Opelousas vs. Cecilia | 10 Championship Eye Catchers

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Opelousas allowed a two-score lead to slip away to a thrilling Cecilia comeback in a late October district battle.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>But not even the rival and higher Bulldogs could stand in the way of the Tigers' determined chase for program history this weekend as coach Jimmy Zachery helped lead his alma mater to a 26-13 victory in the Division-II Non-Select title game and their first state championship.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here are a few more notes on 10 of the biggest eye-catching performers from the contest.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='920639' first='Jamarion' last='Daughtery'] | 6-4, 245 LB | Opelousas (2026)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The sophomore linebacker was among the Tigers' defensive standouts with the ground he covered and explosive hits he delivered on his afternoon of five tackles, including two sacks, and two breakups, one of which he nearly intercepted on an extremely well-timed jump of an attempted screen.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1202573' first='Trace' last='Denofrio'] | 6-2, 200 TE | Opelousas (2024)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The senior tight end played well both as an additional blocker alongside [player_tooltip player_id='677675' first='Joseph' last='Milton'], Keegan Moten and company up front and with an early 12-yard reception that helped establish the threat of the pass the Tigers could pose if Cecilia focused too exclusively on the run.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='710769' first='Korey' last='Fontenot'] | 6-1, 165 WR | Opelousas (2025)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The speedy junior receiver caught three passes for 78 yards, including a 43-yarder, and the primary weapon when Opelousas took to the air.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='710072' first='D'Shaun' last='Ford'] | 5-11, 220 RB | Opelousas (2025)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Tigers' star running back wrapped up his fantastic playoff run and junior season overall with an Outstanding Player performance of 146 yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries, an average of 5.6 yards per carry as the below of the offense.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='915076' first='Jonathan' last='Ford'] | 6-0, 250 DL | Opelousas (2025)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The big defensive end's quickness past opposing blockers and into the backfield stood out on his way to six tackles, including a sack, and other pressure he applied to keep the Bulldogs off balance and schedule. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='913904' first='Brent' last='Gordon Jr.'] | 5-11, 175 DB | Cecilia (2025)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Outstanding Player for Cecilia, "B.J." was all over the field on defense with 16 tackles, including two for loss and a handful of timely open-field stops on third and fourth downs to force punts or turnovers, and rushed twice for 14 yards on offense.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='912270' first='Landon' last='Hammond'] | 6-2, 160 DB | Opelousas (2025)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The junior cornerback made one of the defensive plays of the game for Opelousas with a beautifully played interception on which he dropped back, quickly changed directions multiple times to stay in position as the play developed and then made a leaping catch despite some contact for the takeaway.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='913917' first='Zackeus' last='Malveaux'] | 5-10, 155 QB | Opelousas (2025)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The junior complemented [player_tooltip player_id='710072' first='D'Shaun' last='Ford'] beautifully with his keepers bounced outside for 114 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries, an average of 11.4 yards per rush that was highlighted by a 66-yard scoring scamper. MAlveaux also completed four of his seven passes for 90 yards.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='145333' first='Diesel' last='Solari'] | 5-7, 170 QB/ATH | Cecilia (2025)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Opelousas made life difficult with a stout and hard-hitting defensive effort, but Solari still managed to show some flashes of his quickness, explosiveness and versatility to scratch out 37 yards and one touchdown rushing, 136 yards and another score passing and 10 receiving yards on offense, 44 kick-return yards, 15 punt-return yards and a tackle on defense.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='913920' first='Ellis' last='Stewart'] | 6-0, 170 WR | Cecilia (2025)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Stewart was Solari's primary receiving target with six catches for 97 yards, including a 48-yard scoring strike downfield, and provided a third-quarter spark taking some snaps at quarterback, rushing four times for 12 yards and completing both of his passes for 18 yards.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->