By MATT VINES, Journal Sports
HAUGHTON – A furious Natchitoches Central comeback attempt at Haughton fell just short, or wide, as a game-tying field goal missed its mark in the final minute Friday night.
Haughton’s defense staged a goalline stand after the Chiefs had a first down inside the 5-yard line, and the Buccaneers held on for their first District 1-5A win, 28-25, when Mateo Restrepo’s field goal drifted just wide right.
Haughton quarterback Taylor Weathersby threw a touchdown and ran for another to lead the Bucs attack.
Haughton (2-3, 1-3 District 1-5A) built a 28-18 advantage late in the third quarter, which held until Natchitoches Central quarterback Owen Smith tossed a touchdown with just 2:27 left, slicing the Bucs’ edge to 28-25.
Restrepo recovered the ensuing onside kick and NCHS (1-4, 0-4) zipped down the field again with the help of a long pass to Mason Britain.
The Chiefs set up near the five-yard line, but a big Haughton tackle-for-loss on second down and a Cameron Griffin deflection on third down forced the unsuccessful 33-yard field goal attempt.
“One of the best things is that Cameron didn’t even know he was starting tonight until about 4:30 this afternoon,” said Haughton coach Matthew Sewell. “We’ve struggled on that side of the ball, but our kids have stuck with it and kept fighting. They played very well tonight and made a few huge stops.
“It’s a relief to get a win in this district because it is really tough. We’re playing a lot of young guys, and even most of our seniors don’t have much experience. But we’re playing better every week.”
Haughton had a chance to put the game away in the third quarter as the Bucs had a penalty wiped out by a touchdown that could have pushed their lead to three scores.
But the Chiefs defense made the stand that time on fourth down, giving the visitors’ offense a shot.
Another key sequence occurred late in the first half when an NCHS fumble led to a Haughton score with just 20 seconds remaining as the Bucs went up 21-12
Leesville 48, Benton 28: Benton appeared to capture the fourth-quarter momentum when quarterback Malachi Zeigler found Will Gibson on a touchdown pass to go up 28-27 with 9:21 remaining on Homecoming night.
But alas, Xavier Ford.
The Leesville stud running back accounted for 364 rushing yards and seven touchdowns, including three in the final nine minutes, to lift the Wampus Cats to the victory.
It’s his second game of at least 350 yards this season and the senior is near 7,000 career yards.
The Tigers (0-5) stepped away from an incredibly deep District 1-5A only to face one of the best running backs in the state.
Aside from Leesville (4-1) scoring the last three touchdowns of the fourth quarter, there was another telling sequence.
Down 14-7, Benton was stopped on the 1-yard line on fourth down in the second quarter. Leesville marched 99 yards on the ensuing drive to take a 20-7 lead.
Zeigler did lead the Tigers back from the two-score deficit as Benton scored the next three touchdowns before Leesville ran away late.
“Our guys continued to play hard all night,” Benton coach Reynolds Moore said. “We made some mistakes late that are obviously glaring, but we made too many mistakes and missed chances in the first half as well.
“Our defense got a few stops and the offense didn’t go score, and then our offense gets stopped on the 1-yard line and they go 99 yards. Our guys are playing hard, we just have to put a complete game together.”
Benton hosts Haughton in the final game of its four-game homestand.
Mansfield 52, North Caddo 44, 2OT: The Titans sprinted to a large early lead on the road, but the Wolverines stormed all the way back to win in double overtime.
North Caddo constructed a 24-6 advantage which included a Mason Jackson interception return for a touchdown.
Jackson, also North Caddo’s quarterback, had a hand in three Titans touchdowns in all.
North Caddo led 30-12 with eight minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, but Mansfield scored three touchdowns in that span to force overtime.
After a Jaydan Hamilton touchdown run cut North Caddo’s advantage to 30-20, the Titans scored what felt like was the clenching touchdown to lead 36-20 with four minutes left.
But the Wolverines (2-3) scored twice in regulation and eventually took it in double overtime.
“Our team played well, but we had some key players go down for us on defense toward the end of the game,” said North Caddo coach Chase Thompson. “Mansfield was able to start scoring once they went down.”
The Titans (2-3) were an eyelash away from a three-game winning streak and return to District 1-2A when Union Parish visits.
Glenbrook 63, Plain Dealing 0: The Lions forced a turnover on Glenbrook’s first possession, but there wasn’t much stopping the Apaches from that point.
Glenbrook scored 21 first-quarter points and led 42-0 at halftime. Cade Vining and Kleaton Davis each scored a pair of touchdowns.
“Once we eliminated our mistakes, we were effective,” said Glenbrook coach Reagan Smith. “Cade Vining is a throwback kind of guy, a two-way warrior.”
The Apaches (3-1, 2-0 District 2-0) remained undefeated in district play, while the undermanned Lions (0-5, 0-4) suffered their fourth straight shutout.
Contact Matt at sports@journalservicesllc.com