Airline football’s fantastic third quarter continues awakening of a ‘sleeping giant’
Folks might find it amusing that possibly the premier non-district contest in the state of Louisiana on the opening weekend of high school football was set to be anything but premier when two coaches agreed to the matchup two years ago.
Airline had just concluded a 1-9 campaign, the last under coach Bo Meeks, while North DeSoto was coming off a mediocre 5-5 campaign in Dennis Dunn’s rebuilding regime. Griffins’ All-State quarterback Luke Delafield was playing middle school football and Airline’s Ben Taylor was gangly freshman on the sidelines at M.D. Ray Field biding his time.
Fast forward to 2023 and a game between two high-octane offenses operated by two future college quarterbacks was the hottest ticket in town. And the fans weren’t disappointed as Airline escaped 53-42 thanks to possibly the worst third quarter in North DeSoto history.
Trailing by two touchdowns entering the third frame, Airline capitalized on four Griffin turnovers with four TDs. North DeSoto lost despite five TD passes by Delafield, while Airline won with four from Taylor and a fifth from Tre’Von Jackson. It made for an incredible night of football.
“We said we weren’t going to take punches but that’s exactly what we did in the first half,” Airline coach Justin Scogin said. “I told them that everyone has a plan until you get punched in the mouth. I challenged them at halftime. The kids did a good job of coming back.”
Scogin inherited his entire 2023 schedule from Meeks and agreed he would have rather opened with a team other than the 2022 LSWA Non-Select Division II state runners-up.
“But it does give us a good measuring stick to see where we are as a program,” Scogin said.
The Griffins buried the Vikings 46-21 in last season’s opener as both clubs put together memorable campaigns. With Delafield and Taylor combining for nine TDs in the game, and returning next season, the question becomes whether the series will continue.
“It’s a game you’d love to play again tomorrow,” Griffins coach Dennis Dunn said. “The only thing that stopped us was us. It’s something to build from and learn from. I jokingly said it’s (Airline) a sleeping giant that awakened and I’m the dummy who scheduled them. I think it’s a great game that both schools get better after playing in it.”
The Vikings opened last season with three losses before a breakout, 75-point effort against Benton. Things clicked for Taylor at that point and Airline reeled off seven consecutive victories, winning District 1-5A, before getting derailed in the first round of the playoffs by Haughton.
The Griffins had no such slow start last season behind their then-freshman quarterback. Delafield and company averaged almost 50 points per contest in opening with nine straight wins before a regular-season finale 20-19 loss to Northwood.
After Friday’s contest in front of a nearly packed house at M.D. Ray Field, it appears both teams are ready to score big in 2023.
Jimmy Watson covers Louisiana sports for the USA TODAY Network. Email him at jwatson@shreveporttimes.com and follow him on Twitter @JimmyWatson6.
This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: LHSAA football: Airline's tops North DeSoto in battle of the fittest
