Minden: 7
North Desoto: 28
By Whitman McGee
The North Desoto Griffins (2-4) played spoiler Friday evening as they beat the Minden Crimson Tide (2-4) on homecoming night by a final score of 28-7.
North Desoto won the coin toss and deferred to Minden, who then proceeded to punt the ball away following an opening 3 and out.
The Griffins immediately took advantage, scoring on a counter trap to the left side that resulted in a David Adkins 73-yard run to the house. The Griffins’ two-point conversion attempt was no good.
At the half, North Desoto led Minden 6-0 as both teams held each other scoreless throughout the second quarter.
Minden forced North Desoto to punt the ball away for the first time of the game with a solid defensive stand to begin the second half.
Following some hard-nosed running by Daylen Robinson, quarterback Andrew Cooper linked up with Jaylin Williams on a 15-yard pass connection for the Minden touchdown. Carter Barnett’s extra-point attempt was good, and Minden was up 7-6 with 8:07 left in the third quarter.
North Desoto then went on to score three straight touchdowns, outscoring the Tide 22-0 after their score early in the third.
North Desoto had a clear game plan – run the ball and dominate time of possession. They did just that, rushing for 297 yards while winning the time of possession battle by nine minutes.
Penalties were a problem for both teams, as both the Tide and Griffins combined for 14 total penalties that added up to a total of 133 lost yards.
Perhaps the most surprising statistic of the game is North Desoto only passing the ball two times for zero yards. Minden concluded the matchup with 126 yards through the air.
Tide wide-out Jaylin Williams had a solid performance, catching 7 passes for 86 yards and a score.
Though the end result may be disappointing, Minden flashed some signs of serious improvement in the versatility department, an area that head coach Spencer Heard highlighted on multiple occasions.
Next week, the 4A powerhouse Neville Tigers (5-1) will roll into town expecting easy pickings against a struggling Tide team. It’s a perfect opportunity for Minden to prove doubters wrong by keeping their composure, coming together, and fighting hard in order to make the game interesting.
Special thanks to Mark Chreene and KASO/KBEF radio for providing the Journal with stats from the game.
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