Leesville Road puts together complete performance, spoils Barbour’s debut
Opening the football season against Jordan for the fourth consecutive year, Leesville Road used its potent spread offense and a strong performance from its defense to defeat new coach Anthony Barbour’s Falcons 38-0 Friday.
Led by running back Cole Coleman’s big night, Leesville Road was able to get the ball in the hands of its playmakers with ease, recording 329 yards of total offense.
Coleman rushed for 116 yards and two touchdowns on only eight carries, while also recording a 61-yard touchdown catch as he proved to be a versatile weapon for the Pride.
“My offensive line did the best job I could ask for, really,” Coleman said. “They set up the blocks for me and all I had to do was run. Coach gave me the looks and all I had to do was finish the plays.”
Unphased by Jordan’s Wing-T offense, Leesville Road limited the Falcons to 77 rushing yards on 36 attempts and constantly applied pressure to opposing quarterback Ben Miller.
“Overall, I thought it was a great first opening game,” Leesville Road coach Brad Wilson said. “In that opening game, there are going to be things that go wrong and I think we adjusted to the mistakes we made as the game went on.”
TURNING POINT
Already ahead by eight late in the second quarter, Leesville Road forced a second Jordan safety as the Falcons snapped the ball well over punter Matthew Serrano’s head. A few plays later, the Pride tacked on to their lead and took full control of the game when quarterback Evan Provost threw his second touchdown pass.
THREE TO KNOW
Cooper Eason-Riddle, Leesville Road: The senior wideout proved to be Provost’s favorite target because of his ability to consistently get open as he recorded a team-high five receptions, one of which was a 16-yard touchdown.
Cole Coleman, Leesville Road: It wasn’t just the fact that Coleman scored multiple touchdowns, it was the fashion in which he did so. On his 61-yard touchdown catch, Coleman ran a short route out of the backfield and did the rest of the work himself, breaking multiple tackles to reach the end zone.
Kevin Peterson, Jordan: Playing both ways and returning kicks, Peterson was all over the place for the Falcons and his big moment came in the third quarter when he picked off Provost.
BY THE NUMBERS
3: Turnovers forced by Jordan.
4: Wins in a row for the Pride against Jordan.
6: Consecutive losses in season-openers for the Falcons.
THEY SAID IT
“I think kids came out in the second half. They could have easily quit. It could have been 56-0 and they didn’t quit. They came out and played. Even though Leesville did sub some, we still kept fighting.” - Jordan coach Anthony Barbour.
This story was originally published August 20, 2016 at 12:04 AM with the headline "Leesville Road puts together complete performance, spoils Barbour’s debut."