By Josh Beavers
The North Webster Knights won one and lost one Friday night during the annual Pineland Jamboree.
The Knights opened the first game of the night against the Homer Pelicans. North Webster coach John Ware said his boys suffered from being in “Jamboree Mode” in their 6-0 loss against the Pels.
“We were working on things to get us back into game mode,” Ware said. “The jamboree is better than the scrimmage where you stop after 12 plays and get out on the field. But the first game against Homer got to us.”
Ware said his team had to contend with limited numbers which means many players have to play both offense and defense. That’s tough, Ware said. “But by the second game we were into it. Settled down a bit and made some big plays and blocked well.”
In the second North Webster game, the Knights scored on three long plays en route to a 19-0 win over Lakeside.
North Webster took advantage of Lakeside turnovers, missed tackles and their own sheer athleticism as they scored on three big plays.
First, junior quarterback Cooper Sanders kept the ball and dashed 67 yards for the game’s first touchdown. Moments later Lakeside pinned the Knights at their own 1 yard line, but a couple of long plays put North Webster out to their own 48. The next play, senior Jacobreious Walker ran 52 yards for the game’s second score and a 13-0 lead.
Senior Jamarcus Stevens closed out the scoring as he took a Sanders pass and crossed the goal line from 36 yards out. Junior Greg Davis had an interception to end the night.
“We’ve got some guys who can get out and make plays but they play both ways,” Ware said. “It’s about managing that. We have to get them some rest. We don’t have much depth, and the depth we do have is young. The most important thing now is managing that and getting into game mode.”
The Knights open the season at home on Friday against Haynesville in one of the state’s oldest rivalries.
