By MATT VINES, Journal Sports
Evangel freshman quarterback Briggs Berlin did a respectable job of filling the Pop-Houston-sized hole in the Eagles’ passing attack, but Byrd dominated the run game on both sides of the ball to pull out its first win of the season in 28-24 fashion Friday night.
Byrd all-time leading rusher Christian Maxie posted 210 yards and three touchdowns as the Yellow Jackets engineered a fourth-quarter comeback by scoring three of their four touchdowns in the final period of their homecoming game.
“We’ve got a core group of kids that are coming to practice every day and working their tails off. They haven’t given up hope, and we keep at it and keep at it, and everything feel our way,” said Byrd coach Stacey Ballew. “Hats off to our kids on staying committed.
“The pressure didn’t affect our kids, and even though we made some mistakes, fortunately we made less than the other team.”
The Yellow Jackets (1-7, 1-3 District 1-5A) wore down the Evangel defense and Maxie found seams late.
Evangel (4-4, 2-1) had two third-quarter chances to build on its 10-7 lead after forcing a pair of Byrd turnovers, but the Eagles came up empty each time.
After a scoreless third period, the fireworks shot off in the fourth with a combined 35 points after just 17 total points through the first 36 minutes.
Berlin seemed to put Evangel in comfortable territory when his 1-yard run put the Eagles up 17-7 early in the fourth quarter.
But a 60-yard touchdown pass from Jackson Davis to Eli Stephens sparked a run in which the Yellow Jackets scored three of the final four touchdowns.
Maxie exploded on a 46-yard score to take a 21-17 lead with 5:49 remaining.
“We played well offensively after being sluggish in the first half at times,” Ballew said. “Our offensive line is gelling and they stay on blocks.
“And our noseguard Cole Richardson played the draw about as well as anybody I’ve seen. We were giving (Evangel) the run, and they took it with quarterback and running back draws, but he made some big tackles that limited their ability to take advantage.”
Berlin answered the bell for Evangel, finding Hicks for a 72-yard connection to retake the edge at 27-21. Berlin finished with 225 total yards and three scores, completing 16-of-26, also with two interceptions.
But Maxie found paydirt again from 46 yards with 1:31 to go, and Byrd held Evangel to snap a seven-game losing streak with several close calls this season.
The win gives the Yellow Jackets postseason hope as they move up to No. 25 in the Division I Select power rankings, needing to crack the top 24.
Evangel’s loss means Haughton (8-0, 4-0) is in sole possession of first place in 1-5A after the Bucs topped Airline.
The Eagles and Bucs will lock horns in Week 10 for what could be a share of the district title, but Evangel has to get past Airline first this coming week.
Haughton only local unbeaten after Green Oaks, Calvary fall
Brandon Craig scored five touchdowns as Haughton handled business at Airline (42-28), and the Bucs were the only local undefeated team left standing after both Green Oaks and Calvary Baptist fell on the road.
Both losses had big surprises.
Not a surprise that a Class 4A Shaw (7-1) team that played in the Division II Select championship game this past season won at home, but holding Calvary’s powerful offense to seven points does raise eyebrows.
Shaw scored 17 points in the first quarter and strangled the Calvary (7-1) offense, which produced just one touchdown (third quarter).
Calvary’s Hudson Price found Braylon Hughlon on a 17-yard touchdown pass, but the Cavs’ chances nose-dived backed up near their end zone down 17-7.
Shaw forced a sack-fumble which the Eagles recovered in the end zone in what turned out to be the game’s final score.
Price suffered three interceptions to go with that fumble and finished with 142 passing yards on 18-of-34 aim.
The biggest surprise of Friday night came in Claiborne Parish, a 40-8 loss by Green Oaks at Homer.
The Giants (6-1, 1-1 District 1-2A) had traveled successfully on longer trips such as to Alexandria to play Class 5A Peabody, but the Pelicans (3-5, 2-1) proved to be way too much in their blowout win Friday.
Green Oaks had beaten its first six opponents by an average of 28 points, but the Giants were on the receiving end of that spread in the 32-point loss to Homer, which played a challenging non-district schedule.
Homer quarterback Kevin Williams threw for three touchdowns and ran for two more en route to 295 yards against a Green Oaks defense that had been pretty stout this season.
But a Green Oaks offense that scored at least 40 points in five of its six wins managed just one touchdown.
Homer forced three Green Oaks turnovers in the first half as the Pelicans built a 20-8 halftime lead, and they coasted in the second half to the victory.
The loss pushed Green Oaks down three spots to No. 5 in the Division III Non-Select power rankings.
While the Giants should bounce back against North Caddo (2-5) next week, the Homer loss puts into question how Green Oaks will stack up against Calvary in Week 10 and how much of a threat GO poses to make a deep playoff run.
BTW, Northwood roll in District 1-4A wins
Booker T. Washington pitched its second shutout and had its fourth game of allowing single-digit points Friday in a 44-0 win over Woodlawn.
The Lions’ (6-2, 3-1) defense got into the scoring column with pick-sixes by Ricky Walker and Keyunitae Morris.
“The defense played really well, and we were consistent as a team,” said BTW coach Gary Cooper. “We held on two long Woodlawn drives, and then we scored two defensive touchdowns.
“Our defense played a lot of snaps, but they got Woodlawn off the field.
BTW has won four of its last five games with the lone loss coming to Northwood.
Those Falcons (4-4, 3-1) kept their train rolling with a 44-14 shellacking of fellow three-win District 1-4A foe Bossier.
Northwood’s Dez Douglas and Caden Stewart scored a pair of touchdowns each as the ground game continued to pave the way.
The Falcons have won their last three games after a 1-4 start.
Contact Matt at matt.vines@lsus.edu