By DOUG IRELAND, Journal Sports
CAMPTI — Players want to play. At Magnolia School of Excellence, nearly all of the Mariners play almost every play.
All 15 dressed out strode onto the field at Lakeview last Friday night hoping – no, believing — they could do what their opponents did a week earlier and end the state’s second-longest losing streak.
They didn’t. Although they had chances into the second half, the Mariners lost for the 21st consecutive game, 46-14. Lakeview won at home for the first time since 2023, and as a bonus, posted a homecoming triumph to follow its 35-0 Week 2 victory at Plain Dealing.
But Magnolia coaches and players rode home rather encouraged. For the first time in three games, they didn’t play with a running clock trailing by at least 40 points. They also scored for the first time – and staged a goalline stand.
So for the first time in the Shreveport-Bossier Journal’s five seasons, our Team of the Week didn’t celebrate a victory last weekend. Instead, the Mariners showed a ton of moxie and unabashedly set their sights on succeeding on the scoreboard this Friday night in their homecoming game.
“We’re going to come back,” said senior Lemont Anderson, a 205-pounder who wore two jerseys – Number 10 so he could play fullback, quarterback, tight end, or receiver, and on top of it, Number 70, in case he had to play center, which he did most of the night, along with defensive end.
“Next year, we can win. I won’t be playing, but they’ve got it,” he said. “Next week, we can win. We’ve got Beekman Charter on our homecoming week, and I need that one — and Senior Night, also.”
The approach is basic, said freshman Jadarien Peterson, who scored both Magnolia touchdowns on long returns in the kicking game — an 80-yard punt runback in the second quarter and with just under a quarter to go, a 78-yarder with a kickoff that kept the Mariners in range at 26-14.
“Hard work pays off. We’ve got to keep going,” he said. “Don’t stop. Don’t let nothing hold you down, at all.”
Nothing.
Not when your head coach, Kelly Yancey, is back despite two heart attacks last month, resulting in two stents put in just over a week before the Sept. 4 season opener at Class 5A Dutchtown.
“It just shows his dedication,” said Anderson. “We were worried, when we found out, and he was fresh out of surgery, and he wanted to come out and coach. We said, ‘no, you’re not. Stay in that hospital bed.’”
He didn’t for very long. Friday night, Yancey was back for his second game, and wasn’t casually coaching. Even as the outcome was no longer in doubt in the closing minutes, he gave the officiating crew an earful a couple minutes after admonishing a hefty, very weary lineman who had sat down on the sideline.
“He’s never given up, ever,” said Anderson, in his third year on the team. “He keeps fighting. We keep fighting.”
On every snap, every kickoff. The ball went into play nearly 130 times Friday night. Anderson was off the field once, because he rolled his ankle. He couldn’t shake hands afterward because his right arm was banged up.
Peterson, a defensive back and receiver who might be 140 pounds, was also out there for all but one play. The four reserves were all linemen, so when a back was shaken up, one of them had to line up at fullback for a snap.
With a threadbare and fluid roster, there’s a steady flow of adjustments on the fly by coaches and players.
“We’re going to plug ‘em where we need them, try to get the most out of them, and constantly remind them it’s all about the team,” said Yancey. “We line up and try to go bust heads, and respect the guys across from us. We’re setting a culture, and that’s really hard with a team that’s been losing. But it’s about the team, and being winners not only on the field, but in the classroom and in life.”
Anderson proudly lifted his Number 70 jersey to show his Number 10 underneath.
“That’s what I started the game with, but we didn’t have a center (due to a concussion), and I had to do what I had to do,” he explained.
“Since I’ve been here, we ain’t won since, and I decided this year, I’m going to do whatever it takes to win. Truth be told, I’ve played every position – quarterback, running back, tight end, defensive end, linebacker, safety and now center. I’ll do anything we need.”
He recognizes progress when few others would.
“I can see today, it’s paying off, it’s working. I feel like we’re going to break that losing streak. We had little mistakes tonight. We’re tired. Once we get our stamina up, and get a few more people out here, we’ll be able to come out with wins. This was a very winnable game, and we got tired. That’s the only reason we lost.”
A two-point conversion run by Khali Davis after Peterson’s first TD tied the game at 8, thanks to a goalline stand that began at the 1 and ended with a blocked field goal, and an interception by Davis at Lakeview’s 20. A score four minutes before halftime gave Lakeview an unsteady lead. Yancey and his staff liked much of what they saw the rest of the way.
“Being in the game, seeing how they reacted to getting knocked down … getting back up ready to go. We’ve got a proud 15 today, and I’ll take that 15 anywhere, to Calvary, to Homer,” said the coach. “Those 15 are gonna fight, I know that, and that’s what we want.
“We’re teaching them to have good character, be strong, and to bounce back. These young men are the same way in the hallway – respecting their teachers, respecting the administration, and mainly respecting the people in their households.”
Although they aren’t a polished product, the Mariners aren’t without talent, and they’re certainly not lacking guts. Anderson, who said he hates losing more than he likes winning, explained what makes him most proud.
“My guys, they’re out here trying their hardest, and I appreciate that,” he said. “I love that.”
That’s a triumph no matter what’s on the scoreboard. All who boarded the yellow dog back to Shreveport share a bond …
“It’s Mariners on three, and family on six,” said Anderson. “We’re always going to be like that.”
… and a belief.
“It’s gonna happen, sometime,” said Yancey.
“Bet,” said Peterson.
Contact Doug at sbjdoug@gmail.com