By DOUG IRELAND, Journal Sports
Years from now, Haughton tight end CT Woodard is going to be the answer to a Shreveport-Bossier sports trivia question.
When Haughton running back Brandon Craig equaled a rare feat accomplished locally only twice in 84 years (first in 1942), running for seven touchdowns, who scored the Buccaneers’ other one?
Woodard’s TD just before the end of the third quarter was obviously overshadowed, although it mattered quite a bit in Haughton’s 55-36 District 1-5A triumph at Parkway Thursday night. His grab of Taylor Weathersby’s 8-yard toss culminated a 55-yard drive over eight plays, including a vital fourth-and-5 conversion when Weathersby found receiver Ethan Johnson open on an out route to the Bucs’ sideline for a 13-yard connection.
That series rebuilt a double-digit advantage after Parkway had used three Bryston McCoy touchdown strikes to get within 41-36 late in the third period. Following Woodard’s catch, the Panthers weren’t able to answer and Haughton rode Craig to the clinching touchdown, an 11-yard run, his (how about this symmetry) seventh straight carry for his record-tying seventh TD.
Craig’s 54 yards on that drive pushed his total to 183 yards on 30 carries. The seven runs that registered on the scoreboard at Preston Crownover Stadium covered (here’s another trivia question for the ages) 5, 1, 6, 4, 24, 1 and 11 yards.
Five came in the first half, three on Haughton’s last three possessions over the final 6:48 of the second quarter in a run that lifted the unbeaten Bucs from 14-13 down to a 34-17 advantage at the break.
Yes, unbeaten.
Haughton climbed to 5-0 overall, 2-0 in district against a Parkway program that had manhandled the young Bucs in the past two seasons. It was 66-21 Panthers on the same field last year, and 48-7 the year before in Haughton.
“We got run off the field by those guys last year, and it wasn’t the only time,” Haughton coach Matthew Sewell said. “We’re down 48-0 to them (in 2024). They embarrassed us.”
After staring at a running clock in the last two meetings between the neighborhood rivals, Haughton was methodically running out the closing 6:08 Thursday night and posting its best start since five straight to open an 11-win season in 2019.
The Bucs turned the tables by doing what Parkway (3-2, 1-1, a state quarterfinalist last year) typically does to opponents.
“Haughton beat us tonight doing what we’ve done to teams in the past” said Panthers’ coach Coy Brotherton, “and that’s just being more physical – not being a bully, but getting after them. They brought the tempo, they brought the physicality, and we didn’t.”
And they brought Number 5.
“He ran the ball hard. When we had him bottled up, he would just pop out of the pile and fall forward for another 3-4 yards … all night,” said Brotherton.
“He’s the best football player in the city,” said Sewell. “We’ve known that for a while, but he hasn’t gotten the credit he deserves because we haven’t won as much (going 5-15 over the last two seasons).”
“I saw their secondary couldn’t tackle, and I knew it was gonna be a night,” said the 5-8, 165-pounder. “I just trusted my blockers, leaned on my O-line, my wide receivers to block, and it all came together.”
What nobody saw coming was Haughton unleashing its version of the Wildcat formation, called “Poker” in the Bucs’ playbook. A handful of times last year, they stacked up big men on an often unbalanced side of the line and put Craig at the single-wing tailback post, but not yet this year.
Not last week, when he scored four times in their 50-36 homefield win in the 1-5A opener over Captain Shreve, but on the fourth play of their second possession Thursday night, trailing 7-0, it was time for Poker, which provides maximum push up front and lets Craig find creases and cutback opportunities.
On five straight snaps, he chewed up 54 yards, finishing with his 5-yarder for a 7-7 tie. The rest of the night, the Bucs ran their normal spread offense, and occasionally shifted gears to the novelty package to unleash Craig.
“We didn’t really know when we were going to use it,” Sewell said. “We work on it every day in practice. We use a lot of defensive guys in it, to get our best football players on the field.
“We haven’t needed it yet this year, but we needed it tonight. We felt like we had to combat how good they (Parkway) are up front.”
It capped an incredible six-day stretch for Sewell, spanning the victory over Shreve, followed Monday by his wife Morgan delivering their second daughter (which resulted in him missing the first practice in his 13-year coaching career), and culminating with Thursday’s triumph.
“I’m not a super emotional coach. I’m pretty calm on the sideline, but I shed a tear out there for a second, thinking about this week,” he said. “It’s been awesome, two great wins for us back-to-back, and one of the best days of my life (having) our little girl Annie. It’s been a blessing.”
Sewell savors the next week, fall break for Bossier Parish schools, allowing him more time to be at home with Morgan, Annie and and her big sister, not-much-older Olivia.
Craig is also looking ahead — at the rest of his senior season.
“Now it’s our time,” he said. “We’re fixing to show the whole city.”
Contact Doug at sbjdoug@gmail.com