Acadiana Hosts Kaplan – Game Preview

(The following is an Acadiana Wreckin' Ram Football game preview, written by the voice of the Wreckin' Rams, James P. Bitterman)

The Acadiana Wreckin’ Rams open their 49th season of football tonight, hosting the Kaplan Pirates.

When you enter Bill Dotson Stadium this evening, please notice the hard work of volunteers, player parents, cheerleader parents, and team members and cheerleaders. They collectively pressured washed and repainted the whole stadium.   They also pressure washed the visitors side.  THANK YOU very much to those volunteers who donated their time and money to clean and repaint Bill Dotson Stadium.

Tonight’s Rams opponent is a formidable foe. The Kaplan Pirates finished last year with a record of 13-1. The one defeat was a hard fought loss to Amite in the State semi-finals.  Coach Tank Lotief returns 5 starters on offense and 6 starters on defense.

The Pirates are led by running back Mac Thibeaux, who shared carries last year with Julius Johnson, but still managed to roll up 1,196 yards and 10 touchdowns on 146 carries. The left side of  Kaplan's offensive line should be its strong point with both the senior guard and tackle returning as starters.  Kaplan's defense will be led by their three returning linebackers, two of them seniors.

The Acadiana Wreckin’ Rams will return seven starters on offense, with three returning starters on the offensive line, while quarterback Jalen Borel and running back Ziggy Francis return to the backfield to lead the Veer Machine.

Defensively, the Wreckin’ Rams six starters, led by three on the defensive line, one at linebacker and two in the secondary.

The pregame show starts at 6:02 p.m. and kickoff is at 7:00 p.m.  The game can be heard over the air on the AM dial at ESPN1420, on the internet at espn1420.com and on smart phone app RadioPup.

Next week the Wreckin’ Rams are home to Ruston.