An incredible performance by Minden’s Jacareon Lathan wasn’t enough in the end for the Tide.
It was an up and down game all night, but Minden ultimately lost their opener to Haughton 35-21 Friday night at The Pit in Minden.
Minden Coach Spencer Heard said despite the loss, he was proud of his team’s effort.
“We gave them points early, but our guys played hard,” Heard said. “It got away from us a bit at the end but our guys never quit.”
After falling down 14-0 early, Minden came roaring back to tie the game with the first play of the second half.
Prior to halftime, Minden sophomore quarterback Trent McGlaughlin put on an impressive two-minute drill to lead the Tide down the field with 1:30 remaining in the first half.
“The ability is there with Trent,” Heard said. “You can see it when he plays, he’s got all the talent that it takes. It’s just going to take reps and experience.”
With :31 seconds left in the quarter, McGlaughlin found wide receiver Seth Johnson for a 25-yard touchdown pass to put the Tide down 14-7 at halftime.
Lathan then returned the second-half kickoff 74 yards at breakneck speed to tie the score at 14-14.
“We got momentum going into halftime and the guys were feeling good about themselves in the locker room,” Heard said. “We left some points out there and shot ourselves in the foot a bit.”
Minden had all the momentum, and an electrified defense forced a fumble on the next possession that gave the Tide the ball.
On the following possession, Minden fumbled the ball right back on the next play that gave Haughton the ball back inside their red zone.
Lathan stepped up again for the Tide on the next possession with an interception in the end zone when Haughton seemed to outsmart themselves with a fake field goal kick from the 19 yard line.
“Lathan is a great player for us,” Heard said. “He had a fantastic game.”
Minden maintained momentum despite the frenzied pace, and put together a fantastic drive following the interception. McGlaughlin continued to find his receivers as the Tide marched down the field poised to take the lead.
Penalties soon stymied the drive completely, leaving the Tide with an impossible 3rd-and-36 and an eventual turnover on downs.
The Buccaneers wasted no time and used a fleaflicker to swallow up fifty yards of their next drive before CJ McWilliams caught a 42-yard touchdown to give Haughton a 21-14 lead with 1:17 left in the third quarter.
McGlaughlin was intercepted on the next possession and the return went for 70 yards setting up a 13 yard Haughton touchdown.
Minden followed by going three-and-out and Haughton’s Keyshawn Davis ran for 65 yards and a touchdown that put the game out of reach midway through the fourth quarter.
Other area scores:
Lakeside 66, Riggold 0
Haynesville 28, North Webster 19
Central Private 36, Glenbrook 12