By TONY TAGLAVORE, Journal Sports
You won’t need Lee Hedges Stadium public announcer Harold Ashcraft to tell you when Captain Shreve kicker/punter John Chance enters Thursday’s game against Calvary.
You can’t miss him — and his bright orange shoes.
Emphasis on the word bright.
“A lot of the players like them,” Chance said. “Some of the coaches were crackin’ on me, saying they could see (the shoes) from a mile away.”
When the junior — playing his first year of varsity ball after kicking for the freshman and JV teams – went online to order his New Balance cleats, he wasn’t planning on choosing the color orange. In fact, Chance thought he was buying yellow shoes.
“I’ve always worn black cleats,” he said. “I got kind of bored with them, so I wanted to go for a vibrant color. I felt like the yellow would have looked good with our green jerseys.”
Out $150, Chance thought about sending them back.
“For about a minute, then they caught on with me,” he said.
In last week’s 38-7 season-opening win over Loyola College Prep, Chance showed he’s got substance to match his style. He was 5-for-5 on extra point attempts, connected on his only field goal try (27 yards), sailed five of six kickoffs in the endzone for touchbacks, and punted three times for a 47-yard average — including a 67-yarder.
“I think (fans) should expect that from me,” Chance said. “I like to set a high standard by not missing extra points or field goals and being able to punt the ball pretty far.”
Now that Chance has a game under his foot, he doesn’t expect to be nervous against the Cavaliers.
“I’m definitely 100 percent more comfortable, because I saw my results from last week. I’m hoping to see around the same this week. Being as how my snapper and holder have done it in a live game, I’m expecting about the same.”
The Gators and Cavaliers kick off at 7 p.m.
Contact Tony at SBJTonyT@gmail.com
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WEEK 2 CAPSULES
Calvary (1-0) vs. Captain Shreve (1-0), at Lee Hedges Stadium
Series: first meeting
Last year: same as above
Last week: Shreve beat Loyola 38-7; Calvary beat Logansport 45-22
Ranking: Shreve No. 8 LSWA; No. 2 SBJ; Calvary is No. 7 in LSWA, No. 5 in SBJ
Radio: CS (KLKL 95.7 FM, www.Klkl.FM); CBA (Promise, 90.7 FM, www.promisetalkradio.org)
Notable: One area in which Shreve coach Adam Kirby says his team needs to improve this week vs. Calvary is penalties. Against Loyola, the Gators were flagged seven times for 66 yards. Kirby believes to have success against Calvary, his team needs to do two things: establish the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, and pressure the quarterback. The Gators play their first two games at home, but Kirby doesn’t see that as an advantage. “It’s a non-factor. We have the mindset that it doesn’t matter where we play. We’re going to play to our standard every week.”
The Cavs scored on their first five possessions last week against Logansport and sat their starters for most of the second half. Abram Wardell and Bryce Carpenter shared the quarterbacking duties and both were impressive. Combined, they were 11-for-12 for 214 yards and 3 TDs. Quarterback problem? “I have no problem playing either one of them,” said coach Rodney Guin.
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Woodlawn (0-1) vs. Southwood (1-0), at BTW’s Leonard C. Barnes Stadium
Series: Southwood leads 20-11-1
Last year: Woodlawn 20-16
Last week: Woodlawn lost to Natchitoches Central 18-14; Southwood beat Green Oaks 14-12
Rankings: none
Radio: none
Notable: One of the oldest rivalries in the city. The Cowboys look to be back at full strength after being without six players last week (four were injured; two had COVID). Southwood snapped its 17-game losing skid against Green Oaks last week. “It’s important for us to improve in order to beat Woodlawn,” said Southwood coach Jesse Esters. “It’s going to be an emotional game for our boys coming off a season-opening win.”
The Knights are coming off a tough 18-14 loss at Natchitoches Central. Woodlawn coach Thedrick Harris said that he was not surprised that his team played the Chiefs so close, but he thinks his players were surprised. “I think this game is going to come down to four or five crucial plays,” said Harris. “Whoever can focus and make the most of those opportunities is going to win it.”
This game was originally scheduled for Friday night.
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Lincoln Prep (1-0) at Plain Dealing (0-1)
Series: Tied 3-3
Last year: Lincoln Prep 32-0
Last week: Plain Dealing lost to Delta Charter 54-8; Lincoln Prep beat Madison 14-6.
Rankings: none
Radio: none
Notable: The Lions scored their lone TD on a 44-yard run by Tyrese Kimble, who then caught the 2-point conversion from Joshua Miller. Kimble finished the game with 102 yards on 10 carries. A fourth-quarter score lifted Lincoln Prep to victory in Tallulah.
