By LEE HILLER, Journal Sports
Calvary Baptist won its fourth state championship in 2023 and junior running back James Simon was a big reason as the Cavaliers’ star had his biggest game of the season in the playoffs — a school-record rushing performance in a quarterfinal win over Parkview Baptist.
Simon, a University of Texas commit, ran for 324 yards on 22 carries and four touchdowns in the Cavs’ 49-28 defeat of Parkview in the quarterfinals. His total eclipsed the Calvary record held by Kordavion Washington who had 322 yards in a 44-40 win over Peabody in 2016. Simon’s total is ninth on the all-time Shreveport-Bossier single-game list.
Second on the 2023 list is Jamarlon Otis’ 313 yards, a Captain Shreve record for a single game. Otis set the mark with 21 carries and scored three touchdowns in the season-opening win over Loyola. His total is tied for 15th on the Shreveport-Bossier list.
Parkway sophomore Antonio Gladney had a pretty good start to his season with last fall’s third-best rushing total of 266 yards on 23 carries. He also scored four times in a wild 43-41 defeat of Minden in the season opener.
Haughton running back Chris Mayes had only 12 yards on 12 carries entering his senior season and did not have a carry in 2023 when the Bucs’ starting back fell ill in warmups for the Southwood game. Mayes’ opportunity came and he responded with scoring runs of 96 and 97 yards on his way to 241 yards, the third most in Haughton history.
Top 20 rushing performances for 2023
22-324, James Simon, Calvary, vs. Parkview Baptist, 4 TDs, Nov. 24
21-313, Jamarlon Otis, Captain Shreve, vs. Loyola, 3 TDs, Aug. 31
23-266, Antonio Gladney, Parkway, vs. Minden, 4 TDs, Sept. 1
21-245, Jamarlon Otis, Captain Shreve, vs. Airline, 3 TDs, Oct. 6
10-241, Chris Mayes, Haughton, vs. Southwood, 2 TDs, Sept. 29
28-205, Desmond Simmons, Byrd, vs. Airline, 0 TDs, Oct. 20
9-192, Malachi Johnson, Byrd, vs. Haughton, 3 TDs, Oct. 6
30-191, James Simon, Calvary, vs. St. Charles Catholic, 3 TDs, Dec. 9
25-190, Jamarlon Otis, Captain Shreve, vs. Byrd, 2 TDs, Sept. 21
23-172, Patrick Gosslee, Loyola, vs. Ascension Episcopal, 1 TD, Nov. 17
12-169, Christian Turner, Haughton, vs. Red River, 3 TDs, Sept. 1
11-165, Malachi Johnson, Byrd, vs. Huntington, 5 TDs, Sept. 7
24-163, Quortni Beaner, Captain Shreve, vs. Benton, 4 TDs, Oct. 26
13-163, Quortni Beaner, Captain Shreve, vs. Haughton, 4 TDs, Nov. 3
10-157, Jontavious Mobery, Byrd, vs. Benton, 3 TDs, Sept. 28
22-155, James Simon, Calvary, vs. Newman, 1 TD, Dec. 1
38-151, Greg Manning, Benton, vs. Northwood, 4 TDs, Sept. 1
Contact Lee at leeh051@hotmail.com