There was no doubt by halftime Friday night on the outcomes of District 3-1A football games involving St. Mary’s and Lakeview.
SMHS stunned Jonesboro-Hodge from the outset in a resounding 55-20 rout in a matchup of teams entering with 5-1 records, played at Lakeview High School.
Lakeview (2-5 overall, 0-2 in district) visited Logansport (6-1, 2-0) for the DeSoto Tigers’ homecoming and was overwhelmed 50-0.
St. Mary’s and Lakeview meet this Friday night at LHS.
In the JHHS romp, John Paul Thibodaux had the biggest night of his senior season to date, rushing for 172 yards on 18 carries, while SMHS scored four times on defense and got quality performances across the board in a key district victory.
St. Mary’s (6-1 overall, 1-1 in 3-1A) blasted JHHS (5-2, 1-1), opening a 28-6 halftime lead that grew to 48-14 going to the fourth quarter.
Defensive touchdowns came on a 36-yard interception return by Jacob Thibodaux, Micheal French going 50 yards on a pick six, and Kolade Newton scooping up a fumble and scoring from 55 yards, along with a safety on a bad JHHS snap in the first minute of play.
The Jackson Parish Tigers were without their starting quarterback, who was ill, and that certainly hampered their performance, but St. Mary’s dominated the JHHS defense throughout the evening.
Jacob Thibodaux ran for a 5-yard TD and older brother John Paul had a 25-yard scoring run.
Preston Tilley threw two touchdown passes, 4 yards to Kane Dortlon and 34 yards to Brady Childress. Dennis Morgan caught a 52-yard TD throw by Gavin Solomon.
Weston Legrande topped the Tigers’ defense with 10 tackles, while Jacob Thibodaux had nine and Dortlon and Hudson Methvin each made eight stops.