By BRET H. MCCORMICK, Journal Sports
Ayden Tate may have just picked up another first down.
The junior running back set a Pineville single-game rushing record in last week’s 39-36 win over Tioga. After being credited with 400 yards on Friday night, Rebel coaches went back to recheck his total and confirm it for the record book, and Tate finished with a total of 407 yards along with four touchdowns.
Pineville coach Bryant Bell said he thought Tate was having a great game, but he had no idea in real time that he had rushed for over 400 yards.
“It was great. It was a culmination of just everything we’ve done on offense since the end of last year,” Bell said. “Our O-line is vastly improved. It was just the cherry on top. It was fun to see. It was rewarding for everybody, the head coach included.”
Tate was the second straight running back to rush for 400 yards against Tioga as Leesville’s Xavier Ford accomplished that feat the week before.
This week’s matchup features Tate vs. Ford as the Rebels (2-1) travel to Leesville (2-1) in a matchup of the state’s two most prolific single-game rushers so far this season.
Through three games, Tate has rushed for 491 yards and seven touchdowns while Ford has gained 796 yards and scored 15 touchdowns for the Wampus Cats.
Bell said the two teams run similar offenses, and he expects Friday night’s game could be an offensive shootout. The key for Pineville will be trying to stop Ford before he gets to the second level, where he has the speed to run away from linebackers and defensive backs in the open field.
“We’re not gonna stop him,” Bell said. “He’s gonna get his. He’s a really good player, as advertised. We just have to keep him in front of us. We have to gang tackle him. One person isn’t gonna bring him down. He’s too strong. He’s too good. It’s gonna take a group to get him on the ground.”
While the Rebels look to move to 3-1, Alexandria Senior High seeks a fourth consecutive win as the Trojans hope to remain the parish’s only unbeaten team when they travel to face Opelousas, last year’s Division II Non-Select champion.
It’s a second straight top-10 clash for the Trojans, who moved up to sixth in this week’s Class 5A Louisiana Sports Writers Association poll after last week’s victory over Destrehan. Opelousas is ranked No. 3 in Class 4A.
Peabody and Tioga are two teams sitting at 0-3 who have been very close to breaking through in the win column.
The Indians lost to Pineville last week on a last-second field goal after being within a score in the fourth quarter the two previous weeks against Leesville and Sterlington.
They welcome a winless Richwood team to The Reservation Friday night, as they seek to ride the powerful legs of senior running back Travis Adams, who eclipsed the 200-yard mark against Pineville last week.
The Warhorses, meanwhile, have dropped two of their three games by three points or less. They travel to Franklin on Friday in search of their first victory of the season.
Peabody coach Harry Coleman said the Warhorses have been getting solid play from their defense, which gave up 22 and 16 points in two of the losses, but they haven’t been able to get enough production in the running game to complement star senior receiver TJ Hullaby.
“We’re just not scoring the ball,” Coleman said. “The defense is playing well enough to win the game.”
The Warhorses have been playing with “relentless effort,” he said, but they haven’t been able to keep drives going by moving the chains on the ground.
Coleman said he recently promoted a freshman to starting running back, hoping for any kind of offensive spark, but he knows his team will continue to work hard.
“If we can stay positive, we’re gonna get positive results,” Coleman said.
Buckeye (2-1) looks to bounce back from its first loss of the season on the road against Avoyelles, while Menard (1-2) looks to snap its two-game losing skid at home against Abbeville.
Northw0od-Lena (1-2) looks for its second win in a row at home against Lakeside on Friday.
Bolton Academy (0-4) was dumped 42-0 by visiting LaGrange (3-1) Thursday night.