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When asked Blake Saddler, “Who is Blake Saddler?” The Abbeville senior tailback had an answer.
“I am the GOAT,” replied Saddler after Abbeville crushed Richwood 53-22 in the first round of the Class 3A playoffs. “I am unstoppable.”
Let’s be clear. Saddler is not saying he is a goat who can run fast. He said he is “The G.O.A.T.”
The word G.O.A.T. stands for Greatest of All Time. Professional athletes such as N.F.L. quarterback Tom Brady or N.B.A. legend Michael Jordan are the G.O.A.T.s in their sports.
Saddler has the stats to back up his G.O.A.T. status.
In 11 games, Saddler has rushed for 1,910 yards, 500 more yards than any Wildcat football player. If he has a regular game in the second round of the playoffs, he will reach 2,000 yards.
No other Wildcat has run for 1,500 yards, let alone 2,000 yards.
On Friday, in a lopsided win, Saddler scored three touchdowns and ran for 163 yards. He had 11 carries for 132 yards in the first half and scored two touchdowns.
This season, in 11 games, he has scored 21 touchdowns and just under 200 points.
Who does that? Someone who has crowned himself the G.O.A.T. of Abbeville High School.
He stands just under 5-foot-7 and has blazing speed. But his running style sets him apart from most running backs. Saddler does not like to go out of bounds. Instead, he takes a pitch from his Q.B. and turns up field.
Saddler refuses to take the easy way out. Instead of going out of bounds, he cuts back inward, stops, and takes off again. He is also hard to bring down one-on-one. His legs never stop moving.
“I have good vision,” said Saddler. “When they come to tackle me, it is hard to take me down. My feet never stop moving. I tell the other running backs to pump their feet. Keep moving your feet.”
Saddler admits he was not born with this running talent. Instead, he was taught by Abbeville High quarterback and running back coach Myles Hutchinson. A former quarterback for Acadiana High School, Hutchison showed him how to “come downhill, hit the hole, and chop your feet.”
“Last year, I was not this good. But, I became better because of what Coach Myles showed me.”
Saddler went from being average to G.O.A.T. status in a matter of a season. The Wildcats followed his success and are 10-1, for the first in 19 years.

A second-round home game would have been great for the Abbeville Wildcats (10-1), but the chips did not fall in the Wildcats’ favor.
Instead, they have to travel four hours to Monroe to battle No. 18 Wossman, who beat No. 15 Erath.
Had Erath won, the Bobcats would have played the Wildcats in Abbeville.
Abbeville head coach Roderick Moy would have loved to have a home game on Friday, but he will settle for still being alive for another one.
“We are one of 16 teams still playing,” Moy told his team after crushing Richwood 53-22 on Friday. “Let us go there next week and take care of business. We want to be still playing for Thanksgiving.”
The last time a Wildcat football team won a first-round playoff game was in 2002, which was 19 years ago. There is a good chance no Wildcat player was born the last time Abbeville won a first-round home playoff game.
Abbeville did most of the scoring in the first half. Six minutes into the game, Abbeville led 13-0, and tailback Blake Saddler was on his way to having another great night.
He ran for a 69-yard touchdown at the 6:49 mark to put AHS ahead 13-0.
At the start of the second quarter, the Wildcats jumped out a 28-6 lead and went into halftime with a convincing 34-14 lead.
Abbeville dominated on both sides of the football.
The Wildcats’ offense racked up 261 yards of total offense, while the AHS defense allowed 31 total yards in the first half.
Saddler looked to be on his way to a 200-yard night based on his first-half performance. He had 132 yards on 11 carries, and he scored three times.
However, Saddler finished the game with 165 yards on 15 carries and two scores.
While things clicked in the first half, the Wildcats were not as sharp in the second half. They found themselves making mistakes and committing penalties but still managed to lead 47-14 with seven minutes to play.
The Wildcats' second team played most of the fourth quarter.
“It was not as clean as I would have liked,” said Moy about the play of his team. “It makes us look like a dangerous football team. It was not as clean as I would like, but we put 53 points on the board with the junior varsity team playing the whole fourth quarter. It says a lot about how good we can be. We have to put it together. As the games keep going, the teams are going to get better.”
Moy said with a 20-point lead in the first half, his players looked too relaxed and began making errors. That cannot happen in the next game because each week, the teams will get better, he added.
“We have to be able to knock teams out,” he said.
The Wildcats scored on each possession in the third period.
First, quarterback Tahj Judge connected with Chad Nolan for a 17-yard reception that went for a touchdown. Nolan broke two tackles on his way to the end zone.
Then on Richwood’s next possession, Abbeville defensive back Bredale Turner picked off a screen pass and ran it back 34 yards for a touchdown.
Zaylon Williams kicked the extra point and put AHS head 47-14.
Abbeville completed only three passes. Nolan caught two for 60 yards, and Darrian Washington caught a 29-yard pass late.

KAPLAN - The Kaplan Pirates and first-year head coach Cory Brodie have a daunting task ahead of them tonight as they head to Baton Rouge to take on No. 8 Madison Prep (9-1) in the first round of the Class 3A playoffs.
But daunting tasks are nothing new for Brodie and this season’s Pirates.
“If you think about it, we played the No. 2 seed in Class 2A (Loreauville), the No. 2 seed in Class 3A (Abbeville), the No. 3 seed in Class 3A, (St. Martinville), the No. 15 seed in Class 3A (Erath) and the No. 5 seed in Class 3A (Church Point),” Brodie said. “Except for St. Martinville and Church Point, we were within one possession of each of the other teams and had a chance to win.”
So taking on the No. 8 seed Madison Prep shouldn’t be too difficult.
“Oh no,” Brodie said, with emphasis. “They are really good and talented, and we’re going to have to play some of our best football against them.”
In the spring, Brodie led Kaplan to a 4-6 record in the regular season and the 25th seed in the Class 3A playoffs.
“We played some good competition this year and were a play away from winning two games,” Brodie said. “We haven’t won that big game yet, but we’re close. We keep getting closer.”
Could tonight’s game at Memorial Stadium in Baton Rouge be that one big game the Pirates win?
“The kids came out this week and practiced hard, and we have a really good game plan in place,” Brodie said. “It hasn’t felt like the season is done, which is good.
“There is a lot of positive things going on this week, and I tell the kids we don’t have to be better than them for a whole calendar year. We just have to be better than them for 48 minutes.”
Brodie feels that his first year has been a success.
“I’ve had great support here from coaches that have been here for a long while to a principal that is a former coach and has let me bounce ideas off him and he gives me advice on different things as well.
“People have been supportive. I feel that I’m exactly where God wants me to be in my life. I couldn’t be happier.
“I wish I could have won a few more games this year, but it’s all a process, and I’m glad I’m at Kaplan.”
As for tonight’s game, Brodie knows exactly what his Pirates have to do to move to the second round.
“Offensively, we have to do what we’ve done all year, control the clock but punch it in when we get the chance,” Brodie said.
“Defensively, we know they are going to make some big plays, and we just can’t let them make too many big plays and get them off the field when we can.”
The Pirates are firing on all cylinders in the rushing game.
Caden Campisi leads the team in rushing with 1,269 yards on 324 carries.
Gabe Clement returns to the backfield. He has 66 totes for 345 yards and two scores on the year.

ERATH — Funeral Services for Scotty James Babin, 50, will be held on Saturday, November 13, 2021 at 1:00PM at David Funeral Home Chapel of Erath with Dabne’ Dover officiating.
Visitation will be held on Saturday, November 13, 2021, from 9:00 AM until the time of service.
A native New Iberia and resident of Erath, Mr. Babin died at 8:30PM on Wednesday, November 10, 2021 at his residence. Scotty’s favorite past time was to spend time with his family, whom he cared for very deeply. He especially loved to spend time with his dog, Jose’
Survivors include his wife of 25 years, Ethelyn M. Babin of Erath; two daughters, Megan Babin Luquette and husband Blake Luquette of Erath and Mandy Mae Babin and her fiancé Richard Theall Jr. of Erath; his grandchildren, Brantley James Girard, Landyn Oran Luquette, Gaberel Dale Theall, and Alaina Jay Theall ; his parents, Raymond Joseph Babin and Mary Floris Babin; a brother, Ronnie James Babin; two sisters, Angela Faye Latiolais and Denise Ann Smith.
Scotty was preceded in death by a son, Claude James Babin; his paternal grandparents; Claude Joseph Babin and Eda Viator Babin. His maternal grandparents; Antoine Floris and Mildred Mergist Floris.
Serving as honorary pallbearers will be Brantley Girard, Jaden Smith, Richard Theall Jr., Blake Joseph Luquette, Dorman Spivey, Ryan James Babin, Jamie Derouen, and Cameron Spivey.
The family of Mr. Babin would like to extend a special thanks Lourdes Hospice and Dr. Rick Faul for their special care.
Condolences maybe be sent to the Babin family at www.davidfuneralhome.org
David Funeral Home of Erath at 209 Putnam Street (337) 937-0405 is in charge of the arrangements.