Both have been coaching high school football for more than two decades, so it’s not surprising the Calvary’s Rodney Guin and Newman’s Nelson Stewart have met before.

But the interesting part is where they met for the first time – Orlando, Fla.

No, it wasn’t like they had a chance meeting at the airport or Disney World. It was football-related; just not at the high school level.

In 2017, the NFL allowed all of the players who were selected for the Pro Bowl to bring their high school coach as a guest.

Odell Beckham, who was a New York Giant at the time and making his third straight appearance, brought Stewart, who had coached him when he played for the Greenies from 2008-10.

Dallas Cowboys rookie quarterback Dak Prescott brought Guin, who was his high school coach at Haughton.

That was the first meeting between Guin and Stewart. They actually met again a year later in a real game – we all know the Pro Bowl doesn’t qualify as a “real game” – when Calvary, where Guin took over as head coach in 2017, met Newman in the 2018 Division III state quarterfinals. The Greenies won that game 31-28 at Jerry Barker Stadium.

Stewart and the Greenies will be making that trip again tonight when the two teams meet. This time, there’s a little more at stake – a berth in the Division III (Select) state finals.

No team reaches the semifinals of the state playoffs without having talent, and even though the top four seeds in the bracket all reached that mark (St. Charles and University are the other two), there is the perception that the Division III semifinals consist of three teams … plus Newman.

The Greenies come into the game as a decided underdog, which Stewart readily acknowledges.

“No doubt,” Stewart said. “And we are fine with that. The lights are on those (other three teams) for a reason.”

Perception or reality? You decide.

Calvary is 12-0 and the top-ranked team in the Class 2A state poll throughout the season. There is everything to like about what the Cavaliers have accomplished this season when you consider the opponents, the margins of victory and the assembly of talent. Even Guin has said on a number of occasions during the year “We’ve played well every game this year.” That’s a rare quote from any coach.

St. Charles is the top seed and just so happen to be the two-time defensive Division III state champions. Check this out: Teurlings Catholic is a semifinalist in Division II. St. Charles beat them by four touchdowns. The Archbishop Shaw Eagles are another D2 semifinalist. St. Charles beat them too. And by the way, St. Charles has already beaten Newman 28-0.

University Lab is, well, University Lab. In the last 10 years, the Cubs have played in the semifinals every year and won state titles in 2014, 2017, 2018 and 2021. U-High plays in Class 3A during the regular season and has wins over Catholic (a semifinalist in Division I) and, if it counts for anything, has a win over Parkview Baptist by a wider margin than Calvary.

“We are just focused on ourselves in trying to get better each week,” Stewart said. “If you call us underdog, that’s fine. Calvary and St. Charles are 12-0 for a season and University’s only loss is to Rummel (a Division 1 semifinalist). Yeah, most people are focused on them. We don’t really talk about it, but that’s a fair narrative.”

This is Newman’s second trip to North Louisiana this year. The Greenies played at Benton during the third week of the season and won 37-27 in a game that wasn’t near that close (Newman led 23-0 at one point).

Stewart said there isn’t much difference in his team now that it was 11 weeks ago.

“When you are 14 weeks in (to the season), you have to stay true to who you are,” Stewart said. “We just have to stay focused on ourselves. We’ve worked hard and developed a good game plan. We just got to get up there (to Shreveport) and play tough football. That’s the key.”

Contact JJ at johnjamesmarshall@yahoo.com

By JOHN JAMES MARSHALL, Journal Sports

Two really good offenses with two really good quarterbacks are going to be play tonight in what should be a really good playoff game and all either coach could talk about was how important it was to play really good defense.

Newman (11-1), the No. 3 seed in the Division III (Select) playoffs, will take on second-seeded Calvary (12-0) at Jerry Barker Stadium to determine who is going to be playing for a state championship next Saturday afternoon in New Orleans.

“In the semifinals, you better play good defense,” said Calvary coach Rodney Guin. “We are going to have to get stops on defense. It doesn’t matter how good we are on offense if they are grinding it out and we only get the ball seven times a game. That makes it close. Defense is the key this late (in the season).”

“It’s nothing flashy,” Newman coach Nelson Stewart said. “We just try to play good team defense and run to the football. When you play teams with no real weaknesses, you have to play great defense.”

There is certainly plenty of flash on offense in this game, led by a couple of junior quarterbacks.

Calvary’s Abram Wardell threw for 2,921 yards and 33 touchdowns in the regular season and added 206 more last week, even though the Cavaliers featured a more run-oriented offense in the quarterfinals.

Newman’s Eli Friend is more of a two-way threat at quarterback. Earlier this year in a game against Benton, he threw for 302 yards and ran for 97. He accounted for all five touchdowns in that game.

Like Wardell, Friend has plenty of weapons to choose from in wide receiver Anthony Jones and tight end Will Loerzel (6-5, 245). Up front, the Greenies have LSU commit Brett Bordelon (6-4, 283) at left tackle.

“They are a lot like us,” Guin said. “They can run the ball and throw the ball. The quarterback is probably the best thrower we have seen all year long. They can throw it quick and on time. They are big up front with a big tight end. They can cause a lot of problems for people because of all they can do.”

“I think we have consistently grown and stayed balanced,” Stewart said. “Nothing flashy. We try to be efficient in the passing game. Everybody has just been doing their job. Noting earth-shattering and we just do what we do. We are not a group of stars, just a bunch of kids who work well together. We keep our head down and work hard to keep getting better.”

Stewart has seen all sorts of good offense during the Greenies’ season, but says Calvary still offers a unique challenge.

“They are incredibly explosive,” Stewart said. “They spread you and really make you defend. They score in chunks. They have as good of a running back (James Simon, who ran for 324 yards and four TDs last week) as you are going to see but also a great group of wide-outs. They are humming along pretty good. They are certainly unlike any team we have seen this year.”

Calvary has basically boat-raced the competition for the last two months while Newman has had to overcome a hiccup in the final week of the regular season with a 28-0 loss to St. Charles (the top seed in the bracket).

A year ago, things were much different for the Greenies as Arch Manning, the nation’s most high-profile recruit, was the focal point of the team. That team was the No. 1 seed in the playoffs, but there is the thought that this Greenies’ team may be more complete.

“We lost a lot great players last year, but I really like our seniors,” Stewart said. “I know that’s something you hear a lot, but this is a group that people didn’t know a lot about and has worked hard and been great leaders. They play for each other and play tough.”

Guin agrees with the assessment of this Newman team as opposed to last year.

“I saw them play last year on film and I personally think they are better than last year as far as the whole team goes,” he said. “I think they are better than the 2018 Newman team we played.”

That Greenies’ squad carried home a 31-28 quarterfinal victory over the Cavaliers.

The winner of the Calvary-Newman game will meet the University-St. Charles winner in the Division III (Select) state championship game. That contest will be next Saturday at 3:30 in the Caesars Superdome.

Contact JJ at johnjamesmarshall@yahoo.com

No. 3 NEWMAN (10-1) at No. 2 CALVARY (12-0) 

Where: Jerry Barker Stadium 

LHSAA playoff bracket: Select Division III 

Series: Calvary 2-1 

Last week: Calvary beat Parkview 49-28; Parkview beat Episcopal 31-15 

Rankings: CBA #1 in LSWA 2A poll, #1 in SBJ poll; Newman #4 in LSWA 2A poll 

Radio: Miracle (90.7 FM) 

Notables: Last week‘s quarterfinal win gave Calvary a 36-19 playoff record. It is 3-4 in semifinal playoff games … Cavs running back James Simon ran a school-record 324 yards and four touchdowns, the ninth-best single-game total in Caddo-Bossier history … Abram Wardell passed for 212 yards and three scores … Wardell’s season totals: 222 completions, 279 attempts, 79.5 completion percentage, 3,337 yards, 39 TDs and only 1 interception …  Cole Miller recorded 13 tackles, Hutch Grace 12 and Landon Sylvie had an end-zone interception in the win last week … Senior receiver Aubrey Hermes is the program’s career leader in receptions (177), receiving yards (3,598) and shares the mark for TD catches (40) with Shun Brown, a 2014 senior … This is Newman’s 44^th playoff appearance, 18^th straight … The Greenies have never played for a state championship, going 0-8 in semifinal games, losing in 1974, 1978, 1991, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2020 and 2021 …. Newman has an all-time playoff record of 39-43 … The Greenies were 2-1 in District 10-2A, losing to No. 1 St. Charles in the season finale … Junior quarterback Eli Friend leads the offense with right at 2,000 passing yards and sophomore running back Jake Randle sets the pace on the ground. Randle had 22 carries for 120 yards and three touchdowns in last week’s quarterfinal win over Episcopal.   

By JOHN JAMES MARSHALL, Journal Sports

Even in the midst of dozens of people on the sideline, being a head football coach can often seem like a lonely job.

Players are worried about playing (and playing time). Assistant coaches are worried about the position groups they are involved in and not much else. 

And the head coach? He’s got everything to worry about. Good luck with all that.

Wouldn’t it be nice to have someone who knows about all that goes into being a head coach, which can include anything from decision-maker to locker room sweeper.

Calvary’s Rodney Guin doesn’t have that problem. He’s the head coach of the Cavaliers, but he’s not the only one on the sideline who knows about being in that position.

He doesn’t just have one assistant who was once a head coach. Or two. This year, there are three assistants at Calvary who have previously served as head coach.

“It’s reassuring, for sure, and helpful,” Guin said. “They catch a lot of stuff that other coaches might not catch. They understand what I do day-to-day and what things have to be done, because they’ve been there.”

Offensive line coach James Wilkerson was head coach at Natchitoches Central for three years.

Safeties coach John Bachman, Jr., was head coach at Cornerstone Christian in San Antonio for five years.

Quarterbacks coach Steven Geter has twice been the head coach at Loyola, totaling nine years.

“I’ve always said I want the best people here coaching our kids,” Guin said. “There are no egos here. I wasn’t afraid that we’d get all of these guys who have been head coaches and there’d be a bunch of backdoor stuff. We want to do the best for our kids. I don’t care whose suggestion it is.”

Geter has even more of a perspective on this, because in 2017, when he was at Loyola, he was also the head coach on a staff with three former head coaches (Alan Carter, Pat Maxey, Kendrick Law).

“You never know about all the things you have to deal with unless you’ve been a head coach,” Geter said. “And it’s not just the pressure of the game, it’s having the ability to bounce things off other coaches to know what has worked for them or what hasn’t worked. Plus, when you get in big situations in a game, it’s nice to be on the headset and say ‘What do you think?’“

“It’s not that I’m second-guessing myself, but those guys have got a lot of experience,” Guin said. “It’s good to have a check on me, too. They were told Day One that if they see something we need to do different, don’t worry about me. You need to tell me. That’s how we have all operated since we have all been here.”

Guin and his head-coach-laden staff have been busy this week preparing for Newman in the Division III (select) playoffs. The 12-0 Cavaliers, seeded No. 2, will take on third-seeded Newman (11-1) at 7 p.m. Friday at Jerry Barker Stadium with a trip to the state finals on the line. 

“Rodney and I have had several situations in the last couple of years where we’d talk about what we think the right move is,” Geter said. “I just give my opinion, and he either goes with it or against it. If he had a gut feeling and went with it, I understand that. I’m always going to support him on that. I’m just there to offer any assistance whenever he asks for it.”

Contact JJ at johnjamesmarshall@yahoo.com

By JOHN JAMES MARSHALL, Journal Sports

As they prepare to play in the Division III Select semifinals, there are not a lot of commonalities between Calvary and Newman.

None of the current players were in high school the last time the two schools played (2018).

They have no common opponents on the 2023 schedule.

The two schools are located on opposite ends of the state, more than 300 miles away.

Newman was founded in 1903; Calvary brought back its current high school curriculum more than 100 years later. 

Though both play in the select playoffs, Calvary is a faith-based school; Newman is an independent school.

Newman is located in Uptown New Orleans, several blocks from the historic Garden District. The closest thing to a Garden District at Calvary is at the Brookshire’s floral shop next door. One’s tuition is more than three times greater than the other. You can go ahead and assume which is which.

So where could you possibly go to find a way to compare the two as they prepare for Friday’s game? The answer – north Bossier Parish.

That’s where you’ll find Reynolds Moore, the head coach of Benton, who is quite familiar with both teams.

His Tigers played Newman in Week 3 of this season – they also played in 2022 – and he and Newman coach Nelson Stewart are good friends.

Though they didn’t play in the regular season, Moore and the Tigers did take on the Cavaliers  during the spring game. And he saw Calvary on video this year when he was preparing against a Calvary opponent.

Plus, he was at Jerry Barker Stadium last week when the Cavs defeated Parkview Baptist in the quarterfinals.

So step right up, Reynolds Moore, and share some wisdom.

“It’s two well-coached teams, that’s for sure,” Moore said. “Both coaches have a lot of talent on the field. Newman is probably a little less hyped, but maybe because that’s because we are up here and closer to what Calvary has done. Calvary has a ton of kids with (college) offers and Newman had that last year with Arch (Manning, the nation’s top recruit).”

Which is a nice opening answer, but let’s get a little more granular. Moore’s team was knocked out of the Division I (Non-Select) playoffs in the first round, but it’s time to put his coaching hat back on.

If he were Calvary’s Rodney Guin, what would your team need to do Friday night? “I would want them to have to play from behind,” Moore said. “Every coach wants to jump out ahead, and I think Newman does have the ability to come from behind. But Newman is probably the most overlooked team (of the four semifinalists), and if you jump out on them, it’s hard for a teenager not to think that everyone was right (to overlook them). 

“But the longer they are in the game, they’ll start to believe. This is just me, but I’d take the ball first (to open the game) and try to score and get ahead right off.”

If he were Stewart, what would you be worried about? “I would be worried about the big play,” Moore added. “And that starts with (James) Simon at running back. Last week, Calvary moved the ball down the field without a bunch of big plays. They can play that way, but you’ve got to try to make them play that way.

“One thing I’ve learned about Nelson’s teams is that he does a great job of taking away what you do best. But Calvary’s got a ton of weapons.”

Both offenses will be in the spotlight, but one of the best matchups could be No. 12 (Newman quarterback Eli Friend) vs. No. 11 (Calvary linebacker Hutch Grace).

“They (the Cavaliers) do a really good job of moving their guys around on defense,” Moore said. “They’ll play that single-high safety, but they can put pressure on you in a lot of different ways. And I think (linebacker) Hutch Grace is one of the best defensive players around here. I think he is mean on the field and I mean that as a compliment. That’s the kind of mindset you want. He’s going to be a problem for (Newman) to deal with Friday night.”

When the Greenies came to Benton, Moore got a first-hand look at Friend, who passed for 302 yards (completing 24 of 33) and ran for 97 more. He either passed or ran for all five Newman touchdowns.

“He’s not Arch, but he can do a lot of things well,” Moore said. “They may actually be a better team (than last year) because he can so many things to beat you. He’s a lot of fun to watch. Unless you are the opponent.”

Contact JJ at johnjamesmarshall@yahoo.com

By JOHN JAMES MARSHALL, Journal Sports

It’s Thanksgiving Week, and with that come a few certainties: people will eat too much, people will shop too much and here come the Christmas decorations out of storage.

And when it comes to the high school football playoffs, there is another certainty. After the game tonight, there are going to be coaches of really good teams who have to give the turn-in-your-equipment-on-Monday speech.

Airline coach Justin Scogin is trying to avoid that awkward discussion. The Vikings are the No. 4 seed in Non-Select Division I playoffs and will be at home tonight when the quarterfinals get cranked up.

The Vikings (10-1) take on 21^st-seeded Mandeville (8-4) at 7 o’clock at Airline Stadium.

There are plenty of other coaches across the state who have already given the equipment speech. With only eight teams remaining in each division, Thanksgiving week becomes even more special for those who aren’t yet worried about whether the shoulder pads are going to fit in the storage room.

“Thanksgiving week is kind of an anomaly,” Scogin said. “It’s different than anything else than you’ve done all year. “The mystique is that if you are practicing on Thanksgiving, you have a good program. So that adds to the atmosphere this week. Sometimes you worry when school is going on about kids showing up. But everybody wants to practice this week.”

Airline is playing for a spot in the semifinals for the first time since reaching the state finals in 1972 and will have to do against a Mandeville team than stunned fifth-seeded St. Amant 42-21 in the second round.

The Skippers play a spread offense featuring junior running back Nate Sheppard, who rushed 25 times for 328 yards and three touchdowns in an opening round win over Sam Houston and followed it up with 105 yards and three touchdowns a week ago.

Quarterback Ben Hendricks threw for 208 yards, completing just 9 of 13 passes, in the second round.

“The running back is really good,” Scogin said. “He’s an explosive back. He’s dynamic because he can also line up at receiver and they will throw him routes. But they aren’t afraid to run the quarterback either.”

The Skippers play a defense that is a little more conventional than what Airline saw from Southside did last week.

“Last week we had no idea where they were going to line up,” Scogin said. “We should have a better idea this week. It’s a little more traditional.”

The Skippers have certainly been stingy on defense this year with six games during the regular season of allowing only one touchdown or less. Airline has scored at least 33 points in every game this season.

Mandeville finished third in District 5-5A but only lost by three points to district champion St. Paul’s, the No. 7 seed in the Select division playoffs.

The Vikings are coming off an exciting 36-35 win over Southside that might have been less exciting had Airline had two game-altering turnovers.

“We’ve done a good job of limiting turnovers and being efficient until last week,” Scogin said. “It all goes back to the ability to run the ball, throw the ball, catch the ball, and make tackles. And that’s it.”

Contact JJ at johnjamesmarshall@yahoo.com

No. 21 MANDEVILLE (8-4) at No. 4 AIRLINE (10-1)  

Where: M.D. Ray Field at Airline  

LHSAA playoff bracket: Non-Select Division I  

Series: first meeting  

Last week: Airline beat Southside, 36-35; Mandeville beat St. Amant 42-21  

Rankings: Airline #3 in SBJ poll, #10 in LSWA 5A poll 

Radio: none 

Notables: Airline enters the game averaging 45.4 points a game, Mandeville 31.7. The Vikings allow 29.5 points a game and the Skippers 18.3. … Airline quarterback Ben Taylor passed for just more than 300 -yards for the 10^th time in 11 games in last week’s win … WR Kenny Darby caught a touchdown pass from Taylor and Tre’Von Jackson … Jarvis Davis caught a touchdown pass and ran for one. His 2-point conversion run ended up being the difference when Southside was unable to convert on its onside kick following the final TD. … Mandeville defeated No. 12 Sam Houston 50-36 in the first round. The Skippers have been to the playoffs 26 times and has an overall record of 22-25. This is their sixth time to reach the quarterfinals. They have been to the semifinals three times … the last was in 2015.

There are a lot of great things about covering high school football. Every week, every game, you are liable to see the unexpected. Emotions run high and that lends itself to some great theatre.

Plus, you never know where the post-game interviews will take you. Happy coaches, happy players, hacked off coaches, etc. 

But there’s a hidden gem in there that only a few know about, and perhaps it’s better that way.

To truly get an idea of the complete picture of what goes on at a game, you need to come with me and sit in the press box. Unless you have sensitive ears, in which case if might be a better idea if you stayed outside.

In a typical press box, you’ve got the usual suspects – the P.A. guy, the clock operators, the music guy who doesn’t know when to stop, the scoreboard operator and maybe a hanger-on or two.

But the true magic comes when the assistant coaches make their way upstairs and set up shop.

It’s time to strap in for an experience like none other.

In the old days, I found them so distracting that I would often rather sit outside with the commonfolk than have to listen to all of their wailing and gnashing of teeth.

These days? I post up as close as I can possibly get. Unadulterated joy is about to commence.

This doesn’t happen at an NFL stadium because the coaches are literally on a different level. Or at a college stadium, where the coaches are in a soundproof booth as if they were worried that the KGB were listening outside.

The set-up at a few of the local high school stadiums puts the visiting coaches just down the doorless hall from the rest of the press box occupants, so it’s a verbal free-for-all in there. And it’s actually better to be closer to the visiting coaches, because they are usually wound a little tighter, being in an unfamiliar location with the home crowd all around them.

One game this year, I went down to check on the ID of a player and there were eight – EIGHT!! – coaches in the box. Thankfully they all weren’t yelling at the same time.

Most teams will send two, maybe three, assistants upstairs but let me assure that a little goes a long way.

“We have got to be the dumbest team in the country.” 

“Coach!!! Find somebody else! He don’t want to play!” 

“We’ve got 12!!! We’ve got12!!!” 

“Go! Go! Go! Go! Go!”

If I may interject here … why is he screaming at the runner? (1)  The player can’t hear him and (2) I think the player understands the concept of trying to score a touchdown.

“Late hit! Late hit!” 

“Coach, that’s a terrible spot!” 

There is not much being said over the headset that could be called a conversation in a normal tone of voice. Everything has an understood exclamation point and is liberally sprinkled with “Coach!”

Oh, and there is the cussing. Lots and lots of cussing. I left out the “****” in the above examples, but feel free to mentally inject them wherever you like. I can promise they apply.

Especially in this case.

Quite a few years ago, there was a game at a local faith-based school, where the coaches are stationed on top of the press box in an open-air environment.

The assistant coach for the visiting team – who was never known to be soft-spoken – kept screaming into the headset “Get him the *** out of there!” over and over again. He was referring to one his own players, not the officials or a member of the home team.

The home side fans of the faith-based school starting turning around and pointing up to the top of press box and yelling at him to stop. The coach never noticed and just kept right on. “Get him the *** out of there!”

It wasn’t long before he got the tap from a member of the faith-based school administration and the coach cooled it. For about two minutes.

Another visit. Another tap.

This time he stopped, due in great part to the fact that his team was now down by about 40, so they didn’t have to worry about getting him the **** out of there.

Contact JJ at johnjamesmarshall@yahoo.com

By JOHN JAMES MARSHALL, Journal Sports

Is Tre Jackson a running back who plays wide receiver?

Is Jarvis Davis a wide receiver who plays running back?

Hang on, maybe both are running backs who play wide receiver. Or the other way around.

Nobody knows and, quite honestly, nobody cares when it comes to the Airline offense these days. All head coach Justin Scogin knows is that it’s nice to have them both out there, no matter where they are playing.

But if there is a need to make it semi-official, here’s the answer.

“Kind of both,” Jackson says. (That’s no help.)

“I’m a receiver who plays running back,” Davis says.

Ding, ding! We have a winner!

Now that it’s (sort of) settled, just don’t be surprised to find either of them in a variety of places when the Vikings take on Mandeville at Airline Stadium Friday night at 7 o’clock in the non-select Division I playoff quarterfinal game.

If you go by statistics, it’s easy to assume that Jackson, a senior, is a running back, but he has more yards receiving (659) than he does rushing (406). Davis, a junior, leads the Vikings with 72 catches for 1,082 yards, but he is also second on the team with four rushing touchdowns.

“We can move them around because they are so versatile,” Scogin says. “You can throw them the ball, you can pitch them the ball, you can hand them the ball and they can return the ball on special teams. Anytime you’ve got (receivers) who can also line up and actually run between the tackles, you’ve got an athletic kid and a tough kid.”

Scogin says they aren’t exactly interchangeable, but close. “Tre is more of a lead blocker, and you wouldn’t really think that way since he runs the ball so well,” he says. “That’s how he changes the game with his ability to be dynamic with the ball in his hands.”

In fact, when the Vikings needed a first down to ice the second-round game against Southside, they tossed it back to Jackson and he picked up 18 yards on second-and-6.

Meanwhile, Davis, the running back, ran for a touchdown and a key two-point conversion last week. Davis, the wide receiver, caught nine passes for 101 yards and a touchdown.

“I love making the big plays, getting the crowd going and helping my team in any way possible,” says. “I had to get used to (playing running back) but once I did, it got pretty easy. I love being in the backfield.”

So much so that when asked what his favorite play to be called is, it wasn’t a deep post or a fade route. “Toss left,” Davis said.

Davis, who transferred from Huntington after his sophomore year, says he was not sure what his role was going to be at Airline but “I was ready for anything.”

The Mutual Admiration Society is quite obvious with these two scoring machines (27 touchdowns between them.)

“Tre is a leader on the field,” Davis says. “He makes sure everybody stays up and leads by example. If he’s doing something, he’s going to make sure everybody else is doing it, too.”

“Jarvis is a very consistent player,” Jackson says. “He does whatever coach tells him to and gives it everything he’s got. He makes big plays in big moments. He’s a special kid.

“I’m not jealous at all when he plays running back,” he adds. “I just try to play my role and do my part. Being a leader is the most important thing.”

Contact JJ at johnjamesmarshall@yahoo.com

By JOHN JAMES MARSHALL, Journal Sports

The easiest offensive strategy in all of football would be for the Calvary offensive coaching staff to hand the ball to junior running back James Simon. Again, and again, and again.

And again.

You’ve got a four-star running back lining up in your backfield who averages almost eight yards per carry, and yet Simon gets about 10 carries per game.

But there’s no doubt he makes the most of them. Simon is averaging a rushing touchdown every nine carries. In an offense that features a passing game that has produced more than 3,000 yards this season, it might seem as though he is both underutilized and unnoticed.

Yet he is neither.

“At my position, the goal is to not get so much wear and tear on my body,” said Simon. “It’s definitely not needed. I definitely feel like it could get to 20 or 25 carries a game if I have to. I’d love to do that, if it meant winning the game for my team.”

“As good as he is, he sometimes touches the ball three times in a game,” Calvary head coach Rodney Guin said. “He’s so unselfish. He never says a word about it.”

Is there a temptation to just hand it to Simon as many times as possible and see what happens? “That night might come,” Guin said with a laugh. “But we want him healthy in the playoffs.”

Mission accomplished.

Simon is as healthy as he can be as the Cavaliers enter the quarterfinals Friday night against Parkview Baptist at 7 o’clock at Jerry Barker Stadium.

“With the way they keep me healthy and well rested, I’m 100 percent every week,” said Simon.

Simon’s older brother is on the Cavs’ team and his father (John III) is the offensive coordinator at Grambling State. He had a record-setting career at Louisiana Tech (1998-2001) and played three seasons in the NFL.

“It helps that he comes from a football family,” Guin said. “He’s grown up around football. That helps him understand his role on the team.”

“It’s benefitted me a lot, especially since my dad played the same position I am playing at every single level,” Simon said. “He definitely knows the ups and downs and all the things to deal with. With my mom, too, they all know about the football life and how it goes and are very supportive about it.”

Simon gets plenty of analysis from his father, and there’s plenty of self-analysis.

“Even as a kid, I remember thinking about how I could have done things better,” said Simon. “Even now in high school when I watch film, I try to figure out what I could have done better, more than just look at the highlights. My dad would do that, too. At the end of the day, nobody’s perfect, so you have to look at what you could have done better to fix that.”

It’s hard not to notice the five elastic bands Simon wears on his left wrist – Texas, Alabama, Notre Dame, LSU and Texas A&M. Is that a coincidence or does that mean something?

“It could be … possibly,” he says. “But it’s just schools that I like a lot.”

Strange as it may seem, if Simon were ever asked to draw up one play for himself, it wouldn’t be a running play.

“Honestly, I would put myself out wide and run a deep route,” he said. “I know I could do it. People don’t know it, but I can run routes and I can catch the ball. I feel like that would show off my talents.”

But for now, he will just be taking it week by week, carry by carry, which feeds into what he loves most about football.

“Really, it’s just having fun, especially with my friends,” Simon said. “It’s one thing to just go out and play football, but to be able to do it with your friends and the people you hang out with makes it even better.”

Contact JJ at johnjamesmarshall@yahoo.com

By JOHN JAMES MARSHALL, Journal Sports

Let’s get one thing out of the way first: Friday’s 36-35 second round playoff victory by the Airline Vikings was not the greatest win in school history.

It just felt that way to head coach Justin Scogin.

During the week, the happy-go-lucky Scogin was still that way, but there was a definite nervousness he carried with him. On Wednesday, he said “We’ve got to win this game,” almost under his breath without even being really prompted.

When Friday’s nail-biter was over, Scogin seemed more relieved than excited, especially after his defense came up with a stop on a two-point play in the waning moments that basically saved the game and earned the Vikings a trip to the quarterfinals.

You could tell there was a little something extra at work here.

“This was the biggest game of our time here,” said Scogin, who is in his second year. “We talked about it all week. Nobody is going to take us seriously until we win a game like this. We’ve got to get over this hump.”

Last year didn’t help.

The Vikings went undefeated in District 1-5A, winning the last seven of the regular season, and then got summarily dismissed from the playoffs in the first round. Adding insult to injury was that the loss came from another 1-5A team, Haughton.

“This was the biggest game of my career,” Scogin said. “I love the kids, the kids love me and our staff does a great job of building great relationships with the them. But at the end of the day, you’ve got to win in the playoffs. That’s what you are going to be remembered for.”

It’s not as though Airline hasn’t been down this road before. That state championship came in 1967, in only the school’s fourth year of existence (and second year for playoff eligibility). This will be the Vikings’ third trip to the quarterfinals in the last six years, so it’s not like there is some playoff drought.

But it did feel like Airline, after getting a bye and a No. 4 seed, couldn’t let the season be defined by a one-and-out playoff appearance. Upstart Southside just wouldn’t go away, scoring two fourth-period touchdowns and choosing to try to snag the late lead instead of kicking an extra point that could have led to overtime.

“I told them at the end that this is what you play for,” Scogin said of the two-point stop. “Everything you’ve done is for this moment.”

A few minutes earlier, Airline was about to sock the game away, but tight end Bob Patterson got caught from behind on a long pass at the five-yard line and fumbled.

“We tell them all the time that you have to pick up your teammates and they did,” Scogin said. “I was upset that it happened to one of the best kids we have in the program. He just does every single thing right. He never misses a workout, he never does anything wrong. He’s everything you hope for in a kid is a Bob Patterson.”

Even after the two-point stop, it still wasn’t over. Fittingly, it was Patterson who recovered the onside kick, but Scogin wasn’t celebrating. He knew with Southside still having two timeouts, it still wasn’t over unless Airline got a first down. How did he know? Look at a chart? Scribble the math on a sheet of paper?

“When I took this job in the summer (of 2022), my wife was still in Leesville and I was living in an apartment with nothing but a mattress, boxspring and a TV,” he said. “So we met with the kids in Natchitoches one day at the alligator park. When I was driving home, I was thinking about this exact scenario. I actually missed the exit and was headed to Dallas instead because I was going through all the scenarios. But I think about these situations all the time, even in the shower. I knew with 1:46 (left) we couldn’t run the clock out. We had to get a first down.”

On second down, an 18-yard run by Tre Jackson did just that. Three Victory Formations later, it was all over.

“I never got too excited until we took the last knee,” Scogin said late Friday. “But tonight … it’s just more than I could have ever imagined.”

Contact JJ at johnjamesmarshall@yahoo.com

By JOHN JAMES MARSHALL, Journal Sports

Airline’s Bob Patterson said he wasn’t worried. “Not at all,” he said.

Linebacker Champ Endris said he wasn’t worried. “We knew we had to go out there and go to work,” he said.

Head coach Justin Scogin said … well, yeah … he was a little worried. “I think it was natural to be nervous in that situation,” he said.

There were a few thousand Airline fans who did enough worrying for everybody when a very offensive game came down to, of all things, one defensive play in the Vikings’ 36-35 win over the Sharks in a Non-Select Division I second-round playoff game Friday night at Airline Stadium.

Airline held a 36-35 lead with 1:56 to play but Southside, which had just driven 95 yards in 14 plays for a touchdown, decided to go for two points and the potential game-winner. When the ball was placed at the Airline 2 for the extra point(s), the moment of truth was at hand.

At that point, Southside had run 70 total plays and 55 of them had gained at least at least two yards. So why not go for it?

One play.

Two yards.

“I told them (the defense) before they went out,” Scogin said. “This is for the quarterfinals.”

Which is exactly where the Vikings are headed when they take on Mandeville next week in another home game.

They got there in great part to that defensive play, which was led by a tight end, a running back and an undersized linebacker.

When Southside’s Vernel Joseph, who had 134 yards on the night, took the handoff on a speed sweep and tried to break through the left side, he got about five feet toward the goal. But not six.

There to stop him was Tre’ Jackson, normally a running back who was only playing defense because of an injury-depleted secondary; Patterson, a receiver who hadn’t played defense all year until this game; and Endris, who is generously listed at 5-11 and 200 pounds.

“It was awesome,” Endris said. “Everybody out there knew they were going to try to run that dive, but when I saw them go in motion, I knew, ‘that ain’t no dive.’ I just rushed in there and got to him with somebody else. I don’t even know who it was.”

One of them was Jackson and the other was Endris’ stepbrother, Bob Patterson.

“Really?” Endris said. “I didn’t even realize that.”

It was part of a redemptive fourth quarter for Patterson, who kept showing up and making significant plays in the game. Earlier, he made a big third-down stop that led to an Airline touchdown; he also caught an 11-yard pass on fourth down that set up a third-quarter Viking score to make it 36-21.

Southside would close it to 36-29, but in the fourth quarter, Patterson caught a deep pass over the middle and tried to race to the end zone, but was caught from behind at the Southside 5 for a 49-yard gain.

That was the good news. The bad news was that Patterson fumbled at the end of the play. Instead of being set up to go up by two scores in the fourth quarter, the Airline defense was back on the field.

“I had to try to put it behind me,” Patterson said. “But I was frustrated.”

After eight running plays with the clock winding down, Southside shocked Airline with a 48-yard pass to a wide-open Wyatt Gibbens that sent a noticeable hush over the stadium.

It looked as if another outstanding night by quarterback Ben Taylor (23 of 26 for 303 yards) might go for naught. Or that a halfback pass from Jackson to Kenny Darby for a 34-yard touchdown might just be an afterthought.

More importantly, it meant that the Vikings were facing a second straight year of an early playoff exit, which is why the closer the Sharks got to the Airline goalline, the higher the anxiety grew. With less than two minutes to play, the Sharks’ Joseph ran it in from 10 yards out to close the margin to a single point.

But the Vikings defense, which had given up 316 rushing yards, made the one play it had to make.

When Southside tried the onside kick, take a guess who came up with the recovery for Airline. That’s right: Bob Patterson.

When they unpiled after the game-deciding extra point and the Vikings began a wild celebration, Endris stayed on the ground just a little bit longer to take it all in. His body language had that “I-can’t-believe-we-just-did-that” look to it.

His real name is Chamberlain, but when the game was on the line, Endris lived up to his nickname.

Champ.

Contact JJ at johnjamesmarshall@yahoo.com

AIRLINE 36, SOUTHSIDE 35

S          7          14       0          14       – 35

A         7          22       7          0          – 36

A – Kenny Darby 30 pass from Ben Taylor (Preston Doerner kick)

S – Andrew Angelle 2 run (Brayden Guilbeau kick)

S – Vernel Joseph 3 run (Guilbeau kick)

A – Jarvis Davis 1 run (Doerner kick)

S – Angelle 1 run (Guilbeau kick)

A – Davis 31 pass from Taylor (Davis run)

A – Darby 34 pass from Tre Jackson (Doerner kick)

A – Taylor 3 run (Doerner kick)

S – Angelle 4 run (Angelle run)

S – Joseph 10 run (run failed) 

RUSHING: Southside (62-316), Joseph 22-134-2TD, Singelton 12-34, Angelle 11-40-3TDs, Fabacher 10-76, Ashton Labit 7-32. Airline, (16-68), Tre Jackson 6-47, Davis 5-19, Taylor 5-2.

PASSING: Southside, Angelle 6-8-0-113-0. Airline, Taylor 23-26-1-303-1, Jackson 1-1-0-34-1TD.

RECEIVING: Southside, Wyatt Gibbens 5-105, Labit 1-8. Airline, Davis 9-101, Darby 6-96, Patterson 3-70, Jackson 3-25, Bryson Broome 3-45.