By DOUG IRELAND, Journal Sports
If you’re not a big Haughton football fan or a family member or friend of one of the current Buccaneers, doubtful that you fully appreciated the impact of their 36-35 overtime triumph last Friday over Byrd in the District 1-5A opener for both squads.
It had been six years since Haughton won its district debut. When Case Corkern cradled a play-action, bootleg toss from Taylor Weathersby for a walk-off two-point conversion to seal the deal, erasing that skid made it even more special.
“Our kids were pretty fired up about that,” said Haughton’s second-year but homegrown coach, Matthew Sewell, noting while the last couple seasons haven’t been good, the Bucs of recent vintage have enjoyed quite a bit of success – in all but 1-5A openers.
“There’s three playoff wins in those six years. We were 8-2 in the Covid year, and we made the semifinals in 2019, we almost made the quarterfinals in 2022, and none of those teams started 1-0 in district,” Sewell said.
That fact is one of the compelling reasons Haughton is the Shreveport-Bossier Journal Team of the Week. No disrespect to the wonderful milestone by Southwood’s Cowboys, who ended a 46-game skid dating back to 2019, but they were supposed to beat Class A Arcadia. The Bucs, however, weren’t favored against a Byrd program that reached the state quarterfinals last year – a Yellow Jackets program that beat them by 35 last year.
“Every win is a big win. You do not take them for granted, not in this district,” said Sewell. “It’s so deep.”
This win was particularly refreshing considering how this season started for Haughton, with a 36-34 homefield loss to Class 2A stalwart Homer, a game a 5A school should win. The Bucs were throwing into the end zone in the final moments but didn’t connect.
“That’s tough, but it toughens you,” said Sewell. “These guys didn’t flinch (against Byrd) with the game on the line, going down to the wire. They didn’t panic, kept fighting, and more than anything, I’m so proud that they compete, they fight.”
They know the territory. Haughton has played eight of its last 20 games to three-point margins, and is 4-4 in those nailbiters, something Sewell realized late Friday night. He was offensive coordinator in 2023 before getting promoted last year, so he’s been around for all of it.
“How’s my heart still working?,” was his first thought, he said. But the toughness his still-young club has – there are only two senior starters, one on each side of the ball – shined through against Byrd.
“We trailed 13-7, 20-14, 28-20, and 35-28, and came back each time,” said Sewell. “It’s hard to do that.”
There was no shortage of stout performances. Some speak for themselves: receiver Ethan Johnson’s 281 yards receiving on 12 catches included three touchdowns; Weathersby threw for 309 yards, going 16 of 30 with no interceptions; and Brandon Craig rushed for 127 yards and a pair of TDs on 24 carries.
Some popped out on film, like from Jayden Lackey, a senior who starts at tight end/H-back.
“He didn’t catch a pass, but he was instrumental in us being able to run the football against Byrd. We’ve struggled to do that in the past,” said Sewell. “He is an excellent protector in the passing game. Jayden is a great kid, a program kid who has worked really hard to earn his playing time, and he was a big part of us winning that game.”
Sophomore linebacker Jameson Voigt had a sensational night – 19 tackles, the third-most by a Haughton defender this century. Included were a sack, two tackles for loss, and a blocked punt.
Two juniors, outside linebacker Colton Bedgood and offensive lineman Jaden Keith, were also especially vital contributors to the outcome, Sewell said.
The victory put the bounce back in the Bucs’ steps. The long haul forecast is bright, but other than team members, getting edged by Homer dampened enthusiasm. No longer.
“There’s a lot of hope,” said Sewell. “There’s a lot of promise with our sophomores and especially the juniors. They were very successful in junior high, and built a lot of confidence, but they got beat up (emotionally) pretty badly last year. When you don’t have success like you’ve had in your past, some doubt can creep in, but they’ve never wavered in their work ethic, in trusting the process.
“For them to find a way to win a game like that, it was really cool and exciting,” he said.
Doing so in such dramatic fashion – not just the final play, but the slugfest of the first three quarters and the fourth-quarter flurry of a combined 36 points – made it an instant classic, something Sewell told his team moments afterward.
“For sure,” he said again Monday. “Everybody from Haughton who was there will remember that one forever.”
Contact Doug at sbjdoug@gmail.com