The Natchitoches Central High School football team is no longer unbeaten, but isn’t out of the District 1-5A championship race with three games remaining.
To stay in it, the Chiefs must beat one of the district’s better teams, Parkway, tonight at Turpin Stadium.
NCHS fell behind 24-0 in the third quarter last Friday at Captain Shreve, but scored 20 points in less than eight minutes to make it a one-possession game midway through the fourth quarter. The comeback wasn’t completed, however, and now the question is how will the Chiefs rebound from defeat.
MATCHUP: Natchitoches Central Chiefs vs. Parkway Panthers
WHEN/WHERE: Tonight, 7 p.m., Turpin Stadium, NSU, Natchitoches
RADIO BROADCAST: 95.9 Kix Classic Country, Steve Graf and Billy West announcers, pregame show at 6:45.
LIVE BROADCAST: Listen Here
RECORDS: NCHS 6-1 overall, 3-1 District 1-5A; Parkway Panthers 4-3, 2-2
LAST GAME: Natchitoches Central lost to Captain Shreve 31-20. Parkway defeated Airline 34-17.
NOTES: Natchitoches Central has outscored its opponents 217-74, and is averaging 5.7 yards per play to 3.7 by the opposition. NCHS is averaging 281.4 yards per game and allowing just 173.3.
The Chiefs defense last week had two interceptions, one by Justin Aaron and another by Braylin Demars, bringing the defense’s totals for turnovers up to 16 for the year, 6 coming by way of interception and 10 by fumble recoveries. Offensively, the Chiefs have topped their 2020 season scoring total by 140 points. Junior quarterback B.J. Young has nine rushing touchdowns this year and has thrown for four touchdowns. Last Friday at Captain Shreve, Young scored on a 3-yard run, a season-long 70-yard run, and completed a 39-yard pass for a touchdown to Braylin Demars. Senior running back Caylin Demars leads NCHS with 60 points on 10 touchdowns.
The game is designated as the Chiefs’ “Pink Out” observance, with everyone asked to year some pink to show support for the fight against breast cancer and for victims of the disease.
NCHS COACH JAMES WILKERSON SAYS: “Parkway is a tough team with two very good running backs. They do some good things on offense and either one of those backs can take it the distance any time they touch it. We need to play all four quarters and not just two. We need a complete game to win.”
