Week one is in the books for our Webster Parish football teams, and over the weekend the coaches had a chance to break down game film and see what went right and what went wrong.
The Journal reached out to our four head coaches for a quick hit on their perspective after film study.
Lakeside:
The Warriors dominated Magnolia Charter Friday night as they defeated the Mariners 39-0.
Last Friday night, Coach Mike Santelices said there were a few areas of concern despite the dominating performance. Among them were a few penalties that could be the difference between a win and a loss in a close game.
However, overall Santelices said he was very proud of the team.
“The kids played hard and had sound technique,” the coach told The Journal. “They were downfield blocking and gave every bit of effort.”
Santelices singled out Kris Redden, Cade Boley, and Koby Mangrum for special praise because of their dedication to the blocking schemes.
“I was very positive today with the team as we watched film,” he said with a laugh. “The boys did good and should be proud of how well they played.”
Lakeside plays Block at home Friday. Look for a preview in Thursday’s update.
North Webster
The North Webster Knights put on an impressive display at home against Haynesville. The rivalry is one of the oldest in the state, but this year’s matchup wasn’t much of a contest with North Webster winning 34-7.
Head coach John Ware said game film after week one was typical. There were a lot of good things as well as areas to improve.
“The kids played with a lot of emotion,” he told The Journal. “I was pleased with that effort and intensity. Of course, there were some dropped passes and issues with alignment and some miscues on defense, but that is to be expected in week one.”
Jamarcus Stephens did everything for the Knights, playing big on defense from his outside linebacker spot and igniting the offense with three touchdowns (two rushing and one receiving) to pace the offense. Running back Cooper Sanders and quarterback Colin McKenzie also shined in the run game.
The Knights got stellar play out of their defense all night, shutting down the Golden Tornado Wing-T attack. Haynesville’s lone score came with less than four minutes to play.
North Webster (1-0) will remain home to face North Caddo this Friday at 7 p.m.
Minden:
The Minden High Crimson Tide struggled in week one as powerful 5A Parkway came to town. Penalties and turnovers combined to put Minden on the short end of a 45-14 final score.
“After looking at the film, it’s easy to see we did some good things,” Minden Head Coach Spencer Heard said. “We ran the ball well and had several opportunities, but our mistakes cost us.”
Heard said he takes nothing away from Parkway and its veteran offensive line and skilled running back.
“They are special,” he said. “But there’s nothing too glaring about where we are now. Our tackling will improve because that’s hard to simulate in practice. We also may make some personnel changes defensively.”
Even though the opening game didn’t go as hoped, Heard understands that mulling over a loss for too long will spell trouble for the Tide.
“We’ve got a lot of things we need to work on and get better at,” he said. “We’ve got a good opponent coming into town next [Green Oaks], and we’re going to have to flush this one out and get ready for the next one.”
Glenbrook:
Glenbrook welcomed River Oaks to town last Friday in the Apaches’ first contest as members of the LHSAA.
On a night that saw the renewed rivalry of two former MAIS foes, the Apaches racked up 45 first half points in route to a 59-28 victory over the Mustangs.
“Last Friday night was everything we had hoped for,” Head Coach David Feaster told the Journal. “River Oaks appreciates the old rivalry as much as we do and they brought a good crowd and a good team, but we had a much better crowd and a much better team and we outplayed them from the opening kickoff until the end. It was a great way to start our experience with the LHSAA. This week we start district against the best team in the state, but I or our guys are not backing down. We are excited about the challenge.”
The Apaches will head over to Linwood Avenue in Shreveport on Friday to take on the defending Division IV State Champions, the Calvary Cavaliers. Kickoff is 7 p.m. for the District 1-1A opener.
