Zachary Grinds Out Tough Win Over Opelousas
by: William Weathers // GeauxPreps.com Contributor
Zachary defensive lineman Sean Hamilton said that his unit started to hear the whispers.
In consecutive games, in which they split, the Broncos allowed 42 and 33 points, and the outside noise began to increase.
“This whole week of practice we were trying to change this narrative that the defense was the weak part of the team,” Hamilton said. “I feel like we’re showing that’s not the narrative any more at Zachary. Against a team like this, it was a great time to show that. The defense is sustainable.”
Zachary’s defense had its fingerprints all over the team’s latest victory, a 24-6 homecoming triumph over Opelousas on Friday, limiting the visitors to one long-range touchdown by one of the state’s top running backs.
The Broncos (3-1), ranked No. 4 in GeauxPreps’ Class 5A rankings, found themselves locked in a scoreless battle in the first half before unleashing a 24-point second half going into the start of District 4-5A play next week at Scotlandville.
“Our defense was just tremendous the whole night,” Zachary coach David Brewerton said. “You’re not going to hold that guy (Opelousas’ Da’Shaun Ford) down the entire night. He broke a long one. We missed aligned and he hit it. That’s what great backs do. The rest of the night I couldn’t be more pleased with our defensive staff and our defensive kids. They played really tough.”
Opelousas, the reigning Class 4A non-select state champion and No. 7 team in GeauxPreps’ Class 4A rankings, took its only lead of the game when Ford, a bruising 220-pound running back, scored on 78-yard run for a 6-3 lead with 2:55 left in the third quarter.
The Tigers (1-3) found themselves having to play the final 20 minutes of the game without starting quarterback Zack Malveaux who was hurt at the end of a 13-yard run. He was replaced by junior Korey Major and the Tigers managed one first down and one yard of offense after Ford’s score.
“It changes everything,” Opelousas coach Jimmy Zachery said of Malveaux’s injury. “We had a guy that took zero snaps at quarterback and got thrown into the fire in a big game like this. The lights get a little brighter. Then we started fumbling snaps. That was a big ask, to ask him to go in there and step up when Zack went down. Those are things we have to clean up.”
Zachary did its damage over a 10-minute span that bridged the third and fourth quarters.
The Broncos, who forced two turnovers, also benefitted from solid special teams play that included the first two punt blocks of Donovan Beathley’s career. While his first block didn’t lead to any points, his second block helped Zachary gain a 3-0 lead on Rafael Costa’s 21-yard field goal.
“For the first time they were able to open me up for the block and I was able to get the first one,” said Beathley, who credited teammates Tyson Kimble and Michael Septs on his first block. “The second time, I had another opportunity to block it. I trust in all of my teammates. I couldn’t have gotten the blocks without them.”
Zachary answered Ford’s scoring run with a stretch of 21 unanswered points to put the game away.
“For as bad as we were offensively, I give them a lot of credit,” Brewerton said. “The offensive line started to take over and our running backs did what they do. (Quarterback Caleb Gonzales) Caleb’s having an off night. We have to pick up other areas and I thought we did that.”
A 65-yard kickoff return from Tra’lan Sept after Ford’s TD maintained a central theme for Zachary which began nine of its 11 possessions in Opelousas territory. That led a six-play drive to cover 20 yards and Da’vekio Ruffin scored the first of his two touchdowns from two yards out – giving the Broncos the lead for good at 10-6 with 45 seconds left in the third quarter.
Opelousas then turned the ball over on downs at its own 29-yard line and Zachary made it 17-6 two plays later on Ruffin’s 11-yard score at the 10:41 mark of the fourth quarter.
Ruffin led Zachary with 52 yards and a pair of scores on 15 carries, while fellow senior Nate James added 38 yards on 11 attempts that included a 1-yard score with 7:42 to play. Wide receiver Jaiden Cockerham led the Broncos with five receptions for 71 yards.
“We’re used to being in those situations,” Brewerton said. “We don’t have a bunch of returning starter guys, but they’ve witnessed it and they’ve seen it and there’s a standard that they believe we have to play up to win football games.”
Opelousas, which also has losses to undefeated Teurlings Catholic and Alexandria among its challenging schedule, was led by Ford with 121 yards on 17 attempts. Malveaux was 4 of 9 for 116 yards and ran the ball 13 times for 33 yards, while wide receiver Korey Fontenot caught four passes for 84 yards.
“I feel OK right now,” said Zachery, whose team completes non-district play at Natchitoches Central next week. “We’re playing hard but we’re not playing a complete game. We’ve got to put it all together from special teams to offense to defense.”
Zachary began drives at OHS’ 21, 45, 9, 20 and 38 in the first half, but missed three field goals, punted once and turned the ball over on downs.
Opelousas defensive back Landon Hammond, a Tulane commitment, blocked Zachary’s first field goal attempt.
“Momma said there would be nights like this,” Brewerton said. “We don’t put up any points on the board and miss three field goals. We started every (all but one) possession on their side of the field. What more could you possibly want on offense. We just didn’t get it done. It looked like we were rushed the whole night and out of sync.”
Opelousas appeared to be in position to score right before halftime when Malveaux hit a diving Fontenot on a 43-yard gain to the Broncos’ 5-yard line. Following an incompletion, linebacker Michael Septs stopped Malveaux around left end for a one-yard gain on second-and-goal on the final play of the half.
“This team is really inexperienced, and I feel now it’s all starting to come together,” said Hamilton, whose forced fumble led to a recovery by Cartier Brown midway in the second quarter. “We had to help our offense this game and the offense started to get their swag back at the end and showed how good they are.”
Score By Quarters
Opelousas 0 0 6 0 – 6
Zachary 0 0 10 14 – 24
Scoring Summary
ZHS – FG. Rafael Costa 21
OHS – Da’Shaun Ford 78 run (run failed)
ZHS – Da’vekio Ruffin 2 run (Costa kick)
ZHS – Ruffin 11 kick (Costa kick)
ZHS – Nate James 4 run (Costa kick)
OHS ZHS
First Downs 10 10
Rushes-Yards 38-95 33-66
Passing Yards 116 109
A-C-I 5-13-1 9-17-0
Punts-Avg. 3-29 2-56
Fumbles-Lost 4-1 2-1
Penalties-Yards 8-60 4-25