Monroe Dispatch - No Struggle, No Progress

WEEK 2 Sept. 10, 2021

Game Of the Week

#1 Neville Tigers (1-0) Vs #3 Ouachita Lions (1-0)

For the second week in a row, the Neville Tigers find themselves in my game of the week and with a juggernaut schedule these next 5 weeks, they may need to get used it. This week's opponent will be a familiar one, when Ouachita Parish High School visits the confines of Bill Ruple Stadium Friday night. The lions are fresh off of a 20-3 defensive gem over airline and want to keep that momentum vs the tigers. The first game jitters showed early on with the lions as they break in an entirely new scheme for the lions, but eventually settled in and cruised to the win. Defensive end Phil Bradford and LB Carmycah Glass stone-walled the Airline Vikings offense all night long even sending Airline's starting quarterback to the locker room early. Offensively, a ground & pound attack also took toll on the home-standing Vikings late. After a fairly close game at halftime, RB Marcell Henderson spearheaded an 8-play 4th quarter drive the he also capped off with a game-clinching 37 yard score.

On Forsythe Ave. that same night, the Neville Tigers never got the chance to press the cruise control as they scratched and clawed their way to a miraculous 27-24 win over Ruston. Senior RB A.J. Allen did most of the heavy lifting for Neville, scoring 3 of the tigers 4 touchdowns. His first score gave the tigers a 7-3 lead that didn't last very long. After a strong Ruston 2nd quarter the tigers found themselves down 17-7 at the half. That's when Coach Jeff Tannehill asked Allen to fetch his cape. After a 30-yard TD from Brett Batteford to Jaden Gibson tightened the score, Allen's 70-yard run gave the tigers a 20-17 4th quarter lead. However, Ruston would counter with an 11-play scoring drive that gave the visitors a 24-20 lead with less than 2 minutes to play. That's when "super A.J." was asked to save the day. Facing a 4th and 20 from their own 38-yard line, Batteford heaved a ball deep down the center of the field to no other than, Allen who adjusted and came down with the ball then proceeded to juke two defenders as he raced into the endzone for the game-winning score.

To some, this Friday's game is deemed a rivalry, but over the past decade it's been pretty one-sided. The lions have not beaten Neville since 2010 with only 2 total wins over the past 16 years. None of that will matter on Friday though, the lions hired former tigers defensive coordinator Benjy Lewis over the summer and his knowledge of the tigers players and style will be crucial if the lions want to pull off the upset. As the tiger's defensive coordinator, Lewis never lost to the lions and beating the tigers would be bittersweet revenge, however there's another storyline to be told by the tigers. In year 2 as the tiger's captain, Jeff Tannehill decided to bring in former ULM Defensive Coordinator Mike Collins, to lead the tigers' defense and after 2 games the black and gold faithful love what they've seen. If there wasn't any love lost prior to this year, there definitely won't be any lost on Friday September 10, 2021. Things may even get a little chippy from time to time. With that being said, I'm expecting a knock down drag out affair that feels like your grandfather's brand of football. The tigers and lions will both stack the box and attempt to shut down each other's run game, but Neville has the experience under center and Batteford will be the difference maker. It'll be close early but the tigers defense stifles the lions late and improves to 2-0.

Neville 26 Ouachita 7

Player Of the Game:

Brett Batteford – 10/13 125 Passing, 1 Td – 65 Rushing, 1td

5A

#2 West Monroe 21 Brother Martin 14

#9 Ruston 20 Rummel 13

West Ouachita 28 Jonesboro-Hodge 13

4A

Bastrop 23 Ferriday 14

Lake Charles College Prep 40 Franklin Parish 18

3A

#4 Union Parish 24 Airline 23

#6 Sterlington 28 #10 Mangham 27

Carroll 22 Avoyelles 16

Caldwell 33 Winnfield 28

Richwood 22 Madison Parish 12

Jena 41 Vidalia 24

2A

Rayville 26 Montgomery 13

D'arbonne Woods 29 Delhi Charter 15

Beekman Charter 13 Lakeview 12

1A

#7 OCS 28 Oak Grove 24

St Fred 21 Cedar Creek 20

Delta Charter 41 Delhi 21

Tensas 20 River Oaks 13

Mr. Pickem's Football Top 10

WEEK 2

1. Neville (1-0) Def. Ruston 27-24

Up Next: Vs #3 Ouachita

2. West Monroe (1-0) Def. Sam Houston 53-0

Next: Vs Brother Martin

3. Ouachita (1-0) Def. Airline 20-3

Next: @ #1 Neville

4. Union Parish (1-0) Def. Many 42-32

Next: Vs Airline

5. General Trass (1-0) Def. Richwood 54-20

Next: @ #8 Wossman

6. Sterlington (1-0) Def. Loyola Prep 42-14

Next: @ #10 Mangham

7. OCS (1-0) Def. Southwood 40-0

Next: @ Oak Grove

8. Wossman (1-0) Def Bastrop 26-24

Next: Vs #5 General Trass

9. Ruston (0-1) Lost to Neville 24-27

Next: Vs Oxford, MS

10.Mangham (1-0) Def. Oak Grove 27-23

Next: Vs #6 Sterlington

Just Missed It: Carroll, St Fred, Oak Grove, Caldwell

Offensive Player of The Week

Dispatch

Neville's Coldest Tiger

Neville A.J. Allen – RB

12 carries, 137 yards, 1 TD

1 catch, 62 yards, 1 TD (game-winning)

98-yard kickoff return for TD

Defensive Player of The Week

Neville ENYCE SLEDGE – DT

7 TACKLES, 3 TFL, 1 SACK