Playing without two of their top offensive threats, the Airline Vikings opened District 1-5A play with a 17-0 victory over the Southwood Cowboys on Friday night at Lee Hedges Stadium.
Airline, which suffered a tough loss to Ruston in Week 3, improved to 3-1. The Vikings host undefeated Captain Shreve (4-0), which defeated rival Byrd 34-7 on Thursday in its district opener, this Friday.
Coby McGee, who returned two kickoffs for touchdowns in the first three games, missed the game with a knee injury. Running back Brian Fielding tried to return from an injury that kept him sidelined last week, but he limped off the field on the third play of the game and didn’t return.
“We talk about no excuses,” Airline coach Bo Meeks said. “You’ve got to come in and do the job.”
Meeks said backs Cameron “JoJo” Davis and Adrian Brooks did just that.
“I was really pleased with way JoJo played, and also Adrian Brooks got some snaps and did a really good job. They did a good job stepping in. You can’t replace Brian, but hopefully we can get him back healthy soon and use Adrian in different roles and try to get him the ball. He’s doing a really good job.”
According to The (Shreveport) Times, Davis gained 95 yards on 19 carries. He scored the Vikings’ first TD on a 1-yard run. Brooks gained 70 yards on 16 carries and scored on a 9-yard run.
Sophomore quarterback Brad Fream had a solid night, completing 18 of 28 passes for 168 yards.
Nathan Otis kicked a 28-yard field goal. All the scoring took place in the first half.
The Airline defense has been outstanding all season, but Friday’s game may have been its best performance yet.
The Vikings held the Cowboys to 72 total yards and six first downs. Southwood had 56 yards rushing on 36 attempts, an average of 1.6 yards per attempt.
The only time Southwood came close to scoring was after an interception.
“Defensively, we played great again,” Meeks said. “We did a really good job up front. Courtney Turner, Drew Brewster, Anthony Durgin, they were in the backfield all night. I’m really, really proud of the the way we played defensively.
— Russell Hedges, rhedges@bossierpress.com
