Fontainebleau (1-7, 0-5) takes on the Ponchatoula Green Wave (3-5, 1-4) tonight at home.

FHS dropped its seventh consecutive game last week being edged by the Slidell Tigers 21-17 on the road.

Fontainebleau, which has been snake bitten the entire season following its season opening victory over Biloxi High (33-7), has struggled but has been in the majority of its games. Despite their record, the Bulldogs have battled this season, losing their last five games by a combined total of just 15 points.

Ponchatoula escaped with a 7-6 win in last year’s game.

FHS first-year coach Mike Materne said his team has to remain focused.

“I’m looking for our team to quit giving up big plays. We are focused on winning tonight’s game,” Materne said.

FHS held a 17-6 halftime lead last week, but failed to finish the deal losing by four points.

“We can’t afford to lose leads in games. That was frustrating,” Materne said.

Sophomore quarterback Conner Smith will lead the Bulldogs’ offense for the final two games with previous senior starter Addison Melancon out with a broken foot.

Smith completed 7-of-14 passes for 98 yards with two interceptions.

The Bulldogs will count on the running of senior Perrin Sims. He gained 100 yards on 23 carries last week.

After missing time with a hamstring injury, Sims is back in form picking up 563 yards on 100 carries with four TDs. He averages 5.6 yards per rush.

Junior Ryan Brooks ran the ball four times for 15 yards last week. Brooks has 323 yards on 86 carries averaging 3.7 yards per attempt.

FHS’ James Cousin caught four passes for 68 yards. Cousin leads the Bulldogs’ receivers with 17 receptions for 333 yards with two TDs. Chris Fisher comes in with 12 catches for 101 yards and a score.

Senior inside linebacker Will Ward led the Bulldogs’ defense last week with three individual tackles and 10 assists. Senior defensive end Justin Church contributed six assists and caused three fumbles.

The Bulldogs’ defense caused four fumbles recovering all of them. Senior middle linebacker Thomas Babin recovered two of the fumbles while registering four solo stops and four assists. Babin leads the Bulldogs with 80 tackles. He has 38 solo stops and 37 assists along with five tackles for loss and a sack.

Senior free safety Spencer Ragas chipped in with two primary tackles and five assists. Senior Evan Luke, who played both ways, recovered a fumble from his defensive tackle position. Stephen Brown recovered a fumble for the Dawgs and place kicker Hunter Starring recovered his own on sides kick last week in the first quarter.

Ponchatoula came up short last week in a determined effort before falling to the district leading St. Paul’s Wolves 32-25 in a barnburner.

Materne said Ponchatoula runs five different variations of the option with Joseph Green leading the way.

“When you see Ponchatoula on film the Green kid always seems to break a long one. We will have to guard against the long play by playing solid assignment football. We will have to be able to control all of those variations,” Materne said.

Green tallied two touchdowns last week on runs of 32 and 47 yards against the aggressive St. Paul’s defense. Ponchatoula sophomore quarterback Nathan Callais scored on a six yard run and connected with Jaylon Wilde on a 70-yard TD pass.

The Green Wave picked up 328 yards of total offense against a tough St. Paul’s defense last week. The Greenies rushed for 198 yards and passed for 130 yards. Ponchatoula fumbled three times and lost two of them.