By BRET H. MCCORMICK, Journal Sports
Coming off their best victory of the season last week, the Tioga Indians hit the road tonight for their toughest test yet.
A week after a come-from-behind home victory over Franklin Parish kept them unbeaten in District 2-4A, the Indians (6-1, 2-0) will travel north along U.S. Highway 165 to Monroe to face off against Neville.
The Tigers (6-1, 2-0) are ranked No. 3 in the Louisiana Sports Writers Association’s Class 4A poll and are sitting second in the Division I Non-Select power ratings behind the only team that has beaten them so far this year, Class 5A Ruston.
Tioga, meanwhile, currently has the No. 7 power rating among Division I Select schools and is among the others receiving votes in the LSWA Class 4A poll.
Neville is led by its defense, which has been particularly strong over the past four weeks. The Tigers have given up just 16 points during that span, pitched two shutouts and opened district play with 51-0 and 41-6 wins over Peabody and Grant.
The Tigers have been the kings of District 2-4A for years, having not lost a district game since 2010. This will be the fourth time they have played Tioga in district play during that span, having won the three previous games by an average of almost 40 points per game.
Tioga coach Kevin Cook said the Indians approached tonight’s game like any other, regardless of the name on the opponent’s uniform.
“We don’t really ever change anything that we do,” he said. “I think it’s kind of important not to do that. We’ll approach it the same way we always do. It’s either gonna be enough or it ain’t. We’re gonna unload the clip so to speak.”
The Indians may lean more on sophomore quarterback Cace Malone, who rushed for a career-high 101 yards last week and led the Indians on a game-winning touchdown drive late in the fourth quarter to defeat Franklin Parish 20-16.
Malone hasn’t been asked to do much in the passing game, as Tioga has leaned heavily on its defense and junior running back Travis Adams, who leads the team with 573 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns. Malone has passed less than 10 times per game for 519 yards and six touchdowns.
But Cook knows his young quarterback may have to show more production against Neville.
“We’re not worried about Cace putting the ball in the air,” Cook said. … “Everybody who knows me knows I love to throw the football. I’m all about the ball being in the air 100 percent of the time.”
While Tioga travels north to battle for control of District 2-4A, there’s a key District 2-5A rivalry contest going on in Rapides Parish tonight as Pineville hosts Alexandria Senior High in the Red River Rivalry.
Pineville is coming off back-to-back losses against West Monroe and Ruston to start district play, but the Rebels get a boost with the return of sophomore running back Ayden Tate, the team’s leading rusher who missed last week’s game with a concussion.
Bell said the Rebels had a good week of practice because the coaches didn’t have to offer much motivation in a rivalry game like this one.
“These kids are neighbors here in this open enrollment community,” Bell said. “They played Dixie baseball together. They played Red River football together. They go to church together.”
While the Rebels fell to 2-5 after last week’s loss, ASH improved to 4-3 with a 35-10 victory over Ouachita. ASH coach Thomas Bachman said the Trojans are excited for the opportunity to play a game close to home against a rivalry opponent.
“We don’t get to do this very often,” Bachman said. “Everything’s two hours on a bus when we get on a bus. This is refreshing and exciting for us because it’s something locally.”
The two teams met nine weeks ago at the Pineville Jamboree, a game the Trojans won 31-0 in only a half of gametime action. Bell doesn’t believe that result will play any role in tonight’s game and said the Rebels are ready for another shot at ASH.
“We feel like we’re not the same team they beat in the jamboree eight weeks ago, nine weeks ago,” Bell said. “We feel like our defense is getting better and better. We have to get first downs. We have to move the football. We have to win the time-of-possession battle against them.”
Bachman said Pineville is a much more experienced team than it was last year or even in the jamboree. Senior Jaylan Witty is a third-year starter at quarterback, the Rebels are big across the offensive line, and he singled out the play of junior safety Jacob Miranda and junior linebacker Lamarcus Thirs.
But the Trojans are rolling after an 0-2 start, winning four of their last five games. Junior JT Lindsey is averaging more than 115 rushing yards per game and has scored 12 rushing TDs, senior quarterback Ty Feaster is playing much more efficiently and the Trojans have multiple weapons at the skill positions.
“We’ve gotten better with every day of practice,” Bachman said. “We’ve gotten better every week. Hopefully, we just continue to improve. You’re getting to the point of the year where you want to start to peak in the second half of the season.”
Other games featuring Rapides Parish teams tonight include Peabody hosting Grant, Buckeye at Caldwell, Menard at Rosepine and Northwood-Lena at Rayville. Bolton lost to Marksville, 56-0, on Thursday night.