By DOUG IRELAND, Journal Sports
The hard knocks of the past have hardened the Haughton Buccaneers.
Giving up a 91-yard touchdown on the opening kickoff used to rock their world. Getting shredded in the first half for 200 yards by an opposing running back was crushing.
But in this so-far-perfect 2026 season, the Bucs bounce back, as they did in Friday’s 43-33 District 1-5A victory over visiting Byrd.
After the Yellow Jackets’ Traylon Johnson housed the kickoff, Haughton’s offensive line gave Brandon Craig the room he needed to race 65 yards on the next play for a 7-all tie.
“We got going early, first-play touchdown,” said Haughton senior quarterback Taylor Weathersby. “Shout out to them, they scored on the opening kickoff, so we knew we had to come out and handle that adversity, and I think that’s what we do best.”
Byrd rode with explosive halfback Christian Maxie at quarterback, the first time he started there. His second carry, on the first snap following Craig’s TD, covered 85 yards to six points. By the band show, the senior had 200 yards on 16 carries including three touchdowns. He had obliterated the 20-year-old school career rushing mark by then and the winless Yellow Jackets, who had three one-score defeats, were within 31-26.
They scored once more.
“They came out in something different than we practiced for all week,” said Haughton senior safety Kyron Turner, who is committed to Cincinnati. “We got adjustments done on the sideline, then at halftime and we got it right.”
There was stress but no fractures among the Bucs.
“None of us are selfish. We’re going to do our job,” Turner said. “All the losses we had before this year, all the adversity we went through, it just built loyalty to each other, and we’re going to do our job for each other, for our brothers.”
There were few, if any, hiccups on the other side of the ball for Haughton (7-0 overall, 3-0 in 1-5A).
Weathersby completed his first 12 passes, finishing 12 of 15 for 200 yards and three scores.
He repeatedly found senior Ethan Johnson, a Byrd nemesis from last season, when he had a 12-catch, 290-yard night against the Jackets. This time the total was a more modest 111 yards on six snags, including a 32-yarder 8:38 before halftime that put Haughton ahead to stay, 25-20.
“Coach told me, it was gonna come to me, and I just had to execute when it came,” said Johnson. “They gave us a look we had practiced against and we just kept firing away.”
“Not as good as last year – he didn’t go for 300 yards – but he’s still a baller,” said Weathersby. “He’s such a reliable target.”
The heady Bucs quarterback also connected with Case Corkern for a 23-yard first-period TD and broke the game open on Haughton’s opening series of the second half when on fourth-and-3, he watched Craig sneak out of the backfield against the flow, down the Bucs’ sideline and hit him in stride for a 51-yard strike and a 37-26 advantage.
Byrd (0-7, 0-3) nearly responded, but on fourth-and-2 at the Haughton 26, a Maxie pass fell several yards short, beginning a mostly unproductive second half for the Jackets.
“I put that on me,” said Maxie. “I missed a wide-open pass to Collin Deere on the wheel route. I fumbled coming out of halftime, too. I’ve got to do better.”
Haughton, ringing up an average of 47 points per game, strategically slowed down.
“We tried to run the clock down a little bit, trying to keep Maxie out of the game,” explained Weathersby. “He’s such a dog, You’ve got to keep it out of his hands. We got the job done.”
Maxie added just 54 yards after halftime, finishing with 254 on 29 carries, with four touchdowns. He raised his career rushing total to 3,916 yards, a 9.7 average per carry, but found no joy in it.
“I’m just a team player and I want to win. We haven’t won. So (the record) doesn’t mean anything,” he said.
Craig, who tied the Shreveport-Bossier single-game mark for rushing TDs with seven against Parkway a few weeks ago, scored four times, on the long pass and runs of 65, 1 and 40 yards. With 23 carries, he piled up 212 yards on the ground.
Weathersby polished off the night with a 26-yard touchdown keeper.
“Our guys on offense played very well,” said Haughton coach Matthew Sewell. “Our quarterback played awesome. Credit him for creating some explosive plays.”
“They’re a great offense, they’ve got some really good skill position players and a great offensive line,” said Byrd’s Stacy Ballew. “We couldn’t get stops when we needed them.”
This season, nobody has.
Contact Doug at sbjdoug@gmail.com