8 Zachary vs. Dutchtown eye-catchers
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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…
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Continue ReadingA 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.
Stetson Bell Stetson Bell 5'9" | 160 lbs | DB Zachary | 2025 LA — 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.
Dillan Durand Dillan Durand 6'2" | 175 lbs | DB Zachary | 2024 State LA — 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.
Sean Hamilton Sean Hamilton 6'3" | 240 lbs | DL Zachary | 2025 State LA — 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.
Carter Hanberry Carter Hanberry 6'0" | 205 lbs | LB Dutchtown | 2024 State LA — 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.
Laithon Riley Laithon Riley 5'10" | 175 lbs | DB Dutchtown | 2025 State LA — 5-8, 160 DB — Dutchtown (2025)
Shutting down LSU commit Trey’Dez Green Trey’Dez Green 6'7" | 225 lbs | ATH Zachary | 2024 State LA 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.
Jeremiah Smith Jeremiah Smith 5'10" | 140 lbs | DB Zachary | 2026 State LA — 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.
Kameron Thomas Kameron Thomas 5'10" | 180 lbs | RB Zachary | 2024 State LA — 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.