Battle of Ville Platte set in Tee Cotton Bowl 2017

For The first time in four years, Sacred Heart of Ville Platte and Ville Platte High School will meet on the gridiron in the 2017 season opener for the Ville Platte City Championship in the 14th edition of a game that has become known as The Tee Cotton Bowl.

The Tee Cotton Bowl has been hotly and closely contested, with Sacred Heart holding a narrow 7-6 edge over Ville Platte. It is more than a game with the entire community staging many events leading up to the game Friday night at 7 p.m. There is a team display in Ville Platte City Hall, A city-wide decorating contest, a Lil’ Tee Cotton Bowl, and both teams will gather Thursday night for a banquet.

The game was featured on NFL Films in 2002 after Hurricane Lili when the community rallied around the game to show Ville Platte to the world. The game has also been blessed by Pope John Paul the II while former Super Bowl winning NFL coach Tony Dungy has trumpeted the rivalry as well in writing. This year, the teams got a message from the first family of Louisiana football as Cooper Manning recorded a message that was shared with both teams.

The game day festivities will start off with local radio station KVPI having their morning show on location from a private residence for a morning tailgate in addition to the station broadcasting the game. At the tailgate, Ville Platte mayor Jennifer Vidrine will make her pre-game prediction as ESPN’S Lee Corso does weekly for college football games.

At 11 a.m., Ville Platte will hold their pep rally so the school can get ready to host the game and at 2:15 p.m., Sacred Heart will host their pep rally. At 4:00 p.m., there will be a city wide parade for the game and the Sacred Heart team will cross the tracks and walk to Ville Platte High for the game.

The pre-game will feature tailgating which in Cajun Country is an all day affair and the Tee Cotton Bowl will honor Blue Rolfes, a long-time Acadiana area broadcaster, in pre-game festivities. The Commissioner of Tailgating Joe Cain will also make a return appearance to Ville Platte and the Tee Cotton Bowl.

The McNeese State cheerleaders will also be at the game and fourth district United States Congressman Mike Johnson will be in attendance as well.

The game arrives at 7:00 p.m. featuring a pair of young teams who should match up well. The Sacred Heart Trojans are coached by Josh Harper and the Ville Platte Bulldogs are coached by Jorie Randle.

Dr. Tim Fontenot is the co-founder of the game, along with his son, Jacob. Both are eagerly awaiting the contest and are hoping for a cleanly played game with few or no flags thrown.

Both teams will perform the Haka, the New Zeeland war or battle cry. Halftime will feature a fireworks display and at game’s end, the Ville Platte City Championship Trophy, the MVP Trophy and the Tee Cotton Bowl Trophy will be presented.

You can listen to a preview of the game and follow live reports of the game on Ken Trahan’s Original Prep Football Report Friday night on WGSO, 990 AM, at WGSO.com and through CrescentCitySports.com and The Original Network of stations around Louisiana.