By DWAIN SPILLMAN, JR., Natchitoches Parish Journal
Starting fast after the opening whistle.
That is the mission of Lakeview head coach Andy Boone and his Gators as they prepare to host Delta Charter in the last non-district matchup this evening in the swamp.
Though the Gators (3-1) gained their third straight win after a loss in the season opener, Lakeview was down 34-14 a week ago at LaSalle and precious time in the second half was rapidly expiring. Boone’s squad then scored the final 22 points of the game and scored a huge 36-34 comeback win on the road against the previously unbeaten Tigers.
“It just took us a while to wake up,” Boone said as he reviewed his team’s effort on the road in Olla last Friday. “It was a great comeback and our players never stopped fighting. We enjoyed this one but we need to get over it quickly and move on. We have to get ready for the next game.”
A brutal Class 2A conference schedule awaits the Boone crew and the Gators boss man doesn’t mix words in directing his team in what lies ahead. The contest against Delta Charter is the next step, and the Gators hope to continue their steady improvement against this week’s most formidable foe.
And, the focus this week is two-fold — continue to improve and start tonight’s contest much faster than just a week ago.
“We have to start off faster,” Boone said as the Gators prepare to host the Storm.
“We don’t want to get behind early and have to come back like we did last week. We will if we have to, but we are focused on jumping out quickly.”
Delta Charter competes in District 4-1A and enters the battle in the swamp at 2-1 on the season. The Storm opened the season without a blemish on the slate after two games but dropped a 55-32 decision to Glenbrook Academy (Minden) in Week 3. The Gators’ opponent enjoyed a bye week during Week 4.
“The key is how we practice every week,” Boone commented on what the Gators must accomplish looking ahead. “We must have good practices every day and that is how we will continue to get better and gain the experience we need. The goal is to get to the playoffs but we have to take it one game at a time and Delta is our next game.
“We can not look too far ahead but we are aware that we are in a tough district and we are just focused on getting better. We will compete. That’s what we do.”
Following this week’s action, Lakeview will travel to Winnfield to open district play on October 6.
Over in East Natchitoches, the St. Mary’s Tigers have an unplanned a week off as Isadore Newman called off Friday’s game. SMS is 4-0 on the 2023 campaign and will open its defense of the district crown hosting rival LaSalle on October 6.
A 4-0 record was the goal at this point, but that success against much larger schools has come with some bumps and bruises, and a few concerns as well. Recovering from injuries and cleaning up mistakes remains the goal for head coach Aaron York’s team.
“We are working on getting healthy and cleaning up mistakes,” York said. “We will definitely have a target on our back this year because we defeated everyone in the district a year ago. We won’t sneak up on anybody this year and everyone will be looking to dethrone St. Mary’s.”
