By Journal Staff
It may not have been a beautiful thing, but Minden’s Crimson Tide parlayed a bruising ground game with a determined defense to run past the Booker T. Washington Lions 16-8 in a Friday District 1-4A match in Shreveport.
Minden misfired on promising scoring drives in the contest but came up with the right plays at the right time on both sides of the line of scrimmage to hand Tide head coach Spencer Heard his 63rd career win. That ties him with the late Elton Kelly as the winningest coach in school history.
Behind the strong inside running of tailback Dunovan Robinson (148 yards on 19 carries for the night), Minden bounced back from an early 8-0 deficit to tie the game with 3:37 remaining in the first half.
Robinson and running mate Caleb Aubrey combined for nine carries on a 53-yard scoring march only minutes after BTW had gone ahead on a 39-yard touchdown run by Von’travious Moore. Aubrey pushed into the end zone from two yards out to cap a drive that was kept alive by three BTW penalties. Jakobe Jackson’s two-point conversion run made it 8-8.
A promising Tide opportunity slipped away with only seconds remaining in the half when a drive that began at Minden’s 29-yard line ended with an interception at the Lions’ two-yard line.
Both teams swapped fumbles midway through the third quarter, but Minden’s recovery of a BTW miscue with a little over four minutes remaining kickstarted the winning touchdown drive. Robinson carried five times on the 42-yard march, getting the Tide to a first and goal from the BTW four where Jackson bulled into the end zone. Another Jackson two-point scamper secured the Tide’s second win of the season.
On the defensive side, Minden kept constant pressure on a Lions’ offense that didn’t gain the 100-yard mark in total yardage until late in the fourth quarter. Tide defenders recorded three sacks and a half dozen tackles for loss against a large offensive line.
Minden’s defense also slammed the door on a last-ditch Lions attempt to even the score, knocking away a fourth-down pass attempt inside the Tide five-yard line with 2:30 remaining in the game. Heard rolled the dice on a fourth down situation from the Tide 38-yard line with under 20 seconds left and Jackson made it work, sneaking for a first down to seal the deal.
With the win, Minden moves to 2-7 on the season with both wins coming in District 1-4A play. BTW falls to 3-6. The Tide will host Woodlawn next Friday at W.W. Williams Stadium to end the season.
