In their worst loss of the season, the Basile Bearcats took one on the chin in a 41-13 loss to the undefeated Oberlin Tigers Friday night at Hanson Field, giving the district 4-1A title to OHS.
The game’s opening, however, saw Basile shock the Tigers and bring the hometown crowd to its feet during the game’s first drive on a third down and 14 play when Isaiah Ceasar broke loose for a 69 yard touchdown run to give the Bearcats the early lead. Jose Palacios’s extra point was blocked, but with 10:50 to go in the first quarter, Basile jumped out to a 6-0 lead.
The Tigers did not let that lead stand for very long. Just 1:14 later, Oberlin’s Aiden Reed sprinted into the end zone from 51 yards out to put Oberlin on the board. Jared Joubert added the extra point to give the Tigers the one point lead at 7-6.
From that point on, BHS had a hard time stopping the Tiger offense. With 1:56 to go in the opening period, Levi Pelloquin dove in for the one yard touchdown run to extend the Tiger lead. Joubert tacked on the point after and Oberlin now held a 14-6 advantage.
The Tigers stretched their lead to 20-6 on a three yard run from Reed and a missed extra point with 9:44 still to play in the second stanza.
Both teams exchanged punts on their ensuing possessions before Basile came up with a sustained drive that got as far as the Tiger 11. On fourth and four, a Bearcat pass attempt failed with 29 seconds to go in the half, giving the Tigers some defensive confidence going into the locker room.
Oberlin came out in the second half to add to that confidence with a big offensive showing. Starting from their 23, the visitors marched down field in seven plays to score when Trevor Rider busted in from the four-yard line. With the Joubert extra point, the Tigers now led 27-6 with 8:04 to go in the third.
The Bearcats went three and out before Oberlin put the hammer down when Rider returned the BHS punt 51 yards for the next Tiger touchdown Another Joubert boot brought the score to 34-6.
Oberlin picked up their final score of the night with 9:57 to go in the fourth quarter when Collin Chatman powered his way into the end zone from one yard away. Joubert was perfect on the extra point and the Tigers now led 41-6.
Basile was able to get another touchdown with 3:35 left in the contest when Ethan Langley busted in from the two-yard line for the score. Palacios nailed the extra point making it a 41-13 game.
On the night, Oberlin outgained Basile 430 yards to 153 yards. Nevertheless, Ceasar had another big night for the Bearcats, rushing for 107 yards on 13 carries.
With the loss, Basile ends the regular season with an overall record of 6-4 and a district record of 5-2.
Oberlin goes undefeated season. They become the number two seed in the LHSAA power rankings and will have a bye for the first round..
The loss dropped BHS from No. 8 to No. 10 in the LHSAA power rankings, thus losing a potential bye in round one but maintaining a home field playoff game.
