BASILE – With a good showing in the spring game against DeQuincy, Basile head coach Tony Bertrand said that helped send the team into the summer workouts on a positive note.

Now that the summer workouts are switching over to the pre-season drills, Bertrand is expecting everything to come together for a repeat trip to the playoffs.

“They did well in the summer,” the coach said of his roster of nearly 45 players. “They know what is expected of them and they know the benefits of it. But everybody is ready for the football season to start.”

The Bearcats return five starters on offense, including junior fullback Dylan Matte (5-11, 220). Matte rushed 130 times for over 700 yards and 13 touchdowns last season.

“We ran the ball well in the spring game,” Bertrand said. “I thought we did a good job up front and we are going to have to run the football well for us to be successful.”

Bertrand said he is looking forward to what his seniors can do this season as leaders for his team.

“They have all been playing somewhere since they were sophomores,” he said. “So they do have some experience.”

The senior group includes wide receiver Drake LeDoux (5-9, 145) who caught 19 passes for 154 yards in 2009 and three experienced linemen David Fontenot (5-11, 185) and Jacob Veronie (5-10, 180) along with tight end Nick Bertrand (6-1, 190).

Taking over at quarterback is senior Matt Pruitt (6-1, 190) and joining him in the backfield is senior tailback Jake Fournerat (5-11, 165).

Experience is also evident on the defensive side with seven returners including linebacker Nick Bertrand, who led the team with 113 total tackles and five sacks in 2009.

Wyatt LeDoux, Fred Lewis and Veronie return on the defensive line with Fournerat, LeDoux and Brooks Fontenot (6-1, 180) returning as starters in the defensive secondary.

The District 4-1A race will be interesting between Merryville, South Cameron, Hamilton Christian, Elton, and Oberlin.

“The bad thing is we only have four home games this year,” Bertrand said of the schedule. “But we are looking forward to getting started.”

Basile is scrimmaging against Catholic High of Pointe Coupee at 5:30 p.m. on Aug. 19 before participating in the Evangeline Parish jamboree on Aug. 27.

Basile opens the regular season at Gueydan on Sept. 3.