The Parkway Panthers have had an outstanding season by any measure.
They will try to keep it going Friday night against No. 11 seed Hahnville in the second round of the non-select Division I playoffs. Kickoff is 7 o’clock at Bobby Marlow Field at Preston Crownover Stadium.
Parkway, the No. 6 seed, is 10-1 with its lone loss coming against Evangel Christian in the regular-season finale. The Panthers defeated No. 27 Covington 51-30 in the first round last week.
Hahnville, a member of District 8-5A, is 9-2. The Tigers defeated No. 22 Slidell 52-39 in the first round.
Hahnville’s losses were in district play to Terrebonne 52-38 in Week 4 and champion Destrehan 49-28 in Week 9.
Destrehan, the No. 3 seed, and No. 9 Terrebonne both advanced to the second round.
“It’s going to be a good football game,” Parkway Head Coach Coy Brotherton said. “They have a really good wide receiver, decent quarterback and good run game. “Kind of reminds me a lot of ourselves watching them on film as far as what they do and the style of play that they do. It’s an evenly matched game. It’s going to be a tough one.”
Parkway is in the second round for the first time since 2021, also the last time the Panthers reached the quarterfinals.
Hahnville fell to Chalmette 35-31 in the second round last year.
This is the Parkway’s first 10-win season since 2016 when the Panthers went 11-2.
Parkway has done it with a high-scoring offense and a solid defense that has made plays at key moments.
Brotherton said the main reason for the team’s success is senior leadership.
“We don’t have a lot of seniors but the 22 that we have about 18 or 19 of them are playing a lot of minutes,” he said. “A lot of them played when they were sophomores. All of them played last year.
“I think it’s just the experience and that leadership you get from a group that is experienced and has been there before. And they kind of understand what it takes too. And we’ve gotten some consistency in the coaching staff and in the kids and I think that goes a long way.”
The Panthers are averaging 495.8 yards per game. They are almost equally balanced with 2,717 yards passing and 2,737 rushing.
Senior quarterback Kaleb Williams has completed 168-of-243 passes for 2,597 yards and 36 touchdowns with just two interceptions.
Junior Gary Burney has caught 67 passes for 1,112 yards and 13 TDs. Senior Antonio Gladney has caught 51 passes for 861 yards and 12 TDs.
Sophomore receiver Gabriel Gray and senior receiver Josh Cole have also made some big catches. They’ve combined for nine touchdowns.
Sophomore Damian Decaldecal leads the team in rushing with 886 yards on 115 carries. He has scored 14 touchdowns.
Junior Braxxton Black has rushed for 748 yards on 116 carries and scored 10 TDs. Freshman AJ Johnson has gained 586 yards on 91 carries and scored seven touchdowns.
Of course, none of Parkway’s offensive success would be possible without the outstanding performance of the offensive line — senior left tackle Chris Green, senior left guard Miller Jagot, senior center Pat Gray, senior right guard Kirby Haskins and junior right tackle Thomas Staton.
The defense is led mainly by seniors. Linebackers Brady Prine, Mark Copenhaver and Colby Lee lead the team in total tackles with 93, 86 and 72, respectively.
Sophomore safety Dallas Loche has six interceptions and 56 total tackles. He’s also recovered three fumbles.
Senior cornerback Peyton Rayner two interceptions, two fumble recoveries and 49 tackles.
Junior defensive end Rod Johnson leads the team in tackles for loss with 15 and sacks with 9.5.
Hahnville is averaging 39.8 points per game. Junior quarterback Landen Teague has thrown 42 touchdown passes over the last two seasons with two interceptions, per Nola.com.
Senior receiver Bennett Naquin, a Southeastern Louisiana commit, has nine receiving and two rushing touchdowns this season.