By DOUG IRELAND, Journal Sports
Airline’s Vikings have been at the top, or very near it, of District 1-5A football for the past five seasons, so when they rolled into Turpin Stadium Friday night for Natchitoches Central’s Homecoming game, the challenge was obvious.
The Chiefs were winless against a fierce non-district schedule, and the lineup was depleted with injuries to 10 players who were returning starters. Airline averaged 43 points winning three of its first four games.
What was a mismatch on paper came down to the final seconds, after NCHS completed a magnificent 98-yard drive with a pair of Kobe Jones passes, a 3-yard touchdown to K.J. Newton and a scrambling two-point conversion toss to Jace Hale.
With 14 seconds left, the Chiefs had one more shot. Their onside kick didn’t succeed, however, and Airline escaped with a 32-29 decision.
“Our guys fought,” said Chiefs’ coach Brad Laird. “I told them before the game, studies show high school, college, NFL, a typical play lasts 5-6 seconds. So just play 5-6 seconds. Don’t let the circumstances dictate how you play. We got down, our guys fought, didn’t let the circumstances affect them. Gave us a chance. Man, I’m proud of them.
“It’s tough. It’s still a loss, but we’re gonna grow from this, and we’re gonna continue to get better, and we did tonight.”
There were early signs of the unexpected. A heavy, but brief shower blew in just before kickoff. Late in the first quarter, the game was halted for a couple minutes because a drone had settled in above the field. And the first 12 minutes finished in a scoreless tie, not the way the Vikings roll under fifth-year coach Justin Scogin.
Fourteen seconds into the second quarter, the Chiefs were on top. Kaden Kuykendoll’s 4-yard bolt over left tackle and Amsden Pasch’s extra point put Natchitoches Central on the board first, capping an 8-play, 55-yard drive.
Airline replied with a scoring drive for a 7-7 tie and went ahead 13-7 midway through the period, but the first NCHS series after halftime lifted the Chiefs back in front. A 13-play, 63-yard drive finished with David Newton scoring on a 7-yard run up the middle and the reliable Pasch converted for a 14-13 edge.
Airline (4-1, 1-0 in 1-5A) cashed in on its next two possessions to take a 25-14 advantage going into the final period, and padded the lead to 32-14 with 5:55 left. But the Chiefs (0-5, 0-1) did not relent.
Jones and K.J. Newton connected on a 20-yard strike culminating an 8-play, 67-yard drive with 3:10 to go. The Chiefs’ defense got a 3-and-out but Airline’s punt was downed at the 2, presenting a daunting challenge. NCHS was up to the task.
The mammoth march ended with the second Jones-Newton TD combo, and the two-point conversion got NCHS in position to alter the outcome.
“Gave ourselves a chance at the end. Get the onside kick, and we’ve got a good kicker that would have made it from about 50, I think,” said Laird.
It was what coaches for decades have called “a gut check.”
“As a staff, we challenged them, and they responded. Sometimes being 15, 16, 17 years old, and in this situation, hearing lot of outside noise, it’s not pleasant,” said Laird. “They came to work and battled and I couldn’t be more proud of a bunch in the way they handled the 48 minutes.”
It happened with some understudies making impact, he said.
“Out of necessity, we had some guys that stepped up tonight — Donovan Law for Brandon Jackson, who broke his ankle last week. Armon MacKey, who had to go in for Derrick Beaudoin, who broke his hand last week. Cordero Richardson, I’m going to talk about him because we had a corner go out with a cramp. He came in and competed. Guys like that,” said Laird.
“That’s why I do what I do, because you’re able to see guys step up when they have the opportunity. There were just so many in all three phases who stepped up that I’m proud of.”
Contact Doug at sbjdoug@gmail.com