Photograph: Westminster Christian Academy (in white). (Photograph by Steven Moody.)
BOBBY ARDOIN
Editor/Consulting Writer
St. Landry Parish football teams starving for victories have remedies awaiting them in Week 4 four contests.
After opening the season without much success, Westminster Christian and Port Barre – the two remaining winless two St. Landry teams, have opportunities to score victories before the onset of district games.
North Central, which last Friday night erased a 23-game regular season losing streak dating back to 2018, has a chance to improve to 2-2 when the Hurricanes host Ascension Christian. When was the last time the North Central football program had two wins in a season?
St. Landry teams finished above .500 last week with 5-4 overall record. The parish teams have improved their overall weekly record each week.
Can they do even better with their Week 4 schedules? Let’s take a look and see.
ST. LANDRY NOW GAME OF THE WEEK
Eunice (1-2) at Northwest (2-1)
The largest spotlight in the parish will be cast on this game for several reasons.
Primarily it’s a battle between two Wing-T teams that are carved from the same offensive root. Northwest offensive coach Curt Ware is responsible for introducing the offense at that program. Eunice has run the Wing-T and variations of that offense since Faize Mahfouz brought the system to the school during the 1950’s. Don’t forget Ware was at Eunice High for many seasons. These two teams are formerly district rivals, whose attendance zones are abutting. Give Eunice the edge in this game.
Opelousas High (2-1) at St. Amant (2-1)
The Opelousas High schedule proves the Tigers aren’t backing down this season. St. Amant is the second Class 5A team on the schedule. Opelousas is adapting to the personality of the coaching staff, which emphasizes physical defense and an offense that can break loose spontaneously. Most noticeably the Tigers’ kicking game has improved. OHS has a good running tandem in De’Shaunn Ford and Zay Amos and a sophomore quarterback (Zach Malveaux) with a live arm. However we like St. Amant in this game.
Southern Lab (1-1) at Opelousas Catholic (1-2)
The Vikings recorded a first win of the season with a dominant game against Port Barre. Now at Donald Gardner Stadium Friday night OCS will have to match a Class 1A team that has moved deep into the playoffs in a perennial manner. It will depend a lot on how well the Vikings play defense. This is just a hunch, but the Vikings can win. Pick’em.
Abbeville (2-1) at Beau Chene (1-2)
After opening the season with a win against Port Barre, the Gators haven’t shown much offense, scoring 17 points in the last eight quarters. Last week Beau Chene also collapsed defensively against Northwest. Abbeville has upgraded the football program during the last three years and are now one of the best coached teams in the Acadiana area. Abbeville wins this one until the Gators regroup.
Hamilton Christian (0-3) at Westminster Christian (0-3)
The Westminster defense has had to carry the load so far as the Crusaders have scored only 21 points in three games. Eight of those points belong to the WCA defense. If Westminster can get into the end zone, possibly things will be different. Hamilton Christian should be an inviting target, allowing 117 points in the last two games. I’ve picked WCA to win two of the last three weeks. Hopefully I am right this time, as a win goes to the Crusaders.
LaGrange (0-3) at St. Edmund (1-1)
St. Edmund coach James Shiver said a long time ago that proper scheduling is the way into the playoffs and this year he has done a masterful job, scheduling up in classification during the first three weeks. St. Edmund had a week off last Friday following a trip to Dallas and this week it’s back against a LaGrange team that is winless. The Gators have been allowing points, (133 in three games) and St. Edmund can score. This is a guess but St. Edmund can win this game.
Port Barre (0-2) at Mamou 1-1)
Both programs had games canceled in Week 1. Since then Port Barre hasn’t scored in two outings and the Red Devils opened their home schedule last week with a dismal performance against OCS. In that game Port Barre showed an obvious inability to control the line of scrimmage. Mamou meanwhile has looked competitive in the first two games. Mamou wins it, although Port Barre traditionally has experienced success in the battle of the Demons.
Ascension Christian (0-3) at North Central (1-2)
North Central head coach Jacob Carruth said his team was going to refocus quickly for the Ascension Christian game and the questions is whether the Hurricanes can gain momentum and consistency enough to patch a winning streak together. That would also be a sign of progress for a program Carruth is building from ground level. The common opponent for these two teams is Gueydan, which beat North Central 54-12 in Week 2. Gueydan defeated ACHS 14-7. Why not pick North Central?
Prediction record: Last week: 6-1.
Season prediction record: 12-3
