Eunice thrives in second half of high-scoring battle to beat Sterlington for Class 3A title

NEW ORLEANS – The Eunice Bobcats came up with some “Bobcat magic” in the Mercedes Benz Superdome on Friday night.

The green and white made key second-half defensive stops and never slowed down offensively, beating Sterlington 59-47 to claim their second Class 3A title in school history.

Trailing 36-28 at the break, the Bobcats turned it on in the second half, outscoring their opponent 33-13.

“I didn’t think I’d ever get this opportunity again,” Eunice head coach Paul Trosclair said. “We had some close playoff losses over the years. I knew my career was winding down. And when we started this season we had six or seven sophomores playing. There’s no way you’re supposed to do what we did.”

The Bobcats created separation in the third quarter, where they held Sterlington scoreless and three punts on three possessions.

Dual running back and linebacker Avrey Lee was chosen as the Outstanding Player of the Game.

Lee, who finished with 9.5 total tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss, also ran for a touchdown and 87 yards on 11 carries and threw two touchdowns to boot.

“I’ll do anything for a win, especially for this family,” Lee said. “It don’t matter if I get tired or not. I keep pushing until I get the win with these friends.”

Sterlington got off to a hot start offensively.

Dallas Reagor had two touchdowns at halftime, totaling 29 rushes for 167 yards on the night.

His team finished with 275 yards rushing on 57 attempts, and 181 yards in the air from quarterback Hayes Crockett, who completed 8-of-16 passes and two touchdowns.

The Panthers accumulated 456 total yards on the game, but defensively couldn’t get a stop all game, giving up big plays to Sterlington’s explosive offense.

Totaling 354 rushing yards on 45 attempts, the Bobcats averaged 7.9 yards per carry and added five touchdowns on the ground.

The game marked a new Prep Classic Composite Record for most rushing plays by both teams (102), breaking the record of 98, previously set by West Monroe and Destrehan in 1993.

Sophomore quarterback Simeon Ardoin led the rushing attack with 10 carries for 153 yards and three touchdowns, also completing 5-7 passes for 52 yards a one touchdown.

“The seniors just helped me throughout this whole season,” Ardoin said. “(They) told me to keep my head up no matter what goes on.”

Tyler Darbonne caught three balls for 45 yards and three touchdowns.

Eunice finishes their triumphant season with a 15-2 record.

“I feel like we did it for the city of Eunice,” said Trosclair.

That city can now savor Eunice High’s first state football crown since 1982 when the Bobcats defeated Jennings, 16-13.