Eunice 1-1 For Week 4
BOBBY ARDOIN
St. Landry Now.com Editor
There were different outcomes for both Eunice teams in a pair of games played just two miles apart on Friday night.
Eunice High dropped another close decision in a non-district contest against Kinder, while St. Edmund remained undefeated following a district game against North Central High at Blue Jay Field.
St. Edmund now hosts Opelousas Catholic in an important Week 5 game. Eunice (1-3) travels to meet Welsh in a non-district contest.
Eunice High
The Bobcats trailed 22-6 at halftime against Kinder, but Eunice staged an intensive comeback during the final two quarters to potentially move the game into overtime.
Malik Thomas ran for 141 yards to provide the majority of the offense for Eunice. Tyler Collins and Kane Wilson, who caught one touchdown pass, helped get the Bobcats back into the game.
“In the first half we really didn’t tackle that well and Kinder came out in a defense that they didn’t use against us last year. We adjusted and went to a different blocking scheme in the second half and we started picking up yardage,” said EHS head coach Andre Vige.
Vige said the Bobcats’ offense stalled at several points after losing three fumbles and two turnovers.
One of the fumbles, said Vige, was crucial.
“We got down to the (Kinder) five-yard-line on fourth down with under three minutes left and we dropped it on the ground going for a first down,” said Vige.
Kinder is one of two undefeated teams Eunice has played on successive weeks.
St. Edmund
The Blue Jays continued impressively compiling points and yardage in the victory over previously undefeated North Central.
After four games St. Edmund has gained 1,780 total yards for an average of 12.4 yards per play.
The Jays have also managed to avoid turnovers, as St. Edmund has no interceptions and only one fumble in 16 quarters of football.
St. Edmund rushed for 220 yards against North Central. Running back Nathan Driggs ran for 115 and three touchdowns on 11 carries.
North Central, which is off to one of the best starts in school football history, gained 143 yards, with most of those accumulated by wide receiver Stephen Joseph, who had six catches for 128 yards and an 18-yard touchdown after latching onto a Chris Sylvester pass.
The Blue Jays raced to a 42-6 halftime lead against the Hurricanes. After leading 14-0 at the end of the first quarter, St. Edmund scored four more times during the first six minutes of the third period.
St. Edmund head football coach James Shiver said the Jays’ fast start has been triggered by an experienced offensive line that has nearly all of the starters returning from 2024.
“I thought we would have a chance to be good again even though we graduated 18 players. We have three new receivers and two new running backs. Our quarterback played defensive end for us last year, but our quarterback (Nathan Zaunbrecher) has handled it well,” Shiver said.
