Trojans rally to beat district rival Pineville in overtime
From the Town Talk
By: Brett McCormick
PINEVILLE — DJ Chark was mostly quiet on Friday night. That is, until his team needed him the most.
Chark, Alexandria Senior High’s senior receiver, caught a 16-yard touchdown pass with 46 seconds left to tie the game against rival Pineville and send it into overtime, where after a defensive stop of the Rebels,
| Pineville's Christian Aldecoa (back) wraps up Alexandria Senior High's Kyle Smith on Friday. The Trojans rallied to beat Pineville, 30-24, in overtime. Photo by: Melinda Martinez/ The Town Talk |
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Chark scored on a 13-yard touchdown run to lift the Trojans (2-5, 1-1 District 2-5A) to a 30-24 win.
Chark, an LSU commitment, lined up as a Wildcat quarterback on ASH’s first play in overtime, gaining one yard.
Two plays later, he took the snap again, started to his right and found a crease up the middle, where he burst into the end zone, sending the Trojans and their fans into a frenzied celebration.
“DJ’s a big-time player,” ASH coach Brad Chesshir said. “The kid can make plays, so when we have the opportunity to put the ball in our playmaker’s hands, we do it and let him work.”
Chark finished the game with 71 yards on seven receptions and 12 yards rushing on three carries.
The Trojans almost never made it to overtime. After diving into the end zone on his 16-yard TD reception, Chark tossed the ball high into the air, drawing an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that pushed ASH’s PAT attempt back 15 yards.
It was a scene eerily familiar to Pineville, which saw the same thing happen in a 22-21 loss to Ouachita last week. The Rebels missed their PAT, but ASH’s Austin Bell squeaked the ball over the crossbar to tie the game at 24.
Christian Aldecoa returned the ensuing kickoff 47 yards to the ASH 28-yard line, seemingly setting up the Rebels (5-2, 0-2) in a position to win the game. But Pineville was called for a chop block that negated Aldecoa’s big return.
The Rebels picked up three first downs but ran out of time, then were stopped on their overtime possession when ASH blocked K.C. Clear’s 25-yard field goal attempt.
ASH’s defense limited the Rebels to 128 rushing yards on 26 carries in the game and came up with key stops in the second half as the Trojans rallied from behind. Pineville coach Robbie Martin said the loss was a “tough one to swallow,” but he credited the Trojans’ defensive front seven for controlling the line of scrimmage.
“They were better up front tonight,” Martin said. “I thought it was the first time all year that our offensive line didn’t dominate our opponent.”
Chesshir said there wasn’t a single individual standout on his defense, saying the Trojans “played as a team the whole night.”
“We competed and gave great effort and never quit and never gave up,” he said.
The Trojans struck first for a 7-0 lead in the first quarter, taking the game’s opening drive 79 yards, ending on a 31-yard touchdown pass from Matthew Beck to Dae’Von Washington.
Pineville, however, scored 21 straight. Ronnie Campbell had a 1-yard TD run in the first quarter, and Keandre Rockett threw two second-quarter touchdown passes — a 23-yarder to Trey Ducote and a 37-yarder to tight end Mark Robinson.
The Rebels’ loss overshadowed a standout performance from Rockett, who threw for 135 yards and two touchdowns while also rushing for a game-high 56 yards.
“I thought he had a great performance and had we been able to give him a little more time it could have been a better performance,” Martin said. “I thought he threw the ball well and scrambled and made plays with his feet.”
ASH’s Kyle Smith scored on a 1-yard touchdown run in the third quarter that was set up by a 56-yard pass to Washington from Beck, who threw for 255 yards in the game.
The two teams traded short field goals in the fourth quarter until Beck guided the Trojans 70 yards for the game-tying score. The two big plays were a 28-yard pass to Chark that turned into a 43-yard gain after a facemask penalty and the 16-yard TD to Chark.
“We beat a great football team tonight,” Chesshir said. “We’re gonna take that momentum and take it into next week and get prepared to play Natchitoches Central.”
FROM THE TOWN TALK
By: Bob Tompkins
Alexandria Senior High spotted West Monroe 20-0 and 41-13 leads but rallied to within 41-33 before Devonte Williams iced a 48-33 victory for the visiting Rebels Friday night.
Williams carried just four times but scored three touchdowns on runs of 34, 54 and 40 yards. The last TD came on a fourth-and-inches run, shortly after he re-entered the game on the Rebels’ last offensive series.
West Monroe advanced to 4-2 in the opening District 2-5A game for both teams while ASH fell to 1-5.
ASH, which next plays at Pineville Friday night, could take solace in its strong finish and prolific passing game, especially in the second half. Quarterback Matthew Beck completed 29 of 43 passes for 315 yards and four touchdowns. DJ Chark, the LSU commitment, had 13 catches for 120 yards and two touchdowns.
Jon Randall Belton, West Monroe’s sophomore quarterback, carried six times for 144 yards, including a 78-yard touchdown gallop. He completed 4 of 15 passes for 72 yards and one touchdown.
Cam Robinson, the 6-foot-6, 337-pound offensive lineman for West Monroe who has committed to play for Alabama, did not play because of back problems.
The game was delayed for several minutes in the final quarter when junior linebacker Dustin Mitchell of West Monroe was injured after a collision with a crew of Trojans while trying to recover an onside kick. He was eventually taken away on a stretcher.
West Monroe scored its first three touchdowns in just six offensive plays. Williams scored from 34 yards on the second play from scrimmage. Belton hit Taylor Hayes on a 26-yard TD strike three plays into the Rebels’ next series, and Belton ripped off a 78-yard scoring run on the first play of West Monroe’s third series.
ASH scored on a 2-yard run by Beck after a 38-yard flea flicker pass from Darius Sewell to Chark. But Zach Ainsworth of West Monroe answered immediately with a 75-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.
The Trojans put together a 14-play, 65-yard scoring drive near the end of the first half. Beck capped the drive with a 5-yard pass to Chark.
After Parker Davidson capped a 14-play, 94-yard drive for West Monroe with a 4-yard run, ASH scored 20 unanswered points while the Rebels substituted freeely on offense but not as much on defense.
Kyle Smith led ASH’s running game with 121 yards on 21 carries, including a 2-yard TD run in the fourth period.
After ASH recovered the onside kick that resulted in Mitchell’s injury, the Trojans marched 11 plays to their final score on a 4-yard pass from Beck to Mack Johnson. That pulled ASH within 41-33 and, with a stop, could’ve given the Trojans a chance to tie with a touchdown and 2-point conversion.
It looked for a while as if the Trojans would get that chance, but on fourth and inches for West Monroe, Williams broke free for the icing touchdown with 40 seconds left.
FROM THE TOWN TALK
By: David Dinsmore
Two former Alexandria Senior High football stars might be playing in different divisions and different states, but both helped lead their college teams to big victories during 2012-2013.
Receiver Dezmond Beverly at University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff tied for the most receiving touchdowns on the team and second in total receptions with 46. This performance brought the Golden Lions to a 10-2 record and a Southwestern Athletic Conference championship title.
Kicker Jake Vercher with Minnesota’s Winona State University Warriors completed 13 field goals on 17 attempts and posted the team’s second highest offensive tally of the season with 94 points.
Yet the two former teammates took very different paths to reach the point where they could put up those numbers.
'Never satisfied'
Beverly donned the Golden Lions uniform right out of high school, playing seven games for Arkansas-Pine Bluff his freshman year. He recorded one touchdown with 11 receptions for the year to finish with 160 total yards.
His sophomore year added two more games to season but tripled his receptions with 34 for 294 yards. Beverly also posted two touchdowns during the 2011 season.
Last year, however, Beverly pulled down 46 receptions for six touchdowns and 434 yards, a performance he said had as much to do with awareness as it did with ability.
“I felt I had an advantage over a lot of people because I had been playing longer,” he said. “It was about combining skill with experience.”
He said studying film on himself helped him see where he needed improvement and the kinds of opportunities he had been missing.
“It was about breaking down the defense and finding the soft spots,” Beverly said. “I used to miss a lot of scoring chances because I didn’t make a move when I should.”
This year felt different for Beverly when he scored his touchdown, he said. His confidence soared, and he put into practice what he had learned in the previous off-season.
And this summer he is back at it again.
“I’m never satisfied,” he said. “I had a great year, but it could have been better.”
Beverly reports to the field house every morning to focuses on one area he wants to strengthen during his time in the weight room using routines he developed alongside a trainer earlier this year back home in Central Louisiana.
One key area of focus for Beverly is his upper body strength, he said. The memories of missed blocks on linebackers and safeties last season have stuck with him, and he wants to be able to put up the wall when needed in 2013.
Beverly has also been pushing hard to improve his foot speed to sharpen his routes and create separation from his coverage.
After his workout, Beverly devotes much of his time to breaking down film from last year. He looks at the skills of the opponents he’ll face, at his own performances from last year and for chances where he’ll be able to take advantage of the holes he sees.
But he never forgets the basics.
“I need to make sure I’m catching 25 to 30 footballs every day,” Beverly said. “I got to be fast, but I have to keep that hand-eye coordination up too.”
Beverly has set individual goals of 80 receptions, 10-12 touchdowns and 1,000 yards, but more than that he would like to see the Golden Lions repeat their SWAC title.
“This team I’m on now is like a brotherhood,” he said. “Everybody comes from the same background. The team you win a championship with is the you’re going to grow with.”
Home and away
Vercher serves as an example of how successful recruiting methods and tactics have changed in the last decade.
After filling a spot on Louisiana Tech’s roster his freshman year Vercher said he learned from his coach that would be no such spot next year. Rather than stick around for an opportunity that might not come, Vercher enlisted the help of some friends to put together a recruitment video and posted it on YouTube.
Meanwhile at Winona State the special teams unit found itself in a pinch when the starting kicker announced he would be leaving at the end of the 2011-2012 season, according to local Winona newspaper reports. This sent coaches and scouts scouring all recruitment resources available to them and came across Vercher’s video.
The Warriors flew Vercher up for some meetings with the staff and players and tours of the facilities, and he could sense it was going to be a good fit.
“I felt very welcome,” Vercher said.
He accepted the scholarship offered and the opportunity to play for Winona State, a Division II school in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, he said. He reported to camp and kicked his way into the starting spot for the Warriors.
Vercher then went to work.
Though he has not had as much experience with longer shots, Vercher went 2-for-4 beyond the 40-yard line during the season.
“I was surprised I did as well as I did last year,” Vercher said. “(The coaches and staff) were pretty happy to have a special teams unit they could count on.”
The 10-2 performance of Vercher and the Warriors brought them to the Mineral Water Bowl in Excelsior Springs, Mo., where they won a decisive 41-17 decision against Lindenwood University.
Vercher entered the season with the goal of completing at least 70 percent of his attempts and ended his year with about a 76 percent average, he said. Yet he still saw a lot of areas where he needed some more development for his junior year.
Since recovering from meniscus surgery a few months ago – he estimates he tore it about halfway through the season but was able to play through until the end – Vercher has spend much of the off-season training with more weights and trying to improve his speed, he said.
He will be attending camp in Pensacola, Fla., with the aim of improving his kickoffs, an area where he did not perform to his expectations last year, Vercher said. One of the biggest lessons he learned last year playing in Minnesota, however, had less to do strength and more to do with stamina.
Vercher noticed the toll taken by the cold weather that required him to expend energy making sure he stayed warm enough to work when it came time, he said. As a result he has focused on improving his conditioning to be able to keep up his energy level even as the temperature plummets.
“It was a lot worse than I thought,” Vercher said of the weather, noting that the most trouble came during late practices and not as much during games.
Still, Vercher is looking forward to next season and to the improvements he hopes to make on top of a short but successful tenure at Winona State University.
“There’s always room for improvement,” Vercher said. “But I’m definitely more confident.”
