By BRET H. MCCORMICK, Journal Sports
The first week of district play gave Rapides Parish football fans an idea of where their teams stand as the race for district titles starts to heat up.
This week gives a couple of teams the opportunity to stake their claim as the team to beat in their respective districts.
Menard, coming off a 42-0 victory over Pickering, hosts Avoyelles tonight in a game that will determine the frontrunner for the District 4-2A championship.
Avoyelles, which is trying to remain as a contender in Division III under first-year head coach Corey Bannister after Andy Boone left the program during the offseason, picked up its first win of the season last week.
The Mustangs (1-5) dropped contests against Marksville, Eunice and Bunkie as well as Class 4A powers Teurlings Catholic and Lafayette Christian before opening 4-2A play with a 36-22 win over Oakdale last week.
Avoyelles remains a run-heavy team even if the Mustangs aren’t putting up the kind of rushing yards they did under Boone. They are averaging almost 260 rushing yards per game, led by senior Decareyn Sampson with 654 yards and seven touchdowns.
Menard coach David Perkins said the new coaching staff has added some additional wrinkles to the offense, but the Mustangs remain a double-wing base offense – though they will direct snap the ball to Sampson out of the shotgun at times.
“They’re still onside kicking it (every time),” Perkins said on his coach’s show Wednesday night, “though they will punt it some on fourth down depending on how far they have to go. They ain’t much different to me.”
The Eagles (3-3) have been hot and cold all season but seem to have settled on a ground-based attack led by sophomores Jake Vaughn and Aydan Moran. Moran has a team-high 266 rushing yards and three touchdowns on the season.
The winner of this contest, which is one of two that will be held tonight, improves to 2-0 in district play and will be sitting in the driver’s seat toward a district championship.
“We’ve stressed how important this game is, especially in the district,” Perkins said.
In the other contest tonight Bolton (0-6) travels to face District 2-3A favorite No. 5 Jena (6-0).
Friday’s slate features six games that include parish teams, highlighted by a key District 2-5A contest between Alexandria Senior High and Ouachita as well as a District 2-4A matchup between Tioga and Franklin Parish.
ASH is coming off a heartbreaking road loss against No. 4 Ruston to open District 2-5A play. The Trojans rallied from three scores down at halftime to tie the game twice in the second half and had possession in the fourth quarter with a chance to take the lead, but a turnover set up the Bearcats for their game-winning drive.
Senior quarterback Ty Feaster threw for four touchdowns in the loss, including two to junior tight end Tanner Townsend and one each to senior receivers Jaylin Johnson and EJ Scott.
ASH coach Thomas Bachman said the Trojans “are incredibly disappointed” they weren’t able to leave Ruston with a victory, but he was also pleased with the way his team battled from a 21-point deficit, outscoring Ruston 28-14 in the second half.
“This group has been a fun group to coach,” Bachman said. “We’ve just got to put it all together. The more we play together, the more we jell, the better we’re gonna put it together.”
The Trojans (3-3) need a strong finish to the regular season as they try to wrap up a home playoff game and first-round bye in the Division I Select playoffs, and that starts against a Ouachita team that has been reeling but defeated previously unbeaten West Ouachita last week in the 2-5A opener.
Tioga, meanwhile, is coming off its third shutout victory of the season against Pine Prairie and opens District 2-4A action with a tough Homecoming matchup against Franklin Parish in a battle of two teams looking to improve to 6-1.
This matchup features Franklin Parish’s dynamic passing attack against Tioga’s stingy secondary that has 13 interceptions on the season.
The Patriots feature two of the state’s offensive leaders in sophomore quarterback Dezyrian Ellis (1,507 yards and 19 TDs) and senior receiver Marshawn Whitley (22-538, 8 TDs). Franklin Parish also touts senior Tulane commitment Javion White, who has 16 catches for 452 yards and six TDs on offense, two return TDs on special teams and three interceptions on defense.
Tioga counters with two of its own two-way stars in senior safeties Ja’Corian Norris and Josh Loyd. They lead a secondary that has returned seven interceptions for scores, including four pick-sixes from Norris, who also has returned two kickoffs for touchdowns. The duo has combined for 267 receiving yards and five TDs.
Other games this week involving parish teams are Pineville traveling to face Ruston, Peabody hosting Class 1A No. 7 St. Mary’s, Buckeye welcoming unbeaten Bunkie to town in a big District 2-3A showdown, and Northwood-Lena hosting No. 8 Logansport.