8 Zachary vs. Dutchtown eye-catchers

A tale of two halves in this case ended up actually being a tale of two days in Zachary's unusual and at times even wild semifinal rally against Dutchtown.   Ongoing weather delays late in the third quarter ultimately forced the teams to head home for the evening and postpone the conclusion until the following afternoon.   And the No. 7 Broncos proceeded to rebound from a 28-13 deficit at that break to score 15 fourth-quarter points, force overtime and advance to the state championship on a walk-off field goal, 31-28.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqhuux9C5vE </div></figure>   [player_tooltip player_id='1221065' first='Stetson' last='Bell'] — 5-9, 155 DB — Zachary (2025)   The junior safety made the first of a couple special teams plays that helped lift Zachary in overtime as he burst off the edge on Dutchtown's go-ahead field-goal attempt and blocked the kick to keep the game knotted as the Broncos took the field for their first offensive possession of the extra period.   Rafael Costa — K/P — Zachary (2025)   The contest wasn't the junior specialist's best of the season with a missed extra point early and missed field goal late, but he showed a notable level of resilience to shake back and make the game-winner in overtime to send the Broncos on to the state championship game and maturity to discuss with a mob of reporters postgame his performance and the big moments.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g33iatbpcBI </div></figure>   [player_tooltip player_id='1204722' first='Dillan' last='Durand'] — 6-2, 175 DB — Zachary (2024)   The tall, long safety has stood out each time we've seen Zachary this year with his college frame and his plays on the ball, this time out with a big deflected pass rushing off the edge in one of the Broncos' fourth-quarter stops.   [player_tooltip player_id='710277' first='Sean' last='Hamilton'] — 6-3, 240 DL — Zachary (2025)   The big defensive lineman helped anchor the Broncos' shut-down and shut-out effort down the stretch with his play up front, including a couple stops at and behind the line that pushed the Dutchtown defense behind the chains.   [player_tooltip player_id='1202511' first='Carter' last='Hanberry'] — 6-0, 200 RB/LB — Dutchtown (2024)   The Southeastern Louisiana commit has become a consistent presence Prep Redzone Louisiana's statewide "top performers" lists in recent weeks with his physical two-way play and was again a handful for his opponent. Zachary finally slowed him down enough to take control late, but Hanberry had given the Broncos 78 yards and three touchdowns worth of fits to help the Griffins take control in the first place.   [player_tooltip player_id='1214148' first='Laithon' last='Riley'] — 5-8, 160 DB — Dutchtown (2025)   Shutting down LSU commit [player_tooltip player_id='285194' first='Trey'Dez' last='Green'] and the Zachary passing game might be an impossibility, but Riley and the Griffins did a nice job limiting. Riley, giving up almost a foot in height to Green, played physically and held his own well in the challenging matchup.   [player_tooltip player_id='1237775' first='Jeremiah' last='Smith'] — 5-10, 140 DB — Zachary (2026)   The Broncos needed big play in all phases to mount its comeback, and a heads-up defensive play actually helped set up the game-tying extra-point late. Dutchtown threw a pass toward a falling or diving receiver near the sideline, and when the ball ricocheted up, Smith quickly snatched an interception and took off 40 yards up the sideline for a touchdown.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ip-fqixRo34 </div></figure>   [player_tooltip player_id='421645' first='Kameron' last='Thomas'] — 5-10, 190 RB — Zachary (2024)   The senior running back scored the only offensive touchdown of Saturday's quarter-plus portion of the game after the postponement — a 35-yarder he bounced outside and up the sideline — and was the Broncos' steadiest weapon in that phase on multiple possessions late as they took control.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hbZ76onxeE </div></figure>

A tale of two halves in this case ended up actually being a tale of two days in Zachary's unusual and at times even wild semifinal rally against Dutchtown.