By DOUG IRELAND, Journal Sports
Walk up to Haughton’s Harold E. Harlan Stadium, between the pines, and you feel it. The tradition, the special vibe of a small town community with an inordinate amount of big time football tradition, headlined by two Pro Bowlers and a deep coaching legacy.
By then, you’ve heard it and seen it, thanks to the huge 26 x 47 foot videoboard, the biggest at any Louisiana high school, blaring at near rock-concert levels with a screen that bounces sharp color images like that one in the man cave you’ve dreamed about.
That and more at Haughton was just made possible this year by a gift of over $1 million by former Bucs star Dak Prescott, the Dallas Cowboys quarterback. He and every other Haughton kid the last five decades has grown up hearing about another Pro Bowler, the late, undeniably heroic Kansas City Chiefs running back Joe Delaney.
There are countless highlights provided by those two and many other Haughton legends of the fall, but there haven’t been many lately.
Until about 9:40, give or take a couple minutes, last Friday night.
That’s when no super sound system was required to create a ruckus heard for blocks around Allentown Road. The Buccaneers sent nearly everyone at Prescott Field into a frenzy when they finished a 36-35 overtime victory over Byrd by pulling off a flawless two-point conversion pass from Taylor Weathersby to Case Corkern, all alone in the left half of the end zone, on the Yellow Jackets’ side of the field.
It was in stark contrast to the scene a week earlier, to the moment, almost. The season opener went sour when a last-minute bid to win was denied. Haughton lost, 36-34, to the Class 2A Homer Pelicans. Even if it was to a traditional small school power, it was a loss that shook the fragile confidence of a team trying to shake out of recent football doldrums.
“We needed this,” said more than a few loyal Bucs late Friday night, including second-year head coach Matthew Sewell, who pointed that Homer gut buster ultimately served a good purpose.
“Being in situations like that is the only thing that can truly prepare you for knowing what to do when they come back up. It stunk to lose last week, but I think that was good for our team,” Sewell said. “I’m just so proud of how they responded tonight – not only to the adversity of losing last week, but to what they faced tonight.”
What they faced was a rugged Byrd team equally desperate to erase the pain of a frustrating opening loss. Through three quarters, the Yellow Jackets and Bucs traded blows, but not many points.
It was a 13-7 slugfest, Jackets with the advantage, going to the fourth quarter. Then suddenly, a typical District 1-5A game erupted.
Byrd rang up 22 points. Haughton added 29. That’s 51 points in 12 minutes (plus the OT).
There were big offensive stats on both sides. Byrd’s fullback, Collin Deere, was a battering ram, bulling up the middle for 253 yards on 35 carries, scoring four times. Haughton’s Ethan Johnson was equally unstoppable slicing through the secondary, snagging 12 passes for 281 yards and three TDs – 36, 37 and 63 yards. Weathersby collected 309 yards on 16 of 30 aim with no interceptions. Bucs feature back Brandon Craig ran for 127 yards and two scores on 24 tries.
Corkern? He blocked a lot. Until it mattered most, he made one catch. Eight yards, to convert a fourth down in Haughton’s last possession that fizzled out and left it tied at 28.
So you can hardly fault Byrd’s defense, with a 35-28 lead after Deere’s 2-yard plunge to open overtime, crashing down on Craig. They couldn’t stop him from a 4-yard TD that closed it to 35-34. They sold out to stop him on the decisive play.
But Haughton had a different idea. Sewell was dead set on going for the win in the first OT with a two-point conversion. Offensive coordinator Cody Taylor had the perfect call in his back pocket.
“Throughout the game, we would just hand the ball off, and the safeties would roll down,” said Weathersby. “That’s why we faked the run, and we booted out of it. He was wide open. It was an awesome play, I’ll never forget it. I knew it was gonna work.”
Said Corkern: “End delay. Once the safety comes down, I’ve got ‘em.
“All I had to do was sit down and watch it all the way in. I didn’t have to catch it with my hands, I caught it with my body, possession-caught it. Easy as it gets. I didn’t see anybody around me.”
Other than some devastated Byrd cheerleaders a few yards off the sideline.
“Hey guys,” said Sewell, raising his right hand and extending his index finger upward, a couple of minutes after doing a few twists of what have been the griddy, in a tight team circle, “you wake up tomorrow 1-0 in district!”
If they managed to sleep at all.
Contact Doug at sbjdoug@gmail.com