The Tioga Indians Begin Their Class 4A Playoff Run On Friday With An Underdog Mindset

by Alexis Mason

Tioga High School senior DT Dillon Desselle (Photo provided by Dillon Desselle)

Tioga High School senior DE Jake Ducharme (Photo provided by Jake Ducharme)

4A's Tioga High School in Ball, Louisiana completed the regular season at 9-1. The Indians will begin the Class 4A playoffs as the number four seed and will face the North DeSoto Griffins in the first round.

Senior wide receiver Kenneth Ravare had 1,015 yards and nine touchdowns last season. He also runs track for Tioga, which helps his agility and speed. A few players were asked one skill that contributes to the team’s success and their responses were,

“We always showed our opponents every game no matter who you are that we are not scared and we will not back down to play anyone," Ravare said.

Senior defensive end Dillion Desselle is a 6-4, 230 pound senior defensive end for the Indians and is known for his versatility and strength.

“We play for each other and play unselfish to get this far, and overall being resilient throughout the whole season has gotten us here,” Desselle said.

Jake Ducharme is a senior defensive tackle and also had a great season in 2018 with 50 tackles and nine sacks. Ducharme mentions the team facing pressure as being the number four team, but they continue practicing hard and doing what has led them to this point.

“We actually like pressure because we play well and it makes us go harder because people has always put us last to everyone," Ravare said.

The only way to deal with the pressure is to give your all every play, seven seconds at a time, at 120 percent," Desselle said.

The love for the game will teach many lessons that can be applied to everyday life. Desselle says that he has learned to be unselfish while consistently working hard. Switching to offensive line his junior year, he says, “This explains why we’re 9-1 right now because we’re all unselfish and want to play for each other, it’s what you have to do. “

“The most important lesson I’ve took from football is to never give up and work harder than anyone else," Ducharme said.

The Tioga Indians are getting well prepared for their first game into the playoffs on November 15th at home against North DeSoto.

“We can’t accept anything less than perfection and we all as a team together have to do our job at performing at an elite level for the person beside you,” Desselle said.

Alexis Mason is a Maryland native, but went to high school in Atlanta. She is a junior studying Sports Administration at LSU. Her future plan is to own a recruiting program that helps high school athletes receive scholarships. Her ultimate goal in life is to help others and to make their life just a little easier any way possible. She is a big believer of having faith and knowing that every obstacle that comes in life is there for a reason and can be tackled.

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