FINAL: Neville blocks late field goal attempt, holds on to beat Evangel, 33-32

Kendall Webb

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FINAL: Neville blocks late field goal attempt, holds on to beat Evangel, 33-32 image

Monroe's Neville and Shreveport's Evangel Christian opened the 2025 Louisiana high school football season Thursday night.

MONROE, LA, Sept. 4 — The Neville [Monroe, LA] Tigers blocked a late field goal attempt by the Evangel Christian Academy [Shreveport, LA] Eagles to hold on for a 33-32 win in the 2025 season opener Thursday night.

Neville had grabbed its first lead of the game at 33-26 when KJ Jones returned a punt 59 yards for a touchdown. Prior to that, the Tigers had spent most of the night answering touchdowns by Evangel, but had missed a couple of extra point attempts that would have given them the lead.

After Jones' return put them on top, however, it was Evangel's turn to answer, and they did. Damari Drake's 18-yard touchdown run trimmed Neville's lead to 33-32, but the Eagle's 2-point conversion try failed yet again, leaving them on the short end of what turned out to be the final score.

Evangel led the game 14-0 after the first quarter with Ashton Dawson and Pop Houston each scoring on short runs to put the Eagles out front. But Ja'marion Roberson's two second-quarter touchdowns for Neville helped the Tigers turn the tables, and the game was 14-all headed into halftime.

 

 

Just two minutes into the third quarter, Neville's punter kicked the ball into the back of one of his own teammates. Evangel's Cardelrio Coleman was there for the scoop and score touchdown, but the PAT try was blocked, leaving the Eagles' with a 20-14 lead. Roberson's third touchdown for Neville evened it up again, but Houston found Johnny Casey moments later streaking down the left sideline for the Eagles, and, 82 yards later, Evangel was out front again 26-20.

Neither team was effective at point after tries, and that continued when Jarvis Blackston evened the game up again for Neville at 26-all. But the game finally turned in Neville's favor when they forced a quick three-and-out, leading to Jones' long punt return. Neville's ability to finally convert on the PAT ended up being the difference in the end.

Evangel and Neville opened on Thursday night due to a shortage of game officials in the area. Louisiana teams in the area were asked to schedule some Thursday night games this season to assist with the shortage. Neville will return to Friday night action next week, hosting the Calvary Baptist Academy [Shreveport, LA] Cavaliers. Evangel will also be in action that night, hosting the Natchitoches [LA] Central Chiefs.

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WATCH: Evangel Christian vs. Neville live on the Neville Tiger Network

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Refresh for updates

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FINAL — NEVILLE 33, EVANGEL CHRISTIAN 32

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|| FOURTH QUARTER ||

Neville blocks a field goal attempt with less than 10 seconds to play, and escapes at home against Neville by a single point.

Final — NEVILLE 33, EVANGEL CHRISTIAN 32

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Evangel at Neville's 11. Under a minute to play.

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And we've got a look at that last touchdown by Evangel.

 

 

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Got another look at the action after the big Neville punt return.

 

 

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Evangel drives right back down, and Damari Drake scores on an 18-yard run. The 2-point conversion is no good, and Neville clings to the lead by a single point with 6:48 to play.

4th Qtr — NEVILLE 33, EVANGEL CHRISTIAN 32

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KJ Jones returns a punt 59 yards to the house, and Neville has its first lead of the game with 9:23 to play in the game.

4th Qtr — NEVILLE 33, EVANGEL CHRISTIAN 26

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Neville gets a turnover deep in Evangel's territory, and Jarvis Blackston runs over a defender to carry it over from 5 yards. Again, the PAT is no good. The loser of this will regret all the missed extra points. 11:08 left to play in the game.

4th Qtr — EVANGEL CHRISTIAN 26, NEVILLE 26

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|| THIRD QUARTER ||

Neville had a chance to take its first lead of the game on that last scored, but botched the extra point. But then Evangel's Houston finds Johnny Casey behind the corner streaking down the right sideline and hits him in stride. The play goes for 82 yards, and Evangel is right back in the lead again with 12 seconds left in the third quarter. The PAT is no good which is one of the themes of the night.

3rd Qtr — EVANGEL CHRISTIAN 26, NEVILLE 20

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Neville forces a punt, and the Tigers then drive down to Evangel's 7. Roberson scores his third touchdown of the game from there, and the PAT is no good. We're even again with 58 seconds to play in the third quarter.

3rd Qtr — EVANGEL CHRISTIAN 20, NEVILLE 20

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The action has slowed down a bit. Evangel has the ball deep in their own end with under four to play in the third quarter.

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On a fourth down deep in their own territory, Neville's punter kicks the ball into the back of one of his teammates. Evangel's Cardelrio Coleman scoops it up and carries it in for the touchdown. The PAT try is blocked, but Evangel regains the lead with 9:55 to play in the third quarter.

3rd Qtr — EVANGEL CHRISTIAN 20, NEVILLE 14

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We're under way in the third quarter.

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The players are warming up, and we'll be getting the second half kicked off here in the next couple of minutes.

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|| SECOND QUARTER ||

Neville holds on Evangel's 4th-and-2 attempt from the Tigers' 22 yard line with a little over a minute to play in the first half. Neville decides to kneel it out from there, and we go to the half all tied up.

Halftime — EVANGEL CHRISTIAN 14, NEVILLE 14

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Neville misses a field goal at the 2:44 mark of the second quarter.

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We don't have any video clips, but we do have this nice shot of the action in Monroe:

 

 

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After an exchange of possession, Neville drives the field again, and Roberson scores his second touchdown on another short dive with 8:00 to play before halftime. We're back where we started all evened up in Monroe.

2nd Qtr — EVANGEL CHRISTIAN 14, NEVILLE 14

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Ja'marion Roberson scores on a short 1-yard plunge to break the ice for Neville with 11:06 to play in the second quarter.

2nd Qtr — EVANGEL CHRISTIAN 14, NEVILLE 7

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The second quarter is under way.

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|| FIRST QUARTER ||

Neville is in the red zone for the first time as the first quarter ends.

End of 1st Qtr — EVANGEL CHRISTIAN 14, NEVILLE 0

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After a three and out on Neville's first possession, Evangel drives back down the field. On a 1-yard quarterback sneak, Evangel's Pop Houston doubles the Eagles' lead to 12-0. A Neville player suffered an injury on the play, and after a lengthy delay, Houston finds Charley Abraham for the 2-pt. conversion with 2:42 to play in the first quarter.

1st Qtr — EVANGEL CHRISTIAN 14, NEVILLE 0

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After the fourth down gamble paid off, Evangel drove the rest of the field with Ashton Dawson carrying it in from 3 yards out to give the visitors the lead. The kick was wide right, so that's where we stand at the 5:57 mark of the opening quarter.

1st Qtr — EVANGEL CHRISTIAN 6, NEVILLE 0

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Evangel gambling early. They go for a 4th-and-7 at their own 49, and their quarterback just makes the marker for the first down.

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We're under way! Evangel will have the ball first as we get the Louisiana high school football season started.

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Coming soon!

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TOP 25 AND THE GAME OF THE WEEK ...

While you're getting ready for tonight's big game, get yourself up to speed on the preseason edition of The Sporting News High School Football Top 25.

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OUR PRESEASON ALL-AMERICA TEAMS ...

Finally, don't miss out on The Sporting News Preseason All-American Teams that just debuted today!

The Sporting News High School Preseason All-American Offense 2025

The Sporting News High School Preseason All-American Defense 2025

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We'll check back in here in a while with a look at some more storylines and an update on the weather.

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Kendall Webb

Kendall Webb is a freelance writer with The Sporting News and the former publisher of the College Football America Yearbook. He is a proud alumnus of Kilgore College (AA), the University of Texas at Austin (BJ), Middle Tennessee State University (BS), and Harvard University (ALM). Webb has attended a high school or college football game in more than 40 states during his career as a freelance journalist, and he remains an avid follower of team sports at all levels.