Seven Arkansas state championships are coming to The Butch. Alexandria has no plans to stand back and admire them.
Week 1 Bryant (AR) at Alexandria (LA)
BY DOUG GANN | 446SPORTS
“Bryant brings the crown. Alexandria believes it has the team capable of knocking it sideways.”
Seven state championships in eight years.
Twenty-six consecutive victories.
Back-to-back undefeated seasons.
That is what comes rolling into J.L. “Butch” Stoker Stadium on Friday, September 4, when the Bryant Hornets cross the state line to face the Alexandria Trojans.
Bryant is not simply one of Arkansas’ better football teams. The Hornets have owned the state’s largest classification, winning championships in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2024 and 2025.
But Alexandria did not schedule this game to admire the trophies.
The Trojans enter Thomas Bachman’s 11th season as one of Louisiana’s leading Division I Select contenders. ASH returns eight offensive starters, six defensive starters and a senior class filled with college prospects.
Bryant brings the crown.
Alexandria believes it has the team capable of knocking it sideways.
AT A GLANCE
| BRYANT | ALEXANDRIA |
|---|---|
| Seven titles since 2018 | Three straight quarterfinal appearances |
| 26 consecutive victories | 14 returning starters |
| Back-to-back 13–0 seasons | Two state finals under Bachman |
| Replacing its starting quarterback | Returns a three-year starting quarterback |
EXPERIENCE BEHIND CENTER
The biggest difference between these teams may be at quarterback.
Bryant must replace 2025 championship-game MVP Jeremiah Motes. Alexandria returns Lamar commitment Karsen Sellers for his third season as the starting quarterback.
Sellers threw for 2,109 yards and 32 touchdowns last season. Over the past two years, he has passed for 3,827 yards and 49 scores.
He will once again have one of Louisiana’s best receivers running routes for him.
Maryland commitment Alex Fontenot caught 62 passes for 1,047 yards and 17 touchdowns as a junior. At 6-foot-3, Fontenot gives Sellers a proven target who can stretch the field, work the middle and win the football in the red zone.
Bryant has talented defensive backs.
Fontenot will give them a full night’s work.
BY THE NUMBERS
3,827 — Sellers’ passing yards over the past two seasons
49 — Touchdown passes during that stretch
17 — Sellers-to-Fontenot touchdowns in 2025
MORE THAN AN AIR SHOW
Alexandria can throw it, but Bachman’s offense has always been at its best when the running game forces defenses to pick their poison.
Kason Williams rushed for 1,260 yards and 12 touchdowns last season, topping 100 yards in seven of his 11 games. Noble Williams added 662 yards and six touchdowns despite missing more than three games with an injury.
Together, they return 1,922 of ASH’s 2,285 rushing yards from last season.
That is 84 percent of the rushing production back in purple and gold.
The Trojans are also projected to start five seniors along the offensive line. That group will face its first major test against a Bryant defensive front led by Sam Nelson, a highly recruited lineman with offers from Arkansas, Oklahoma and Florida State.
If Alexandria protects Sellers and keeps the offense out of third-and-long, the Trojans have enough weapons to make Bryant defend every inch of The Butch.
84%
OF ALEXANDRIA’S 2025 RUSHING YARDS RETURN IN 2026
ASH HAS SOME HEAVY ARTILLERY, TOO
Mississippi State commitment Jaden Bayonne anchors the Alexandria defense.
The 6-foot-5, 300-pound defensive tackle recorded 11½ tackles for loss and five sacks last season. His job will be to close the middle, occupy blockers and make Bryant’s new quarterback carry more of the load.
Jackson Townsend returns after making 75 tackles and 10½ tackles for loss. The secondary brings back five players with starting experience, led by Old Dominion commitment Ja’Kyrin Griffin and next level prospect Letravious Williams.
Williams led Alexandria’s returning defenders with 80 tackles while adding three interceptions and four blocked punts.
The major concern is replacing injured Texas State commitment Bryson Phoenix. Phoenix made 72 tackles, 14 tackles for loss and 7½ sacks last year. ASH must find pressure from somewhere else without leaving its secondary exposed.
THE MATCHUP INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Alexandria’s senior offensive line against Bryant’s highly recruited defensive front. If ASH wins enough of those snaps, the entire field opens for Sellers, Fontenot and the Williams backfield.
THE NUMBERS THAT MATTER
| Food for thought | Numbers |
|---|---|
| Bryant state championships since 2018 | 7 |
| Consecutive Bryant victories | 26 |
| Returning ASH starters | 14 |
| Sellers-to-Fontenot touchdowns in 2025 | 17 |
| Returning ASH rushing yards | 1,922 |
| Experienced starters in the ASH secondary | 5 |
| Eli Fung field goals in 2025 | 10 of 13 |
A MEASURING-STICK NIGHT
Bachman has taken Alexandria to two state championship games, including a one-point loss to Acadiana in 2020 and a 13–0 start in 2024 before falling to Edna Karr in the Superdome.
The Trojans have already proven they can reach December.
The next step is proving they can beat a championship program when the lights are brightest.
Bryant has the deeper championship history. Alexandria enters with the more experienced quarterback, more returning offensive production and home-field advantage.
That does not make ASH the favorite.
It makes this much more than a ceremonial visit from an Arkansas powerhouse.
Alexandria has a real path to victory.
Protect the football. Keep Sellers upright. Force Bryant’s new quarterback into third-and-long. Let Tulsa commitment Eli Fung control field position. And when the Hornets devote extra defenders to Fontenot, put the ball in the hands of Kason and Noble Williams or KJ and Reggie Monroe.
The formula is there.
On September 4, seven championship banners will walk through the gates of The Butch.
Alexandria will be waiting.
GAME INFORMATION
BRYANT HORNETS AT ALEXANDRIA TROJANS
Friday, September 4 · 7 p.m.
J.L. “Butch” Stoker Stadium
Live on 446Sports
