By DAVID ERSOFF, Journal Sports
On the strength of a 2-1 victory over regional power Ouachita Parish last Tuesday and their Thanksgiving week 3-0 win over DeRidder, Loyola’s Flyers jumped into the top spot of the Shreveport-Bossier Journal Coaches Poll this week. This marks the first time Shreve, nor Bossier occupied the top spot.
The Flyers will look to stay there this week with No. 7 Northwood coming to Messmer Stadium on Wednesday. Without recovery time, the Flyers will host Haughton on Thursday.
Captain Shreve has held the top spot in the poll since finishing last season No. 1. The Gators’ week started off well with a 5-1 victory over Caddo Magnet last Tuesday, but a trip to Lafayette didn’t go as planned. The Gators took on Acadiana Friday, finishing in a 2-2 tie. Saturday the Gators fell 3-0 to highly-ranked Division II St. Thomas More.
Shreve will face Evangel tonight before heading back on the road for the Copa Acadiana Tournament, which oddly is now held in Baton Rouge. The Gators chose to only play two games, facing St. Amant and Catholic, both teams consider in the top 10 among all divisions.
Bossier hosted its 34th Annual Bearkat Futbol Classic this past week at Tinsley Park. Although the fields were wet, there was some great soccer played.
The Bearkats started their tournament with Airline but the Vikings prevailed 3-1. Bossier’s remaining opponents took the brunt of the Bearkats’ anger at losing. They went on to defeat Magnet 5-0 and both North DeSoto and Rapides Parish 8-0.
Bossier is taking a light week with only one game Thursday, when they host Parkway.
Securing a first-place vote, Byrd jumped to fourth in the poll. The Yellow Jackets had an undefeated week, beginning by besting Haughton 5-0 on Tuesday. In the Bossier Tournament they beat Parkway and Minden 2-0, finishing off strong with a 2-1 victory over Leesville.
The Yellow Jackets visit Neville today before they head down to the Copa Acadiana with Captain Shreve. Byrd has a tall task facing perennial powers St. Paul, Denham Springs and Northshore.
Benton started the week off with a 1-0 loss at West Monroe. The Tigers then traveled to Lafayette with Captain Shreve, playing the same teams, just in reverse order. Benton fell 6-0 to St. Thomas More. The Tigers were able to salvage their week with a 2-1 win over Acadiana.
After tonight’s district game with Haughton, the Tigers will also travel to Baton Rouge for the Copa Acadiana. The Tigers have it no easier than the Yellow Jackets, as they will also face St. Paul and Denham Springs. Benton’s first challenge will be top-seeded Catholic od Baton Rouge.
On the back of Airline’s 3-1 upset of Bossier, the Vikings jumped into the poll for the first time, landing at No. 6. The Vikings tied Northwood 2-2 and beat Evangel Christian 5-0 to finish out the tournament. Airline also beat Evangel 4-0 earlier in the week.
Airline faced Calvary last night and fell 4-2. The Vikings take on Magnet tonight and finish the week Thursday at Minden.
Northwood was able to hold its spot in the poll even after Airline leaped past them, with its strong undefeated week, going 4-0-2. The Falcons began with comfortable wins over North DeSoto (7-0) and Southwood (10-0). The Falcons played four games in the Bossier tournament, beating Parkway 2-1 and Haughton 1-0. Their two ties were with Airline 2-2 and Rapides Parish 1-1.
Northwood only has one game scheduled, but that’s a tough one, facing Loyola on Wednesday.
Contact David at dersoff@bellsouth.net
Week 4 SBJ Boys Soccer Coaches Poll
Rank Team (1st) Record Pts Last week
1 Loyola (5) 9-0-2 57 2
2 Shreve (3) 6-2-3 55 1
3 Bossier 6-4-1 41 3
4 Byrd (1) 5-1-1 33 5
5 Benton 5-5-1 28 4
6 Airline 4-0-1 18 NR
7 Northwood 5-2-2 13 7
Also receiving votes — Magnet (6), Parkway (1)