After dominating the first half, the Airline Vikings held off a Parkway rally in the second for a 38-35 victory Friday night at M.D. Ray Field at Airline Stadium.
Airline closed the regular season 7-3. The Vikings finished tied for second in District 1-5A with Haughton at 4-2, one game behind repeat champion Evangel Christian.
Parkway dropped to 5-5 and 3-3.
The Vikings and Panthers are both headed to the playoffs.
Airline was No. 15 in the non-select Division I power rankings updated by the LHSAA at 6 a.m. Saturday. If the final rankings remain as they are, the Vikings will host Central-Baton Rouge (5-4) in the first round.
Parkway was No. 22. The Panthers will be on the road in the first round but they may not have to go far.
If the final rankings remain as they are, the Panthers will visit No. 11 Haughton the first round.
Official pairings will be announced by the LHSAA Sunday.
Thanks in part to some Parkway mistakes, Airline built a 35-7 halftime lead.
The Vikings’ only points of the second half came on a 36-yard field goal by Dylan Johnson. The kick gave Airline a 38-21 lead with 6:03 left in the third quarter.
Parkway got within 38-35 on a 6-yard run by Damian Decaldecal with just over five minutes to play.
The Vikings got three first downs and ran out the clock.
“That was the best half of football we played all year followed by the worst,” Airline Head Coach Justin Scogin said. “I thought we did just enough to win.”
The Vikings didn’t have to go far for three of their touchdowns.
A stop on fourth-and-1 at the Parkway 39 set up the first one. Airline had to go only 20 yards for their second after a high snap on a punt.
The Vikings needed to go only 34 yards for their final touchdown after recovering a kickoff.
Airline’s two other scoring drives covered 69 and 79 yards. The latter came after the Vikings got a stop on fourth-and-5. Nunn had a big catch that gave Airline a first down at the 2.
Nathan White scored two rushing touchdowns. Chase Williams, Chris Hart and Caleb Nunn scored one apiece.
Parkway’s lone first-half touchdown came on a 5-yard run by Damian Decaldecal in the first quarter.
The Panthers scored on drives of 74 and 57 yards to open the second half. The latter came after a fumble recovery.
Bryston McCoy threw touchdown passes of 28 yards to Gabe Gray and 31 to Tristan Sedberry.
A long kickoff return by Savion Jackson set up Johnson’s field goal which gave the Vikings a 38-21 lead with 4:47 left in the third quarter.
Parkway answered with a 60-yard touchdown drive capped by a 20-yard pass from McCoy to Sedberry.
Parkway forced a turnover on downs, but Airline ended the scoring threat with an interception in the end zone.
After forcing a punt, Parkway drove 72 yards for a touchdown to get within 38-35.
Note: Individual stats haven’t been reported.