As the weather finally begins to cool down, it really starts to feel like football season again. We’ve pushed through excruciatingly hot practices and sweaty lines for nachos at the concession stands. We’ve endured crazy hurricane weather and sloppy field conditions. It’s still summer, but let’s enjoy the weather this week as the area teams start to get down to the nitty-gritty.
Minden @ BTW
The Tide play the bulk of their games at home this year, but a small dose of life on the road worked wonders last week. After three straight home losses, Minden High blasted Huntington 35-0 last week at Independence Stadium in Shreveport.
The Tide needed some new scenery and a breath of fresh air, but don’t think that means that head coach Spencer Heard is overhauling the program.
“We’re just going to stick to what we do and try to get better each week at doing that,” Heard said. “We may make some personnel changes here and there, but I like where we’re at.”
One of those personnel changes was moving standout do-it-all player Jacareon Lathan from defensive back to wide receiver.
Lathan returned the favor in kind as he caught the Tide’s opening touchdown pass against Huntington.
Life on the road was brief for the Tide as they return home to play BTW. It was a good little vacation for Minden, who should take the confidence they found in Shreveport and bring it back to Webster Parish.
Prediction: Minden 35, BTW 13
Lakeside vs. Block
The Warriors are coming off of their first loss of the season. Entering the loss at Rosepine, Lakeside had exceeded expectations, particularly on offense.
The Warriors had to deal with what most good teams go through during the middle of a successful season: gameplanning.
Rosepine played keep-away from the Warriors, which limited the amount of plays that Lakeside could run through their high-powered offense.
It worked, and Lakeside lost handily.
Block is nowhere near the opponent that Rosepine were, but the Warriors need to get in the habit of being able to adjust to good opposing coaches. This week will be a good warm-up game for next week’s district clash against North Caddo.
Prediction: Lakeside 50, Block 7
North Webster vs. Southwood
I refuse to pick against the Knights. They’ve strung together two impressive wins against big schools. Now that their playmakers on offense are healthy, they don’t really have any holes anywhere on the team besides, perhaps, depth.
They don’t scare easily. In fact, they seem to relish in the opportunity to take on big opponents.
I can tell you from personal experience that playing in Springhill/North Webster is no walk in the park. I remember being a terrified left-fielder when the students would pull their trucks behind center field and rev up those chainsaws.
Prediction: North Webster 24, Southwood 21
Glenbrook @ Union Christian
Will this be the week that the Apaches finally break the spell?
Going on the road won’t make it any easier on head coach Drew Maddox’s Glenbrook team.
“Union Christian have a great tailback, and they’re a pretty good team,” Maddox said. “They are 4-2 and are going to be a tough opponent.”
The Apaches need to limit their turnovers to less than the five they gave away last week against Acadiana Christian.
Quarterback Jackson Powell did throw for 165 yards last week, and Marshall Meek ran for a touchdown and 61 yards on the ground.
“If we play like we did last week, but don’t turn the ball over, I think we’ll be in good shape,” Maddox said.
Prediction: Glenbrook 20, Union Christian 18