inserted into the starting lineup at defensive end and Jones moved from tackle to end. Making his presence felt early, Moore combined with defensive end D’Andre (Buck) Bradshaw on an nine-yard sack on the Tigers’ second series. He also teamed with Jones to blow up a running play for an eight-yard loss in the third quarter.
“It was a good job on Big Moe’s part tonight,” coach Bradshaw said. “He didn’t know he was going to play that much.
“We had to move some people around on defense, but the kids played hard and got through it.”
Linebacker Tai (Speedy) Alford’s status was uncertain until game. The stabilizing force of the Rams’ defense was held out of practice all week due to a bum ankle.
With Alford out, free safety RaDarius Winston took on the added responsibility of making the defensive calls in practice.
“We didn’t know if Speedy was going to play or not,” coach Bradshaw said. “Winston did a good job of making that adjustment and communicating on the field.”
Winston finished the evening with a team-high nine tackles and two interceptions.
STUFFING THE RUN: Coming into the game, Bastrop’s first priority was to stop the run.
Neville, which came into the game averaging 265 rushing yards per game, managed just 47 yards on 22 carries against the Rams.
“We wanted to make them throw the ball,” Jones said. “I thought we did a pretty good job of stopping the run.”
Neville quarterback Taylor Burch threw for 236 yards, but completed only 13-of-30 passes with two picks. In Burch’s defense, several of his passes were dropped and his second pick was the result of a pass that deflected off of a receiver’s shoulder pads.
Still, the Rams’ pass defense was considerably more effective than it was against Rayville’s PhaQuinton Landers and Evangel’s Dez Duron.
Unlike Duron, Burch had little time to throw.
“We knew we had to make (Burch) throw the ball quicker than he wanted to,” Jones said.
Neville running back DeAndre Reed, who averaged 8.8 yards per carry through the Tigers’ first seven games, was limited to 47 yards on 10 carries. He also caught three passes for 35.
But that didn’t stop the 5-5, 150-pound scatback from making an impression on coach Bradshaw.
“Reed’s a special player. He really is,” Bradshaw said.
LINEBACKER PLAY: With Alford at less than full speed, the Rams’ linebacker play suffered.
“We have to get more consistent at linebacker,” coach Bradshaw said. “We’re trying to over-think the game.
“I can talk to Winston and Alford and they can figure it out. I’m going to have to do a better job of communicating with the other players instead of just those two.”
RHINO PACKAGE: In an effort to jump-start the offense, Bastrop went to its Rhino package early with Downs and Jones being utilized on the line. Hunter Freeland replaced Alford at fullback.
Downs and Jones provided the Rams with two big bodies in key situations.
“We wanted to counteract some of their speed,” coach Bradshaw said. “We caught them in their nickel and dime packages for some big plays.”
One such play came late in the first half. With Jones lined up at a tackle, Randle completed a 52-yard pass to Rodney Heard.
Bastrop’s regular offensive linemen — DeMaoria Harlston, Travis Peterson, Trevor Rodgers, Goldmon Moore and Willie Graham — paved the way for a rushing attack which generated a respectable 166 yards.
Against Evangel, Randle produced 147 of the Rams’ 155 rushing yards, with 74 of that total coming on one play.
Neville contained Randle, who finished with 43 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries. Randle’s longest run was 12 yards.
“We’re still not very consistent, but we did some good things against a fast defense,” Bradshaw said of the Rams’ running game. “Rueben wasn’t able to break any long runs tonight. That tells you how fast Neville’s defense is.”
But Hawkins took up the slack with a season-high 54 yards on 15 carries.
“The offensive line just picked them up and I ran straight through the holes,” said Hawkins, who also two caught passes for 25 stripes.
Despite two picks, Randle completed 14-of-26 passes for 243 yards.
“I thought Rueben did a good job throwing the ball,” coach Bradshaw said. “He made some nice throws on third down.”
PENALTIES: Bastrop committed 11 infractions for 86 yards. Though Friday’s totals pale in comparison to the 17-130 debacle against Evangel, obviously, there is still room for improvement.
“That’s still way too many penalties,” coach Bradshaw said.
On the other hand, it could have been worse.
“We didn’t get any retaliation penalties, which we easily could have at times,” Bradshaw said.
SUMMARY: It was a good win for the Rams, but far from a perfect game.
Besides the penalties, the Rams had an alarming four fumbles and four turnovers (two fumbles, four interceptions). Two of the turnovers came in the red zone and another led to a Neville touchdown.
BIZARRE PLAY: With just over two minutes left in the game, Bastrop’s Desmond Wilson was called upon to punt. As the ball took a Bastrop bounce, it caromed off the hands of a Neville player and into the endzone. As both sides struggled for possession, a Neville player emerged from the pile with the ball, resulting in an apparent safety.
Following a lengthy discussion, the officials ruled that the ball had originally struck a Bastrop player at the 13 where the Tigers were awarded possession.
SPRUCED UP: Neville continues to make numerous improvements to Bill Ruple Stadium. Since last season, a large new scoreboard and new lights have been installed. Also, the wooden bleachers on the visitors side have been replaced with more fan friendly aluminum bleachers.
NATIONAL ANTHEM: Standing at midfield, the Neville choir sang the National Anthem.
PERSONAL NOTE: I was able to visit with some old Neville friends before the game — Principal Brent Vidrine, Skip Portman, and coaches Robert (Bubba) Bratton, Tim O’Neal, Jason Thompson and BHS alumnus Eric Herndon.
I’ve said and written this before and I’ll repeat myself — Neville’s a class operation with good people. They make every effort to do things the right way.
BIG WINS: Two former assistants who left Bastrop High to take head coaching jobs guided their teams to upset victories Friday night.
Former Ram offensive coordinator Bo Meeks’ Mangham Dragons edged long-time nemesis Oak Grove 23-22. Now in their second season at the Richland Parish School, Meeks and former BHS O-line coach Brian Garrett helped the Dragons (7-1) to their seventh straight victory.
In one of the state’s biggest upsets, BHS alumnus Sonny Nason’s Lake Providence Panthers shocked Jonesboro-Hodge 22-17. Lake Providence, which entered the season with a 16-game losing streak, evened its record at 4-4 under its first-year head coach.
Rob Perry, a former Neville standout who spent last season as Bastrop’s strength coach, is now the Panthers’ defensive coordinator.
