By BRET H. MCCORMICK, Journal Sports
“The biggest back in the state” heard the talk on social media.
JT Lindsey responded on the field with 224 rushing yards and four touchdowns to lead No. 2 Alexandria Senior High to a dominating 49-6 victory over Evangel in the second round of the Division I Select playoffs.
After one of Evangel’s two-way standouts called out the Trojans’ star running back and LSU commitment in an interview that made its way to Lindsey via social media, the 5-foot-11, 185-pound speedster said he stepped on the field last Friday night with a little something extra to prove.
“Nobody really posted anything on Instagram about me the whole season, especially saying stuff like that, so I took it real personal,” Lindsey said. “I hadn’t been saying nothing, hadn’t really been saying anything about it, so I took that one to heart.”
Lindsey turned in a vintage performance, including two touchdowns of 65 yards or more, surpassing the 200-yard barrier for the third consecutive game and fifth time on the season.
His second touchdown was a 69-yarder in which he started off right tackle before cutting hard to the left and finding a seam in the middle of the Eagles’ defense. He slipped one tackle and then split three Evangel defenders before coasting into the end zone for a 14-0 Trojan lead.
The next score, although not quite as dynamic, was nearly as beautiful as he juked to the right to avoid a tackle at the line of scrimmage and then raced 65 yards between two downfield blocks. That touchdown gave the Trojans a 28-6 lead, and the rout was on.
ASH coach Thomas Bachman said he was proud of the way Lindsey approached the situation and responded to the challenge.
“You get your name mentioned, you got a target on your back, go let your play do the talking,” Bachman said. “Don’t do it on social media. Don’t do it on all that. Give the credit away, and the praise will come. Obviously, he’s super talented … phenomenal kid. Proud of his performance.”
Lindsey wasn’t the only standout performer for the Trojans Friday night.
Facing Evangel sophomore sensation Peyton “Pop” Houston, the state’s leading passer, the ASH defense harassed him into his worst performance of the season. Houston completed just 10 of 28 passes for a season-low 237 yards and was intercepted three times, double his season total entering Friday’s game.
The Trojans intercepted Houston three times in four possessions as they broke open the game.
Sophomore linebacker Jackson Townsend’s interception set up Lindsey’s 65-yard touchdown. The second pick was returned 48 yards by senior safety Jaden Lewis to the 1-yard line to set up Lindsey’s fourth touchdown of the game. The final interception was returned 14 yards by Kartez Simon to give the Trojans a 42-6 lead.
The Trojans sacked Houston four times and forced the Eagles (6-6) into four turnovers.
“Words can’t explain,” Lindsey said of the Trojans’ defensive performance. “They did so good, outperformed themselves, man. Going against a great quarterback like he is and got picks, got stops, key stops to win the game. They played perfect, man.”
Evangel coach Denny Duron came away extremely impressed by what he saw from the Trojans.
“They’re probably the best team in the state,” Duron said. “They’re the best team I’ve seen in a long time.”
Senior Vaughn Darbon, who rushed for a career-high 96 yards and two touchdowns, added a 2-yard TD late in the second quarter as the Trojans invoked the mercy rule and ran out the clock in the second half.
The Trojans threw the ball just six times in the game as they racked up 361 yards on the ground while limiting the Eagles to minus-7 yards rushing.
ASH will host No. 10 Byrd (9-3), which upset seventh seeded St. Paul’s 37-15 last week, in the quarterfinals on Friday.