RSS Feed

ERATH — The Erath High Bobcats executed their offensive game plan better than the Abbeville Wildcats in their District 5-3A football game Friday night at Robert J. Segura Memorial Stadium.
The result was a 31-21 win for the Bobcats, who improved to 5-3 overall and 2-1 in the district. Abbeville fell to 5-3 and 1-1.
“Every week, we’ve been building,” Erath coach Eric LeBlanc said. “You can see since the shutout against VC, a really good team, we’ve had Vinton, St. Martinville, Kaplan, and now Abbeville. The guys are buying in, they’re working hard in practice, and tonight you could tell, in all three phases we did well.”
Abbeville coach Roderick Moy didn’t mince words about what happened.
“They beat us,” Moy said. “They lined up and beat us. They lined up and did exactly what they wanted to do and didn’t allow us to do what we wanted. That’s what football is. They lined up and played a better football game than we did. Hats off to them.”
Running back Mason Hebert, quarterback Lynkon Romero and receiver Christian Pillette each had outstanding offensive nights for Erath. Hebert rushed for 138 yards on 13 carries, including a 60-yard TD run. Romero completed six of nine passes for 148 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 79 yards and a TD on 10 carries. Pillette caught four passes for 145 yards, including TD catches of 74 and 29 yards.
“The key was our line blocking,” Pillette said. “Our line blocks, it gives us way more time to work.”
“Our O-line did their jobs,” Hebert said. “My brother (Austin Hebert) is a senior this year, so I knew I had to play my heart out for him because this might be our last game on this field together.
“This was a really big win for us. It gives us good momentum going into next week.”
Erath ran for 214 yards.
“We have two great running backs, and all they’re going to do is pound,” Pillette said. “They’re going to pound, they’re going to pound, and they’re going to get the big yards. Once they put more in the box (on defense to stop the run), our receivers have more room to run.”
Moy said the Bobcats didn’t show anything surprising in their game plan.
“They didn’t fool us,” he said. “They did what they did last week. They did what they’ve been successful at all year. They lined up and ran the ball right at us. I tip my hat to their physicality.”
The Wildcats ran for 226 yards, paced by Tra’Sean Greene’s 117 yards and two TDs on 17 carries. Quarterback Tahj Judge added a TD run and threw for 3 yards on five completions.
“Abbeville’s a great team,” LeBlanc said. “Looking at their offense, they’re big and physical, and they’ve got some fast running backs, a really good fullback and some good wideouts. They put us in a bind skill wise, and I thought our guys performed well on defense. They did.”
Twice Erath led by two touchdowns, and twice Abbeville rallied to within a TD, but the Bobcats never relinquished the lead. A fumble return to the Erath 10 set up Judge’s one-yard TD to pull the Wildcats to within 28-21, but Erath ran the clock down to 1:05 left on the ensuing possession, and Duhon kicked a 37-yard field goal to make it 31-21.
“The one that killed us was the fumble down here in the red zone,” Leblanc said. “We were up two scores. I’m just glad the offense responded, and we took it down and were able to kick the field goal.
Erath closes out district play tho week at Crowley. Abbeville plays host to St. Martinville in a district game on Friday.

Four months after deciding to loan the Kaplan softball program $250,000 to build a new indoor hitting facility, the Vermilion Parish School Board is thinking about putting the brakes on loaning schools and clubs big bucks.
At Thursday’s school board meeting, Erath school board member Chris Hebert is expected to ask the school board to loan Erath High around $150,000 for new baseball locker rooms and covers to be built over the bleachers at the baseball stadium.
If approved, that would mean the school board has approved $650,000 of loans to three high schools over two years.
Last year the school board loaned North Vermilion High School $250,000 for new lights on the baseball field.
Then, in July, the school board voted to loan Kaplan High School $250,000 to build a softball indoor hitting facility. The softball program would pay down the loan over 25 years.
Before that, prior school boards loaned money to the Abbeville High and Erath High booster clubs, who took out loans to add an extra lane or two for the school’s new all-weather track. The booster clubs agreed to pay off the loans over a long period.
The school board eventually had to erase the loan of the booster clubs because they were having financial trouble making the monthly note.
School Board member Kibbie Pillette said he hopes that one day, athletic programs will not have to borrow money to get what they want. Instead, he hopes the school board pays for the projects, not the baseball, softball or band programs.
“There are things that are needed, and I feel that is the school board’s responsibility and not the programs,” Pillette said. “There was a time when programs would not have to borrow money. Instead, the board would pay it.”
School Board member David Dupuis said he only remembers once the school board rejected an organization for borrowing money from the school district.
School Superintendent Tommy Byler told the board he is OK with clubs and programs borrowing money only if they can pay them back “In a timely fashion.”
The school board heard from the school district’s financial officer Eric Johnson. Johnson informed the school board members that the school district is losing money each time it loans schools money.
Johnson told the board members he did not see a problem with loaning money to school clubs or schools. However, he sees a problem when the school board approves a loan for capital projects like building something for $250,000.
“Big loans. That is our issue. We have issued two big loans so far. And we have another coming this week,” said Johnson. “When that first loan occurred, the interest rate we made with our money in the bank was less than one percent. Today, it is 4 1/2 percent. So we are dipping into our revenue for the loans and not earning money in the bank.”
He gave the example that if five high schools borrow a total of $1.5 million and take 20 years to pay it back, the school system will lose $60,000 of interest a year that it could have made with the $1.5 million invested.
“My recommendation is to cut out big loans,” said Johnson.
Pillette said capital outlay loans to athletic programs and clubs should never happen. Instead, he told the school board would budget its money, and if it can afford to pay for new lights at a baseball stadium, the school board will pay for the lights.
“We budget as we have money. The school should not be responsible for a $250,000 loan,” Pillette added.
Pillette said the school board should devise a policy to only loan schools $20,000 instead of $250,000.
“We don’t loan for capital outlay,” said Pillette.

On the evening of October 14, during a candlelit ceremony, Sydney Noelle Sonnier and Hunter Scott Stover were united in the sacrament of Holy Matrimony at Saint Mary Magdalen Catholic Church in Abbeville, Louisiana. Father Louis Richard, pastor of St. Mary Magdalen, presided at the nuptial mass.
The bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Maurice Sonnier, Jr. of Lafayette. She is the granddaughter of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Maurice Sonnier, Sr. of Abbeville, Mr. Charles Phillippe Dansereau and Mrs. Carole Anne Dansereau of Thibodaux. She is a 2011 graduate of St. Thomas More Catholic High School in Lafayette and a 2016 graduate of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette where she earned her Bachelor of Science in nursing. She is currently employed at Our Lady of Lourdes Women’s and Children’s Hospital in Lafayette, Louisiana as a registered nurse in the pediatric intensive care unit.
The groom is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Stewart Lynn Stover, II of Abbeville. He is the grandson of Mr. and Mrs. Stewart Lynn Stover, I of Duson, and the late Mr. and Mrs. Billy Joe Barrett, Sr. of Lafayette. He is a 2010 graduate of Notre Dame High School in Crowley. In December of 2014, he graduated from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette where he played football for the Ragin Cajuns while earning his Bachelor of Science in geology. He is currently employed as an environmental professional at T. Baker Smith in Lafayette.
Escorted by her father, the bride wore a custom Monique Lhuillier gown featuring delicate long sleeves, a victorian bodice, high-neckline, scalloped hemline, and handmade french chantilly lace throughout. The back of her gown featured satin covered buttons trailing to the floor of her cathedral length train. She carried a hand-tied bouquet of lily of the valley wrapped in an embroidered linen handkerchief passed down from her great-grandmother, the late Mrs. Jessie Daigle Dansereau. The bride completed her bridal look with an extended cathedral length veil and blusher.
The bride was attended by her sister, Hannah Sonnier, and the groom’s sister, Brittany Cadona; Taylor Stover, sister-in-law of the groom; Reilly Talbot, cousin of the bride; Whitney David, Mary Morgan Stipe, Victoria Munchrath and Alison Leonards, close friends of the bride. Bridesmaids were dressed in champagne-colored Amsale faille gowns and held delicate, white floral bouquets.
Flower girls included Millicent Stover, daughter of Stewart III and Taylor Stover; Kitt Culbert, daughter of Denny and Katie Culbert; Harper, Halle, and Hazel LeBlanc, daughters of Derek and Meagan LeBlanc. They wore ivory heirloom dresses accented with crocheted lace, satin ribbon, and hair wreaths made of small white florals.
The groom was attended by his brother, Stewart Stover III; his brother-in-law, Daniel Cadona; Derek LeBlanc, Michael Dysart, Joshua Greene, Ryan Leonards, Dylan Lormand, and Don Oliver, friends of the groom. Zachary Abshire, Brennan Higginbotham, Nicholas Hoffpauir, Jack Thomas Hundley, and Marcus Jackson served as ushers.
Ring bearers included the groom’s godchildren, Stewart Stover, IV, son of Stewart III and Taylor Stover; and Brooks LeBlanc, son of Derek and Meagan LeBlanc.
Scriptural readings for the mass were presented by Andre Huval, Frederick Sonnier, and Madeleine Tatford. Lindsey Guidry and Chloe Roy served as program attendants. Ceremony music was provided by Acro Music, string quartet, led by Emil Ivanov and Mr. Tommy Guidry, director of music for St. Mary Magdalen.
Following the ceremony, a reception was held at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette Alumni Center.
The night before the wedding, a rehearsal dinner was hosted by the parents of the groom at Black’s Oyster Bar located in the heart of historic Abbeville. Live music accompanied dinner and played into the night.
After returning from a honeymoon in Italy, the couple will reside in Leroy, Louisiana.

As of Saturday morning, no arrests have been made dealing with the gunshots fired after the Abbeville High homecoming football game in Abbeville.
Less than two minutes after the game ended, at least five shots were fired on the streets near J.H. Williams Middle School, the location of the football stadium.
Fans were heading to their vehicles when they heard the shots.
Abbeville Police Chief Mike Hardy said the police have an idea who it may be, but the department is also asking for help from the community of Abbeville.
“These shootings are not only an Abbeville Police Department problem. These shootings are something the Abbeville Police and the good people of Abbeville need to work together to stop,” the Chief said. “If you know anything about the shootings, you can report it anonymously by calling my cell.”
The AHS administration postponed the homecoming dance that would have been Saturday night.
Abbeville Mayor Roslyn White released a statement about the shooting.
“I am disappointed and angry, as everyone in our community should be. We enjoyed a beautiful day for our community. We were filled with the joy and excitement of homecoming festivities. It was a great day for our city. But having the day end on such a sour note is heartbreaking and infuriating. It is time for our community to stand up and say NO MORE. You WILL NOT get away with terrorizing our community anymore. The only way to stop this is to report what you know. I was there tonight as people left the game. Someone SAW. Someone KNOWS. Please SPEAK UP and say NO MORE, NOT IN MY TOWN. We deserve better and must work as a community to take our beautiful city back.”