Minden 34
North Webster 27
By Whitman McGee
W.W. Williams Stadium was the place to be on Friday night as the Minden Crimson Tide bested the visiting North Webster Knights, 34-27.
The Knights (2-1) started with the ball, and after back-to-back three and outs, scored on a 63-yard pass to tight end Jatareon Robinson.
After a successful onside kick, the Knights scored once again, this time coming off a Cooper Sanders five-yard rush.
Things looked bleak for the Tide, facing a 13-0 deficit, but the resilient group wouldn’t hang their heads. Instead, they put together a 21-0 run, highlighted by Andrew Cooper and Zedekiah Harris rushing scores. These touchdowns were followed by Cooper connecting with wide receiver Jaylin Williams on a 25-yard scoring grab.
Minden (2-1) seemed to have the momentum swaying in their favor; that is until North Webster put an end to their run, scoring a touchdown with only 35 seconds left in the half and tying up the game with a successful 2-point conversion.
The Tide also had a last-second Isaiah Thornton touchdown called back due to an illegal man downfield penalty.
Adversity was rearing its head again, but Minden wasn’t giving up that easily.
Coming right out of the gates after half-time, Tide quarterback Andrew Cooper steamed 51-yards downfield for a Minden touchdown.
Both teams would battle back-and-forth, holding each other scoreless throughout the rest of the third quarter.
With 10:27 left in the game, Minden’s Zedekiah Harris would pick up his second rushing touchdown on the night.
The game seemed to be in hand for the Tide until the Knights ran in for a score with 2:47 on the game-clock. They then recovered their second onside kick of the contest.
Minden hunkered down on defense though, forcing the Knights to throw a game-sealing interception right into the hands of Isaiah Thornton.
The Crimson Tide finished the night with 295 all-purpose yards. Only 45 of those yards came through the air.
Tide Head Coach Spencer Heard spoke on their rushing attack after the game, saying, “We knew going in that it was always going to be a big part of our game plan.”
It’s clear that the game plan is working, as Minden has already racked up 612 rushing yards only three games into the season.
Heard also had high praise for first year starter, Andrew Cooper. “This is the best game he’s played as the quarterback for Minden High School. I told him on the sideline that I was very proud of his effort.” Heard laughed, “That’s the guy I’ve been looking for.”
Cooper ran for 143 yards on 13 attempts. Daylen Robinson added 86 yards on the ground on 17 carries. Jaylin Williams caught two passes for 37 yards. Carter Barnett was 4 of 5 on point after attempts
Coach Heard continued, “I was really proud of our kids. I thought they battled through adversity early in the game and even with some hiccups here and there, they kept playing extremely hard.”
Minden will hit the road next week to match up against Mansfield (1-2), who lost their game against Red River (3-1) on Friday night, 44-55.
Special thanks to Mark Chreene and KASO/KBEF radio for supplying The Journal with stats for Friday’s game.
