By LORI LYONS, Journal Sports
There’s a whole lot at stake for the St. Mary’s football team this week.
The Tigers will play host to Holy Savior Menard at Turpin Stadium Friday night in the fourth annual Bishop’s Bowl, the name that has been given to the annual tilt between the two Catholic schools that are united in faith, but separated by a stretch of I-49.
After not scheduling each other for a time, the two schools agreed to resume playing each other in 2021. To mark the occasion, the Diocese of Alexandria dubbed the matchup the Bishop’s Bowl and yes, there is a trophy. For the past three years it has been in the St. Mary’s trophy case – and that’s where the Tigers want it to stay.
“The goal is not to lose the trophy,” Seastrunk said. “The kids are all excited about it.”
Menard is 1-1 with a 34-6 victory over Northwood in Week 1, and a 52-6 loss to Jena in Week 2.
Seastrunk is still looking for his first win as a head coach. After losing to Bunkie, 39-6, in the season-opener, the Tigers lost to Red River, 26-13, last week. That one stung a bit as many of the Red River players attend church with Coach Seastrunk and he mentors several of them individually.
The good news is, Seastrunk said he has seen improvement in his young, inexperienced players over the past two weeks. The Tigers led going into the fourth quarter thanks to an 85-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Preston Tilley to Braylon Norman and a 25-yard touchdown pass from Tilley to John Paul Thibodaux.
But St. Mary’s had a couple of touchdowns nullified by penalty and two crucial calls on fourth-down plays did not go their way as Red River rallied for the win.
LAKEVIEW: Gators’ coach Lawrence Seawood also is looking for his first win as a head coach after two weeks of play. Not much has gone the Class A Gators’ way as they’ve been outscored 96-0 by Class 4A Booker T. Washington and Class AA Delhi Charter School.
This week the Gators travel to Shreveport to take on Woodlawn at Independence Stadium. The Knights also are 0-2 with losses to Class 2A Green Oaks (24-14) and Class 4A Parkway (51-6).
“It’s another juggernaut,” Seawood said. “We have a game plan. We just have to go out and execute it.”
Contact Lori at sportslyons@gmail.com
