8 eye-catchers from Neville vs. Alexandria

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Neville gradually managed to crack through its largely defensive battle against Alexandria and build a three-touchdown lead Friday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>And when the Trojans finally showed some offensive spark of their own, the Tigers promptly answered to maintain control en route to a 31-14 victory to close the regular season and their District 2-5A slate on a big positive note.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here's a look at some of the eye-catching standouts from the contest.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1851107' first='Jarvis' last='Blackston'] — 5-8, 195 RB — Neville (2028) </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The continued emergence of the sophomore back has been a notable storyline for the Tigers' season. Blackston rushed for the game's first three touchdowns, a couple of shorter runs on which he showed good strength, balance and feet through contact and traffic and then the third on which those same qualities helped him break out of a scrum of tacklers and then flash some acceleration and speed for the 41-yard dash to the end zone. Senior <strong>JaMarion Roberson</strong> remains a key piece of the offense in his own right, including a couple long runs of and a long catch downfield just before halftime. And the 1-2 punch that duo provides from the position </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='920694' first='Julian' last='Burns'] — 6-2, 195 DB — Neville (2026)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>and <strong>Jakobe Collins — 5-10, 185 LB — Neville (2027)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Alexandria had some of its own issues finding a rhythm, but a fast and hard-hitting defensive effort by the Tigers only further contributed to the frustration and all-night uphill climb. Burns, the senior safety, and Collins, the junior linebacker, helped spearhead some of that effort with some explosive hits throughout, including a few on third-down situations to help get the Trojans' offense off the field. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='489183' first='Parker' last='Robinson'] — 6-2, 200 QB — Neville (2027)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The regular-season finale wasn't the junior quarterback's most prolific game in terms of big passing numbers, but he consistently made big, on-target throws — in stride and in some cases in tight windows — on critical downs to keep scoring drives moving and hit on a few deeper shots and a well-placed touchdown throw toward the back corner of the end zone to allow his big senior receiver to go up and make a play. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1238574' first='Ze'land' last='Young'] — 6-4, 190 WR — Neville (2026)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The big senior target highlighted the Tigers' receiving efforts with a range of plays to every level of the field from shorter catches through contact to deep shots on which he was able to create space down the field. His biggest play, though, came with the leaping and falling one-handed grab just before halftime to provide the answer to Alexandria's first score. Young kept a defender at bay with his left hand and made an acrobatic grab with his right to help Neville take a 28-7 lead into the locker room. He and smaller, quicker sophomore <strong>Desi Byrd</strong>, who also provided a few highlights in his consistently productive night overall, provide Robinson a good duo of complementary weapons in the passing game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1250281' first='Karsen' last='Sellers'] — 6-2, 175 QB — Alexandria (2027)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1250291' first='Alex' last='Fontenot'] — 6-2, 185 WR — Alexandria (2027)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Trojans weren't their typically high-scoring selves — a combination of their penalties and other miscues and the disruptive Neville defense — but their quarterback-receiver tandem still put up big numbers, including a couple of long touchdown connections on which Sellers was able to show his ball placement downfield and Fontenot flashed his speed. Sellers kept getting back up, shaking off hits, eluding the rush when possible and still completing two-thirds of his passes for more than 200 yards despite a challenging night. And Fontenot finished up over 180 yards with his long scores and several highlights in traffic or through contact to help provide Sellers a much-needed outlet when things would break down. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Kerrick Gaines — 5-10, 175 DB — Alexandria (2026)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Alexandria defense played well overall, but often found itself getting put right back on the field. Many familiar names (<strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1801050' first='Jaden' last='Bayonne']</strong> up front, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='934571' first='Bryson' last='Phoenix']</strong> on the edge, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1601781' first='Xzavier' last='White']</strong> at linebacker, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1610149' first='Jakyrin' last='Griffin']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1611413' first='Letravious' last='Williams']</strong> in the secondary) made plays during the course of the game, but Gaines may have been the most constant playmaker for the unit from start to finish, flying around for stops, disrupting potential receptions and nearly making a diving interception out toward the flats. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->