NewsBreak Original

At the beginning of 2023 although the majority of the area is still out of school had a full slate of games over the week. District 1-A started district play towards the end of the week. Haynesville, Homer, and Ringgold all took wins on the boys’ side. Haynesville and Plain Dealing girls started 1-0.

Last week's tournaments ruled the schedule. Minden hosted the annual Holiday Classic Tournament. Teams such as Minden, Lakeside, Green Oaks, Gibsland-Coleman, Ringgold, Homer, Haughton, North Caddo, Loyola, and Calvary.

District 1-A has a lot to brag about this season. Four of the seven teams in the district made it to their respective quarterfinals. Arcadia and Glenbrook reached the quarterfinals. Haynesville made it to the semifinals. Homer made a second consecutive trip to a state championship.

The Homer Pelicans finished as the Division IV Nonselect state runner-up on Thursday afternoon at the Ochsner's LHSAA State Prep Classic at the Caesar's Superdome in New Orleans. The Pelicans ran into a stout Oak Grove defense that shut down the ground game. Also, the Pelicans' costly errors and penalties didn't help the situation. The Homer defense kept Oak Grove from running away with the state championship title. Key dual-sided offense and defensive players like Jamarquese Hampton, Gregory Williams, Walteze Champ, Andrevious Buggs kept the Pelicans in the game. Walteze Champ was announced as the Most Valuable Player for Homer.

The Many Tigers and the Homer Pelicans will be making return trips to Caesar’s Superdome for Ochsner’s LHSAA Prep Classic. Many will be making its fourth consecutive state championship and competing for the Division III Nonselect title. Homer will be competing for the Division IV Nonselect title and making it for the second consecutive year after an 82-year drought before last year’s Class A title run.

Four teams from Northwest Louisiana remain in the LHSAA football playoffs. Three of them are from Division III and Division IV Nonselect playoffs. The fourth is North Desoto Griffins making their first trip to the semifinals in Division II.

Class A and 2A decided to join the party last week. Many teams have a good number of their players still on the gridiron. Class B and C have alright played a good amount of games. Ringgold boys ran the gauntlet of the Lakeside tournament. Doyline’s Jamaria Clark put 50 on 5A Byrd Yellow Jackets on Monday. All the action has just started. Coaches get your scorebooks in so we can get these shining stars seen.

The LHSAA released the Division III and IV playoffs on Sunday morning. The new format of Division is based on enrollment and separated by the new definition of Select and Nonselect. The number of teams qualifying also changed to 28 for non-select and 24 for select. This will open up four first-round byes in the non-select divisions and eight in the select divisions.

The Glenbrook Apaches claimed the District 1-A district title with a win over defending Class A state champ Homer Pelicans on Thursday night. Glenbrook changed course and scored on the ground attack. Maddox Mandino had 5 carries for 60 yards and two touchdowns. Ty Feaster took the quarterback keeper into the end zone. The defense was a key factor for the Apaches. Landry Powell had 16 tackles and 3 sacks. Rhett Johnson piled on 15 tackles. a sack, and a forced fumble. Maddox Mandino and Garrett Brown each had 10 tackles. Tre Kent snatched an interception along with 8 tackles. Toby Haulmark took 5 tackles. Cason Clemmons also had an interception.

The Mansfield Wolverines got the first win of the season over Jonesboro-Hodge. Terrence Pegus had 18 carries for 106 yards. Delkedric Thomas scored three touchdowns. The Tigers got scores from two different quarterback-receiver combinations.

The Bulldogs (2-4, 1-0) took a homecoming win over Jonesboro-Hodge (2-4, 0-1) on Friday night. Leonard Mosley broke the 200-yard mark with 203 yards and a touchdown. Montreveun Smith, Jyrel Jones, and Trenton Grigg each added rushing touchdowns. Ed’Tavous Drayton rambled down the field on 22 yards for 132 yards and a touchdown. Chance Leonard crossed the goal line once for the Tigers. O’marrion Jackson took a fumble recovery 75 yards for a touchdown. The defense also got on the board with a safety.

The Titans (4-1) knocked off the No. 1 Division I Non-Select team in the State with a 28-27 road win. North Caddo had to come back in the fourth quarter to pull off the big win on Friday night in Calhoun. KJ Black had 213 yards total offense for the Titans' win. Black ran on 20 carries for 165 yards and a touchdown along with a receiving touchdown. Omarion Miller also scored two touchdowns. Aiden Brock threw 15 for 23 and 190 yards including two touchdowns and two interceptions.

The Many Tigers (4-0) grabbed a victory over one of the most anticipated matchups of the regular season. The Tigers burned the field with 484 yards rushing against the Green Wave (3-1). Jeremiah Jones had 21 carries for 205 yards and two touchdowns. Trent Williams carried 7 for 122 yards and a touchdown. Tackett Curtis had 3 carries for 73 yards and a touchdown.

The Cavaliers dropped to 1-2 for the season facing their second consecutive 5A opponents. But for the second straight week, the Cavaliers showed they could be competitive with the outnumbering squad. Byrd struck first in the second quarter when Jackson Dufrene caught a 41-yard touchdown from Lake Lambert. The Yellow Jackets had a 7-0 halftime lead. Calvary caught up in the third quarter when Bryce Carpenter took the option on a 3-yard run to tie the game at 7-7. With a little under nine minutes remaining Dixon Poirer scored on a 1-yard run to give Byrd the 14-7 win.

The annual Pineland Jamboree kicked off the season at the new turf field at Lakeside High School on Friday evening. Originally, the set of shortened games was scheduled to be played at North Webster but Mother Nature’s torrential rain for the past week left the playing conditions unfavorable and had to be felt. The Lakeside campus was more than adequate to handle the crowds from the five schools: Haynesville, Homer, Lakeside, Minden, and North Webster. Defending Class A State Champion Homer was the only team to win both their matchups. Haynesville, Minden, and North Webster split their two 15-minute quarters. Lakeside let a couple slip away.