Opelousas avenges loss to Cecilia to cap remarkable run to Division II non-select championship

Tigers' run game, defense turn the tables on Bulldogs

NEW ORLEANS - From a tough loss came the seeds that were being sowed for a historic championship run. 

At least that’s the way Opelousas views it. The Tigers’ remarkable journey to get to the Caesars Superdome actually began on Oct. 20, when the Tigers blew a double-digit lead and fell to Cecilia on a field goal in the closing seconds.

A similar scenario was unfolding in the rematch between both teams, this time in Friday’s Division II non-select championship game at the Caesars Superdome, with Cecilia making a couple of second-half pushes. But on both occasions, Opelousas responded with touchdowns of its own.

This time, the Tigers capped off an unbelievable, and a history-making ride through the postseason, with a 26-13 win for their first-ever state championship.

Opelousas defeats Cecilia, 26-13: Live updates, score of Louisiana high school football Division II non-select state championship 

And the Tiger players and coach Jimmy Zachery pointed to the regular-season loss to Cecilia as both a turning point and the launching pad to what was to come for Opelousas.

“I think we peaked at the right time,” Zachery said. “I think that Cecilia loss really helped us do that, and we really kind of found our way because we wasn’t really a team, we wasn’t playing as a team, we weren’t being our brother’s keeper.

“But in the trenches, we were really hard (towards) them. … We probably put them through the hardest practices, harder than anybody that’s practiced with us.”

Louisiana's Prep Classic high school football state championships: Game previews, kickoff times 

Opelousas began the postseason seeded No. 12. But the Tigers defeated four top five seeds to claim the unlikely state championship.

Along the way, they beat No. 4 seed Lutcher - last season’s Division II non-select state champion - in the quarterfinals and the top seed, North DeSoto, last week in the semifinals. Then, Opelousas beat the No. 2 seed Cecilia, to earn the prize.

“The last time we played them, our team really wasn’t together,” Opelousas sophomore linebacker/defensive end Jamorian Daughtery said. “But as we kept winning during the season, we really got close together and we learned how to talk to each other more on the field and stuff.

“The key to what we were able to do these last few weeks was being disciplined and being coachable.”

Opelousas players Zackeus Malveaux (left) and Jamorian Daughtery listen to a question at a press conference following the Tigers' Division II non-select championship win Dec. 8, 2023

A big reason for the Tigers’ performance Friday was the play of their defense, which held a high-powered Cecilia offense to 67 yards rushing and 221 total yards. Opelousas also kept the Bulldogs off the scoreboard until four minutes into the second half.

No doubt, Zachery and his staff were focused on stopping Cecilia quarterback Diesel Solari and tailback Corey Broussard, both of whom rushed for more than 1,000 yards. But Opelousas held the duo to a combined 41 yards rushing, while getting three sacks and an interception against Solari, who was 12-of-22 passing for 136 yards.

“We knew coming in they were going to be coached up; they do a lot of little stuff, like double passes and stuff,” Zachery said. “We just didn’t want to give up a big play because they thrive off momentum, so we wanted to make them earn everything and work for everything, and it kind of worked out for us and most importantly, tackle in space because they’re real good in open space, they’re explosive.

“So we wanted to make sure we made the sure tackle and then we’ll put everything in front of us and it worked out in our favor. … For the most part, the box played well, we stopped the run for the most part and we didn’t let them get going, as (Solari) goes, their offense goes, so we pretty much took care of Diesel.”

Opelousas’ ground game, on the other hand, was humming. The Tigers ended up rushing for 291 yards, with juniors D’Shaun Ford and Zackeus Malveaux combining for 260 of those yards.

Ford, a tailback, was the top rusher with 146 yards on 26 carries and two second-half TDs, including a game-clinching 14-yard run with 1:33 left, completing a seven-play, 74-yard drive after Cecilia cut the Tiger lead to five, 18-13.

His first TD, from a yard out late in the third quarter, came after Opelousas drove 71 yards in eight plays on the drive after Cecilia got its first TD.

Opelousas coach Jimmy Zachery (left) and tailback D'Shaun Ford after the Tigers' Division II non-select state title win Dec. 8, 2023

Then Malveaux - the Tigers’ quarterback - added 114 yards on 10 carries while completing 4-of-7 passes for 90 yards as he was named the Most Outstanding Player for Opelousas.

He also accounted for the Tigers’ two first-half touchdowns, both keepers. Malveaux darted 32 yards into the end zone five minutes into the game, and then with 40 seconds left until halftime, broke loose for a 66-yard TD that extended the Opelousas lead to 12-0.

“Those (TDs) were big because it gave us beaucoup energy, a lot of energy and stuff,” Malveaux said. “We also eliminated turnovers (in fact, Opelousas didn’t commit a single turnover) and played more physical (than the last time the Tigers played Cecilia).”

Opelousas quarterback Zackeus Malveaux 

Being physical, especially up front, was indeed pleasing to Zachery, a former lineman himself.

“Man, I can’t say enough about those guys because every time I do interviews, it’s all about the trenches to me because I’m a trench baby; I’m a lineman by trade,” Zachery said.

“So for those guys; (offensive tackle) Keegan Moten, he’s a senior, (guard) Joseph Milton, he’s a senior; (guard) Jakyrie Lambert, he’s a senior; (center) Chris Rideau, he’s a junior so he’ll be back; and (junior tackle) Bryson Lewis and (senior tight ends) Trace Denofrio and C.J. Bernard, those guys, in and out, they know what we do, they believe in what we do.”

And in the end, it resulted in Opelousas putting the finishing touches on its remarkable run with the state title trophy in hand. The Tigers, themselves, weren’t believing what they had just done minutes after finally getting the trophy.

“No, it hasn’t hit me yet,” Malveaux said. “Probably when I get back to the locker room with my boys, that’s probably when it’s really going to hit me.”

Opelousas photo by Ian Auzenne 

-- Buck Ringgold | buck@scorebooklive.com | @SBLiveLA