The Lakeside Warriors remained undefeated with a 26-22 victory over the Montgomery Tigers Friday night at home.
It’s the first time in the program’s history that Lakeside has won its first five games.
Up 19-0 late in the third quarter, it looked like the Warriors were on their way to another convincing victory.
Lakeside had the ball at the Montgomery 2. But the Tigers recovered a fumble and drove for a touchdown, Then Montgomery scored another touchdown, cutting the lead to just five points in the fourth quarter.
It looked like the Tigers might get the ball back with a chance to take the lead with the Warriors facing a third-and-22. But Brock Case hit Taron Riley for a big gain and Lakeside went on to score to go up 26-14.
The Tigers scored again, but the Warriors picked up some first downs and ran out the clock.
Lakeside won its first games by substantial margins. While Head Coach John Ware would’ve obviously preferred that Friday night, he was pleased with the way his team responded down the stretch.
“We went through some adversity there for the first time all year,” he said. “We had to fight a little bit so I was proud of our guys for keeping their composure and fighting through it because we haven’t had to do that. And we’ve got to learn how to do that too. I was proud of them. I thought they fought the whole night. It wasn’t pretty at times but they fought and got the job done when they needed to.”
Riley, Webster Parish’s leading rusher, ran for 157 yards on 13 carries and scored a touchdown. He also had three catches for 78 yards.
Kentravion Miller rushed for 115 yards on 18 carries and scored two touchdowns.
Case completed 4-of-6 passes for 95 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed for 77 yards on five carries and a touchdown.
Jacobe Rankin had 6.5 tackles, including two sacks and a tackle for loss. Caleb Barber had seven tackles.
Eli Santelices had an interception and 3.5 tackles. James Maxie had an interception and three tackles.
Brennen Frye, Eric Jones and Shavell Randle had three tackles each. Jones and Ravell had one sack each.
Bryce Parker and Collin Walker had 2.5 tackles each. Parker also had a sack. Riley had 1.5 tackles.
Lakeside opens District 3-2A play Friday at home against Many. The Tigers (0-5) fell to Class 5A Alexandria 69-7 Friday night.
“We’ve got Many at home which will be a huge game for us,” Ware said. “I don’t care what they’re record is.”
Many is the defending district champion, but it looks like the title is up for grabs this season.
“It’s wide open. No doubt,” Ware said. “We’ve got as good a shot as anybody.”