Everything that could have gone wrong for Loreauville in its season opener against Erath did on Thursday night as the Tigers fell to the Bobcats for the first time since 2019.

With four turnovers, two interceptions and two fumbles, several key penalties and injuries to important starters, the Tigers will hope to quickly put Thursday night’s 14-7 defeat behind them.

Erath, who opened the scoring with a one-yard run by senior RB Mason Hebert, were unable to convert the extra point. The Tigers were able to capitalize on the mistake after scoring a touchdown of their own, a four-yard reception by senior Maddox Savoy from senior QB Hayden Benoit. The PAT from Gavin Judice gave the Tigers a one-point lead that lasted into halftime.

After a wet, mistake-ridden third quarter for both teams, Erath found the endzone in the fourth quarter with another short rush by Hebert. Penalties forced the Bobcats into a two-point conversion attempt from just inside the redzone, but it was unsuccessful.

After stuffing another Loreauville drive and pinning the team deep in their own half, a high snap right over punter Gavin Judice’s head went out the back of the endzone for a safety, improving Erath’s lead to seven points.

The Tigers, with one final chance to force a turnover, gave up back-to-back offside penalties, which was just enough for Erath to secure the first down in the dying seconds of the game and secure the 14-7 win.

Loreauville head coach Terry Martin gave credit to the Bobcats while also taking responsibility for the mistakes his team made.

“There’s no doubt in the world that they outplayed us, but we also didn’t help ourselves,” Martin said. “You can’t really blame it on the weather. We had just said 30 seconds before, in the timeout, that they were going to try to freeze check and draw us off and we gave up two offsides penalties. We’re relying on two freshmen for a big part of our offense and defense. They’re going to be phenomenal football players, but they’re still learning everything.”

In addition to the Week 1 loss, the Tigers also suffered an injury to starting offensive and defensive lineman Dylan Singleton. The senior is a key part in Loreauville’s game plan and will be a noticeable loss should his injury prove to be serious.

“It may not be anything serious, but you always want to be cautious,” Martin said of the injury. “He begged and begged to go back in, but my number one job is to make sure these kids are safe above anything else. He’s a big part of everything that we do and, to give credit to (Erath), when they saw him out they took advantage of it.”

Erath’s Hebert recorded two touchdowns and 82 yards from 20 carries. His longest rush, just 10 yards, illustrates how much of the game was won at the line of scrimmage.

Bobcat QB Jack Landry went 9 for 12 for 47 yards. WR/DB Johnathan Goodrich ended the game with two interceptions.

Loreauville QB Hayden Benoit went 6 for 14 for 62 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. Senior RB Maddox Savoy ended the night with 58 yards from 17 carries and one touchdown reception. Freshman RB Thomas Carter recorded 33 yards from six carries.

Senior WR Kylon Polk led the receivers with 43 yards from four catches.

After the loss in the Tigers’ season opener, Martin said the rest of the season will be determined by how his team reacts.

“Look, we can either go to crap or wake up in the morning and try to get better,” Martin said. “I still think we can have a decent team and hopefully the (injuries) we had tonight aren’t serious and we can come back ready to play next week.”

Martin also praised his underclassmen and their performance in the first game of the season.

“(Playing on Thursday) gives us a little more time to prepare, but it all comes down to executing. I think once we get another game or two under our belts, those young guys are going to be really good football players. The lights weren’t too big for them. They handled everything well and, after a while, they’ll know better. I think we played hard, so hopefully when I watch the film that’s what I see.”

Loreauville will return to action next week with another home contest, this time against Ascension Catholic on Friday. The Bobcats will travel northeast to face off against North Vermilion for their Week 2 matchup. Both games are scheduled for 7 p.m. kickoffs.