Storm Warning: Two Perfect Seasons Walk Into Vinton Friday Night. Only One Walks Out.

Rosepine (7-0) at Vinton (7-0), 7 p.m. Friday, and the state poll voters gave them 12 votes combined

By T-Rohn, Gridiron Gumbo

Updated preview: Two Perfect Seasons, One Field: Rosepine at Vinton Preview (Both 7-0)

Friday night in Vinton, somebody’s perfect season goes on the line, and there’s nothing on God’s green earth that’s keeping the people of Vinton, Louisiana home.

Friday, 7 p.m. Rosepine (7-0, 1-0) at Vinton (7-0, 1-0), District 5-2A. (CONFIRMED) Winner stays perfect and pulls even with East Beauregard (2-0) at the top of the district. (CONFIRMED) Loser falls a game back and needs help. Two undefeated teams, one field, and the whole of Southwest Louisiana watching.

And if you think this is just a nice little small-town game, let me season that pot for you.

A Year Ago, Nobody Saw This Coming

One year ago, Rosepine came to Vinton winless and lost 27-0. That was tied for the fewest points Rosepine gave up all of a 1-9 season. Their second straight 1-9 season. (CONFIRMED) Meanwhile, Plain Dealing just snapped a 49-game losing streak back on October 9. (CONFIRMED) The governor’s office saluted Plain Dealing for it, and Lane Kiffin sent them a signed helmet. (CONFIRMED)

Seven days later, Rosepine beat them 47-0. (CONFIRMED)

Louisiana football is a beautiful mess, and I love it.

Rosepine: One Engine, No Brakes

Now Rosepine is 7-0, outscoring folks 322-65 (CONFIRMED), chasing their first unbeaten run since the 10-0 team of 2018. (CONFIRMED) The engine is running back Brynnum Chaney, No. 9, who’s rushed for about 975 yards and 19 touchdowns through six weeks (REPORTED), including a 349-total-yard, five-touchdown night against Delhi. (REPORTED)

Vinton: Bring the Whole Committee

Vinton is 7-0, outscoring folks 340-46 (CONFIRMED), off to what is believed to be the program’s best start since its unbeaten 1998 regular season. (REPORTED: American Press, 2013) The Lions don’t have one star back. They have a committee. Michael Lange, Jaydin Smith, Traylen Carrier and Mika Roper are all over 300 rushing yards. (REPORTED) Lange was Gridiron Football’s national player of the week in Week 3 and is headed to the Gridiron Football All-American Bowl. (CONFIRMED) Middle linebacker Kortlin Kyle, last year’s district defensive MVP, won Gridiron Football’s national player of the week in Week 5 with 12 tackles, a fumble recovery and a 70-yard pick-six. In one half. (CONFIRMED)

You already know their story if you read this site. Friday they meet the one team built to test them.

The Poll That Ought to Make Both Towns Mad

And here’s the part that ought to make both towns mad. In last week’s LSWA Class 2A poll, neither team was in the top 10. Vinton got 11 votes. Rosepine got one. (CONFIRMED) One vote, for a 7-0 team giving up about nine points a game.

One vote. My cousin Boudreaux gets more votes than that running for nothing.

Somebody’s getting their respect Friday night. It’s just a matter of who takes it.

T-Rohn’s Take

(TAKE) This one’s about pride, and pride doesn’t come with a fine schedule. It comes with a scoreboard.

Somebody’s perfect season ends Friday night in Vinton. The field will be packed. The cowbells will be loud. And when it’s over, don’t you dare be surprised if the winners’ fans end up somewhere close to that field.

Up in the big leagues, a moment like that costs half a million dollars. Down here it’s free. And it’s worth more.

Gridiron Gumbo will be in Vinton Friday night. Follow along, because next week one of these teams is 8-0 and the other one is reading about it.

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