By DOUG IRELAND, Journal Sports
There was frustration, sure, as the Byrd Yellow Jackets chased their first victory of 2026 week after week after week.
Seven weeks. Three one-score losses, including a couple recently to District 1-5A rivals Benton and Huntington that weren’t settled until the closing seconds.
Every team has injuries, but few get down to the fourth-team quarterback who is a 114-pound sophomore wide receiver.
There was frustration, but no panic. No change for the sake of change. Practice routines and schemes weren’t altered, motivational gimmicks weren’t dug up or invented.
Coach Stacy Ballew and his staff have been part of too much success at Byrd to look for rabbits to jump out of hats. Besides, they had a hard-working, irrepressible group of young men whose determined efforts pleased the coaches.
The message from Ballew was consistent: “We just have to keep doing it better.”
They did, and Friday night, it produced an eye-opening triumph. Not only did the Yellow Jackets finally get that elusive win, but they spoiled the undefeated 1-5A mark owned by Evangel, and the 28-24 triumph made it a very happy Byrd homecoming celebration.
That makes the Jackets the Shreveport-Bossier Journal Team of the Week.
“We didn’t change anything. We went out and practiced just like we always do,” said Ballew Monday. “We had a pretty good game plan for their offense and defense, but fundamentally we’ve been doing what we’re doing and continuing working at it.
“Every now and then we have a bad practice, but most of our practices are pretty good. Our kids are flying around and doing what they’re supposed to,” he said.
They certainly did against Evangel. Sticking with the plan and giving great effort paid off.
Down 17-7 with 11:35 left to play, Byrd got three long scoring plays and had just one unfortunate snap on defense, giving up a 72-yard TD pass. It put the Eagles back in front, 24-21, with 4:50 left, but the Jackets got the go-ahead TD just over three minutes later and contained Evangel’s last chance to secure the victory.
The big plays: no surprise, two came from record-shattering senior running back Christian Maxie, a pair of 46-yard TD runs, including one for the margin of victory. The bonus was a 60-yard Jackson Davis to Elijah Stephens scoring strike midway through the final period. Davis was finally back from injury that benched him for six games, and it opened up the playbook for offensive coordinator Wade Leone.
“You can throw the ball, and you don’t have to worry about running your quarterback and not having a backup,” said Ballew. “That’s as scary as all get out to worry you’re going to do if your fourth-team quarterback gets hurt.”
That fourth-team QB, though, has been special. Aden Fullwood is just 5-foot-4 and 114 pounds but he’s come up big for Byrd.
“He did everything he could, really bought in and did a good job. He doesn’t have a bunch of stats or anything like that, but he’s a hell of a team player,” said Ballew.
On the other side of the ball, junior safety Keonta Eason has risen to the challenge. He is the Yellow Jackets’ top tackler and has a pair of interceptions.
“He comes to practice every day just ready to go to work. There’s no drama with him, just a young man ready to go,” said Ballew. “He’s not a real vocal leader, but he sure does a good job for us out there.”
Helping the cause last Friday was a first-time starter on the defensive front, senior Cole Richardson.
“He had a heck of a game,” said Ballew. “Cole did a good job stopping the run because we had everybody out in coverage. He made about four solo tackles that were really, really big, so they didn’t break a long run.”
The Jackets didn’t break, either. Not in the first seven weeks. Despite the overall record, there’s still a shot at reaching the playoffs, which would be a nice reward for a team that instead of backing down, has bowed up.
“We’ve got a good core group of kids that love to play the game,” said Ballew. “They’re coming out every practice and giving it their all and they give it throughout every game. I’m glad we got that monkey off our backs.”
2026 SBJ Team of the Week selections
September
8 – Benton
15 – Booker T. Washington
22 – Magnolia School of Excellence
29 – Haughton
October
6 – Calvary
13 – Plain Dealing
19 – Airline
26 – Byrd
Contact Doug at sbjdoug@gmail.com