The rematch that everyone waited a year for lived up to the hype, to say the very least.

The Kinder Yellow Jackets put their 25-game winning streak and Class 2A state championship on the line Friday night and came up just short in the anticipated rematch with the Many Tigers.

After the Yellow Jackets had shocked most of the state in 2013, the Tigers spent 364 days with revenge on their minds and they exacted it in the Superdome, bringing to end an era of the most dominant football run Southwest Louisiana has seen this millennium.

In a matchup of teams that a lot of people said mirrored one another, Many came out on the right side of a game that mirrored the one it lost the year before.

In 2013, with a one-point lead at halftime, the Tigers came out in the third quarter and scored early. They then watched as Kinder ate up more than 10 minutes on a drive to take the lead. Many fourght back but got stopped just short in the game’s final minutes to see the state title slip out of grasp.

This year the Yellow Jackets led by one point at halftime and scored early in the third quarter only to watch Many comeback and regain the lead before making a critical defensive stop late in the game.

It was truly a slugfest as billed. No one in the stadium left the edge of their seat until the final minute as Many was running out the clock.

But, in the end, the Tigers were just the better team Friday night.

“It was a slugfest back-and-forth and Many just made a few more big plays than we did,” said Kinder head coach Bret Fuselier. “I am very proud of my guys; they played great. We just came up a little bit short. I can live with that effort any day of the week.”

For Southwest Louisiana, it will be hard to part ways with the state championship that had eluded the area for the better part of 15 years, but the quest to bring a championship trophy home begins next September.

As for the Yellow Jackets, they say goodbye to what was probably the most successful senior class in school history.

Five Kinder seniors — Don Charles Arceneaux, Bryce Baker, Zach Rider, Casey Edwards and Collin Williams — spent all four years of high school starting, while a host of others played instrumental roles over the past three years.

“This has been a great run. It was a special two years by a special group of players,” Fuselier said. “They won 46 games in four years. Most people don’t even get to play in 46 games let alone win that many. This is a special group of seniors and they will be hard to replace.”

Even Many, which spent so long plotting its revenge, recognized the talent of the team they toppled.

“I don’t care what the scoreboard says, (Kinder) is an extremely good football team,” Many head coach Jess Curtis said. “Coach Fuselier and his players are great guys and great champions.”

Last year I thanked the town of Kinder and its very talented team for finally bringing a state championship back to the heel of the boot.

This year I thank them for one heck of a ride in these past two years and showing us all what true team spirit is.

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Troy LaFleur covers high school athletics. Email him at

tlafleur@americanpress.com(Rick Hickman/American Press)

Rick Hickman