JOURNAL STAFF
Looking to snap a three-game District 1-5A losing streak, Captain Shreve struck early against Natchitoches Central Friday night at Lee Hedges Stadium.
But the Gators couldn’t keep that up as the Chiefs rallied to 24 straight points and held on for the surprising-on-the-surface 30-17 win.
Captain Shreve (3-4, 0-4 District 1-5A) didn’t have an answer for a resurgent NCHS (3-4, 2-2) offense that rushed for 238 yards and threw for another 192.
“I’m proud of the effort and the way we battled all four quarters,” said Captain Shreve coach Adam Kirby, who was missing a host of starters with injury. “We moved the ball up and down the field, but we couldn’t convert sometimes on key drives.
“We didn’t have any turnovers and went three-and-out only once, so our younger guys stepped up and played well.”
The Gators were missing injured impact players at quarterback (Kenyon Terrell), tailback (Jayden Edwards), and receiver (Marquez Stevenson). None of them were able to play.
Jamarlon Otis started the scoring with a 4-yard touchdown run and finished with 105 yards on the ground replacing Edwards.
The Chiefs made key plays more consistently, starting with receiver Camryn Davis’ 80-yard touchdown on a shuttle pass from quarterback Brian Young to answer Shreve’s early score.
Davis had 131 of his 147 receiving yards in the first half, finishing with two touchdown catches.
A Young 6-yard touchdown run handed the Chiefs a 12-6 lead before the visitors took control of the momentum for good in the second quarter.
Captain Shreve drove all the way to the NCHS 5-yard line before being turned away on downs, and the Chiefs responded with a four-play, 95-yard touchdown drive to go up 18-6. Running back Jeremiah Miles (162 yards) scored the first of his two touchdowns on a 43-yard scamper.
After a John Chance 28-yard field goal sliced the Shreve deficit to 18-9, Natchitoches Central crossed the goal line late in the first half on a 32-yard Davis touchdown catch from Young on fourth-and-8.
A long Davis punt return set the Chiefs up with a short field, and a Miles 13-yard scoring run built a 30-9 lead early in the second half.
The Gators attempted to mount a comeback and got within striking distance at 30-17 on a Jordan Wiggins 10-yard touchdown run, but Shreve couldn’t sustain enough second-half drives to further dent the Chiefs’ advantage.
Shreve receivers JT Hester (88 yards on three catches) and Wiggins (78 yards on five receptions) led the way receiving on 214 passing yards on 14-31 from quarterback Brodie Savage.
“I thought Brodie looked fantastic in his first varsity start to command the offense the way he did,” Kirby said. “We converted four fourth downs, and he made plays even when we had high snaps or he dropped the ball because he was too excited. ”
NCHS’ Young – who missed the first four games and hadn’t played a full game until Friday, due to a shoulder injury in the jamboree — threw for 192 yards on an efficient 10-13 passing with two scores and added 48 rushing yards.
Natchitoches Central 30, Captain Shreve 17
Score by quarters
NCHS | 18 | 6 | 6 |0 | – 30
Shreve | 6 | 3 | 0 | 8 | – 17
Score summary
CS – Jamarlon Otis 4 run (run failed)
N – Camrin Davis 80 pass from Brian Young (kick failed)
N – Young 6 run (run failed)
N – Jeremiah Miles 43 run (kick failed)
CS – John Chance 28 FG
N – C. Davis 32 pass from Young (run failed)
N – Miles 13 run (pass failed)
CS – Jordan Wiggins 10 run (Wiggins pass from Brodie Savage)
Individual leaders
Rushing
Shreve (30-123) – Otis 19-105, Savage 8-11, Wiggins 1-6, Kiaron Brossett 2-1.
Natchitoches Central – Miles 29-162, Young 5-48, Davis 1-6, Thompson 3-2.
Passing
Shreve – Savage 14-31-0-213.
Natchitoches Central – Young 10-13-0-192.
Receiving
Shreve – Wiggins 5-78, Shelton Harville 3-26, JT Hester 3-88; Keaton Flowers 2-35, Otis 1-0.
Natchitoches Central – Davis 7-147, Titus Woods 2-40, Branden Woods 1-5.
