Tiger Talk 111716

Neville will play Assumption on Friday

McCarty wants more from Tigers

Cole leads Neville into second round

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Neville's Josh Diarse runs the ball during the Tigers' first postseason game against Baton Rouge's Woodlawn Panthers on Friday.

McCarty wants more from Neville in Round 2 Neville schedule

ADAM HUNSUCKER AHUNSUCKER@THENEWSSTAR.COM

You’ve heard of the Neville Tigers by now, right?

The team coming off back-to-back Class 4A state championships? The one riding the longest active winning streak in the state of Louisiana at 36 games? The one that sits as the top overall seed in 4A and opened its lasted title defense with a 37-point win?

That’s them.

But there’s something else you should know about this team. Nothing in that long list of accomplishments matters much to their coach at the moment.

It wouldn’t be playoff time on Forsythe Avenue if Mickey McCarty was satisfied with Neville’s current body of work. Stop and consider the phrase “be proud, but never satisfied” is one of the program’s pillars and McCarty’s thoughts on the Tigers (10-0) at the moment are even clearer.

“A coach is always looking to be his

Sept. 2 at Ruston W 30-14 Sept. 9 Evangel W 35-16 (Shreveport) Sept. 16 Ouachita W 26-14 Sept. 23 at Carroll W 40-14 Sept. 30 OPEN Oct. 7 Bastrop W 48-18 Oct. 14 Grant W 56-14 Oct. 21 at Tioga W 41-3 Oct. 28 West Ouachita W 45-7 Nov. 4 Franklin Parish W 58-14 Nov. 11 Woodlawn-BR W 44-7* Nov. 18 Assumption* * Playoffs

sharpest this time of the year and I didn’t think we were our sharpest (against Woodlawn-Baton Rouge last week) but we certainly got the job done,” McCarty said.

“It felt like we hit a coast mode in the third quarter after being pretty sharp to start the game, but again the playoffs are about finding a way to win and we did that.”

NEVILLE

TIGERS

Neville’s next scheduled sharpening session is scheduled for Friday night when No. 16 seed Assumption comes to Bill Ruple Stadium.

The Mustangs (7-4, 5-0) closed the regular season with five-straight wins after starting 1-4 and laid claim to the District 7-4A title. Behind the threeheaded running attack of quarterback Tijah Parker and running backs Ernest Adams and Melvin Young, Assumption went through No. 17 Carver Collegiate Academy for 285 yards rushing in a 21-0 win.

“They’re a heavy run team but we have to make sure we stay alert and don’t fall asleep on the back end because they’ll sneak a pass in,” senior cornerback JaCorion Andrews said.

“They’re a physical team but it’s nothing we haven’t seen so far this year.”

Assumption turned the ball three times in the first half against Carver, but the offense held the ball for 18 minutes in the second half while the defense pitched its second shutout in two weeks.

Jaiden Cole left the Woodlawn game with 228 total yards (115 rushing, 113 passing) and four total touchdowns, including a 75-yard bomb to Bobby Newton. “(Assumption) is going to make us use other players to beat them like some other teams have tried to do,” said Newton, Neville’s leading receiver with 28 catches for 537 yards and six touchdowns.

“Most teams like to load up the box on Cole so it’s up to us to win our one-on-one matchups when we get the chance.”

The winner of this matchup will meet whoever emerges unscathed between No. 8 Loranger and No. 8 Carencro on Thanskgiving week.

“We’ve had the fortunate experience the last few years to practice on ‘Turkey Week,’ but we’ll have to handle our business on Friday to get to that point,” McCarty said.

“If we can do that, we’ll talk about ‘gobble, gobble’ next week.”

Follow Adam on Twitter @adam_hunsucker

ABOUT THE SECTION EXECUTIVE EDITOR Jeff Gauger

SPORTS PLANNING EDITOR Scott Ferrell

PHOTO EDITOR Hannah Baldwin

NEWS DIRECTOR Mark Henderson

SPORTS STAFF Cody Futrell Adam Hunsucker Sean Isabella

PHOTOGRAPHERS Tom Morris Emerald McIntyre Michelle Tripp

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Neville rolls to victory ADAM HUNSUCKER AHUNSUCKER@THENEWSSTAR.COM

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Neville backup quarterback Payton Batteford tackles Woodlawn-BR safety Xavier Lodge during the first game of playoffs on Friday.

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The first round of the Class 4A playoffs at Bill Ruple Stadium ended the same way it has for the past eight years — with a victory for Neville.

The top-seeded Tigers (10-0) jumped on Woodlawn-Baton Rouge early and often in a decisive 44-7 win on Friday night.

Jaiden Cole started the scoring frenzy on Neville’s first drive of the night by running 41 yards through the Woodlawn defense on the first of his three firsthalf rushing touchdowns.

He visited the end zone again on the ensuing possession, scooting in from 37 yards.

Cole was done before halftime after compiling four total touchdowns, including a 76-yard pass to Bobby Newton.

Turning point: Woodlawn was able to drive to the 8-yard line, but were turned away by the Tiger defense on fourth down.

The ensuing Neville possession brought with it the long-range hookup from Cole to Newton.

Cole’s third rushing touchdown — a 7-yarder — gave Neville a 30-0 lead with 6:47 to play in the second quarter.

Aided by several penalties, the Panthers (3-8) drove deep into Neville territory inside the 15-yard line.

Defensive lineman Tavion Byrd pressured quarterback Devin Whiting into an intentional grounding penalty that killed Woodlawn’s chances to score before the half.

Hershel Carter batted down Whiting’s throw to the end zone to end the half and send Neville to the locker room with a 30-0 lead.

It was over when: Josh Diarse fielded a squib kick at the 28-yard line and returned it 72 yards to give Neville a 37-0 lead just 12 seconds into the third quarter.

DeMaine Riley's 14yard run late in the third quarter gave Neville its final score of the night.

No room to run: Running back Javin Myers set Woodlawn’s all-time rushing record last week, but found little success against the Tigers. The ULM commit’s 4-yard touchdown run cost Neville its first shutout of the season.

Almost a “Fat Guy TD”: Neville coach Mickey McCarty and offensive coordinator Brett Lemoine went deep into the playbook and called defensive lineman Phidarian Mathis’ number inside the Woodlawn 10-yard line.

The four-star prospect was denied a moment reminiscent of current LSU Tiger Rashard Lawrence against Ouachita last season when the snap sailed over the head of Mathis.

New lids: Neville celebrated Veteran’s Day by wearing its alternate helmets with decals for each branch of the military against Woodlawn.

Next week: Neville hosts No. 16 Assumption next Friday night at Bill Ruple Stadium. Assumption beat No. 17 Carver Collegiate Academy to advance to the second round of the Class 4A playoffs.

Follow Adam on Twitter @adam_hunsucker

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Cole cruises, leads Neville into 2nd round ADAM HUNSUCKER AHUNSUCKER@THENEWSSTAR.COM

No one would blame Jaiden Cole for getting bored on Friday nights.

Neville’s games tend to unfold in ways that leave Cole on the sideline by halftime. It’s not a bad problem to have — most high school coaches in the state would gladly shoulder it — but it does force Cole to get creative with how he occupies his time.

“I just cheer my teammates on or just help on the sideline as much as I can,” said Cole, who now sports a 24-0 record as a starting quarterback.

“When the defense makes a play or the backups score on offense, I want those guys to know we’re all in this together.”

The opening round of the Class 4A playoffs at Bill Ruple Stadium followed the same script the top-seeded Tigers (10-0) have used for most of the season in a 44-7 win over no. 32 Woodlawn-Baton Rouge.

Cole’s night was done at the half after running through the Panthers (3-8) for three-first half touchdowns and a 75-yarder through the air to wide receiver Bobby Newton.

The dual-threat senior added 228 total yards (115 rushing, 113 passing) to a single-season aggregate that sits at well over 2,000 yards.

Neville narrowly missed its first shutout of the year when Woodlawn running back and ULM commitment Javin Myers crossed the goal line with

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Neville quarterback Jaiden Cole (7) went to the sideline just before the half after scoring four total touchdowns against Woodlawn; three on the ground and a 75-yard bomb to Bobby Newton.

just over 10 minutes to play.

“I thought we reacted well tonight. You could tell we were ready to play based on our execution in the first half,” Neville coach Mickey McCarty said. “I would have liked to finish a little better but I thought the kids played hard, and to give up one score on the night, I was proud of them.”

Woodlawn crossed midfield just twice in the

first half. One of those instances was the result of several Neville penalties that moved the Panthers inside the 15-yard line.

The favorable field position didn’t last long after defensive tackle Tavion Byrd pressured Woodlawn quarterback Devin Whiting into an intentional grounding penalty.

Safety Hershel Carter batted down Whiting’s heave to the end zone on fourth down to end the

second quarter.

The only other negative for Neville outside of that flag-filled drive was a botched snap inside the Woodlawn 10-yard line that sailed over the head of defensive end Phidarian Mathis.

Mathis was denied his moment of glory playing the role of short-yardage quarterback in Neville’s “Tiger train” package, but he was able to recover the fumble.

“It went over my head a little bit but we’re going to get it right next,” said Mathis.

“I want to give a big shout out to the second group (on defense) for holding it down for us.

They played their hearts out and helped us get this win.”

Mathis is the latest Neville defensive lineman to take snaps behind center on the goal line, following in the lineage of cur-

rent LSU defensive tackle Rashard Lawrence.

“We had a chance. It’s something we’ve been working on to put the big man at quarterback,” McCarty said.

“We didn’t execute it very well, but at the end of the night, playoff football is about finding a way to advance and now we have a chance to do it again next week.”

Follow Adam on Twitter @adam_hunsucker

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