By TEDDY ALLEN, Journal Sports
A burdensome streak ends tonight.
Plain Dealing (0-6, 0-3) visits Magnolia Charter (0-6, 0-2) with both District 1-1A teams looking for their first win of the 2022 season.
But it’s not from lack of trying.
Magnolia started football in 2019 — even the freshmen on the team have socks that old — and Plain Dealing has seen its enrollment drop significantly since the Plain Dealing Academy days. Makes it hard to compete with some programs that have literally been around more than 110 years (Haynesville and Homer, defending state Class A champs, come to mind). That’s the gauntlet Plain Dealing navigated through the past two weekends.
Challenging?
“Especially when you have 15, 17 kids (on the team),” Plain Dealing head coach Clint Walker said. “Yes, it makes it a bit more challenging.”
Again, it’s not for lack of effort or want-to. The Lions have more numbers on their team, percentage-wise, than any other school in the 19 football-playing schools in Caddo-Bossier.
“Haynesville is very well-coached; David (Franklin, the Tors head coach) does a great job,” Walker said. “Homer’s just so athletic this year. So that makes it hard to gauge where we are after those two weeks.”
The film tells Walker that Magnolia has gotten better since the two scrimmaged this summer. And Magnolia scored a bunch in last week’s 67-44 loss to Glenbrook — although surging Glenbrook played its junior varsity a lot.
“Ought to be a good game,” Walker said of tonight’s contest alongside Clyde Fant Parkway.
Maybe it will be as good as the Lions’ 36-34 OT loss to Ringgold three weeks ago, when Plain Dealing had two scores called back. Nail-biter.
“We’ve moved the ball,” Walker said. “We just can’t get it into the end zone.”
Smart money says someone will get it into the end zone tonight. And whoever does will have its first win of the fall.
Contact Teddy at teddy@latech.edu
Plain Dealing (0-6, 0-3 in 1-1A) at Magnolia Charter (0-6, 0-3)
Where: Shreveport
Series: Plain Dealing 3-0
Last year: Plain Dealing 56-22
Last week: Plain Dealing lost to Homer 68-0; Magnolia lost to Glenbrook 67-44
Rankings: none
LHSAA Power Ratings: Plain Dealing is 41st in Division IV Non-Select; Magnolia is No. 26 in Division IV Select
Radio: none
Notables: Magnolia’s last win was a 30-26 victory over Ringgold on Sept. 24, 2021 – putting them on a 13-game losing streak . . . Plain Dealing’s last victory – also over Ringgold (38-6) came on Oct. 8, 2021 – meaning the Lions are on an 11-game losing streak . . . one of the two teams will end a streak tonight . . . the Mariners are coming off their best offensive showing of the season in last week’s 67-44 loss to Glenbrook . . . Magnolia’s 44 points is by far the most the Apaches (6-0, 3-0) have allowed so far this year.
D’Arbonne Woods (5-1, 1-0 in 1-2A) at Loyola (2-3, 1-0)
Where: Messmer Stadium
Series: First meeting
Last year: did not play
Last week: D’Arbonne Woods beat Lakeside 45-22; Loyola beat Green Oaks 30-12
Rankings: none
LHSAA Power Ratings: D’Arbonne Woods is 11th in Division III Select; Loyola is No. 15 in Div. III Select
Radio: none
Notables: The Flyers have won two in a row but their injury problems are only getting worse. They will head into the Homecoming game without the three receivers who started the season and missing their top two running backs . . . Junior Reagan Coyle has done a little bit of everything for Loyola, playing outside linebacker and free safety on defense (third-leading tackler) and has started at both receiver and running back . . . freshman Mason Drake (67 yards) and Coyle (62) got almost all of the carries last week and each scored a touchdown . . . linebacker Gray Deason had 16 tackles last week, more than twice as many any other Flyer . . . Loyola is 4-6 in its last 10 Homecoming games.
Lakeside (4-2, 0-1 in 1-2A) at North Caddo (4-2, 0-1)
Where: Sanders-Prudhomme Stadium
Series: North Caddo 12-6
Last year: North Caddo 46-6
Last week: Lakeside lost to D’Arbonne Woods 45-22; North Caddo lost to Calvary 56-26
Rankings: None.
LHSAA Power Ratings: Lakeside is No. 24 in Division III Non-Select; North Caddo is 8th in Division III Non-Select
Radio: North Caddo (KNCB 1320 AM, K104 FM)
Notables: The 56 points Calvary scored against North Caddo last week was the most points allowed by the Titans since Dec. 4, 2020, when North Caddo lost to General Trass, 56-54 in the LHSAA playoffs. The last time a team scored more than 56 points against the Titans was a 77-7 season opening loss to Northwood in 2017 . . . running back K.J. Black and defensive back Rodney Thomas have been selected to play in the Louisiana Football Coaches Association I-20 Bowl at Ruston High School on Sunday, Dec. 18 at 2 p.m. . . . North Caddo’s remaining opponents are 13-9. Two teams (Lakeside, 4-2 and D’Arbonne Woods 5-0) have winning records, while two (Green Oaks 2-4 and Loyola 2-3) have losing records.
