ST. MARTINVILLE — The third time was not the charm for the St. Martinville Tigers, losing their third straight playoff appearance against Union Parish on Friday.

The Tigers began the game on the back foot following a scoreless first quarter, eventually ending the half with only a kickoff return touchdown by Harvey Broussard to be excited about.

St. Martinville returned to the field with an air of desperation around the team, with many players unable to lift their heads as they trudged toward the Tiger’s sideline.

According to Senior Strong Safety Mandrel Butler, the morale on the team was worsening despite efforts by some to motivate their teammates.

“I feel like a lot of people just hung their head down too early,” said Butler. “Me and some of the captains tried to lift them up, but as the game kept pulling away, it just wasn’t in our favor anymore.”

The Tigers did manage to lessen the defeat in the second half, scoring via a Steven Blanco run and two touchdown passes, one each to Cullen Charles and Tanner Harrison.

The late push wasn’t enough to overcome Union Parish’s unstoppable Trevion Holly, who racked up six rushing touchdowns against the Tigers.

Union Parish Quarterback Cole Dison said that his team came into the game looking for the victory, spurred on by the Farmer’s history with the Tigers.

“We played them three years in a row,” explained Dison, “what we’ve done has obviously worked so just do the same thing as the last two years.”

Despite the loss, St. Martinville Coach Vincent Derouen says that he is proud of the effort his team showed on the field.

“I really feel bad for those kids,” said Derouen. “They’ve worked so hard, I hoped we could’ve gone one step further.”

“I’m proud of them, proud of the kids. Hopefully they can take and use what we teach them here and go out in the marketplace and be productive.”