The Lakeview Gators football team has earned a place in the LHSAA state playoffs and have traveled north to Mangham for a first-round contest kicking off at 7 tonight.
You can keep track of the score right here on the Natchitoches Parish Journal live scoreboard as the Gators (3-7) take on the Dragons (5-4). Just click on the scoreboard graphic. You can also check other playoff action around the state.
While Lakeview has struggled in the second half of the season due to its small squad size, the Gators have demonstrated determination and great effort in the face of overwhelming odds.
Those traits will come in handy tonight against the Dragons in the Division IV Non-Select playoff game. Mangham was won four straight games and had a 5-1 record in District 2-2A, trailing only Oak Grove, perhaps the best Class 2A team in north Louisiana. Oak Grove topped Mangham 28-12 five weeks ago and the Dragons haven’t lost since.
Mangham opened its season with a 34-32 loss to a powerful Class 3A Jena team. The four teams to defeat the Dragons have a combined record of 32-8.
Coach Andy Boone’s Gators have shown the ability to run the ball on any opponent and score heavily, if they avoid problems with fumbling. As coaches say, it’s the playoffs, nothing that has happened before now matters, and anything is possible.
So keep an eye on the Gators’ game tonight, and look for game coverage from Matt Vines in Friday’s Natchitoches Parish Journal.
