Louisiana High School Football Week 3 Preview

Written by Charlie Beuttel

Twitter: @charlie_cds3

 

Week Three Highlighted Match-Ups

Booker T. Washington Lions (0-2) at Green Oaks Giants (0-2)

It’s time for the annual Soul Bowl at Independence Stadium as another chapter in the rivalry between Green Oaks and Booker T. Washington will be written on Friday night. Last week, BTW lost 42-6 to Haughton while Green Oaks lost a 25-20 heart-breaker to Natchitoches Central.

The Lions are led by senior dual-threat quarter Tahje Green who has thrown for 162 yards and has ran for 82 yards and two scores through the first two games of the season. Senior running back Ly’tavious Anderson is the team’s leading rusher with 111 yards. Another player to watch on BTW is Ni’jull Lee.

Green Oaks is using two quarterbacks in their spread offense this year. Junior J.C. McIlwain has thrown for 292 yards and two touchdowns and freshman Keith Baker has thrown for 466 yards and two touchdowns. The top two targets for these seniors are Kenric Jackson and Lexington Simon. Jackson has caught 16 passes for 177 yards and two touchdowns while Simon has snagged 13 passes for 219 yards.

On defense the Giants are led by star cornerback Damien Crawford who has 15 tackles including two for a loss so far this year. Crawford currently has five college offers and is drawing interest from LSU and Arkansas.

While preparing to face Crawford and the Giants, BTW offensive coordinator Christopher Wilson commented on the match-up stating, “It’s clear that their defense is full of speed and length. Crawford is one of the best DB’s (defensive backs) in the city and we’re going to focus on trying not to allow him to change the game in their favor.”

Green Oaks defensive coordinator Richard Embry says of his first Soul Bowl experience, “I see it as another game that we need to stay focused on and do our part to come out on top. Excitement will come after a win.”

Tioga Indians (2-0) at Benton Tigers (2-0)

Last Friday, Tioga routed Jonesboro-Hodge 41-6 while Benton destroyed Alexandria 63-25. This will be an exciting pairing with two explosive offenses as Tioga averages 37 points and Benton is averaging 56 points per game.

Tioga is led on offense by senior running back Joe Lotts who has carried the ball 44 times for 320 and has scored five touchdowns so far this season. Freshman quarterback Blake McGehee has also put up impressive numbers throwing for 314 and two touchdowns. Another player to watch is freshman wide receiver Ethan Christmas who has caught nine passes for 106 yards. The Indians’ opportunistic defense has eight sacks and three interceptions through the first two games in 2017.

Benton is led by senior quarterback Garrett Hable who has completed 28-of-46 passes for 417 yards with six touchdowns. The leading rusher on the Tigers roster is running back Jermaine Newton. Newton has run for 228 yards and scored six times so far this year. Another offensive weapon for the Tigers is junior wide receiver Legend Denler who has caught seven passes for 156 yards and has snagged three touchdown passes. The Tigers defense has allowed on average 16 points through the first two games.

Many Tigers (2-0) at North DeSoto Griffins (2-0)

Last week, Many destroyed Marksville 50-12 while North DeSoto throttled North Webster 35-7. In the win over Marksville the Tigers had put on a great rushing performance as senior star AJ Carter had 196 rushing yards and four touchdowns and Shacori Collier chipped in 112 rushing yards and three scores.

North DeSoto’s defense will have their hands full with Many’s rushing attack but they believe they can stuff any rushing attempts as they have let each opponent this season score just one touchdown. Last week the Griffins only let their opponent cross midfield one time and that was near the end of the game. The Griffins also recovered three fumbles on the defensive side of the ball.

On offense, their leader is senior wide receiver Maguire Parker. Parker snagged three passes for 113 yards and two touchdowns in last week’s win but is battling some ankle soreness.

Top Week 3 Games from around the State

Haughton at Woodlawn-SHV

Huntington at Captain Shreve

North Caddo at St. Mary’s

Loyola College Prep at St. Frederick

Natchitoches Central at Southwood

Airline at Ruston

Mansfield at Red River

Parkway at Pulaski Academy (AR)

Plain Dealing at Northwood

Minden at North Webster

Haynesville at Junction City

Calvary Baptist at Bastrop

Bossier at Logansport

C.E. Byrd at Sulphur

Madison Prep Academy at Zachary

Wossman at West Monroe

Warren Easton at Landry-Walker

Woodlawn-B.R. at Broadmoor

Loranger at Ponchatoula

Breaux Bridge at Kinder

Edna Karr at De La Salle

John Curtis at Parkview Baptist

Crowley at Cecilia

Denham Springs at Fontainebleau

Plaquemine at St. Thomas More

Neville at Ouachita Parish

Southern Lab at Scotlandville

Photo credit: USA Today; Many High School running back No. 23 AJ Carter