JOURNAL SPORTS
Three district contests tonight, two locally, kick off Week 8 of the high school football regular season for Shreveport-Bossier teams.
Northwood and Southwood tangle In a District 1-4A game at Independence Stadium. Jonesboro-Hodge visits Plain Dealing for a District 1-1A contest.
In Natchitoches, the Airline Vikings visit the Natchitoches Central Chiefs in a battle of teams with 2-3 District 1-5A records.
The Falcons have one of the top running backs in the area with Kyran Johnson approaching a 1,000-yard season, starting tonight with 874 yards and 13 touchdowns. First-year starting quarterback Nate Cervantes has been very efficient running the Northwood offense, throwing for 1,041 yards and 12 TDs while completing 61 percent of his passes with only three interceptions in 101 attempts.
Southwood has been resurgent under new coach Deaumante Johnson, ending a 46-game skid in the Cowboys’ opener and adding two more wins since. Northwood stands fifth in the LHSAA’s Non-Select Division I power rankings.
Airline’s explosive offense features dynamic senior Kenny Darby, an LSU commitment as a receiver (70 catches, 961 yards, 137 per game with 8 TDs) who also is a dynamic kick returner (2 TDs) owning a 9.5 average per carry in spot duty at tailback. D.J. Allen has 13 rushing touchdowns’ and an 8.8 average per carry, averaging 109 yards per game.
Vikings QB Chase Williams is on the verge of cracking the 2,000-yard mark for season passing yards. He has 1,915 while completing two-thirds of his throws (127-186) with only four interceptions and 18 TDs.
The game is important for playoff positioning. Airline is 22nd and NCHS 28 in Non-Select Division I power rankings. The Vikings’ three district losses are by a total of 17 points to Evangel, Parkway and Captain Shreve.
The Week 8 schedule involving teams from Caddo and Bossier parishes:
TONIGHT’S GAMES
District 1-5A
Airline (4-3, 2-3) at Natchitoches Central (4-3, 2-3), Turpin Stadium
District 1-4A
Northwood (6-1, 3-1) at Southwood (3-3, 1-3), Independence Stadium
District 1-1A
Jonesboro-Hodge (4-3, 2-1) at Plain Dealing (0-6, 0-4)
FRIDAY’S GAMES
District 1-5A
Benton (2-5, 1-4) at Byrd (1-6, 0-5), Lee Hedges Stadium
Captain Shreve (4-3, 4-1) at Parkway (7-0, 5-0)
Haughton (1-6, 1-5) at Evangel (6-1, 6-0)
Non-district
Huntington (3-4) at Calvary (6-1)
District 1-4A
Loyola (7-0, 4-0) at Booker T. Washington (4-3, 1-3)
Bossier (3-4, 1-3) at Minden (3-4, 2-2)
North DeSoto (7-0, 4-0) at Woodlawn (2-5, 0-4), Independence Stadium
District 1-2A
North Caddo (1-6, 1-2) at Green Oaks (1-6, 0-3), Jerry Burton Stadium
Magnolia School of Excellence (0-6, 0-3) at Homer (2-5, 1-2)