Long-Distance Gains: Plaquemine’s Tyrese Mosby Explodes for Career-High Night

by: William Weathers // GeauxPreps.com Contributor

The feeling was one of extreme satisfaction for Plaquemine High’s senior running back Tyrese Mosby.

With his team comfortably ahead in last Friday’s annual rivalry game that’s now a District 6-4A matchup with Brusly, Mosby found himself cheering on his teammates in the final quarter of a 41-14 victory.

“It always feels good to know you’ve got a secure ‘W’,” said Mosby, a three-year starter.

The victory, which sent Plaquemine to a 3-1 overall record and a share of the district lead, was made memorable with the performance Mosby delivered in his final Hwy. 1 grudge match with Brusly. 

Mosby, a 5-foot-9, 185-pounder, gained a career-high 310 yards with five touchdowns on just 17 carries – an average of 18.2 yards per attempt – in the Green Devils’ third consecutive victory headed into Friday’s 6-4A showdown at West Feliciana (2-2, 2-0 in 6-4A).

“After I was told the yardage and how many touchdowns, I was ecstatic,” said Mosby, who has carried 77 times for 773 yards and 10 touchdowns this season. “I don’t keep track of that, especially during the game. I just play ball. It didn’t even feel like. Every time I touched the ball it felt like I was going the distance. I only had 17 carries, so it didn’t feel like I was touching the ball that much to be able to get that many yards.”

Plaquemine’s second-year coach Donald Williams Jr., who was researching where the game ranked among the school’s single-game records, believed he saw Mosby perform at his best.

“He’s an extremely hard worker,” Williams said. “First to get there, last to leave. A great teammate. He’s just a great kid that you would want 70 of those on your team.”

Mosby lit the fuse on his big night on his team’s first offensive play – sprinting 69 yards into the end zone – and his 37-yard score helped Plaquemine to a 14-6 halftime lead.

He was just getting started. 

“For the most part it was very special,” said Mosby, whose previous best rushing total was 224. “We’re so-called rivals, but it’s not really a rivalry. It was a big game to boost our ego for the rest of the season. As a team, it gave us a little boost of morale.”

Mosby scored on runs of 64, 32 and his 48-yarder near the end of the third quarter extended his team’s lead to 34-12. 

Williams said Mosby’s success was a combination of massive holes created by the offensive line, along with Mosby’s elusiveness and ability to break tackles. 

“There were times where the O-line parted it for him, and he went untouched,” Williams said. “There were somewhere he’s breaking the tackles of the linebackers and the secondary. It was a combination of both, but I thought both parties did a good job.”

Mosby and Williams both agreed on the role Plaquemine’s offensive line played in the team’s overall ability to generate 436 yards on the ground. 

The Green Devils returned three senior starters with left tackle Lamarion McNeil, left guard Jacoby Young and right guard Deandre Riley. They’ve been joined by sophomore center Luke Lewis sophomore right tackle Reggie Trusclair and senior fullback/H-back Lionel Bowers to pave the way for Mosby to reach his career-high rushing total.

“That comes with having the offensive line I have,” Mosby said. “I tell them that once I get past the line of scrimmage just let me work after that and that’s what they did. A lot of good things going on up front and giving me opportunities to do what I have to do. You have to stay consistent, that’s the key. Be disciplined and make sure you do what you have to do.”

Williams said a week’s worth of film study provided Plaquemine with a road map to success on the ground. 

“It was a point of emphasis,” he said of the team’s rushing attack. “We saw some things on film that we liked if we could get them in certain situations. We preached to the kids that if we could get them blocked it was going to be a good game for us.”

Higher Ceiling Leads to Explosive Numbers

Mosby played a key part in Plaquemine’s first successful season under Williams in 2023. The Green Devils, who won the District 6-4A title in the final game over West Feliciana, advanced to the second round of the Division II non-select state playoffs where they were eliminated by Iowa, 36-19.

Mosby finished the season with 179 attempts for 1,330 yards – 7.5 yards per carry – and 20 touchdowns. He also had four receptions for 79 yards and a score.

The District 6-4A first-team selection also earned a spot on the Baton Rouge Advocate’s All-Metro first team and was a Class 4A All-State honorable mention choice.

“That was just to show everybody that I’m here and this season has to be better than it was last year,” Mosby said. “From my junior year until now, it’s my understanding of the assignments with what’s going on. I wanted to make sure I knew what I had, and what was going on up front, everything with what they were doing up front. I planned on rushing for 2,000 yards this year and around 25-30 touchdowns this year.”

Williams isn’t surprised at the gains he’s seen from Mosby, who’s in search of his first college scholarship offer. He’s made an unofficial visit to Grambling State and received interest from both Southern and UL-Lafayette.

“He’s taken a big leap this year as far as learning the concepts of what the run game is,” Williams said. “Whether it’s the gap (blocking) scheme or zone, who’s pulling or kicking, who they’re blocking. I think he’s able to see things before they happen, so he’s playing a little faster.

“You could see his want to get better,” Williams said. “I know it was a good junior year, but I kept telling him it wasn’t good enough. I think he took that and every day he came into work to get better and see what he could do. I felt he had so much more in the tank. He’s a great kid, hard worker, and super competitive. There was no ceiling for him because he was on the up and up.”

Williams said after his running back’s most recent performance, he received several calls from college coaches over the weekend about Mosby, last year’s Student of the Year at Plaquemine High.

“People are starting to see that he can play at a major level,” Williams said.