Week 1 capsules
Friday’s games
(All kick off at 7 p.m.)
Ruston vs. Airline
WHERE: M.D. Ray Field at Airline Stadium
LAST YEAR: Ruston won 49-28
2019 RECORDS: Ruston 8-5, Airline 10-3
RUSTON NOTES: Bearcats reached Class 5A quarterfinals last season … Ke’Travion Hargrove, one of the state’s top college prospects, rushed for 1,537 yards and 20 TDs last season; he also caught 17 passes for 460 yards and six TDs.
AIRLINE NOTES: Vikings have lost four straight in the series but all have been competitive. “It’s been a fourth-quarter game almost every year,” head coach Bo Meeks, a former Ruston standout, said. “We know how physical they are and that’s one of the things we try to improve on year in and year out, to be more physical.” … QB Alex Garcia, the Offensive MVP on the 2019 All-Parish team, completed 206 of 372 passes for 2,745 yards and 27 TDs with 12 interceptions last season.
Woodlawn vs. Haughton
WHERE: Harold E. Harlan Field
LAST YEAR: Haughton won 55-12
2019 RECORDS: Woodlawn 1-9, Haughton 11-3
WOODLAWN NOTES: Knights defeated Bucs only once in the last decade … CJ Byrd, former Southern QB, begins his second season as head coach … Woodlawn is a member of District 1-4A.
HAUGHTON NOTES: Bucs will have new starters at QB, RB and WR … sophomore Collin Raines threw two TD passes to Elijah Rochon in last week’s scrimmage against North DeSoto … WR Michael Williams, a transfer from Alexandria, also caught a TD pass … Five defensive starters, including two-time All-Parish LB Jake St. Andre (twisted ankle), sat out the scrimmage. Head coach Jason Brotherton said he expects to have all, including St. Andre, but one back Friday.
Huntington vs. Benton
WHERE: Tiger Stadium
LAST YEAR: Benton won 57-30
2019 RECORDS: Huntington 5-6, Benton 5-6
HUNTINGTON NOTES: Raiders QB J’Rell Joseph was the Offensive MVP in the All-District 1-4A East team last season … DB De’Kelvion Beamon is an Oklahoma State commit … WR Zyion Claville is another player to watch.
BENTON NOTES: Tigers have defeated Raiders nine straight times, but head coach Reynolds Moore expects a challenge … “They were big and athletic like they always are,” Moore said after watching them scrimmage last week. “They have a kid that can run. They have a couple of kids that can really get after it on defense and tackle well. This could be one of the most athletic teams we play all year.” … Benton is a veteran team with 17 returning starters … Tigers defeated North Webster 33-0 in two live quarters in last week’s scrimmage … Game will be broadcast on 92.1 FM and The Light 92.1 FM Facebook page.
Parkway vs. Alexandria
WHERE: Alexandria Senior High
LAST YEAR: Alexandria won 42-0
2019 RECORDS: Parkway 4-6, Alexandria 10-2
ALEXANDRIA NOTES: Trojans reached second round of Class 5A playoffs last season … head coach Thomas Bachman is a former Evangel Christian standout … ASH ranked No. 1 in The Town Talk’s Cenla preseason top 10.
PARKWAY NOTES: Coy Brotherton, former Plain Dealing head coach and offensive coordinator at Captain Shreve, debuts as head coach … Brotherton will be looking for improvement, especially in conditioning, after last week’s scrimmage against Northwood … Brotherton said on The Tim Fletcher Show the Panthers could be short-handed because of COVID-19 and some other issues … Junior Cannon Link makes his debut as starting quarterback.
Bossier vs. Logansport
WHERE: Logansport
LAST YEAR: Bossier won 48-40
2019 RECORDS: Bossier 7-5, Logansport 7-5
LOGANSPORT NOTES: Tigers won seven straight games last season after 0-5 start and reached the Class 1A semifinals … RB Keysavalyn Barnes and WRs Jalen Robertson and Jayven Claybrook among returning starters … Barnes, a Louisiana-Lafayette commit, and Robertson are also defensive standouts.
BOSSIER NOTES: Head coach Michael Concilio wasn’t pleased with his team’s performance in last week’s scrimmage against Red River … Bearkats allowed three TDs but also had interceptions by Roderick Francis and Jermarcus Wilson … Bossier coming off first winning season since 2012 … Bearkats lost 1,000-yard rushers Decamerion Richardson and James Davis to graduation … Coleman Beeson, who passed for 745 yards in the Wing-T last season, returns for his senior year.
Tensas vs. Plain Dealing
WHERE: Lions Stadium
LAST YEAR: Plain Dealing won 32-2
2019 RECORDS: Tensas 0-10, Plain Dealing 5-6
TENSAS NOTES: Tensas is a member of District 2-1A … Panthers have lost 17 straight dating back to Week 4 of the 2018 season … Panthers were outscored 390-70 last season.
PLAIN DEALING NOTES: Christopher Wilson, former Mansfield and BTW assistant, makes his debut as head coach … Lions got a boost when senior Darrien Perry, a receiver and defensive back, decided to play football. He was considering not playing in order to focus on basketball. Perry was a first-team All-Parish selection in both sports last season … Braeden Sterling takes over as starting quarterback … Two-way lineman Duranzyk Newton is a player to watch.
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