By MATT VINES, Journal Sports
Week 2 in high school football is about seeing if that Week 1 sneak peek either validates preseason expectations about a team or if that performance might be an outlier.
Tonight’s Week 2 games offer buffet options for teams aiming to back up that Week 1 performance and squads out to prove that they can improve from their season-opening letdowns.
Parkway’s (0-1) trip to Loyola (1-0) features teams in each of these categories.
The Flyers’ dominance against defending District 1-5A champion Captain Shreve was the surprise of the opening week.
It’s not wholly a shock that Loyola won (although most fans probably leaned toward Shreve), but the manner in which the No. 8 team in Class 3A did so.
A fake punt and an interception returned for a touchdown helped Loyola build a three-touchdown lead early in the second half as quarterback Bryce Restovich marked his placed in a deep Shreveport-Bossier quarterback class while Loyola’s defense did more than enough one of the most explosive offenses in this corner of the state.
Now Parkway.
A glimpse of the 55-15 final score against Dunham, the reigning Division III Select champions with Alabama commit Elijah Haven at quarterback, would lead one to believe that game was romp city.
But the Panthers trailed just 20-15 at halftime.
Which half more closely represented a young Parkway team?
Loyola had the depth to outlast a large Shreve squad in the summer heat. Can the Flyers do it again facing another District 1-5A foe?
Teams in need of bounce back
That Captain Shreve team shouldn’t have a problem against a Bastrop bunch that squeaked by Rayville (22-14) in the opener.
But Week 2 features plenty of others in need of a bounce back.
Northwood, a squad that’s been a Top 10 seed in Division I Select in each of the past two seasons, couldn’t pull off a win (lost 34-26) at Benton despite getting a special teams touchdown on a blocked field goal.
Now the Falcons head to West Ouachita, a Class 4A program that is similar to Northwood in that it’s found life in the past decade after years and years of bad football.
The Chiefs’ playoff success has been on the limited side, but they’ve been able to put together significant regular seasons like a 9-1 mark in 2024.
But West Ouachita is looking for some TLC as well after a 28-0 loss to perennial Class 2A power Oak Grove last week.
Huntington didn’t have the horses to hang with Division III Select runner-up Calvary Baptist in the opener. They’ll face another state power when Class 5A kingpin Edna Karr rolls in.
Karr is the No. 2 team in Class 5A in this week’s LSWA poll after a 48-21 win over Lafayette Renaissance Charter Academy.
The Cougars are the reigning Division I Select champions after flattening most of their competition, including a 49-14 blasting of New Orleans rival St. Augustine (49-14) in the title game.
Calvary Baptist doesn’t have anything to prove after its opening win against Huntington, but opponent Bunkie sure does.
The Cavs scheduled Bunkie for what appeared to be a good road trip test after the Panthers beat every team in the past three regular seasons not named Jena.
Bunkie, which advanced to the Division III Select semifinals in 2024, had a head-scratching 54-35 loss to Eunice, which hasn’t had recent success.
It’s hard to throw Evangel in the “bounce back” category after a team with top-level talent but only 33 players faded late despite building a two-touchdown against Class 5A West Monroe in a 42-32 loss.
They’ll get another Monroe-area power when Class 4A No. 4 Neville comes to town to continue a tightly-contested series recently.
If the Eagles are going to be a state title threat with LSU commit Peyton Houston at quarterback, they’ll have to find a way to sustain for four quarters against elite competition.
Two longest active losing streaks collide
The two longest active losing streaks among programs still playing football will collide tonight when Lakeview visits Plain Dealing.
Plain Dealing lost its 45th straight game in a 38-0 loss to Northwood-Lena.
Lakeview dented the scoreboard in a 54-13 loss to LaSalle, its 28th straight defeat.
Bolton Academy technically holds the No. 2 spot with its 32-game losing streak, but the Bears didn’t field a football team this year and might be done for good after more than a century of football.
Plain Dealing coach Jerry Byrd made sure his Panthers stayed on the football field, pounding the halls of the school of 270 kids (that’s K-12 enrollment).
Twenty-two players, including six eighth-graders, is a relatively decent number given the situation, up from previous years.
Plain Dealing’s last win came on Oct. 1, 2021 – a 38-6 drubbing of Ringgold.
The current senior class were seventh graders.
Contact Matt at matt.vines@lsus.edu