Here's who were the winners and losers in Jamboree Week
The final dress rehearsal took place Thursday and Friday across the area as all 25 Central Louisiana teams played in jamborees this week. The three biggest — the Menard, Cenla and Tioga jamborees — featured 10 area squads.
Menard Jamboree
The Eagles shut out Bolton, 13-0, Thursday at the Eagles' Nest.
Standouts: Junior defensive back Will Thomson was all around the ball Thursday and sealed the victory with a 90-yard interception return for a touchdown. Thomson nearly came away with two more interceptions, including one on the play before the score, and showed why the Eagles are skilled in flying around the ball. Adding fellow defensive back Dru Scully once he returns from injury will add to the team's awareness.
What worked: The Eagles stayed true to their identity Thursday by running the ball and playing hard-nosed defense. Javarus Fisher scored from two yards out in the first half, as he, Thomson and Brayden Byers found running lanes against the Bolton defense. It is no secret that Menard will run behind lineman Cody Crooks-Saucier as he will create holes for the run game.
Question marks: At times, the Eagles' new offense was stagnant, but that is to be expected with a new scheme. Junior quarterback Chris Canerday did not make any mistakes as Menard's new signal caller and is a good fit for its offense. He will grow as he continues to get game reps.
Standouts: Jadarius Welch showed why he is a big part of the Bear offense as he tallied more than 80 yards on the ground Thursday, including a 40-yard scamper to put it in the red zone. Welch rushed for more than 1,000 yards last season
What worked: Defensively, the Bears were solid and limited the Menard offense to one touchdown, while the run game was also effective. Bolton linebacker Zurilius Swaizer made 164 tackles last season and continued to make a lot of stops
Question marks: Turnovers stopped Bolton's drives cold, as it gave up the ball three times. The mostly costly of the turnovers was when Bears were knocking on the door towards tying the game in the second half, but Welch threw an interception to Will Thomson that was returned for a touchdown and ended the threat. If Bolton can shore up that department, Welch and running back Eric Whelan will be hard to stop.
Cenla Jamboree
Montgomery held on to defeat Pineville's junior varsity, 20-12; Buckeye rolled over Northwood, 34-6; Alexandria Senior High won over Caldwell Parish, 14-12, in a hard-fought game; Peabody defeated Pineville's varsity, 20-9.
Standouts: Junior running back Mikel Auge scored twice and had more than 100 yards as the Tigers held off Pineville's junior varsity in the early game of the Cenla Jamboree. As one of the top running backs in Central Louisiana, Auge showed his playmaking abilities with a 79-yard touchdown run in the second half to give Montgomery a 20-0 lead that it did not look back from.
What worked: Montgomery's defense created turnovers, as sophomore quarterback/defensive back J.T. Turner returned an interception for 54 yards near the end of the first half. The Tigers did not give up on plays either as Zac Clements forced a fumble in the red zone after a long gain by the Pineville JV. Those effort plays can positively swing a game.
Question marks: The Tigers did not have many Friday, but depth could be a minor issue. Pineville's JV caught up when the game was out of reach after being down 20-0. Other than that, Montgomery is an explosive team that will challenge Logansport for the District 3-1A title, especially when Turner gets settled in at quarterback.
Standouts: Buckeye had five players score a touchdown each Friday, so I will give love to the offensive line here for making that happen. The Panthers nearly averaged 10 yards per play and the line imposed its will against the Gators' defensive line. Led by champion powerlifter Andrew Dauzat, Buckeye will not get pushed around often in the trenches.
What worked: The Panthers ran over and through the Northwood defense to the tune of 265 yards on 27 carries and scored five touchdowns. Senior quarterback Robert Fowler (six carries, 67 yards and a touchdown) can run the triple option offense with the best of them, but junior Dawson Williams was just as successful with 76 yards and a touchdown.
Question marks: Buckeye hummed along with its offense Friday and controlled the game from the opening kick. It may run into trouble against more athletic teams, but the Panthers are healthy and ready to roll.
Standouts: On a day where nothing seemed to work for the Gators, junior receiver Austyn Bazar had their lone highlight after catching a 66-yard pass for a touchdown in the second half.
What worked: Outside of Caiden Stokes's touchdown pass to Bazar, nothing much worked. Stokes struggled on 4-for-17 aim but threw for 98 yards. Jermiah Price was featured in the run game and rushed four times for 19 yards. At 6-foot-3 and 295 pounds, he will be tough to tackle.
Question marks: Gators coach Justin Webb is trying to change the program in his second year at the helm, but it will be a gradual process. Northwood has just three seniors this year, but the optimism is that it has 25-30 players on the roster. If everyone can continue to grow, there will be brighter days ahead.
Standouts: Trojans coach Thomas Bachman mentioned that defensive back Jadarius "Bud" Clark will see some time on offense and that he did after busting loose on a long touchdown reception from Judd Barton.
What worked: Despite Caldwell Parish's toughness to hang around in the game, ASH's numbers won out in the end.
Question marks: Bachman was not happy with some of the mistakes that his team made Friday, but we can chalk that up to nerves. Caldwell Parish is a tough, physical team that can capitalize on those mistakes and it showed that it could hang around with a solid Class 5A program.
Standouts: Arthur Lavalais rushed for 106 yards on seven carries, while Tyriq Miles found Thomas Miles on an 82-yard pass in their only connection of the game.
What worked: Explosive plays by Lavalais and Thomas Miles set the tone early as both players scored on plays of at least 70 yards. Lavalais rumbled his way to a 70-yard rushing touchdown with 5:36 to go in the first half and Miles' 82-yard reception from his brother, Tyriq, gave Peabody a 13-0 lead before first half ended.
Question marks: Peabody did not have many as it controlled the game from Lavalais' run. Even when the Rebels tried to mount a comeback, the Warhorses answered with a time-consuming drive to pick up the win.
Standouts: It will be a tough one for Pineville as third-string quarterback Tylen Burch will be the team's starter with Nate Dardar and Darnell Bayonne nursing injuries. However, Burch was not afraid of the moment Friday as he completed 9 of 15 passes for 84 yards and a touchdown.
What worked: Burch will have some talented receivers at his disposal as Caleb Williams and Troy Hall each caught three passes Friday. Williams scored on a 15-yard reception to pull the Rebels close early in the second half.
Question marks: The Rebel defense was gashed by Peabody's offense to the tune of 267 yards and could be a huge problem this season. The Warhorses scored on explosive plays in first half, while they used a ball-control offense in the second half to secure the win.
Tioga Jamboree
Tioga defeated Grant 29-8 to win the Battle of the Border Trophy.
Standouts: Sophomore receiver Kobe Tilmon had a pair of long touchdowns Friday as he scored on a 25-yard pass and a 90-yard kickoff return to spark the Indians.
What worked: The aerial attack with junior quarterback Blake McGehee continued to flourish as the signal caller completed 6 of 8 passes for 133 yards and two touchdowns. The defense also performed well as Sherman Hawkins scored on a 90-yard interception return.
Question marks: Aside from nine penalties for 95 yards, there was not many for the Tribe Friday. Tioga will be one of the favorites for the District 3-4A title this season.
Standouts: Jacob Mercer scored the lone touchdown for the Cougars last season as he went 5-for-14 with 69 yards and rushed for a two-yard touchdown.
What worked: Mercer and Donavan Gray will highlight the Grant offense as it leaned on the duo Friday. Gray rushed for a team-high 70 yards on 10 carries.
Question marks: Grant is a young team and will take its share of lumps this season while it attempts to snap an 18-game losing streak. It does not get easier next week as the Cougars face Montgomery for the Parish Pride Trophy.