West Monroe, Airline, North DeSoto and more: what coaches learned in jamborees
Even though football jamborees are little more than glorified scrimmages, they do have the ability to get a school’s fanatics overly optimistic or morbidly pessimistic about what the season will entail.
Sure, it's real experience against a real opponent, but no coach is giving away secrets about what his team will do during the first week of the regular season. That’s why jamboree scores are often rendered meaningless when the regular season kicks off.
But try telling that to the fans of Byrd and Captain Shreve who witnessed one of the best jamboree contests in a long while Friday night at Independence Stadium. Although the game should have been played at Lee Hedges had it not been for the late-arriving asbestos find, the Gators finishing in front 23-21 on a 47-yard John Chance field goal at the final horn made it memorable.
“I was proud of our kids because they were the aggressors out there for the first time in a long while,” Captain Shreve coach Adam Kirby said. “We got in the first punch, and we kept swinging.”
Some of the Gator standouts were Jordan Wiggins, Jamarion Otis, Quortini Beaner, Tre Fuller, EJ McDonald and Landon Mosley.
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Here’s what several North Louisiana coaches learned about their teams from jamborees:
Ruston Bearcats
Coach Jerrod Baugh’s talented came ready to play in a 14-0 score differential with District 1-5A foe West Monroe.
“We played hard, and we didn’t get rattled when thigs didn’t go our way, which was very good to see,” Baugh said. “Overall, I was pleased but we still have a lot to work on and areas to improve.”
West Monroe Rebels
Playing without starting quarterback Hayden Federico, who will return to the lineup next week, the Rebels were out-scored 14-0 by Ruston.
“The effort is great! We have to execute better,” coach Todd Garvin said. “Anytime you go against a team like Ruston, our mistakes are magnified. Our young guys are keeping their composure and gaining confidence each rep.”
Airline Vikings
The defending District 1-5A champions proved they had a solid off-season by getting past Haughton 35-0 in two 15-minute quarters.
“Kids were well conditioned and physical,” coach Justin Scogin said. “We found a few more guys who can play for us on Friday nights and give us some depth. I felt like the kids were confident and played fast and the upperclassmen set the tone leadership wise.”
Evangel Eagles
Coach Denny Duron’s Eagles outscored Ouachita Parish 21-14, but the score could have been much wider. ECA lost a fumble around the Lions’ 20 going in and ended the game letting time expire while at the Ouachita 3-yard-line.
“On defense, we gave up one offensive score and 42 total yards,” Duron said. “I think that simply stated translates to real effort on both sides. Now we have a chance to correct some things and play the mighty Neville Tigers next Thursday.”
Benton Tigers
Benton coach Reynolds Moore said his team is as young and inexperienced as the coaching staff figured after a 16-0 deficit to Parkway.
“We found out we weren’t quite as close to ready as we thought we would be, but we saw a lot of improvement throughout the game and feel like we can really build off of that this week,” Moore said.
Haynesville Golden Tors
“We need to be better conditioned and prepared for the heat,” Tors coach David Franklin said of his team’s 24-0 edging of Lakeside and 9-7 topping of Minden.
Huntington Raiders
Senior defensive tackle, Bryan Rodriguez and senior linebacker Derrick Edwards led the way for coach Steve Dennis’ team in getting past Southwood 14-0.
“I was really happy with how our entire secondary played,” Dennis said. “Offensively, our quarterback, LJ White, did a phenomenal job operating our offense and Kaleb Tucker had a big night with a touchdown catch. But we have got to clean up some penalty issues.”
North DeSoto Griffins
Coach Dennis Dunn’s club came out on top of Logansport 7-0 and Mansfield 21-6 in response to last season’s state runner-up finish.
“Cole Cory (three TD catches) and Luke Delafield (four passing TDs) have taken up where they left off,” Dunn said. “Our linebackers were really good as expected in BT McMillian and Kaleb Carter.”
Northwood Falcons
After outscoring Woodlawn 14-8, the Falcons are about where they thought they would be after losing a boatload of Division I talent last year. Coach Austin Brown discovered that Eli Crawford just might be as good as Memphis signee Mar’jayvious Moss.
“We just need experience. We’re replacing almost everyone who helped us win last year,” Brown said. “We will be at our best Week 10 and into the playoffs.”
Parkway Panthers
Coach Coy Brotherton’s team came out on the good side of a 16-0 score against Benton, but all isn’t perfect.
“The good was we played good on defense and got after Benton, but the bad was we need to do better with situations — and that comes with games,” Brotherton said.
Woodlawn Knights
Coach Thedrick Harris’ club needs work on moving depth into the right positions, improving perimeter blocking, understanding defensive situations, learning to open field tackle better and finishing red zone drives.
“But we competed at a high level and made several big plays,” Harris said. “We had several young players step up in crucial situations and our special teams performed well.”
Among the Knight standouts were Antonio Reynolds Semaj Snow and Leonard Winzer.
St. Frederick Warriors
Coach Andy Robinson saw a lot of things in his team’s 22-0 out-scoring of Jonesboro-Hodge that can’t be simulated in a normal practice.
“Anytime we get a chance to go out and compete gets our kids excited,” Robinson said. “We’re able to get some live special teams on tape. There are so many things to work on this time of year it’s hard to pinpoint one, but we focus on improving all three phases of the game.”
The Warriors open Thursday against Holy Savior Menard at home.
Jonesboro-Hodge Tigers
Even though the Tigers came out on the short end of the score with St. Frederick, a lot of young players gained valuable reps that will help down the line.
“Our older guys have to step their game up,” coach Terrence Blankenship said. “Also, we didn’t have any injuries, so we’ll go into the season healthy. Offensively our quarterback play and line play has got to get better for us to have any chance of being in games. If we can continue to grow our young players and correct some of our problems, then we’ll be in games with a chance to win some.”
Among the surprising players was sophomore defensive back Dakota Knox.
Sterlington Panthers
Coach Lee Doty’s club went toe-to-toe with Neville and were short on the 21-14 score.
“But I learned we will compete,” Doty said. “We are good where I thought we would be good. I’m very happy with the play of Carter Morris, our backup quarterback who ran our offense."
The Panthers need to work on tackling, conditioning, ball security and communication per Doty.
Cedar Creek Cougars
The Cougars were out-scored 33-0 by Mangham, so there’s plenty of things to work on heading into Week 1 of the regular season.
“We need to play with more physicality, intensity and passion,” first-year coach William Parkerson said. “I learned we are closer to clicking after watching the film than I thought live on the field.”
The Cougars didn’t quit, despite the score imbalance.
“They battled the whole game. And losing like we did hurt them all to the core,” Parkerson said. “They are resilient fighters, and they will be ready to bounce back next week.”
Haughton Buccaneers
Coach Jason Brotherton’s club has a way to go after getting outscored 35-0 by high-powered Airline. But there’s plenty of time to improve.
“We weren’t very good in any aspect of the game. We played without six returning starters who should all come back over the next few weeks,” Brotherton said. “So, we were able to grab some experience for some guys that may have to play at different points during the season.”
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: North Louisiana Jamborees – Here’s some things your coach learned
