Mr. Pickem's Football Top 10

Week 1 Sept. 3, 2021

Game of the Week

#1 Neville Tigers VS #3 Ruston Bearcats

One of the state's oldest rivalries continues when the Ruston Bearcats travel east to visit The Neville Tigers for the 96th time this Friday Night September 3, 2021. Last year's game may have been the best one ever when the Bearcats Overcame A 21 point deficit to defeat the Tigers 38-35 In triple overtime. Although A 27-Yard Field Goal Was Considered The Game-Winner, It Was A Miraculous 45-Yard "Hail Mary" Heave On 4th Down That Kept The Bearcats hopes alive. Qb Jaden Osborne delivered that amazing pass and hadn't looked back since. He is now the front-runner for the Qb spot and Jarod Baugh will use him to do a whole lot more heading into his junior season. Junior Tailback Dyson Fields will fill the void left by all-world running back, Keytravion Hargrove, and after one glance at him in the Bayou Jamb he looked more than ready to wear those shoes. Some teams would spiral out of control after such a disheartening loss, but not Neville. After Leaving Eddie Robinson Stadium That Night, The Tigers Would Go On To Win 6 Of Their Next 8 Games enroute To Another Semi-Final Bid. A.J. Allen Will Be Called Upon To Lead The Tigers Offense After 2 Years Of Splitting Carries. Qb Brett Batteford In His Second Year As Starter Played Lights Out Vs Ruston A Year Ago But Has The Task Of Breaking In An Entirley New Wide Receiver Corp. Although Giving Up 38 Points Seems Like Alot, The Tigers Defense Was Actually Astounding Last Year. Cb Lorenzell Dubose Chipped In On The Scoring With A 99-Yard "Pick-6" To Set The Tone, But Several Unfortunate Turnovers By The Tigers Offense Gave Ruston Short Fields Giving Them Enough Cushion To Threaten The Tigers. These teams have met every year since 1940 which also includes 2 title game matchups. In 1982 Ruston defeated Neville 8-0 to win the 4A State Title, But Neville Returned The Favor 2 Years Later Winning The Title 26-20. Since Hiring Jarod Baugh Heading Into The 2017 Season The Bearcats Have Defeated Neville 3 Out Of 4 Times Which Includes A 41-7 Drubbing In 2018. Prior To That The Tigers Owned A 6 Game Winning Streak That Dated All The Way Back To 2010. In Recent Memory, Some Folks Would Tend To Think That West Monroe Or Ouachita Are These School's Rivals And Although That Has Some Truth To It, The True Blue-Bloods Know That This "Cat Fight" Is The Truest Rivalry Of Them All. I'm Expecting Much Of The Same On Friday Night. In A Contrast To Last Season's Game, I Think This One Will Be Short And Quick With Not Much Scoring. Neville Returns The Favor And Scores On A 4th Quarter Fumble Return To Seal The Victory In Front Of A Packed Home Crowd.

Neville 20 Ruston 14

Player Of The Game: A.J. Allen – 22 Carries, 225 Yards, 2 Tds

5A

#2 West Monroe 35 Sam Houston 13

#4 Ouachita 28 Airline 20

West Ouachita 41 Delhi Charter 6

4A

#10 Wossman 20 Bastrop 16

3A

Many 36 #5 Union Parish 27

#8 Sterlington 34 Loyola Prep 8

Carroll 20 Green Oaks 19

Peabody 14 Caldwell 12

#7 General Trass 18 Richwood 12

2A

#6 Oak Grove 28 Mangham 20

Alexandria 53 Ferriday 12

Delhi 13 Madison 8

Lakeview 36 Tensas 6

1A

#9 OCS 21 Southwood 13

St Fred 21 Menard 20

Liberty 21 Cedar Creek 20

River Oaks 16 Glenbrook 14

Mr. Pickem's Football Top 10

Week 1

1. Neville

2. West Monroe

3. Ruston

4. Ouachita

5. Union Parish

6. Oak Grove

7. General Trass

8. Sterlington

9. OCS

10. Wossman