Tigers score 2-point conversion for win
– Three lost fumbles cost the Breaux Bridge Senior High football team a chance to build an early lead over Vermilion Catholic in the Tigers’ first home football game for the 2025 football season on Friday.
But after scoring two touchdowns in the final two minutes to pull within a point of the 2024 Division IV Select state champions, the Tigers opted to go for a 2-point conversion with 34 seconds left in the game, and fullback Baylon Champagne made it pay off for a 28-27 Breaux Bridge win.
BBHS head coach Tyler Pierce said the decision to go for 2 with his team trailing by a point late in the game came down to belief in the way his team was controlling the line of scrimmage.
“I wanted to win or lose off of those guys, and to be honest with you, we already had it set up with I think seven minutes on the clock,” Pierce said. “We already knew what that play was going to be, which is such a testament to the coaches, just knowing that it was going to happen. Sometimes you’ve got to preach it into existence, even in hard times.”
The gutsy decision wasn’t the only one late in the game for a team looking to even its record at 1-1.
After VC had scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns to open a 27-13 lead with five minutes left on the game clock, the Tigers stuck to their gameplan of pounding away with the running game in the final minutes.
After Isaiah LeBlanc returned the kickoff 20 yards to the BBHS 43 yard line following Vermilion Catholic’s final touchdown, Champagne got the ball on three of the next four plays and gained 21 yards, with Ardoin completing a pass to LeBlanc for another nine yards.
After a pass interference call moved the ball to the VC 14, LeBlanc ran for six yards and Champagne for two more before Arkell Jean-Batiste scored from six yards out. The PAT kick by Dru Cormier pulled Breaux Bridge to within 27-20.
The Tigers then stunned the Eagles with an onside kick where the entire team bunched around the kicker, who rolled it straight up the field for 10 yards, where Breaux Bridge recovered at midfield with 2:37 left in the game.
A 14-yard run by Champagne and a 21yard pass from Ardoin to LeBlanc on a thirdand- 20 play moved the ball to the 25-yard line.
“That play we ran a dagger concept,” LeBlanc said of the third-and-20 play that gained 21 yards for a first down to set up the final touchdown. “We were just trying to hit the dig. He saw it a little late. We had a scramble drill. He still got it there.”
Champagne then exploded off the left side for the remaining 19 yards to score, making it a 27-26 game. Champagne bulled up the middle on the 2-point conversion, with the officials not making a call initially before signalling the conversion to be good following a conference.
“Well, we just need those points, so my coach said ‘if you don’t get it, game’s over.’ He said ‘go win that game for us.’” Champagne said.
“It’s not on me. My teammates pushed me in the end zone.”
BBHS finally got to celebrate the win after VC attempted five passes in the final 34 seconds, including a 29-yard completion to the Breaux Bridge 36-yard line with 3 seconds to go before an incomplete pass ended the game.
“I’m real proud,” LeBlanc said of the comeback. “We’ve been putting in a lot of work in practice. We’re practicing hard, attacking each week. Tomorrow we’re back at it. We’ve got to win tomorrow. That’s how it all starts. We didn’t win tonight, we won during the week.”
The Tigers had threatened to score on their first possession but coughed the ball up after fumbling away a pass inside the 1 that the Eagles covered in the end zone.
Another fumble at the Breaux Bridge 9-yard line led to a VC touchdown in the second quarter that evened the score at 1313, and a third fumble by the Tigers at the Vermilion Catholic 3-yard line snuffed out a scoring threat in a scoreless third quarter.
The Eagles marched 97 yards on the ensuing possession, scoring on the first play of the fourth quarter on quarterback William Simon’s one-yard carry that made it 20-13.
VC forced a punt on Breaux Bridge’s next possession and went 42 yards in 11 plays to push the lead to 27-13 on Simon’s second one-yard TD carry of the night with 5:05 left in regulation.
“It’s a common theme,” Pierce said of the turnovers. “Last we we’re on the one-inch line, we don’t score. We get it to the one-inch twice (this week) and we don’t score. Man, we are the kings of shooting ourselves in the foot.
“But the perseverance that they had and just the belief that’s the whole reason why this senior class and this whole group keep fighting.”
LeBlanc said the Tigers took the turnovers in stride.
“Our mindset was just ‘next play,’” he said. “Just moving to the next play. You can’t get (the play) back.”
Champagne finished the night with 28 carries for 229 yards (8.2 yards a run) and two touchdowns, a 33-yard carry on the third snap of the second quarter that knotted the score at 7-apiece, and the 19-yard run at the end of the game.
Champagne also keys the defense at linebacker, and Pierce said the coaches want to try to keep him fresh on both sides of the ball.
“We have a bend-don’tbreak mentality,” Champagne said of the defense. “One big play happens, oh well, next play.”
But on Friday, he was the workhorse carrying the football.
“For him it’s only three yards a carry (most nights), but tonight, I felt like it was 5 to 7 (yards per carry),” Pierce said. “As long as we didn’t get in our own way, little things matter, and this is the outcome. I’m just so happy for these players — for the community.”
Arkell Jean-Batiste provided a speedy counterpoint to Champagne’s pounding of the ball with seven rushes for 82 yards and two touchdowns of his own, a 67-yard sprint up the left side on a toss play early with 8:01 left in the second quarter and the six-yard carry with just over 2 1/2 minutes to go in the game.
“That’s why we run a veer,” Champagne said of the big plays that Jean-Batiste got. “We run a dual back, dual threat. We can run everywhere, across the whole field.”
Ardoin completed nine of 14 pass attempts for 102 yards, with LeBlanc catching eight of those throws for 93 yards.
The Tigers rushed for 357 yards and finished with 459 total yards.
Simon passed for 158 yards, completing 14 of 27 attempts with two touchdowns. He also rushed for 77 yards and two TDs, with Ty LeBlanc gaining a team-high 91 yards on nine carries for the Eagles.
Matthew Moliere led VC with three catches for 47 yards. Trevin Hebert had two receptions for 22 yards and a TD and Michael Molier had two for 10 yards and a touchdown.
“Coach (Broc) Prejean and that group, to beat them means a lot, too,” Pierce said. “Not a lot of people do that.”
The Tigers travel to St. Martinville on Friday for a game against their parish rivals at 7 p.m.
(Robby Bishop)
