OHS Displays Dominance
BOBBY ARDOIN
Editor/Consulting Writer
The Opelousas High scoring was quick, decisive and diversified.
Perhaps gaining momentum from the festive Donald Gardner Stadium Homecoming celebration unfolding around them, the Tigers established a six-touchdown halftime lead and then cruised to a 55-0 win over Beau Chene.
The victory provided Opelousas with an outright district championship, a 6-3 regular season record and gave the Tigers a presumptive home Division II non-select playoff contest.
Although Opelousas had little problem compiling offensive yardage, it was the Tigers’ defense that delivered the most damage to the Gators, who ended 2024 at 1-8.
Opelousas scored four times off six Beau Chene fumbles, while two interceptions provided the Tigers with field positions to that provided a pair of touchdowns.
Beau Chene finished with nine net rushing yards and a minus four passing.
Tigers’ head football coach Jimmy Zachery, Jr., wasn’t totally enamored with the overall performance of his team, but he conceded afterward that it appears Opelousas is on a correct postseason trajectory.
“I feel we are peaking at the right time. We’re going to take this game and use it to get better from it,” Zachery said.
Zachery said the playoff position for the Tigers would have probably been improved had Opelousas played Class 5A Edna Karr, in Week 2. That game was canceled due to Hurricane Helene.
“Even if we had lost, I think we would have been higher, no doubt. We can’t control that, so we will play the hand we get. We have the home game like last year and then we will be back to being the road warriors we were in the playoffs last year,” said Zachery.
The massive crowd that enveloped the areas surrounding the stadium cooked and partied during much of the game and afterward. The effect of that atmosphere probably provided Opelousas with some extra motivation, Zachery admitted.
“We intended Homecoming to be against Cecilia, but we knew we were already going to get a big crowd for that game. We decided to hold Homecoming (Friday night) and draw another big crowd. You know, it was to get a bigger bang for your buck,” Zachery added.
The Tigers ended the first quarter ahead 28-0.
Opelousas’ offense scored the first three touchdowns consecutively on a short run by De’Shaun Ford, a 20-yard scramble by quarterback Zack Malveaux and a 35-yard reception by wide receiver Korey on a Malveaux throw.
The defense found the end zone after Jonathan Ford returned a fumble 11 yards.
After Cody Major ran for a six-yard score, Kylen Young scooped the next fumble on a 35-yard TD scramble. Shortly afterward Collins Rideau collected another Gators’ fumble and scored from 30 yards out.
Landon Hammond had a pair of interceptions.
Offensively Opelousas ran for 124 yards, while Malveaux completed all three passing attempts for 48.
