Mistakes Hurt OHS
BOBBY ARDOIN
St. Landry Now.com Editor
Any evidence of Opelousas High progress or potential was erased by an avalanche of penalties and mistakes Friday night as they helped prevent the Tigers from completing an epic second half comeback at the newly-refurbished Donald Gardner Stadium on Friday night.
Trailing 20-0 late in the second half, Opelousas recovered from a disastrous start, but the Tigers still remain winless in 2025, following a 34-33 Homecoming loss to Natchitoches Central.
OHS head coach Harry Coleman acknowledged that the Tigers (0-5) had their opportunities to defeat a Natchitoches Central team that produced 417 yards of total offense featuring running back Kelton Howard who obtained 218.
However Coleman also felt there are multiple issues to correct as Opelousas looks at a four-game district schedule that begins against Livonia at Donald Gardner Stadium this week.
“We’ve got a lot of things to clean up. We had a lot of mistakes, false starts, missed chances with our extra points, jumping offside, finishing drives. We just need to get out of our own way,” said Coleman, who is in his first season at Opelousas.
And then there were penalties.
Opelousas was penalized 17 times for 170 yards. During the first 10 minutes, Opelousas had already accumulated 50 penalty yards, while in the fourth quarter, with the score tied at 27, the Tigers assisted a game-winning Natchitoches touchdown drive with 45 penalty yards following one play.
Thirty of the yards amid that flurry of flags were assessed against the Tigers’ sideline.
“The coaches need to clean things up too,” Coleman said
Natchitoches scored the first three touchdowns on Owen Smith completions of 12 and 15 yards and a 14-yard, Kaden Kuykendoll run that provided the Chiefs with the 20-0 lead.
The Tigers launched their recovery effort with a 4-yard Collin Rideau touchdown run and David Hernandez extra point that cut the lead to 20-7 with 49 seconds before intermission.
Opelousas cut the Chiefs’ advantage further in the second half, as Jaylon Owens stepped in front of a Smith pass and returned it 92 yards for a second Tigers’ score.
Natchitoches counter-punched with a short Smith run that kept the Chiefs ahead 27-13 with 6:20 in the third.
Marly Richard turned a 60-yard reception into the Tigers’ third touchdown and Opelousas scored unanswered on a 51-yard drive after Rideau scored from three yards out to tie things at 27.
The Chiefs scored a final TD with 4:54 left, as Smith engineered a 69-yard possession that took nearly four minutes off the game clock.
Rideau scored three plays on the Tigers’ final possession on a 31-yard run with 3:48 remaining, but the two-point conversion pass failed.
That was the third Opelousas extra point conversion attempt that failed.
Rideau rushed 12 times for 108, while Joseph Clues gained 70 on 12 attempts.
Richard provided 10 tackles, while catching two passes for 80.
Natchitoches head coach Brad Laird said the win wasn’t wrapped with aesthetics.
“This wasn’t a pretty win, but I have to be proud of the way our guys had to fight back from a lot of self-inflicted mistakes,” said Laird.
Laird said the Chiefs’ running game probably provided the difference offensively.
“It allowed us to run the clock and keep moving the chains when needed. When that happens, you know your offensive line is doing the job,” Laird added.
