Russell Hedges
rhedges@bossierpress.com
The Louisiana New Tech at Plain Dealing Lions rallied from a 14-point first-quarter deficit for a 34-20 District 1-1A victory over the Grambling Kittens Friday in Plain Dealing.
The Lions improved to 4-3 overall and 2-0 in district with their fourth straight victory. Grambling dropped to 0-7 and 0-2.
Lining up in the straight T formation and using a power running game, the Kittens scored on their first two drives.
The Lions got on the board in the second quarter on a 34-yard touchdown pass from Logan Allen to Isaac Jacobs but still trailed 14-6 at the half.
The third quarter was all New Tech.
The Lions’ fast-paced offense began to take its toll on the Kittens, and the defense did its part by stopping Grambling cold.
New Tech scored 22 points in the first six minutes to take a 28-14 lead.
Like many Class 1A schools, including New Tech, most of Grambling’s players play offense and defense.
“With our fast-paced offense we were able to get them tired and kind of just walking around,” Brotherton said. “That was a big turning point.
“It was a very good defensive game for us, but I really credit the offense for wearing them down. I feel like we’re in pretty good shape as far as conditioning goes and that was our kind of our downfall at the beginning of the year so I think we’re there.”
All three third-quarter scores came via Logan Allen’s arm. He connected with freshman Keldrick Carper twice for touchdowns covering 8 and 4 yards.
He also hit Tray Harris for 35 yards and a touchdown. Allen scored New Tech’s final touchdown in the fourth quarter on a 5-yard run.
Allen and Harris also hooked up for a two-point conversion, and Allen ran for another conversion.
Grambling scored a late touchdown for the final margin.
Allen completed 20 of 33 passes for 333 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions.
Jacobs also had a big night, catching five passes for 145 yards. Harris had seven receptions for 92 yards.
Desean Morris had three catches for 40 yards, and Derreon Washington had two for 37.
Next up for New Tech is Cedar Creek (4-3), which fell to No. 1-ranked Haynesville 33-0 Friday.
Cedar Creek defeated New Tech the last two years in non-district games. The 2011 game was a rout, but last year the Lions went toe-to-toe with the Cougars.
After Cedar Creek, New Tech has one-win Arcadia and Haynesville left on its schedule.
If the Lions can knock off Cedar Creek, the Haynesville game will be for the district championship, which has been the case the last two years.
