By JOHN JAMES MARSHALL, Journal Sports

There are all sorts of big numbers to look at upon review of the Airline-Destrehan Division I (non-select) quarterfinal playoff game Friday night at Airline Stadium.

Start with the fact that the two teams combined for 110 points. Take note of one team having 549 yards in total offense and the other with 499.

There was a running back with 227 yards rushing and five touchdowns and a quarterback two yards shy of passing for 400.

Throw in a 96-yard interception return that wasn’t for a touchdown and you’ve got yourself some serious football numerology going on.

But when all the calculators got put away and it was all said and done, you know what it came down to? Two little numbers.

Three and zero.

Games like this — featuring two teams that had scored 50 points or more a combined nine times this season – are almost always about matching the other team score for score. However, the one thing that can derail that faster than anything else is turnovers.

Destrehan came up with three of them Friday night. Airline forced zero.

The Wildcats turned each one of those opportunities into scores to take a 69-41 win over the Vikings and will advance to the semifinals.

It didn’t take long to cash them in. One took zero plays (an interception return for a touchdown), another took one play (the final play before halftime) and the other took two plays (after a fumbled kickoff).

“Whenever you play like a team (like Airline) that is so talented,” Destrehan coach Marcus Scott said, “you know you are going to have to steal some possessions.”

The fumbled kickoff and Wildcat score on an 8-yard drive flipped the script and meant the Vikings had to start playing from behind. They were able to do that until a 35-yard interception return for a touchdown by Destrehan’s Semaj Walker with 1:17 to go before halftime, followed by a the real backbreaker — a 96-yard interception return by Damien Richard. The Wildcats scored on the next play to close the half with a 48-27 lead.

“Probably two really bad calls on my part,” Airline coach Justin Scogin said of the interceptions in the final minutes of the second quarter. “You go back and you want to change it but you can’t. It’s just one of those nights. I mean, I guess we should have scored a little bit more, but it is what it is.”

Scott was planning on kicking a field goal after Richard’s interception with four seconds left on the clock. When he discovered that the offense was already on the field, he raced to call time out but the officials never saw him and sophomore running back Malachi Dabney scored his fourth touchdown of the half at the buzzer.

Dabney scored his fifth TD to open the third quarter, giving Destrehan a four-touchdown lead. When you are just trying to keep up by matching touchdowns, allowing 27 straight points during the middle of the game is a mountain too high to climb.

Dabney finished with 227 yards on 36 carries. “He had a fantastic night,” Scogin said of Dabney. “They just made more plays than we did.”

“I was impressed with our offense,” Scott said. “Certainly when you put up that many points against a good team like that it’s really a big accomplishment.”

Destrehan will play Ruston next week in a third straight Friday night trip to North Louisiana. The Wildcats rolled over Northwood a week ago.

Airline quarterback Ben Taylor closed his remarkable career with 398 yards passing, completing 37 of 52 and three touchdowns. Playing without injured senior receivers Jarvis Davis and Micah Johnson, the Vikings got 12 catches for 131 yards from Kenny Darby, but the junior had only one reception after halftime.

Tight end Ayden Baker had a career night with nine catches for 123 yards and sophomore Matthew Moore had nine catches for 95 yards.

It was the first loss of the season for the Vikings after 11 wins and prevented the school’s first semifinal appearance since 1972. As the tears flowed for the seniors on the field after the game, Scogin spoke with pride about the class that basically started with him three years ago.

“This was a great group,” he said. “They just did everything right. It’s hard to say goodbye, but we don’t have a choice.”

Contact JJ at johnjamesmarshall@yahoo.com

DESTREHAN 69, AIRLINE 41

A – Ben Taylor 1 run (kick blocked)

D – Malachi Dabney 6 run (Jackson Harris kick)

A – D.J. Allen pass from Taylor (Ben Jump kick)

D – Phillip Wright 33 run (Harris kick)

D – Dabney 4 run (Harris kick)

A – Allen 22 run (Jump kick)

D – Greg Wilfred 8 run (Harris kick)

A – Kenny Darby 14 pass from Taylor (Jump kick)

D – Dabney 11 run (kick failed)

D – Semaj Walker 35 interception return (Harris kick)

D – Dabney 1 run (Harris kick)

D – Dabney 39 run (Harris kick)

A – Moore 31 pass from Taylor (Jump kick)

A – Allen 45 run (Jump kick)

D – Jabari Mack pass from Jackson Fields (Harris kick)

D – Tony Crump 2 run (Harris kick)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing — Destrehan (43-287), Dabney 36-227-5TD, Wright 1-33, Wilfrid 5-25, Crump 1-2-1TD. Airline (23-151), Allen 14-118, Taylor 5-15, Moore 2-10, Darby 1-5, Terrance Hays 1-3.

Passing — Destrehan, Fields 15-13-0-212-1TD. Airline, Taylor 52-37-2-398-3.

Receiving — Destrehan, Mack 5-103-5TD, Wilfrid 4-28, D. Dabney 2-53, Wright 1-23, M. Dabney 1-5. Airline, Darby 12-131, Ayden Baker 9-123, Moore 9-95, Allen 3-17, Justin Woodfork 2-17, Hays 2-15

By BRET H. MCCORMICK, Journal Sports

ALEXANDRIA — Byrd cut an 18-point first-half deficit to just two in the fourth quarter, but the Yellow Jackets’ bid for a second straight playoff upset came up short in a 43-32 loss to No. 2 Alexandria Senior High Friday night in the Division I Select quarterfinals. 

The 10th-seeded Yellow Jackets (9-4) cut ASH’s lead from 18 to eight at the half, thanks to a 52-yard touchdown pass from senior Harrison Ayres to Quinton Hilliard and a 44-yard field goal by junior Asher Murray, and they dominated possession in the third quarter, running 20 plays to just four for the Trojans. 

A 16-play drive to start the second half came up empty, though, when the Jackets were stopped about a yard short on fourth down at the ASH 13-yard line. 

Byrd coach Stacy Ballew said getting points on that possession could have swung the momentum even more in the Jackets’ favor, but he felt they needed to finish that drive with a touchdown rather than a field goal.

“We came down here to win, not just to go for a scrimmage so we’re gonna play to win and we needed that,” Ballew said. 

Byrd trimmed the Trojans’ lead to just two with 8:18 left to play in the game when slot receiver Kristian Robertson took a reverse toss 10 yards into the end zone. The Jackets’ 2-point conversion attempt would have tied the game at 28 but was stopped a yard short.

“At the end, we found a way to get stops after long drives, and I’m proud of the performance,” ASH coach Thomas Bachman said. “I’m proud to be moving on.”

After watching Byrd score 16 straight points, the ASH offense woke back up in the fourth quarter as the undefeated Trojans leaned on their steady and spectacular senior running back JT Lindsey. 

Lindsey’s 6-yard touchdown run gave the Trojans a two-score lead, 35-26, with 4:04 to play, and an interception by sophomore safety Ja’kyrin Griffin set up another Lindsey touchdown run to put the game out of reach.

The two fourth-quarter touchdowns gave Lindsey a season-high five scores for the game, four on the ground and one receiving. 

Lindsey, an LSU commitment who rushed for a game-high 166 yards and surpassed 2,000 yards rushing on the season, moved ASH up 7-0 with a 9-yard touchdown just over three minutes into the game and scored his second touchdown from 8 yards out on the Trojans’ next drive for a 14-3 lead after Murray’s 52-yard field goal got Byrd on the scoreboard. 

Ayres answered with an 85-yard touchdown run, but a 47-yard pass from Max Gassiott to Lindsey and a 23-yard pass from Karsen Sellers to senior tight end Tanner Townsend on the next two Trojan possessions gave ASH a 28-10 lead. 

“Hats off to them, man, their kids played great and they’re a well-coached team,” Ballew said. “And I love my team. These guys have played their tails off all season long.”

Although the Trojans (12-0) looked poised to run away with the game as they have done in recent weeks, the Yellow Jackets had different plans.  

They took advantage of a slip in the Trojans’ secondary on Ayres’ touchdown pass, and then after forcing a three-and-out, were able to get another score before halftime on Murray’s second field goal. 

Although the Jackets were unable to take the lead in the second half, they continued fighting until the final whistle, scoring on the game’s final play, senior fullback Desmond Simmons’ 19-yard run. 

Byrd rushed for over 400 yards, led by Simmons’ 137 yards. Ayres added 129 yards, and Christian Maxie finished with 94. The Jackets outgained ASH 484 yards to 368 and never punted.

Simmons went over 1,000 rushing yards on the season with his performance Friday night, finishing the year with 1,028 yards, while Maxie came up just 6 yards shy of 1,000. 

“I knew we were gonna come down here and give them a game,” Ballew said. “To win it, we gotta make plays and we didn’t do it. But I knew we were gonna give ‘em a game. I like our ball club, and hats off to theirs. They were definitely the better team tonight.”

Contact Bret at onetphoto@gmail.com

ASH TROJANS 43, BYRD YELLOW JACKETS 32

Yellow Jackets       3          17       0          12       –          32

Trojans                     7          21       0          15       –          43

A – JT Lindsey 9 run (Channing Meche kick)

B – Asher Murray 52 field goal

A – Lindsey 8 run (Meche kick)

B – Harrison Ayres 85 run (Murray kick)

A – Lindsey 47 pass from Max Gassiott (Meche kick)

A – Tanner Townsend 23 pass from Karsen Sellers (Meche kick)

B – Quinton Hilliard 52 pass from Ayres (Murray kick)

B – Murray 44 field goal

B – Kristian Roberson 10 run (run failed)

A – Lindsey 6 run (Meche kick)

A – Lindsey 10 run (Vaughn Darbon run)

B – Desmond Simmons 19 run (no PAT)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing – Byrd (59-408), Simmons 21-137, Ayres 19-129, Christian Maxie 12-94, Hilliard 6-38, Roberson 1-10;  ASH (35-221), Lindsey 25-166, Darbon 8-40, Darius Washington 1-3, Sellers 1-12.

Passing – Byrd, Ayres 3-8-1, 76; ASH, Sellers 6-12-0, 97; Gassiott 2-2-0, 50.

Receiving – Byrd, Hilliard 1-52, Alex Schoonover 2-24. ASH, Washington 4-33, Alex Fontenot 1-27, Lindsey 1-47, Jimmie Duncan 1-17, Townsend 1-23.

By DOUG IRELAND, Journal Sports

Calvary coach Rodney Guin figured his Cavaliers had an advantage up front and in team speed against visiting Episcopal of Baton Rouge Friday night in the Select Division III quarterfinals.

He may have underestimated.

The defending state champions looked the part, dominating the sixth-seeded Knights 52-10 at Jerry Barker Stadium.

“Strength took over,” said Episcopal’s 25-year head coach, Travis Bourgeois. “Perimeter speed, us not getting off blocks, just a more physical team, and that won the ballgame tonight.

“You gonna play a classy program like Calvary, well coached, talented, does everything right. That’s why they’re defending state champions, and why they’re going to be a tough out,” he said.  “They play the right way.”

Sixth-seeded Episcopal (10-3) exited in the quarterfinal round for the eighth straight season. Third-seeded Calvary (10-2) won its ninth straight game and spent nearly the entire second half enjoying the reality that it will play at home next Friday in a semifinal against No. 7 Catholic-New Iberia (11-1), which won its 11^th in a row by manhandling second-seeded and previously unbeaten Newman 31-0 in New Orleans Friday night.

“That’s what we wanted,” said Guin. “Don’t care who we played, we’d rather play at home. It’s a huge deal.”

Episcopal opened with a 10-play drive to a field goal and a 3-0 edge. It was fool’s gold. Two plays later, Calvary led 7-3 on James Simon IV’s 32-yard run set up by Abram Wardell’s 37-yard bomb to Kolby Thomas. With three more snaps, the Cavs went up 14-3 on a 34-yard Wardell to Braylon Huglon shovel pass and scamper down the Knights’ sideline.

Episcopal punted Calvary dead at its own 1. Not a problem. Seven plays and 99 yards later, it was 21-3 after Simon scored from six yards out, shaking a defender off his hip halfway there 32 seconds into the second period.

“We played well,” said Guin. “We got some big plays in the pass game and the run game. When we play good defense, and we can score some, we’re going to be good.”

The biggest play was the second of Huglon’s three TDs, a 75-yarder on a bubble screen in front of a delighted Cavaliers sideline for a 28-3 advantage midway through the second quarter.

“When they give me free space, when I see all green, it’s going to be a TD every time for me,” said the sophomore, who collected 237 of Wardell’s 415 passing yards on six receptions, the last a 56-yard TD on Calvary’s opening series of the second half to go up 42-10. “That’s how I see it in my mind. I’m thinking I’m going to take it to the crib every time.”

The Cavs gained 257 yards on their first 12 plays from scrimmage. They finished with 574 while limiting the Knights to 181, just 77 before Guin ran in the second teamers on both sides of the ball after Wardell, given several seconds to survey his options, tossed a 12-yarder to a leaping Thomas in the back of the end zone for a 39-point lead with 17 minutes to go.

“Abram just threw it up, gave me a chance, and I’m just using my God-given ability to go up and get that ball,” said Thomas about his 17^th TD reception in his senior season, and classmate Wardell’s 40^th scoring pass.

They agreed, and Guin echoed the secret to their success.

“Our O-line played a very great game tonight. They played well all around. They gave him a lot of time in the pocket,” said Thomas, chuckling as he recalled how long Wardell had to release the last touchdown.

“Our box has been really controlling the games, dominating,” said Wardell.

“We’ve played so well up front the past month, and that’s the key,” said Guin. “We just have to keep doing that.”

“We were not able to put pressure on the quarterback,” said Episcopal’s Bourgeois. “Their offensive line held up, and he had windows to throw to and they executed all night.”

After posting the widest victory margin (equaled by Ruston) in any quarterfinal game statewide, anticipating their home game next Friday, the Cavaliers didn’t mind the 35-degree temperature. They were red hot.

“We’re right where we want to be,” said Wardell. “We always have some stuff to improve for next game, but we’re in a good place right now.”

 Contact Doug at sbjdoug@gmail.com

CALVARY BAPTIST CAVALIERS 52, EPISCOPAL KNIGHTS 10

KNIGHTS              3             0             7             0             –              10

CAVALIERS          14           21           14           3             –              52

E – Jack Berg 42 field goal, 8:25 1^st, Episcopal 3-0

C – James Simon 32 run (Ty Knight kick), 8:04 1^st, Calvary 7-3

C – Braylun Huglon 34 pass from Abram Wardell (Knight kick), 6:12 1^st, Calvary 14-3

C – Simon 6 run (Knight kick), 11:28 2^nd, Calvary 21-3

C – Huglon 75 pass from Wardell (Knight kick), 6:39 2^nd, Calvary 28-3

C – Julius Moss 7 run (Knight kick), 2:23 2^nd, Calvary 35-3

E – Nathan Sanchez 7 pass from Zack Hu (berg kick), 9:47 3^rd, Calvary 35-10

C – Huglon 56 pass from Wardell (Knight kick), 8:23 3^rd, Calvary 42-10

C – Kolby Thomas 12 pass from Wardell (Knight kick), 5:10 3^rd, Calvary 49-10

C – Knight 27 field goal, 9:01 4^th, Calvary 52-10

Individual statistics

RUSHING – Calvary (19-167, 3 TDs) Simon 8-84, 2 TDs; Moss 7-42, 1 TD; Pierce Carey 1-26, Braxxton Black 2-10, Wardell 1-5. Episcopal (34-119), Reid Chauvin 17-71, Nathan Sanchez 8-38, David Olinde 4-18, Brody Bailey 4-minus-7, Zach Hu 1-1

PASSING – Calvary, Wardell 15-18, 415, 4 TDs; Hudson Price 1-2, 2. Episcopal, Bailey 4-10-1, 55. Hu 1-3, 7, 1 TD

RECEIVING – Calvary, Huglon 6-237, 3 TDs; Thomas 4-81, 1 TD; Kaleb Tucker 3-69, Moss 2-28, Christian Ashworth 1-2. Episcopal, Sanchez 3-36 1 TD; Chauvin 1-19, John Singer 1-8.

Today is Black Friday, which the media would have you believe is the biggest shopping day of the year, even though it’s not. (Statistics show the busiest is actually the last Saturday before Christmas, mainly due to people like me who wait until the last minute after the last minute.)

Black Friday always sounds so negative, even though it’s named for a financial positive. Black Friday used to be about people lining up at 5 o’clock in the morning to rush through the stores at 5 o’clock just save $50 on a 72-inch TV. Thanks to the internet, not so much anymore.

When I hear “Black Friday,” my first thought is that night in November 1986, when I was working at the original Journal. It was the first week of the playoffs that year, filled with local teams with high hopes. Then this happened:

Neville 49, Bossier 0

Ruston 42, Airline 0

Barbe 42, Woodlawn 0

Jonesboro-Hodge 42, Northwood 0

The headline the next day was “The night the (scoreboard) lights went out for Shreveport-Bossier.”

That’s a Black Friday.

There was a local team that won (Captain Shreve), but only because it was against another local team (Southwood).

November 14, 1986, may have been the single worst night in local football playoff history. Can you imagine one worse than that?

With only three Caddo-Bossier teams remaining in the playoffs this year, let’s hope it’s not another Black Friday for Airline, Calvary and Byrd. Granted, you could throw North Desoto in there to make the numbers look a little better – Haynesville if you really want to stretch it — but there are 64 teams left playing football in Louisiana and this area has an embarrassingly small number of participants.

Baton Rouge, a similar-sized city, has Central, Episcopal, Dunham, Southern Lab, Madison Prep and Catholic still playing. If University Lab hadn’t been removed from the playoff bracket (the Cubs were a No. 2 seed), odds are that would be a seventh team. And that’s without stretching the borders to pick up a few more. A year ago, the Baton Rouge-area had 12 teams in the quarterfinal round.

For that matter, Lafayette has the same number of playoff teams as Shreveport-Bossier this year and you could double that by taking in the metro area.

The problem is not necessarily that Shreveport doesn’t produce state champions – Calvary has won three and Evangel has one in the last 10 years – but it’s more about the depth of teams at this point in the playoffs.

It’s been since the Richard Nixon administration since a Shreveport-Bossier public school to won a state championship (Captain Shreve, 1973). And only a scarce few have even made it being a state runner-up.

More history lessons: In 1967, local teams played in a state final and two state semifinal games on the same weekend. Pre-Superdome Classic, all three games were played in Shreveport-Bossier.

To go from history to reality, there is this daunting task – you still have to win two more games to get the ring.

Rather than bemoan the lack of playoff depth, the attention should be on those who are still playing. Winning playoff games is hard to do and it is quite an accomplishment to get this far.

Byrd has quite a challenge in traveling to Alexandria Senior High, but the Jackets have already knocked off a higher seed. Airline and Calvary should have raucous atmospheres for the home games tonight.

Still, it would just be nice if these three had a little more local company.

Contact JJ at johnjamesmarshall@yahoo.com

By JOHN JAMES MARSHALL, Journal Sports

For the Airline Vikings, tonight’s game is a case of been there, (haven’t) done that.

It was a year ago at this point in the playoffs in which the Vikings were knocked out of the Division I (non-select) playoffs. Mandeville, a No. 21 seed, came to Airline Stadium and defeated the Vikings 56-50.

Once again, the Vikings will be at home for a quarterfinal game against a team from the New Orleans area. This time, it will be 10^th-seeded Destrehan, a 63-21 winner over Northwood last week.

Making the next step has been a goal for Airline all season. The school has not been to the semifinals since 1972.

Last year’s exit was particularly painful since it was a game in which the Airline defense couldn’t off the field and allowed 334 yards on the ground.

This year, the Vikings picked up where they left off as they seek to become the first Shreveport-Bossier school to reach the Division I semifinals (select or non-select) since 2020.

“They’ve had a great year,” Destrehan coach Marcus Scott said earlier this week. “They’re 11-0 and they’re at home. They deserve to be where they are. We certainly will have our hands full. We have to really play well in order to get the win.”

Airline is led by senior quarterback Ben Taylor, who has moved into the No. 2 spot for career passing yards for Louisiana quarterbacks.

“He’s the real deal,” Scott said.  “He’s big, he throws the ball really fast and he’s accurate. We’re going to have to line up right and play hard.”

This will be the third Shreveport-Bossier team that Destrehan will play in 2024. In addition to playing Northwood last week, the Wildcats also played Captain Shreve during Week 7 of the regular season, winning 46-42 on a last-play goalline stand.

Destrehan has scored more than 60 points in two of its last three games. Last week sophomore running back Malachi Dabney scored six touchdowns and ran for 270 yards. It’s the third time he has rushed for 200 yards this season.

“I think the last team to have the ball is going to have the advantage,” Scott said.

The Wildcats (9-3) have had two shutouts this season and six games in which they have allowed less than 20 points. Airline, the No. 2 seed, is coming off perhaps its best defensive performance of the year in holding high-scoring Westgate to only 16 points in the second-round playoff game.

“We knew we have a pretty good defense,” Airline coach Justin Scogin said after last week’s game. “We were able to show how good we really are.”

The winner of the game will face the winner of the Ruston-Southside game in the semifinals. Airline defeated Southside last year in the playoffs.

Contact JJ at johnjamesmarshall@yahoo.com

By BRET H. MCCORMICK, Journal Sports

ALEXANDRIA — Two years is a long time in the life of a high school athlete.

Case in point: Six starters for Alexandria Senior High’s football team, including both of its quarterbacks, weren’t even enrolled at the school two years ago. 

Yet the date November 18, 2022, is a significant one for the Trojans, especially for the senior class. 

That’s when the Trojans traveled north to Shreveport for a second-round playoff game against Byrd and came home after a 49-10 defeat that ended their season.

This time around, 10th-seeded Byrd (9-3) travels to Alexandria tonight for a Select Division I quarterfinal matchup against the No. 2 Trojans (11-0). 

“You never enjoy losing,” ASH coach Thomas Bachman said. “We haven’t spent a whole lot of time talking about it. Obviously, it’s been mentioned, but it’s not something we’ve focused on.”

Several of this season’s ASH stars saw action in that playoff game two years ago. Running back JT Lindsey, the team’s dynamic LSU commit, is one of those players. Two other offensive standouts, running back Vaughn Darbon and receiver Jimmie Duncan, played defense for the Trojans in that playoff loss. 

Byrd brings a disciplined option running attack to Friday’s game, one that has rushed for more than 300 yards in a game eight times this season along with a school-record 3,946 yards.

The offense is triggered by senior quarterback Harrison Ayres, who has four options who have rushed for between 700 and 900 yards. 

Sophomore wingback Christian Maxie leads the way with 900 rushing yards and eight TDs in nine games. Senior fullback Desmond Simmons, who missed five games earlier in the season, has rushed for 891 yards and eight TDs – 347 yards on 57 carries, including two touchdowns, since returning two weeks ago for the playoffs. Sophomore Collin Deere stepped in for Simmons and has gained 743 yards with six touchdowns, while explosive senior wingback Quinton Hilliard has 704 yards and a team-high 13 touchdowns. 

“They execute at a high level,” Bachman said, “and that’s what I think good football teams do, regardless of scheme. They execute their schemes well.”

Ayres, who has rushed for 448 yards and seven scores, has passed the ball just 53 times on the season, completing 23 for 501 yards with six TDs and one interception. Senior Alex Schoonover (10-206, 4 TDs) and Hilliard (5-180, TD) are the Yellow Jackets’ leading receivers.  

Defensively, senior linebackers Sam Greer and Ethan Sipes lead the Jackets. Greer’s 129 tackles are the most for any Byrd player over the past two decades, and he also has 15 tackles for loss and five sacks. Sipes has 107 tackles with 13 tackles for loss on the season. 

Byrd’s secondary has intercepted 10 passes on the season, led by senior cornerback James Logan’s four picks, and coach Stacy Ballew’s Yellow Jackets have forced 20 turnovers this season. 

Junior kicker Asher Murray has made 10 of 12 field goals, including two from 50-plus yards. 

Byrd is coming off perhaps its most complete performance of the season, a 37-15 beating of  No. 7 St. Paul’s on the road in Covington. The Jackets rushed for 298 yards on 63 carries, getting two 1-yard TDs from Ayres, who also completed 5 of 6 passes for 82 yards. Simmons led the rushing attack with 150 yards and a touchdown.

The Byrd defense blanked Woodlawn (Baton Rouge) 20-0 in the opening round of the playoffs before forcing four turnovers to trigger last Friday’s win at St. Paul’s, which scored on the opening drive and didn’t scratch again until trailing 37-7 in the fourth quarter.

But the Jackets run into an ASH team that is absolutely rolling the past few weeks. In the last three wins, including a Week 10 rout of previously unbeaten Neville, the Trojans — who have scored 4o-plus points in every game this season — outscored their opponents by 37 points per game. 

Lindsey is just 50 yards shy of surpassing the 2,000-yard mark for rushing, and he has rushed for 27 touchdowns. Even though the Trojans only threw the ball six times in last week’s dominant 49-6 win over Evangel, sophomore quarterbacks Karsen Sellers and Max Gassiott have combined for 2,135 yards and 33 touchdowns. 

This is the second season in a row, but only the fifth in school history, that the Trojans have played the day after Thanksgiving. Last year, they went on the road and lost to Edna Karr 40-34 in the quarterfinals.

The Yellow Jackets didn’t make it out of the opening round in 2023 in a four-win season and haven’t been to the quarterfinals since 2020. In the 100^th year of football at the school, this is the 22^nd state quarterfinal appearance.

Byrd’s ball-control triple option attack is a valid concern for ASH.

Bachman said the Trojans have prepared well this week, and he believes they are “ready for whatever storm comes” their way tonight.

“There is a challenge that we’re gonna have on Friday night for sure,” he said. “We’re just going to continue to try to make the most of each opportunity, possession by possession.”

Awaiting the winner: a semifinal game against the survivor of another quarterfinal between No. 6 Teurlings Catholic and No. 19 John Curtis. Byrd last reached the semis in its 2020 run to a deferred state title, after a state championship game loss to Catholic was vacated by a subsequent LHSAA ruling.

Contact Bret at onetphoto@gmail.com

By DOUG IRELAND, Journal Sports

Calvary coach Rodney Guin likes that his team is living in the present but is glad they remember the past – specifically, this time a year ago.

The reigning Select Division III state champions put their crown on the line again tonight at Jerry Barker Stadium when Episcopal of Baton Rouge visits for a 7 p.m. quarterfinal contest.

Last year’s playoff run is absolutely a factor for this year’s Cavaliers, said Guin.

“Going through that – one, they understand how fun it is when you get to go to the Superdome. They know we have to play very, very well. It does help us focus in, because they know what it’s gonna take to get there.”

Calvary (9-2) is the third seed in the bracket and dominated De La Salle 38-0 last Friday night. Episcopal (10-2), seeded sixth, took control in the second half for a 24-7 second-round win over Pope John Paul II.

Tonight’s winner will either go to No. 2 Newman in New Orleans or host seventh-seeded Catholic-New Iberia in next week’s semifinals.

Now that only eight teams remain in contention in every division, Guin said nearly every playoff game is a “50-50” tossup – “you don’t know who is going to win,” he said.

He’s confident in his Cavaliers.

“I feel good. We’ve had another good week of practice. The kids are really focused in and I believe we’ll really play well,” said Guin.

While Louisiana Football Magazine’s Lee Brecheen and others forsee another overwhelming Calvary victory tonight, Guin believes a fundamentally-sound Episcopal team provides a challenge.

“I think we’re a little faster than them, but we’re going to have to make plays. They’re very sound, and they’re not going to make any mistakes. They’re not going to give us anything. I can tell that by watching them.”

However, this is not the right time to line up against Calvary.

“We’re playing very well on the line, both offense and defense. I’m really pleased with that, because that’s the key in the playoffs,” said Guin. “We’re able to run the football well, and stop the run. I think that’s super key for us going through Friday.”

Senior running back James Simon IV, who tweaked an ankle during another Calvary run through District 1-2A, is back and in peak form after being little used in the second half of the regular season. In fact, he averaged just 10 carries a night until last Friday.

“He’s fully healthy. He had 22 carries last week, which is probably about four games worth in the regular season. I really expect him to get 20-25 carries, and Julius (Moss) another 10, hopefully, because running the ball is key for us,” said Guin.

The Cavaliers don’t stop there, with offensive balance that any team at any level would envy. Senior quarterback Abram Wardell hasn’t thrown nearly as much as last season, but he’s still completing 71 percent of his tosses and has 36 touchdowns – one every 6.3 attempts. He averages 17 yards per completion.

Five players, including Simon, have at least 21 receptions, led by senior Kolby Thomas (48 for 1,070 yards, 22 yards per catch, and 16 TDs).

“We’re right where we need to be,” said Guin “We could go out and throw the ball 40 times, but in the playoffs, that’s hard to do. I have full confidence in Wardell. He’s a proven winner. We’re going to throw it when we can, run it when we can, try to be balanced, and that makes it difficult on a defense.”

Speaking of defense, Calvary’s stout there. Since allowing 115 points in the first three games (62-41 win over Division III quarterfinalist Oak Grove, 42-38 loss to Class 5A quarterfinalist Neville, 32-28 loss at Division II quarterfinalist Franklin Parish, teams with a combined three losses), the Cavs have given up only 8.6 per contest after last week’s shutout.

“We’re tackling very, very well, which we haven’t in the past. We’ve struggled a little bit. When we do that, and they’re playing so hard getting to the ball, getting lots of pressure from the front guys, the past 6-7 weeks those guys have just done an exceptional job.”

The non-district schedule included Division I playoff winners Neville and Huntington (knocked out last week), Oak Grove and Franklin Parish, and new district foe Union Parish, in the Non-Select Division II quarterfinals. Those encounters, and last year’s 14-0 finish, have Calvary geared up.

“We test our guys throughout the year with the schedule, so we’re never going to be overwhelmed thinking about a game,” said Guin. “We’ve played in big games. We don’t get worried about who we play, or where we play. We just go out and play.

“We love this time of year at Calvary.”

Contact Doug at sbjdoug@gmail.com

By NICO VAN THYN, Journal Contributor

For about 30 years, it was Yellow Jackets vs. Indians on Thanksgiving afternoon at State Fair Stadium. It was our “Game of the Year” every year; it drew the biggest crowds of the year (probably 25,000 to 30,000), and almost always determined which team was going to the state playoffs.

It was purple and gold, The City of Byrd, vs. yellow and black, the Tribe from The Reservation.

Lee Hedges was one of Fair Park’s biggest stars as a player in the late 1940s, an assistant coach there in 1955 and the Byrd head coach from ’56 to ’59, and went on to be the winningest head coach in Shreveport-Bossier high school football history. On a two-part series on Shreveport’s KTBS-TV (Channel 3) about his career, the first topic was this rivalry.

“We never talked about championships at Fair Park,” Coach Hedges said. “We talked about beating Byrd on Thanksgiving Day. That was the main goal. Anything beyond that I don’t remember them talking about that very much.”

My Woodlawn friends will swear that our rivalry with Byrd in the 1960s was unmatched. And it was an intense rivalry. But I’d be hard-pressed to call it a bigger rivalry than Byrd-Fair Park over all those years.

Those schools came into being almost together — Byrd opened in the fall of 1926, Fair Park in 1928. It was, and maybe this is a cliche’, a cultural clash.

Byrd was just a couple of miles from downtown with an upscale enrollment, sons and daughters of doctors and lawyers, oil and gas execs, one-time debutantes turned Junior Leaguers, and the city’s politicians, movers and shakers. It was a school known for academic achievement — and its leaders didn’t mind bragging about it.

Fair Park was the school out west of town — right across from the State Fairgrounds and State Fair Stadium, with hard-scrabble kids whose parents were blue-collar workers, and some of the kids actually had to come into the city limits to go to school.

Woodlawn, which opened in 1960 as the third white public high school in town, was much more like Fair Park than Byrd.

But let’s tone this down, and be realistic. Byrd had its less-fortunate kids; Fair Park had its well-to-do kids. Still, the feeling was Fair Park (and later Woodlawn) was “the other side of the tracks.”

So feelings, and maybe jealousy, ran deep.

I came into the rivalry late; I had never seen a high school game in any sport until my ninth-grade year (fall 1961). I had read about Byrd and Fair Park in the newspaper and two of the older kids who lived across the street had gone to Fair Park, but I knew little about the depth of the rivalry.

As the Thanksgiving Day game approached, Byrd always had “Go West Day” when its students dressed up as cowboys. Fair Park had “Beat Byrd Day” when its kids dressed as Indians and teepees were built on the front lawn in front of the school.

And so, I saw one Byrd-Fair Park football game on Thanksgiving Day … the last one, in 1962. Byrd clinched the district championship with a resounding 28-0 victory and got the only playoff spot from District 1-AAA (only the champions advanced), leaving — yes — Woodlawn in second place.

A vivid memory of that Byrd-Fair Park game in ’62: Some Fair Park students boldly crossed over to the Byrd side of the stadium — Fair Park always was on the stadium’s East side, closest to the school across the street — and stole the papier mache Jack the Jacket mascot.

They nearly got it to the top of the stadium and were going to send Jack flying to the ground before a Byrd posse got there and saved Jack’s crown. It wasn’t that funny. But Byrd did get the last laugh on the football field.

Starting in 1963, the Louisiana High School Athletic Association state football playoffs expanded, with the second-place team in each district also advancing. That meant starting the playoffs earlier, and so Thanksgiving Day was too late for a regular-season game.

Byrd vs. Fair Park became just another final regular-season night game.

Here, though, is one endearing memory from the Byrd-Fair Park rivalry. This was a Byrd student section special.

Because in the early ’60s, Byrd regularly beat Fair Park in football and because Byrd also had Fair Park’s number in basketball — at one point Byrd won 21 of 22 in the series (even in the 1962-63 season when Fair Park won the state title, Byrd won four of the teams’ five meetings) — the Byrd student section during those heated basketball games regularly taunted Fair Park with this chant, “Same Way Turkey Day! … Same Way Turkey Day!”

Well, it’s no longer same way Turkey Day, is it?

But the memories of a great time, a great regular event, in Shreveport athletics carries on with those of us who remember. Even those of us from Woodlawn could appreciate the historic schools, Byrd and Fair Park.

(Editor’s note – this piece was originally published in Nico Van Thyn’s excellent “Once a Knight” blog in November 2013.)

Contact Nico at nvanthyn@aol.com

By RON HIGGINS, Journal Sports

BATON ROUGE – When the SEC released its 2024 football schedule including newcomers Texas and Oklahoma, the Sooners were penciled vs. LSU as an appealing finale, the first regular season meeting between schools that have combined for 10 national championships and 10 Heisman Trophy winners.

There was the projection that the LSU vs. Oklahoma season finale would play a role in determining an SEC championship and have national playoff implications, especially considering the three-game history between the Tigers and OU.

No. 2 ranked Oklahoma, coached by the legendary Bud Wilkinson, closed out an 11-0 season with a 35-0 shutout of LSU in the 1950 Sugar Bowl. The loss margin remains the worst in the Tigers’ bowl history.

LSU finally got revenge in the 2004 Sugar Bowl/BCS national championship game with a 21-14 victory when the then-No. 2 ranked Tigers beat the No. 4 Sooners 21-13. LSU was jumpstarted in each half with freshman running back Justin Vincent’s 64-yard run on the Tigers’ first game snap and defensive lineman Marcus Spears’ 20-yard TD interception return on Oklahoma’s second play of the second half.

Finally, No. 1 LSU’s stunning 63-28 beatdown of the No. 4 Sooners in the 2019 Peach Bowl College Football semifinal when quarterback Joe Burrow threw 7 TD passes was just a rest stop toward winning the national title.

That happened two weeks before Burrow threw for 5 TDs and ran for another in 42-25 national championship game romp over Clemson against a defense guided by coordinator Brent Venables.

This all ties back into Saturday’s 6 p.m. game as now-Oklahoma head coach Venables and LSU head coach Brian Kelly square off in a game that means virtually nothing in a pair of disappointing seasons.

LSU (7-4 overall, 4-3 SEC) responded to a season-opening loss to USC by reeling off six straight wins. A three-game losing skid followed to Texas A&M, Alabama and Florida.

Most of the Tigers’ weaknesses – lack of rushing game and the inability to stop opposing run-pass-option quarterbacks — have never been consistently solved.

The Tigers have survived on the arm of starting QB Garrett Nussmeier, who has thrown for 3,458 yards, 23 TDs and 11 interceptions.

“We watched him in the bowl game vs. Wisconsin (last January when Nussmeier got his first college start in the Reliaquest Bowl) and when you see him now he’s taken the next step,” Venables said. “You can see the trust they have in him. He moves around well, he throws the ball really well on the move. I love his toughness. Everything goes through him.”

Oklahoma (6-5, 2-5) started the season 3-0 vs. non-conference opponents, then split its first two SEC games before losing its next four SEC games.

That free fall started with losses to then-No. 1 Texas (34-3) and South Carolina (35-9) in which the Gamecocks failed to score a touchdown. It was enough for Venables to fire co-offensive coordinator Seth Littrell and replace him with fellow co-offensive coordinator John Joe Finley.

  “It really changed the dynamics of what the (Oklahoma) offense is now,” Kelly said “It was averaging close to 85-90 plays a game. They had 68 and 62 plays their last two games (vs. Alabama and Missouri). So, it is a ball control offense. You’re seeing a much more controlled offensive structure now than you did earlier in the year.”   

GO FIGURE  

2.9: Yards allowed per rush by Oklahoma, ranked sixth nationally  

4: Appearances in the 10-year of the College Football Playoffs by Oklahoma  

13: First-half points allowed in first halves of the last three games for Oklahoma  

20: True freshmen have played for LSU this season including who have been in the starting lineup at least once.  

23-2: LSU’s record under head Brian Kelly when the Tigers score 30 points or more.  

290: Completed passes by LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier, the second highest total in a season in school history behind Joe Burrow.

Contact Ron at ronhigginsmedia@gmail.com

JOURNAL SPORTS

RUSTON – Two Conference USA also-rans who have been in more than their share of drama-filled games lately collide Saturday afternoon at Aillet Stadium when Louisiana Tech meets league newcomer Kennesaw State.

Kickoff is 3 p.m. between the Bulldogs (4-7, 3-4) and Owls (2-9, 2-5). It’s the first-ever football collision between the programs.

Kennesaw State is coming off a 27-26 triumph over Florida International to close out its home schedule, thanks to 10 points in the fourth quarter including a decisive 19-yard field goal by Austin Welch, earning him CUSA Special Teams Player of the Week honors.

Tech owes its last victory to a kicker – Buch Buchanan, whose foot accounted for all the Bulldogs’ scoring two weeks ago in a 12-7 upset over previous CUSA unbeaten Western Kentucky. Buchanan was also a repeat pick for the conference special teams award.

Kennesaw State has been involved in some heart-racing games over the last three weeks, losing back-to-back games in overtime before scratching and clawing to earn the one-point victory over FIU.

Louisiana Tech has been in drama-filled contests all season – notably dropping their last home game in overtime to Jacksonville State, which hit a last-play Hail Mary to get the game extended. It was the third overtime game of 2024 for coach Sunny Cumbie’s club, and none has ended happily for the Bulldogs.

Nine of Tech’s 11 games have been decided by one score, including eight straight contests before last week’s 35-14 loss at Arkansas.

Redshirt freshman quarterback Evan Bullock has only been intercepted twice in 243 attempts while throwing for 14 touchdowns and 1,708 yards and completing 67 percent of his passes. Tru Edwards has caught 67 throws for 813 yards and six TDs to top the Tech receiving corps.

Defense is where Tech shines, ranking in the nation’s top 30 all season, led by Kolbe Fields with 71 tackles and Zach Zimos with 63.

By T. SCOTT BOATRIGHT, Lincoln Parish Journal

NEW ORLEANS — Tradition has always been that records are thrown out of the window when it comes down to Grambling State and Southern University facing off in the Bayou Classic.

So don’t tell the GSU Tigers they don’t have anything to play for as they kick off against the Jaguars at 1 p.m. Saturday inside Caesar’s Superdome in New Orleans.

The game will air live on NBC and Peacock.

Grambling will be playing for its first .500 or better finish since 2019 as it brings a 5-6 overall record into the contest against the Jaguars, who have already clinched a berth in the Southwestern Athletic Conference Championship game.

The Tigers see the Bayou Classic as a chance to earn some sort of redemption — redemption for their 22-17 loss to Alabama A&M in their most recent game on Nov. 14, redemption for losing the Bayou Classic for two straight years, and redemption by hopefully winning six games for the first time since 2019, when they finished at 6-5.

For GSU coach Mickey Joseph, it will not only be a time to find some sort of redemption — it will also provide an opportunity to evaluate for the future.

“I’ll go back at the end of the year, you know, right after the Bayou Classic and see where we’re at as an offensive staff,” Joseph said. “Really as an entire staff, because you just don’t lose on one side of the ball. Everybody’s involved, but I understand numbers. 

“Numbers don’t lie. And the numbers are not great. The numbers are not where I want them to be. The numbers are not up to my standard, you know, but we’ll get to that problem after the Bayou Classic. I don’t think right now is the time to say let’s make changes, because you’re on your last leg, so now you just gotta figure out what we can do and what we can’t do and play at a high level against a very good football team.”

When it comes to this year’s Bayou Classic coaches, their attitude is “friends every day but foes for the week.”

That’s the way Joseph and Southern coach Terrence Graves have approached the week preparing for the Bayou Classic.

Joseph and Graves first became friends in 1999, but it was in 2014 and 2015 when both were serving as assistants on Broderick Fobbs’ first staff at Grambling that their bond became significantly stronger.

“When you’re first hired and get there, they put you in off-campus housing,” Joseph said during an interview on New Orleans TV station WGNO. “All the younger coaches had taken the bedrooms, so there was only room left and Graves and I didn’t have rooms. 

“So he took one side and I took the other, so we always say we’re old roommates, like living in a college dormitory. He’s always been a part of my life and I’ve always been a part of his and I have the utmost respect for him.”

Graves also fondly remembers their time as temporary roommates.

“It took us forever to go to sleep some nights because we’d start telling stories and then start cracking jokes,” Graves told WGNO. “The other coaches were yelling at us to shut up because I think they were jealous because they weren’t in there with us.

“But Mickey is a great coach. He’s a great leader and it’s a blessing to know him.”

Contact Scott at tscottboatright@gmail.com

Unless you are Santa Claus, you are faced with some tough haberdashery decisions when forced to take a ride on the Christmas Season Social Circuit.

Santa has it made. He’s got one suit.

Here’s a guy who never has to worry about whether or not his bow tie is crooked. No matter what clothing etiquette the holiday occasion calls for, Santa Claus is literally covered.

Red suit with white trim. Black belt and boots. Red hat with white trim and white fuzzy ball. He carries the big bag if he wants to accessorize.

Standard gear, worldwide, for the past several hundred years, give or take.

That is why he’s so jolly all the time; all he has to do is keep the one outfit fairly clean and he’s set.

Not so with non-Santas. For you and me, the holiday dress-code road is ice-patched, long and winding, the woods dark and deep.

The Situation: A holiday party looms, and the invitation reads “gala.” You panic, because you thought Gala was a girl’s name.

Is a “gala” different from a “festive occasion”? Is a gala automatically a “black-tie affair”? Or is it just a dressed-up word meaning “a party”?

No clue.

Say a guy wants to barbecue chicken in December in his backyard. Can he invite people and call it a gala? Can he have a gala if he’s barbecuing alone? Can barbecue sauce and a gala co-exist, or does one automatically cancel the other?

Can you wear a baseball cap to a gala? If you can’t, why? If you can and the party is after 5 p.m., is a black cap preferable?

Probably not. But then, what about this:

If a bunch of iron workers decide to have their Christmas party immediately after work one Friday and if refreshments come straight out of ice chests sitting in the back of their dusty pickups, and if the guy who puts on a clean T-shirt is considered overdressed, are you going to tell them their party is not a gala if that’s what they want to call it?

I think not.

Even reindeer have it better than we do. They can show up at a gala stark naked, with maybe a bell or two on, and nobody says squat.

For a moment, let’s define gala as “a big festive party involving finger foods and people with ties on and dresses they wear only three times a year, max.” Fine. Now, when does it stop being a “gala” and start becoming a “bunch of guys standing around talking and wanting to get out of their rented shoes”?

It’s enough to make you long for Groundhog Day.

And is it pronounced gay-la, gah-la, or gal-a? The dictionary has it all three ways.

See what we’re saying? It’s hard to dress for something you don’t even know how to pronounce.

The bottom line is “gala” is a mysterious word and thing. So there’s no mystery about what many of us need going into this Christmas season.

A clean and pressed red suit.

And a fashion clue.

Contact Teddy at teddy@latech.edu

In some families, Thanksgiving will involve holding hands and praying before the meal. I was thinking about all the tables full of food surrounded by family members, who have gathered for this holiday. I hope your Thanksgiving is filled with love and grace. What are your family traditions around this holiday? Will you share your blessings? Are you a hand-holding family?

Has God given you a hand to hold?

Ronald Greer tells this story:

“I was sitting in the Atlanta airport, waiting at Gate 32 to board a plane. Zones 1 and 2 were called; I stood, picked up my briefcase, and walked toward the line that was forming. As I passed a row of seats, I heard a girl ask her mother, “Do I stand up now?”

Something about the girl’s voice got my attention. She was developmentally disabled. I kept walking, got in line, and boarded the plane.

I took my place in seat 7C. After I settled in, I looked up. There was the girl, coming down the aisle by herself. I was surprised to see that she was a teenager—she was so petite that she appeared almost frail. The seat in front of mine was hers.

Then “Animal House” boarded. A group of college students came down the aisle and took several rows of seats across from us. They were laughing, joking with one another, and having a great time. But above all else, they were cool. Cool, you understand, was imperative.

Finally, the plane was pushed back and began taxiing. Ten minutes later the pilot announced that we were cleared for takeoff. He made the final turn onto the runway.

I looked up and saw that little head with brunette hair lean partway across the aisle. I heard the girl say to the college student across from her, “I get really nervous when we take off. Would you hold my hand?”

My eyes were riveted on the young man to see what he would do. Holding a stranger’s hand is not cool. After a first nervous blush, he began to smile, and halfway across the aisle came that kid’s big ol’ hand. The girl’s tiny fingers grabbed it and squeezed it.

There they held hands across the aisle, as our Delta jet was airborne.

There they held hands as I stared, also in disbelief, and memorized that sacred moment. I knew I was seeing a sacrament.”

Has God given you a hand to hold?

I have hunted squirrels for over half a century and over those scores of seasons, I can probably count on one hand the times I’ve brought home a limit. Frankly, I don’t remember the last time I did. I’ve hunted squirrels a long time and have taken my share to the point that bagging a limit would be nice but not necessary. I just enjoy the experience. Period.

I found something I had written 20 or so years ago about one Saturday when squirrel season began under less than ideal conditions. The thermometer read 70 degrees before dawn when I left home for the camp. Crawling in my truck for the drive to the spot I’d chosen to hunt, my windshield wipers slapped away a light but steady rain. Warm weather coupled with rain does not bode well for successful squirrel hunting. Oh, one other thing; when I checked in my hunting vest at the camp, I found I had only 10 shotgun shells. 

Feeling I was working under a handicap, I resolved to just enjoy the hunt but to do something my dad had drilled me on as a young hunter. “Make every shot count,” he had told me time and time again. My goal was to use my ammo supply conservatively; one shot; one squirrel.

The soft rain turned out to be a blessing. It stopped after an hour, just long enough to soften the leaves on the ground, making it easy to stalk. Around 7 o’clock that morning, the first squirrel stopped long enough for me to drop him. One shot; one squirrel; nine shotgun shells left.

Twenty minutes later, the second squirrel was cooling in my hunting vest; two shots; two squirrels; eight shells left. By the time I’d reached the end of the woods I’d planned to hunt, I had bagged two more, each with one shot. That was four-for-four and I was feeling good. Had I not seen another squirrel, this would have been a successful hunt.

On my return trip to the truck, I made a loop so as not to cover the same ground I’d just hunted. I’d moved 50 yards or so when I saw a squirrel move in a beech. As I began stalking the squirrel, I saw another in the beech; then another and incredibly, another. Four squirrels were whacking away at beech mast in the same tree. 

I did a quick bit of ciphering. I had four squirrels in the bag. Up there in that beech was the rest of my limit. Truth to tell, I got a little excited at the prospects. One of the squirrels presented himself and BOOM…he was on the ground. There went another one and…BOOM, he tumbled out. Then the third squirrel ran up a limb and stopped, offering me a clean shot. BOOM, and he’s down.

Now, I’m really excited. I have pulled the trigger seven times and had seven in the bag and there’s number eight up there overhead. My dad would have been proud.

Standing quietly for a few minutes, I watched as my “limit” squirrel resumed feeding. What are my chances of this, I ponder? I’m on the verge of bagging a limit of eight squirrels with eight shots.

It was something like a major league pitcher working on a perfect game. He’s down to the bottom of the ninth; two out. Here’s the wind-up; the pitch…and the batter bloops a single into left field. Game won but perfect game spoiled.

I rushed the shot and the squirrel scampered away. Dang! I sat awhile, pondering what almost was, concluding that it had been a fine hunt anyhow and I would be content to drive into camp with seven squirrels.

I could see my truck 100 yards away, and would you believe it…one more squirrel decided to make a move and I rolled him. That’s my limit of eight squirrels with nine shots. Not a perfect performance but I felt good, sensing that somewhere up there, my old dad was smiling. 

“Way to go son,” I imagined him saying. “Not perfect…but not bad.”

Contact Glynn at glynnharris37@gmail.com

By JOHN JAMES MARSHALL, Journal Sports

You have to wonder what defensive linemen think when they see the Byrd offensive line break the huddle before the first play of the game.

Right tackle Mason Coenen (6-2, 202) is built like a wide receiver. To his left are two players who are built more like a wide receiver’s little brothers — Ayden Boutee (5-9, 171) and center Elijah Chembles (5-8, 178).

“When we go up against a team – and you can pick any team that we play – we are undersized sometimes by a hundred pounds,” Byrd offensive line coach Craig Harris said. “It’s pretty gratifying to come away from that with some real success by moving the football.”

How’s this for real success? At a school where running the ball has long been a way of football life, the Yellow Jackets have rushed for a school record 3,946 yards this year.

“Running for 300 yards (in a game) is a big deal for us,” Harris said.

The Yellow Jackets have had more than their share of “big deals.” Eight times this season they have rushed for more 300 yards in a game. (Last week, they missed that goal by two yards.)

“When we rush for 300 plus yards, that makes me feel proud,” Coenen said.

Asked what gives him the most gratification, Chembles said, “Just moving people and getting them out of the way and creating holes for the running backs.”

Coenen, Boutee and Chembles will be joined on the left side of the offensive line by “regular lineman sized” starters Jacob Martin (6-5, 272) and Josh Hutson (6-4, 214) as the Yellow Jackets will be on the road for a second straight week to take on No. 2 seed Alexandria in the Select Division I quarterfinals Friday night.

There’s also top reserve Evan Hayes (6-5, 326) and tight end Braylen Buckingham (6-0, 177), who is definitely more of a lineman than a receiver since he hasn’t caught a pass this year. “I don’t think he’s even been out on a pass route all season,” Harris said.

When Harris took over as Byrd’s offensive line coach this season, he wasn’t really sure what to expect.

Same goes for the offensive linemen.

But during the summer, some of the Yellow Jackets offensive players took a trip to do a little team building as well as some team bonding.

It was no vacation. “We were at a camp out in the middle of nowhere Mississippi,” Harris said.

But nowhere turned into something.

“It was good to get them to work together and be together away from any distractions they might have,” Harris said of his position group. “They really came together.”

The Jackets were 4-7 a year ago but have turned it around this season and are 9-3 and have won two playoff games for only the second time in 10 years.

“When a new coach comes in, there are no pre-conceived ideas of who is going to be good and who is going to play,” Harris said. “There are probably a couple of guys who are playing this year who are surprises and they’ve really done a good job.”

“The (defensive) lineman we go against very big, but we’ve played size a lot,” Coenen said. “Mostly every team is bigger than us.”

That’s where geometry comes into play.

“They are constantly getting on to me because I am always telling them they are not strong or big,” Harris said. “But we are able to move people around. They are very intelligent. We try our best to not have one-on-one matchups. Ever. We are either going to read somebody or double team or just do something to get an angle on somebody.”

While their classmates have the week off for Thanksgiving, the Jackets hit the practice field each morning in preparation for another challenge against another much larger defensive line.

“It’s way awesome,” Coenen said. “The weather is great and I like practicing in the morning, too. We get to play the day after Thanksgiving and only eight teams in our bracket get to do that. It’s pretty fulfilling.”

To Chembles, this week offers the best of both. While his classmates may be lounging around at home waiting for Thanksgiving, being at school for an 8 a.m. workout is not a problem.

“You get to have a full stomach (on Thursday) and then the next day, you get to play in a football game,” he said. “I can sleep when I get home.”

Contact JJ at johnjamesmarshall@yahoo.com