By Erik Bacharach
The Opelika Auburn News

Before the onslaught had even begun, before Beauregard’s offense kicked into full gear and its defense leapt into domination mode, Queen’s “We Will Rock You” blared over the loudspeakers at Richard L. Brown Field as visiting Dallas County went through pregame warm-ups.

The rock anthem was never more foreboding.

Beauregard (9-1) methodically wore down Dallas County (6-5) in every facet of the game, using another electric performance by junior running back La’Damian Webb and an eye-popping defensive effort to cruise to a 41-0 win in the first round of the 5A playoffs.

“We had to execute very well for us to have a chance to win, and we suffered some injuries on the first two drives of the game offensively which put us kind of behind the eight ball,” said Dallas County coach Marty Smith. “The thing is, the next man’s got to be able to step up. But what these seniors have accomplished, first back-to-back winning seasons in over 14 years, just the things that this group has accomplished, I’ll always be indebted to.”

Webb, who finished with 26 carries for 264 yards and three touchdowns, had picked up only 145 yards on 23 carries — an average of 6.3 yards per carry — by halftime.

For context, he entered Friday night averaging 13.3 yards per carry.

So yes, 6.3 yards per carry is quite out of the ordinary for a running back that requires multiple defenders to bring down and breaks tackles like it’s nobody’s business.

To Dallas County’s credit, it came in with a game plan to keep Webb in check, and it was working.

“They did a great job, actually,” Webb said. “They stacked the box, that’s what made it difficult.”

Added Beauregard head coach Rob Carter: “They had a great plan. They sold out to stop the run. They had seven men in the box and went zero coverage on our receivers and they did a great job of tackling La’Damian. At halftime, he hadn’t made that big run that we’re used to.”

He did make something else happen, though. Something no one saw coming.

With 2:19 to go in the first quarter, Webb took a toss from quarterback Jaichis Holmes, but instead of looking to run, he looked downfield and saw Kentavious Thomas sprinting down the right sideline. Webb’s perfect fade pass snuck over a defender and into the arms of Thomas.

“I’d been waiting for it,” Webb said with a smile. “I’ve been wanting coach to call it and it finally came. It happened. We wanted to catch them off guard a little.”

Carter said Webb is used at quarterback for the scout team during 7-on-7s.

“He throws very well,” Carter said. “They had good coverage on him and it wasn’t a wide-open receiver, it was perfectly thrown ball.”

Take away the run, and Beauregard is capable of being effective through the air.

“We were able to adjust,” Holmes said. “We kept our composure and kept sticking together as a team.”

Holmes completed 4 of 7 passes for 57 yards, including a 20-yard touchdown pass to Thomas in the first quarter.

“We found other ways to get in the end zone,” Carter said. “We know we’ve got it. We had to use it tonight, and we did.”

Eventually, of course, Webb got his big play: A 69-yard touchdown run up the right sideline in the third quarter.

“It felt good,” Webb said. “It should have probably happened early, but it felt good.”

With the Beauregard offense continuously putting together long drives, its defense stayed fresh.

The Beauregard defense allowed just 35 passing yards and -2 rushing yards.