Back in August, the Parkway Panthers and Ouachita Parish Lions scrimmaged at Bobby Marlow Field at Preston Crownover Stadium.
Little did they know that they would be back at the same location during Thanksgiving week with a lot more at stake.
The No. 6 seed Panthers (11-1) and No. 14 Lions (8-4) face off Friday night at 7 with a spot in the non-select Division I semifinals on the line.
Parkway hasn’t made it to the semifinals since 2015. Ouachita Parish hasn’t made the semifinals since 1994 when the Lions reached the Class 5A championship game.
While teams keep things pretty basic in scrimmages, there are no secrets between the Panthers and Lions.
With each team having played 12 games, there is plenty of video of what each likes to do on both sides of the ball.
Parkway defeated No. 27 Covington 51-30 in the first round and No. 11 Hahnville 37-31 in overtime in the second round.
Ouachita Parish defeated No. 19 St. Amant 24-21 in the first round. Last week, the Lions knocked out No. 3 Destrehan 21-19 on the road. That avenged a 30-12 loss to the Wildcats in the first round last year.
Ouachita Parish is the lowest remaining seed of the eight teams remaining in non-select Division I.
The Lions’ record is a bit deceptive. They started the season 5-0. Then District 2-5A play began and they lost four straight.
But 2-5A is generally considered the toughest in the state.
Ouachita Parish was competitive in all four games, falling to Ruston 21-14, West Monroe 39-25, Neville 38-37 and Alexandria 28-21.
Ruston is the No. 1 seed in non-select Division I, and Neville is No. 2. Alexandria is the No. 5 seed in select Division I. All three are still in the playoffs.
West Monroe, the No. 10 seed, was eliminated by No. 26 Barbe 42-36 last week.
While Parkway has an an almost perfect balance between rushing and passing, Ouachita Parish tends to favor the run a little more.
Senior Macario Dade Jr. has rushed for 1,490 yards on 228 carries and scored seven touchdowns in 11 games, per MaxPreps.
Dade won the 100-meter dash in the Region I-5A meet last spring with a time of 10.48 seconds and finished fifth in the state meet.
He had 162 yards on 22 carries against Destrehan.
Senior quarterback Montrell Conner has rushed for 762 yards on 143 carries and leads the Lions with 12 touchdowns.
He has completed 93 of 180 passes for 1,802 yards and 29 touchdowns with five interceptions.
Parkway is averaging 48.5 points per game. Senior quarterback Kaleb Williams has completed 181-of-273 passes for 2,766 yards and 39 touchdowns with three interceptions.
Junior Gary Burney leads the team in receiving yards with 1,180 on 70 catches. He has scored 14 touchdowns.
Senior Antonio Gladney has 56 catches for 895 yards and 12 touchdowns. He has also been a playmaker on defense in the secondary.
Sophomore receiver Gabriel Gray and senior receiver Josh Coleman have also contributed significantly. Both are big-play threats.
Sophomore Damian Decaldecal leads the team in rushing with 921 yards on 121 carries. He has scored 14 touchdowns. Junior Braxxton Black has rushed for 856 yards on 139 carries and scored 12 touchdowns. Freshman AJ Johnson has 744 yards on 103 carries and seven touchdowns.
Senior linebacker Brady Prine leads the defense in tackles with a total of 107. Senior linebacker Mark Copenhaver has 91 total tackles, including 7.5 for loss.
Senior linebacker Colby Lee has 75 total tackles, including 8.5 for loss and five sacks.
Sophomore safety Dallas Loche has six interceptions, three fumble recoveries and 62 total tackles. Senior cornerback Peyton Rayner has 54 total tackles, two interceptions and two fumble recoveries.
Junior defensive end Rod Johnson leads the team in tackles for loss with 15 and sacks with 9.5.