By Pat Culverhouse

Another stingy defensive performance helped propel Minden to its fourth straight win of the season as the Crimson Tide opened its District 1-4A district schedule with a 28-6 win over the Woodlawn Knights Friday.

For the second week in a row, the Crimson Tide defense put the clamps on an opponent’s offense, this time limiting the Knights to just 141 total yards on 42 plays from scrimmage.

While the defense was keeping Woodlawn in check, a grinding ground game was the Tide’s primary weapon in jumping off to a 14-point lead at the half.

Minden’s first score came at the 8:26 mark of the second quarter when Denarius Crowe scooted 17 yards to score the first of his two touchdowns on the night. A Braxton Glover PAT, his first of four on the evening, gave the Tide a 7-0 advantage.

Jaylon McKinney powered into the end zone with 1:50 remaining before the half to cap a nine-play, 64 yard drive and put the Tide up 14-0 after Braxton’s successful kick.

Minden’s final scores came in quick succession in the fourth quarter when Crowe scored from two yards out at the 7:01 mark to end a 13-play drive, followed by a Treshun Young 20-yard pass interception return less than a half minute later.

Woodlawn finally managed to crack the end zone when Quintin Wilson scored on a five-yard run with just 32 seconds remaining in the game. That score capped an 11-play, 72 yard drive.

Crowe led all rushers in the game with 79 yards on 15 carries, resulting in a pair of touchdowns. Caylien Aubrey carried seven times for 29 yards, Porter Neal had 29 yards of five tries, McKinney had seven carries for 27 yards, Jaden Johnson carried twice for 10 yards and quarterback Hudson Brown had four yards on one official carry.

Brown was three-for-seven through the air worth 40 yards while his counterpart, Brandon Henderson, was three-for-five and nine yards.

Minden will face another District 1-4A foe Friday when the Loyola College Prep Flyers invade W.W. Williams Stadium. Both teams are 1-0 in early district play, with Loyola holding a 3-1 season record.