District 3-1A games for St. Mary’s and Lakeview send both teams on the road tonight, but for the Tigers, it’s a home game.
St. Mary’s hosts Jonesboro-Hodge in the first-ever in-season meeting of the schools in football. JHHS records stretch back to 1917.
SMHS and JHHS both are 5-1 overall and are nicknamed Tigers. The local Tigers are 0-1 in district, while the visitors come in 1-0.
The matchup will be played at Lakeview High School just outside of Campti tonight at 7 in a collision that could still help determine the district title, and will pit teams destined for playoff appearances.
Originally scheduled for Turpin Stadium in Natchitoches, the contest was moved to Lakeview High School because of the noon kickoff Saturday for the Demons’ home game against McNeese.
The SMHS Tigers are an impressive 5-1 this year and stand sixth in the LHSAA power rankings for Select Division IV. They were undefeated until last week, when visiting Logansport, ranked seventh in the Non-Select Division IV rankings, blocked a deciding 21-yard field goal attempt on the final play to escape with a 29-28 victory in the 3-1A opener for both teams.
Earlier, St. Mary’s had beaten Vidalia 22-6, Red River 26-20, Menard 46-14, Grant 29-28, and Winnfield 23-14, the same Winnfield team that gave JHHS its only loss of the year by a 48-28 margin. All of these schools are from higher classifications than 1A.
JHHS is also at 5-1, their best record at this point of the season since 2009, and enters the contest ranked ninth in the Non-Select Division IV power rankings. The Tigers also received votes in the most recent LSWA Class 1A top 10 poll, for the first time since making a Class 2A state semifinal appearance in 2021. Victories include Lakeside (14-8), Delhi Charter (50-6), Lincoln Prep (42-20), Arcadia (38-18), and, last week, an impressive 50-0 win over Ringgold.
St. Mary’s averages 29 points per game in a run-based attack that can go up top. The Tigers have run 220 times, compared to 129 passing attempts, and produce 324 total yards per game. John Paul Thibodaux paces the ground game with a 108.7 yards-per-game average and eight touchdowns.
Preston Tilley has completed 63 of 120 passes for 723 yards and 2 TD’s, with Dennis Morgan snagging 24 passes for 307 yards and 3 TD’s. Michael French has 13 catches for 116 yards, and Brady Childress has 7 receptions for 162 yards for a 23.1 yards-per-catch average, including an 83-yard score.
Kane Dortlon leads the SMHS defense (18.5 points-per-game) with 43 stops, including 23 solo tackles, with Jacob Thibodaux close behind with 37 stops and a team-leading four sacks.
LAKEVIEW: The Gators (2-4, 0-1) face a huge challenge, going to Logansport (5-1, 1-0) hoping to spoil their hosts’ homecoming.
Logansport has won the last two meetings by a combined 115-0.
The Gators have dropped their last three games, including last Friday’s district opener at home 44-12 to Montgomery.
After visiting Logansport, Lakeview plays host to St. Mary’s next Friday, then goes to Jonesboro-Hodge.