Photograph: Da’Shaun Ford, left, rushed for 117 yards while Collin Fontenot, right, had one of three touchdowns in the Opelousas High School 21-0 win over Lake Charles College Prep. (Photographs by Bobby Ardoin.)
BOBBY ARDOIN
Editor/Consulting
It resembled an old-school game plan, heavy on the defense with a strong emphasis on the running game.
That’s the way the Opelousas High coaching staff framed the strategy and the Tigers followed the script Friday night for a 21-0 win over Lake Charles College Prep.
The Tigers (2-1) preserved the Donald Gardner Stadium victory with four pass interceptions, while limiting the aerially-directed LCCP offense to 79 passing yards.
“The idea was to control the clock with our offense, because (LCCP) had some explosive players. We got a great overall effort from the defense by trying to keep everything in front of us,” said Opelousas High head football coach Jimmy Zachery, Jr.
Zachery said the defensive plan was designed to produce as much confusion as possible for the Trailblazers.
“We did a lot of mixing it up, with man and zone coverage. We played our secondary deep most of the time so they wouldn’t pick us apart,” said Zachery.
Zachery said the victory was significant.
“This is a really big victory for us. Lake Charles Prep always has a deep playoff run,” Zachery said.
The Trailblazers placed the ball in the air however, completing half of the 18 passing attempts. LCCP rushed for 43.
Tigers’ Safety Kyler Rideau intercepted his second pass, while Tigers’ defensive backs Justin Washington, Collin Fontenot and Landon Hammond also provided interceptions.
Zachery said the significant feature in the running game was the lack of fumbles.
The Tigers didn’t pass for any yardage, but Zachery said the big takeaway from that aspect of the offense was that Opelousas wasn’t intercepted.
The Tigers ran for 178 yards, with sophomore running back Da’Shaun Ford gaining 115 yards on 21 carries.
Quarterback Zach Malveaux rushed for 39, while running back Zay Amos gained 30 on nine attempts.
A 13-yard, Ford run in the first quarter (4:18) provided the first score, while Amos’ 1-yard run ended a 57-yard second quarter drive, enabling the Tigers to lead 14-0 at the intermission.
LCCP dominated the third quarter offensively, running nearly nine minutes off the game clock.
The Blazers reached as far as the Opelousas 6-yard line on the possession, but the Tigers used a third down sack from Jamarrion Daughtery and an end zone overthrow to preserve the shutout.
Opelousas used the Hammond interception in the fourth quarter to set up a 31-yard scoring drive that ended with the second Amos touchdown with just over a minute remaining.
What’s next? The Tigers travel to play St. Amant.
