By MATT VINES, Journal Sports
Football fans can generally get a sense and feel for a game in the first quarter or so, but crazy twists and turns highlighted Week 3 page turners.
Evangel and Byrd entered Week 3 on two wildly different trajectories.
The Eagles (now 2-1) were one point from being undefeated but established themselves as a Class 5A deep playoff contender with their play in that loss, 33-32 in Week 1 at state power Neville.
The Yellow Jackets (now 0-3) were reeling after one blowout loss and a heartbreaker to Haughton.
Evangel dumped the first 22 points of the game and appeared to be cruising at 29-7. But Byrd’s methodical Wing-T rushing attack took hold and the Jackets closed to 29-26.
Evangel made the necessary plays to hang on, 43-36, overcoming Byrd’s more than 400 rushing yards (Christian Maxie’s 230 set the pace, and he scored three times) with more than 600 offensive yards of its own — with a huge night by quarterback Peyton “Pop” Houston (225 rushing, including an 80-yard scoring run and another TD; 334 passing on 18 of 31 aim and three more scores)
Up at Northwood, a back-and-forth battle of 2-0 teams turned into a blowout.
Mansfield led the Falcons 20-13 as Friday’s night fight looked like it would go the distance.
And Northwood hit the gas and left the Wolverines in the dust in a 62-26 victory. Northwood scored 49 of the last 55 points.
Mansfield proved that no lead is safe after clawing back from a 35-point deficit to beat Minden in the opener, but Northwood running backs Kyran Johnson and John Sneed both scored a pair of touchdowns to stymie any Mansfield comeback thoughts.
Calvary Baptist (3-0) roared out to a 23-point lead against Class 4A power Franklin Parish headlined by a 100-yard interception return from Braylun Huglon to end the first half.
But the Patriots roared to life after halftime, scoring 30 of the next 40 points.
Calvary clung to the lead in a 33-30 win, exacting revenge for a Franklin Parish win that rocketed the Patriots to state notoriety in 2024.
While Captain Shreve mounted a game-ending surge, it might not qualify as a “wild swing.” The Gators scored three of the final four touchdowns in a tough 42-36 win at Natchitoches Central.
The Chiefs led for nearly three quarters and tied the game again for part of the fourth before Captain Shreve’s Shawn Devers (7 catches, 138 yards) snatched the lead for good on a 50-yard bomb from Jackson Gaskin with 3:46 to go.
Jamarcea Plater ran for 121 yards on 15 carries and scored three TDs (22, 10 and 3 yards) and also threw a two-point conversion pass to Devers.
Former team wins ‘Dennis Bowl’
Stephen Dennis built Huntington into a District 1-4A force before leading the Raiders to a successful first season in District 1-5A in 2024.
Dennis crossed the Red River to coach Benton High this season, and his old and new teams collided in a classic 59-57 Huntington win Friday. It was 32-29 Raiders at halftime.
Veteran college assistant John Simon secured his first victory as Huntington’s coach as the Raiders (1-2) ran for 227 yards and got a huge game from quarterback Justin Whitaker. He threw for 376 yards on 20 of 28 aim with no interceptions, and accounted for five total touchdowns, four passing.
Benton and Dennis are still looking for their first victory together as they fell to 0-3 despite 253 yards rushing (138 by Greg Chambers, who scored three times) and 345 total yards (278 passing) by Malachi Zeigler, who threw three TD passes and ran for another score. Case Austin was the Tigers’ top target with 122 yards on three catches, two (71, 18 yards) for touchdowns.
Different kind of streak
What do you do when you snap the state’s longest winning streak at 46 games?
Start a different kind of winning streak, of course.
First-year Southwood head coach De’Aumante Johnson has won his first two games with the Cowboys (2-0), a 16-15 nailbiter over Arcadia and now a 50-28 whipping of North Caddo.
They’ll be heavy dogs against a legit Loyola Prep (3-0) bunch this week, but hey, two straight wins after 46 consecutive losses has to feel pretty good.
King of the North
While Loyola (3-0) might have something to say this year, traditionally District 1-4A has been decided by the winner of Northwood (3-0) and North DeSoto (3-0).
Those undefeated teams square off in Week 4 to begin district play, and both teams are coming in on heaters.
North DeSoto has pummeled its opponents up front in wins over tough guys Union Parish (46-3), Center (49-20), and on Friday, winning in comeback fashion at West Monroe (39-28).
Northwood has also thumped its opponents, although the Falcons’ competition doesn’t stand up to the Griffins’ slate so far.
But the Falcons have dominated just the same, topping Benton (49-16), Peabody (61-13), and Mansfield (62-26).
North DeSoto has won the last two meetings (and those district titles), while Northwood captured the previous two meetings along with district titles.
Soul Bowl surprise
Previously winless Green Oaks followed quarterback Javontaye Dean, who threw for three scores as the Giants opened a 24-0 lead and stunned 2-0 Booker T. Washington 38-16 in the 52nd annual Soul Bowl Saturday.
Green Oaks erupted for 32 second-half points as new coach Nick Peoples notched a memorable first career win as Dean finished with 5 TDs (4 passing).
Message from a Hall of Famer
No, Plain Dealing hasn’t stopped its state-long losing streak as it stretched to 37 in a row Friday with a 52-0 loss to Lakeside.
But the Lions did receive a video message from Pro Football Hall of Fame offensive lineman Willie Roaf on Friday, encouraging the guys to keep fighting and that “tough times don’t last, tough people do.”
New head coach Jerry Byrd played with Roaf at Louisiana Tech, and even though Plain Dealing is 0-2, there’s no question the culture has changed up in north Bossier, and don’t be shocked when the win column number will too.
Contact Matt at sports@journalservicesllc.com