DELCAMBRE -- If the Delcambre Panthers wanted to win a share of the District 7-A championship with the Gueydan Bears, Darcy Delcambre and his staff knew they were going to have to contain GHS sophomore running back Davante Bourque.

Through nine games of the 2009 football season Bourque was ranked in the top 10 of the state with 1,441 rushing yards, 25 touchdowns and 182 points scored.

And, in the first half of the Bears’ 28-22 victory against Delcambre, 6-4, 3-2, head coach Jay Landry called a number of successful plays while Bourque was looking like a man among boys, scoring rushing touchdowns on Gueydan’s first three possessions before leaving the game in the third quarter with an injury.

Advertisement

The Bears’ first possession took almost eight minutes off the clock in the first quarter when their offense began its opening drive on the GHS 40-yard line. During that possession Bourque had runs of seven yards, 11 yards and 13 yards before plunging in from three yards out for a touchdown with 4:20 left in the quarter. Trevor Derouen tacked on a 2- point conversion to make the score 8-0.

Delcambre then ran a total of seven plays before the Bears (9-1 overall, 5-0 district) got the ball back with less than a minute to go in the first quarter. Landry then called two plays for his star back and Bourque did not disappoint. On the first run he gained 15 yards and followed it with a 65-yard touchdown scamper. He then added a 2-point conversion to make the score 16-0.

Delcambre then took the kickoff to its own 29-yard line. Quarterback Josh Ruiz and running backs Tyler Hotard, Jorey Renard and Drey Landry all had successful runs of more than 10 yards each before Renard scored from the 2-yard line with 7:28 remaining before halftime. The 2-point conversion attempt was no good.

After starting their next drive on their own 40-yard line, the Bears ran a total of two plays again before Bourque took it to the house with a 60-yard touchdown run. The 2-point conversion was no good.

At halftime the Delcambre coaches made some adjustments to the Bears defense and the Panthers scored in 58 seconds to begin the second half. Hotard took the opening kick and returned it 40 yards to the Bears’ 35-yard line. Renard then had a 20-yard run before Ruiz scored on a 15-yard touchdown. Ruiz scored the 2-point conversion to make the score 22-14.

It didn’t take the Panthers long before they would score again after the Bears put the ball on the ground after three plays. Renard scored on a 37-yard rush and the 2-point conversion by Hotard made the score 22-22 with 9:28 in the third quarter.

Both teams then failed to gain a first down on their next possession and the Bears got the ball with 3:43 remaining in the third quarter. Derouen then had runs of four, 16, eight, six and three yards before scoring on a 10-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to put the game away.

That touchdown clinched Gueydan’s first district championship.

“Those kids left everything on the field tonight,” Landry said. “This was our first district championship we ever won at Gueydan. The best two teams played tonight and the best team won tonight.”

Delcambre echoed those sentiments.

“My hat’s off to their football team,” he said. “They have a good football team and they deserve to win tonight. We are not going to quit and we are going to get ready for the playoffs next week.”