Friday’s games
Natchitoches Central vs. Airline
WHERE/WHEN: M.D. Ray Field at Airline Stadium, 7
RECORDS: Airline 7-0, 5-0 1-5A; Natchitoches Central 1-6, 0-5
LAST WEEK: Natchitoches lost to Byrd 31-21, Airline def. Haughton 56-13
LAST YEAR: Airline won 41-21
NATCHITOCHES CENTRAL NOTES: Chiefs have had three close losses in a row to Haughton 28-25, Opelousas 26-18 and Byrd … Natchitoches Central trailed 17-14 at the half last week … QB Owen Smith passed for 192 yards and ran for 41 last week … Former Northwestern State Head Coach Brad Laird in his first season as head coach.
AIRLINE NOTES: Vikings No. 3 in non-select Division I power rankings … Vikings led 42-7 at the half last week … Senior QB Ben Taylor has passed for 2,558 yards and 28 TDs with just three interceptions … Junior WR Kenny Darby has caught 63 passes for 1,000 yards and 14 TDs … Vikings are 7-0 for the first time since 2015.
Byrd vs. Benton
WHERE/WHEN: Newman-Mason Field at Tiger Stadium, 7
RECORDS: Byrd 6-1, 4-1 1-5A; Benton 1-6, 1-4
LAST WEEK: Byrd defeated Natchitoches Central 31-21, Benton lost to Evangel Christian 33-32
LAST YEAR: Byrd won 61-34
BYRD NOTES: Yellow Jackets No. 7 in select Division I power rankings … Byrd has won two straight since falling to Parkway in Week 5 … With team’s two top rushers out, Collin Deere rushed for 144 yards and two TDs last week … Jackets averaging 351.3 rushing yards per game … Byrd tied for second in district with Parkway.
BENTON NOTES: Tigers had leads of 12-0, 19-6 and 25-19 last week … Benton came up just short on a two-point conversion trailing 33-32 … Junior RB Greg Chambers rushed for 200 yards on 25 carries and scored two TDs last week; for the season he has rushed for 83& yards.
Haughton vs. Evangel Christian
WHERE/WHEN: Rodney Duron Stadium, 7
RECORDS: Haughton 2-5, 1-5 1-5A; Evangel Christian 2-5, 2-4
LAST WEEK: Haughton lost to Airline 56-13, Evangel Christian def. Benton 33-32
LAST YEAR: Did not play
HAUGHTON NOTES: Bucs looking to end two-game slide … Sophomore RB Brandon Craig has rushed for 413 yards on 66 carries … Sophomore QB Taylor Weathersby has passed for 1,264 yards and eight TDs … Bucs trailed 42-7 at the half last week against undefeated Airline.
EVANGEL CHRISTIAN NOTES: Evangel ended four-game slide last week with comeback victory … Evangel No. 26 in select Division I power rankings; top 24 teams in final rankings make the playoffs … Sophomore QB Peyton Houston has completed 204-of-279 passes for 2,864 yards 24 TDs with just three interceptions; he’s also rushed for 502 yards and four TDs.
Parkway vs. Captain Shreve
WHERE/WHEN: Lee Hedges Stadium, 7
RECORDS: Parkway 6-1, 4-1 1-5A; Captain Shreve 4-3, 3-2
LAST WEEK: Parkway def. Huntington 49-22, Captain Shreve lost to Destrehan 46-42
LAST YEAR: Captain Shreve won 28-15
PARKWAY NOTES: Panthers No. 6 in non-select Division I power rankings … Parkway averaging 42.6 points per game and allowing 19.9 … Senior RB CJ Dudley has rushed for 789 yards and 18 TDs … Senior Carmaro Mayo has 484 yards rushing and 204 receiving … Junior LB Brady Prine had two interceptions last week … Junior LB Mark Copenhaver leads the team in total tackles with 47, including 8.5 for loss … Junior DT Korde Sharp leads team in tackles for loss with 10.5.
CAPTAIN SHREVE NOTES: Gators No. 20 in select Division I power rankings … Captain Shreve was stopped inside the Destrehan 5 on the game’s final play last week … Junior RB Jamarcea Plater has rushed for 1,763 yards on 154 carries and scored seven TDs … Senior QB Brodie Savage has passed for 1,868 yards and 21 TDs with five interceptions.
Minden vs. Bossier
WHERE/WHEN: Memorial Stadium, 7
RECORDS: Minden 6-1, 3-1 1-4A; Bossier 3-4, 1-3
LAST WEEK: Minden def. Booker T. Washington 41-16, Bossier lost to Northwood 48-6
LAST YEAR: Minden won 27-6
MINDEN NOTES: Crimson Tide No. 11 in non-select Division II power rankings … Tide held BTW to 79 total yards and seven first downs … Junior DB Kam Harris had two interceptions last week … Minden has three RBs who have rushed for 293 yards or more — freshman Lucas Owens Jr. (293), senior Denarius Crowe (395) and junior Caylien Aubrey (407).
BOSSIER NOTES: Bearkats No. 24 in non-select Division II power rankings … Bossier has been bit by the injury bug … Standout freshman Arayvis Davenport has been sidelined because of an injury … Freshman WR Montrevell Lewis has been playing QB … Bearkats have lost two in a row.
NOTE: Plain Dealing has decided to forfeit its District 1-1A game at Jonesboro-Hodge because it doesn’t have enough healthy players to field a team safety.