By MATT VINES, Journal Sports
There’s no need to adjust your eyes or check your Evangel Christian roster.
Quarterback Peyton “Pop” Houston traded in his standard No. 1 jersey for No. 3 in Friday’s win against Huntington.
It’s the number that former Eagle great Virgil “Vee” Williams wore.
Williams, who died early Tuesday in a motor vehicle accident on Interstate 20, was also a close friend of Houston’s father Shaun Houston.
“I missed a call from one of my best friends (Monday night) and said “I’ll call him in the morning,” Shaun Houston wrote via text last week. “I didn’t get the opportunity.
“It’s rocked me to my core.”
Williams, 35, had been a longtime football coach in the area and served on the Calvary Baptist staff for the past two seasons and this one.
The Evangel defensive back was part of two state titles, then was an All-SWAC performer at Southern.
Houston led the Eagles (1-2) to their first victory of the season in their District 1-5A opener with a 42-0 win against the Raiders.
BTW, Bossier suffer first losses
While Evangel was the only Shreveport-Bossier team to get its first win in Week 3, two local teams did suffer their first losses of the season.
Booker T. Washington couldn’t convert a game-tying two-point conversion late in Saturday’s Soul Bowl as the Lions fell to Green Oaks, 20-18.
The Lions (2-1) had been declared winners of the past three Soul Bowls (won via forfeit in 2025).
BTW is still in position to be the primary challenger of North DeSoto in Class 1-4A, but a surging Minden (3-0) could certainly take that spot as well.
Bossier (2-1) appears to be further from that District 1-4A recognition as the Bearkats fell to Class 1A power Logansport in 50-8 fashion in their first loss.
The Bearkats were dominant in their early wins against North Caddo and Glenbrook, but Friday’s 42-point loss signals that Bossier has plenty of room to grow to catch the top half of District 1-4A.
Four teams are still perfect
Green Oaks’ slugfest win over BTW in the Soul Bowl kept the Giants in the undefeated category, which has just five Shreveport-Bossier teams left after three weeks.
Green Oaks joins Airline, Calvary Baptist and Haughton as teams who still haven’t tasted the bitterness of defeat.
The competitive Soul Bowl victory validates the foundations that both Green Oaks coach Nick Peoples and BTW coach Gary Cooper are building, and one shouldn’t expect either program to leave the Shreveport-Bossier Journal Top 10 anytime soon.
Airline (3-0) is another squad that fended off its Week 3 foe as the Vikings outlasted Pulaski (Ark.) in a 40-35 victory.
Airline’s defense answered the bell with Pulaski knocking on the red zone door with the time winding down.
But TJ Heard intercepted a pass and sealed the win defensively on a night when the offenses mostly had their way.
It’s the second time that Airline gritted its teeth in tough win after a Week 1 comeback against Wossman.
Haughton (3-0) and Calvary Baptist (3-0) rolled through their Week 3 contests as the Bucs flattened Glenbrook 45-6 and Calvary shellacked Class 4A Grant in 57-13 win.
Both teams have scored at least 40 points in all three victories.
Seven squads still looking for first win
Shreveport-Bossier is home to seven teams still looking for their first wins after Week 3.
While the area still houses the state’s longest losing streak (Plain Dealing at 47 straight), there are a few teams who are unfamiliar with this category.
Byrd is a surprise at 0-3, although the schedule was brutal with games against defending state champion Ouachita, Airline and North DeSoto.
But look past the state’s leading rusher Christian Maxie, and there is some cause for concern.
Ouachita lost Friday 49-0 to Neville – perhaps a sign that the Lions’ rebuilt roster isn’t state championship level. But don’t tell a Lions squad that won a title as a No. 14 seed that late-season improvements aren’t a thing.
And while Airline is 3-0, the Vikings scrapped in their other two wins that weren’t Byrd. Of course the Yellow Jackets were a tough test, but Byrd didn’t seriously threaten in the second half of the 19-point Airline win.
Huntington is another team not used to 0-3.
The Raiders’ record is certainly a product of their schedule as well – Evangel, Karr, and Calvary – but the average margin of defeat being 39 points is of grave concern.
The other five teams – Plain Dealing, North Caddo, Magnolia School of Excellence, Woodlawn and Southwood – also couldn’t get off the snide.
Plain Dealing did score their first points of the season in a 38-16 loss to Acadiana Christian.
Magnolia also dented the scoreboard for the first time in a 46-14 loss to Lakeview.
North Caddo is just at 0-2 with a 34-0 loss to Lakeside (after a Week 2 bye).
Woodlawn and Southwood out of District 1-4A are also still winless.
The Knights came close in the opening week with a loss to Carroll, but the Knights’ defeats to Richwood (36-22) and Benton (38-6) haven’t been as tight.
Southwood is still looking for its first points after shutout losses to Green Oaks, Haughton and Wossman.
Contact Matt at matt.vines@lsus.edu