By HARRIET PROTHRO PENROD, Journal Sports
Huntington didn’t get going until the second half against Woodlawn. It didn’t take that long for North Caddo against Green Oaks.
In the nightcap of Friday night’s Caddo Jamboree at Independence Stadium, the Raiders came back from a 6-0 halftime deficit to defeat the Knights 28-6 while the Titans scored all of their points in the first half of their 20-0 victory over the Giants in the middle game of the jamboree.
Huntington opened Friday’s action with a 14-8 victory over Woodlawn in the junior varsity contest.
“We started slow, but we settled in,” Huntington coach Steve Dennis said of his team’s play in the closing game. “We’ve got some things we need to clean up – on special teams and with foolish penalties.
“But I like the position we’re in. I like where we are with our culture. We didn’t panic.”
Down 6-0, Huntington wasted little time getting things going in the second half. Kamron Evans hit John Solomon with passes of 41 and 20 yards to set the Raiders up at the Woodlawn 5-yard line. Tre Carter ran it in and Huntington converted the two-point attempt to take an 8-6 lead less than four minutes into the second half.
Less than two minutes later, Justin Moore’s pick six put the Raiders up 14-6. Carter’s second touchdown came on a 3-yard run with 5:13 left and increased the lead to 20-6. With just 2:30 to go, Evans scored on a 2-yard keeper to wrap up the victory.
Woodlawn coach Thedrick Harris was proud of the way his young team played against the Raiders.
“Our team has improved tremendously,” said Harris. “We came out and went toe-to-toe with a great team.”
Woodlawn opens the season at Natchitoches Central on Friday while Huntington takes on Mansfield in one of the Battle on the Border contests on Saturday.
While it took Huntington time to get things going, the same can’t be said for North Caddo. The Titans scored on their first possession of the game on an 8-yard touchdown run by KJ Black to take a 6-0 lead (the two-point attempt failed). Black also scored on a 45-yard touchdown pass from Aiden Brock.
“He’s a tremendous athlete with God-given skills,” North Caddo coach John Cavanaugh said of Black.
Jathan Green finished off the scoring for the Titans with a 39-yard pick six with five minutes left in the first half.
“In the second half, our defense played a whole lot better,” said Green Oaks coach Chadwick Lewis. “We’re a young team making young mistakes. Our defense is going to have to carry us.”
Green Oaks opens the season at Southwood on Friday while North Caddo hosts Bossier on Thursday night.
Contact Harriet at sbjharriet@gmail.com