It’s the final week of district play in the state of Louisiana. Every young man dressing out knows what implications are on the line on the final game of the regular season, and everyone is fighting for good seeding in the playoffs.
For LaSalle it wasn’t an “if” the Tigers make the playoffs but “when” the Tigers make playoffs once the final buzzer sound. The Tigers are playoff bound due to a successful season thus far – thanks to a winning record coming from a 6-game win streak.
The work however was just getting started for both teams as LaSalle and Montgomery had a battle that was good as any across the state in Tiger Stadium.
From the first snap of the ball, LaSalle’s Tigers established a physical identity that would hold throughout the game. The first drive was a drive in down the opponent’s throat that was set up by a hard run from senior Jessey Stowe and finished off with a 10-yard touchdown from fellow senior Tuff Street.
Montgomery would respond on the following drive with some running of their own, but they finished the drive with their impressive pass game on a 10-yard touchdown pass. After the two-point try the score would be Montgomery 8-6.
The two teams defense then settled in and they traded 3 and outs with each other. Following that Jessey Stowe showed off his resilience again with a multiple tackle-breaking 35-yard run bringing the Tigers inside the red zone.
Starting the 2nd quarter with that momentum, the Tigers rammed it in on the first play on the quarter with a 1-yard touchdown run by Wyatt King and took the lead 12-8. Montgomery drove again with a response of their own, but it was stopped abruptly by a fantastic interception by Aidan Billingsley, in which the ball was ricocheted off of three players before he got possession of it! The play was so good it was nominated by KALB sports for cool play of the week!
The tension grew after that as the Tigers turned it over on downs in the Montgomery red zone but responded with causing a turnover on downs as well with backs against the wall in the same spot.
Both teams would bend but not break and keep the score the same heading into halftime.
In the 3rd quarter, the opening kickoff for the second half resulted in a recovered onside kick for the Tigers, one that was hard fought for in the bottom of the pile. Following that the Tigers gave it back to Montgomery in their own end of the field. With another stop seeming imminent, the Tigers went back into pass coverage and did a fantastic job; but a freak play 30-yard pass by quarterback #12 for Montgomery kept the drive alive. Following the pass, they ran it in and got the two making it 16-12.
The formula stayed the same for LaSalle, and the Tigers found success again with Stowe running down to the 1 from 30 yards out and Street punching it in to make it 18-16. The Tigers got the ball back again following a 3 and out and got a massive yardage gain from Caidon Finley taking the ball from the defender midair and getting it back in the red zone.
The momentum did not persist however on a sure-fire 4th and 1 run call to King. The entire stadium thought the yard was gained but sadly the spot did not end up in the Tigers favor as it was believed to have been.
After all that, one of the most action-packed fourth quarters you could see in high school ball would commence. The Tigers got the ball back after coming up short of the line and Street would make them pay with a 58yard house call. Along with a mishandled snap on the field goal attempt-turned run in two-point conversion, the score would be 2616.
The very next play, Mongomery threw a 56yard touchdown pass and got their two-point try to make it 26-22. On the consecutive Montgomery drive, they ran it in and made the score 28-26 and then recovered their own onside kick to keep the ball after the score.
The Tigers would then force a turnover on downs and get the ball back with just four minutes remaining. Jessey Stowe broke off another one of his signature long 30-yard runs and then followed it up with an 18-yard touchdown run as well for good measure to make it 32-28.
Montgomery drove down after this however and ran it in from 10 yards out and got the two to make it 36-32 with about a minute left.
The Tigers moved the ball a bit and the game came down to a 4th-down conversion. To keep the drive alive the ball was caught beyond the first down marker but after discussion amongst the referees, the ball was ruled incomplete and that would end a very good shootout 36-32.
It can’t be stated how much of an improvement from year to year this season has been for LaSalle and although the outcome wasn’t what was wanted this past week, the real test and season aspirations start now for the young team with their first playoff game for most of the kids on the roster.
They Travel down to south Louisiana to take on the #11 Elton Indians. The Tigers will be looking for their first playoff win since 2020 and will need your support this Friday at 7:00! See you there!
