Did you have some things to clean up this weekend? I sure did.
It started with my grass, which was approaching knee-high range after a week’s worth of rain. Then there was the backyard. I put some work in back there as well.
But I wasn’t alone.
As I listened to high school coaches on Thursday and Friday night, I heard an old, familiar phrase I’m used to hearing from my wife on Saturday mornings.
“We have some things to clean up.”
For most, the “things” were a little different, depending on the coach you were talking to. And some teams – obviously – have more things to clean up than others.
Parkway head coach Coy Brotherton, although his team came away with a 13-0 win over Haughton, mentioned conditioning. Byrd’s Stacy Ballew? Sideline management of special teams and his teams’ tackling.
“But that’s what the jamboree is for,” usually followed the “we have some things to clean up.”
Were there any surprises during Jamboree Week? It’s only a jamboree, but there were some impressive performances. Like first-year Airline head coach Justin Scogin and his Airline Vikings.
The ship seems to be heading into the right direction on Viking Drive after a disappointing, injury-plagued 1-9 campaign a year ago. The Vikes scored three touchdowns in the first quarter en route to a 27-14 “win” over Benton.
While Airline quarterback Ben Taylor looked good in spots last year as a freshman, it’s obvious that he has made a jump and a “sophomore slump” seems doubtful. That’s bad news for the defensive coordinators in District 1-5A.
Taylor has the weapons around him to be dangerous, starting in the backfield with Jackson & Jackson. That’s not an injury lawyer. That’s No. 24, Tre’ Jackson, and No. 26, Kylin Jackson. Having wide receivers like Daxton Chavez and Bob Patterson helps, not to mention an offensive line that gives him time to make good decisions.
Scogin and his Vikings will open their season in Stonewall against the winningest coach in Northwest Louisiana – North Desoto’s Dennis Dunn. Besides having over 200 wins on his resume, Dunn has a young quarterback of his own in freshman Luke Delafield, who was very impressive in scrimmage action against Haughton.
With Taylor and Delafield on the same field at Griffin Stadium, this game has serious future star potential. Which young quarterback will give his team a 1-0 start?
Loyola’s Mike Greene and his staff have “some stuff to clean up” too — dropped passes which would have resulted in points on the board – but he was happy that his Flyers gained some confidence in their 7-6 jamboree win against a District 1-5A program in Natchitoches Central, a team known for its defensive prowess.
The Snoopy Crew will need all the confidence they can muster as they face another District 1-5A team, Captain Shreve this Thursday in the season opener. Greene is looking for a victory, not of the moral variety.
Speaking of Coach Greene, here is a fun fact for you. You can add up the number of seasons for every public-school head coach in Caddo Parish, and you would still be seven years short of the number of years Greene has been a head coach.
Mike Greene, 26 — Public-School Head Coaches in Caddo Parish, 19.
Of course, Captain Shreve’s Adam Kirby, who Greene will face Thursday night, isn’t included in that list, because he hasn’t logged his first season yet. In fact, Thursday night’s contest will be Kirby’s first game.
Kirby hasn’t been bashful about his feelings toward his senior quarterback Kenyon Terrell.
“I don’t think he is one of the best,” Kirby corrected KTAL’s John Santori on the Friday Night Blitz. “I think he is the best.”
You want a game of the week? I got you. Friday night. Northwood at Benton. It’s our version of the Red River Rivalry as a North Caddo Parish team battles a team from North Bossier Parish.
Northwood may have the best team in school history. Time will tell, but they certainly have a litany of Division I prospects. At the top of the list…MarJavious Moss, Ta’derius Collins, and quarterback Mason Welch.
But the Benton Tigers, who beat Northwood 12-7 in the season opener a year ago, know what they are up against.
Will the game be low scoring, like it was last year? With quarterbacks like Welch and Benton’s Gray Walters, it doesn’t seem likely. But it didn’t seem likely last year, either.
Next week will bring the old reliable comment: “teams make the most improvement between Week 1 and Week 2.” We can cross that line of scrimmage when we get there. For now, let’s just enjoy Clean Up Week in Louisiana High School Football.
For their fans’ sake, I hope they are better at it than I am with my house.
Contact Jerry at sbjjerrybyrd@gmail.com