Alexandria upsets McKinley

The Alexandria Trojans are absolutely not a team to look passed as we enter the second round of the 2023 Louisiana High School State Playoffs. Their regular season record does not tell the tale of what this football team is capable of achieving. If you look at their schedule they played a lot of tough teams very closely, and their 3-8 record entering the playoffs makes them an easy team to overlook. Coming into this game as an away underdog, The Trojans absolutely stunned a very good McKinley team that won their previous 3 games by a combined score of 140-0. Not only did the Trojans win this game, but they dominated almost every aspect of the game from kickoff until the final whistle. The Final score was 42-0 in favor of the traveling Alexandria Trojans. 

The defense, and the secondary in particular, played a very stingy football game and consistently did their job and got turnovers all game long. They were often left in situations where the Panthers took over in plus territory and they never let that distract them from just going out and getting the job done, including multiple red-zone stands to keep McKinley off the scoreboard. They had 2 turnovers brought back for touchdowns including an interception from #7 and a fumble recovery from #21 Xzavier White. They also had another fumble recovery from #10 Aayden Walker. 

The offense also looked very solid and was able to keep the ball moving all 4 quarters. A huge game for running back #3 Datlan Cunningham, with 3 touchdowns including one scamper for 50+ yards. He is certainly a player to keep your eyes out for as we head into the second round of the playoffs as they head to Byrd High School to take on the Yellow Jackets. Another player to be on watch for is quarterback #4 Joe Bordelon, as he brings a certain composure to the Trojan offense that sets up big plays in both the run game and when he throws the ball. 

On a positive note for McKinley, Running back #2 Jeremiah Allen had a very good game and was a small glimpse of hope for the Panthers throughout the game. He ran very physically and kept the Panthers from rolling over and giving this game away at any point. It’s hard to be happy about a game that goes so negatively for your team but the effort from #2 was very applaudable.