By BRET H. MCCORMICK, Journal Sports
JT Lindsey put on his Superman cape Friday night.
Lindsey, Alexandria Senior High’s star senior running back and an LSU commitment, willed the Trojans to a 43-40 victory over Opelousas.
ASH trailed the Tigers, last year’s Division II Non-Select state champion and the No. 3-ranked team in last week’s Louisiana Sports Writers Association Class 4A poll, by 14 points at the half and by five points late in the fourth quarter.
It was the first time this season the Trojans had trailed in the second half, but Lindsey made sure they weren’t behind when the final buzzer sounded.
ASH erased the two-score deficit on a pivotal three-play swing when Lindsey raced 60 yards for his second rushing touchdown, sophomore kicker Eli Fung recovered his own onside kick, and sophomore quarterback Max Gassiott scored on a 49-yard run to tie the game at 28.
The Trojans took the lead late in the fourth quarter on a 14-yard TD pass from Gassiott to fellow sophomore Alex Fontenot, but they gave up a long touchdown pass to allow Opelousas to retake the lead 40-35 with less than two minutes to play.
ASH coach Thomas Bachman said he wasn’t worried when the Tigers scored to go ahead late in the game.
“Your eyes immediately go to the game clock,” he said. “Alright, how much time do we got? A minute forty with one timeout. Alright, let’s go score. We believed in the kids. I don’t think there was any panic. It was just, alright, let’s go get it done. To our kids’ credit that’s what we did.”
With their backs against the wall, the Trojans called on Lindsey, who had scored a 45-yard touchdown in the first half. Lindsey caught a screen pass from sophomore Karsen Sellers and weaved his way through the Tigers’ defense for a 64-yard gain. He scored from 2 yards out on the next play and ran in the 2-point conversion as the Trojans rallied for the three-point victory.
“He’s an ultimate competitor, and he competed his tail off the other night,” Bachman said.
Lindsey ran for 149 yards and three touchdowns while also catching four passes for a team-high 97 yards. Sellers and Gassiott combined to go 14-for-21 for 236 yards and two touchdowns, while senior Darius Washington caught five passes for 79 yards, including a 32-yard touchdown on the Trojans’ opening drive of the game.
Not only is Lindsey the Trojans’ best player, but Bachman said he’s a tremendous teammate who cares more about his teammates than he does his own statistics.
“He’s a winner,” Bachman said. “He’s so much more than talented.”
The victory gave ASH a 4-0 start for the fourth time in the past seven seasons with Many coming to town this week for Homecoming.
Pineville’s Ayden Tate ran for 129 yards and a score, surpassing the 1,000-yard mark for his career, but the Rebels were unable to slow down Leesville star senior Xavier Ford as the Wampus Cats pulled away for a 41-13 victory.
Carter Smith found Landon Grimes for a 24-yard touchdown in the first quarter to cut Leesville’s lead to 14-6, and Tate’s 6-yard touchdown run on the opening drive of the second half pulled the Rebels (2-2) within 20-13.
Leesville got a touchdown run from Ford and two passing TDs from Trel Brown to pull away for the victory. Ford finished with 282 rushing yards and two touchdowns while adding a third score through the air, while Brown passed for 212 yards and four TDs.
Pineville senior safety Jacob Miranda, who had his fourth straight game with double-digit tackles, tipped his cap to Ford and the Wampus Cats for their performance.
“It was a hard game, a harsh environment out here,” Miranda said. “We just got to come back better.”
Tioga and Peabody both picked up their first victories of the season, as the Indians defeated Richwood 59-22 and the Warhorses knocked off Franklin 47-22.
Tioga got two touchdown passes from Cace Malone, one each to Kervin Johnson and Angelo Shelton, who both also scored rushing touchdowns for the Indians. Travis Adams scored a 37-yard touchdown, and Kenny Ponthier added two touchdown runs.
Menard improved to 2-2 on the season when the Eagles got a fourth-quarter safety to defeat Abbeville 15-14. Jake Vaughn’s 39-yard punt was downed by Wyatt Heyward at the 1-yard line, and Sam Brocato broke through the line for a tackle in the end zone on the next play.
The Eagles pulled within a point at 14-13 late in the third quarter on a 39-yard pass from Vaughn to Austin Parra, but the Eagles’ PAT attempt was blocked.
Menard scored on its opening drive of the game when Vaughn kept on a 1-yard fourth-down run to give the Eagles a 7-0 lead.
Buckeye (2-2) dropped its second straight game, falling on the road 46-0 to Avoyelles, while Northwood-Lena (1-3) lost to Lakeside 55-20.
Bolton Academy (0-4) remained the only winless team in the parish with a 42-0 loss to LaGrange on Thursday.