Playoff Top Performers: Zachary vs. West Monroe

<p>Another intense Zachary and West Monroe showdown arrived less than a year's wait since their growing postseason rivalry appeared to hit a fever pitch in the 2021 quarterfinals.</p>   <p>The Broncos roared back from a 24-7 halftime deficit in that meeting to win, 37-34, in an overtime thriller that left coach Jerry Arledge and the Rebels' staff and fans were loudly critical of the officiating.</p>   <p>West Monroe was well-positioned to avenge that disappointment and end a three-game losing streak in the series over the past five playoffs.</p>   <p>The Rebels took a 10-0 lead into the fourth quarter against home-standing and typically high-powered Zachary.</p>   <p>But, once again, Alabama-committed quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='138485' first='Eli' last='Holstein'] and the Broncos took control late and marched on with a 20-10 victory celebrated with a postgame firework display. </p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-embed-handler wp-block-embed-embed-handler wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://www.youtube.com/embed/7himvqqhHOo </div></figure>   <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='138485' first='Eli' last='Holstein'] (6-4, 225 QB | 2023)</strong></p>   <p>West Monroe successfully played keep away from Holstein and company much of the game, eating the clock and limiting the Broncos' opportunities. When Zachary did have the ball, the Rebels were able to apply enough consistent pressure to keep their hosts out of sync. And even Holstein's good-looking passes downfield fell to the turf in vain as receivers struggled with frustrating drops.</p>   <p>The Broncos kept plugging away, though. And the Alabama-committed quarterback sparked the comeback with a physical run late in the third quarter on which he lowered his shoulder and trucked a defender and a 34-yard touchdown dash early in the fourth to put his team on the board. He added 78- and 28-yard scoring passes to [player_tooltip player_id='1202525' first='Tyson' last='George'] and [player_tooltip player_id='138458' first='Tylon' last='Williams'], respectively, and finished with 203 yards passing and 59 rushing.</p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-embed-handler wp-block-embed-embed-handler wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://www.youtube.com/embed/k4Mz-zOlan8 </div></figure>   <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='138458' first='Tylon' last='Williams'] (5-10, 150 WR | 2023)</strong></p>   <p>The speedy two-phase weapon had a pair of early major impact opportunities slip away with a dropped pass on offense and a holding call to negate a 75-yard punt return touchdown. But he hauled in another long catch and a fourth-quarter screen on which he split four defenders, shook free and found the sideline for the 28-yard score. </p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-embed-handler wp-block-embed-embed-handler wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://www.youtube.com/embed/cOfvyYRAG9s </div></figure>   <p><strong>Kameron Peterson (LB/DB | 2024)</strong></p>   <p>For all the Rebels' success controlling the ball and the clock enough to keep Zachary's offense off the field, the Broncos' defense managed to hold the West Monroe lead to a manageable 10 points.</p>   <p>Peterson was among the defensive leaders to contain the Rebels' run-heavy attack as he crashed downhill from his strong safety/linebacker position to plug running lanes, flood the backfield with pressure or swiftly close outside to contain the perimeter.</p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/JeritRoser/status/1593776380772515841?s=20&t=AQM7D0uhMHk_Xgn4kvQVTg </div></figure>   <p><strong>Noah Norman (5-5, 155 RB | 2023)</strong></p>   <p>The West Monroe rushing attack was far from a one-man show in the sense of the prime lanes paved by the offensive line and tight ends [player_tooltip player_id='285280' first='Nate' last='Green'] and Cooper Simmons and in efforts of multiple ball-carriers. But the senior bowling ball-on-skates led all players with 128 yards on 21 carries, including a 19-yard scamper in the third quarter for the Rebels' only touchdown. Norman did a nice job following his blocks, then avoiding low tackles, keeping his balance and breaking loose for bigger gains to paced the West Monroe offense.</p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/JeritRoser/status/1593797927020920833?s=20&t=AQM7D0uhMHk_Xgn4kvQVTg </div></figure>   <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='914210' first='Tyler' last='Roark'] (6-4, 230 DL | 2025)</strong></p>   <p>The big sophomore defensive end was among the standouts who helped the Rebels make life difficult for Holstein and the Broncos for three quarters. Roark, junior defensive tackle Hayden Stewart, senior linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='138478' first='Chauncey' last='Lee'] and junior linebacker Cole Michael Stephens helped lead West Monroe's constant pressure in the backfield that consistently corralled the quarterback for loss or disrupted his and his receivers' timing and rhythm.</p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/JeritRoser/status/1593780134926061568?s=20&t=AQM7D0uhMHk_Xgn4kvQVTg </div></figure>

Another intense Zachary and West Monroe showdown arrived less than a year's wait since their growing postseason rivalry appeared to hit a fever pitch in the 2021 quarterfinals.