By Pat Culverhouse
Caylien Aubrey rushed for 196 yards and two touchdowns and two other Crimson Tiders scored two apiece to lead Minden past BTW 55-30 in a District 1-4A matchup Friday at W.W. Williams Stadium.
Aubrey’s scores came on romps of 65 yards in the first quarter and 63 yards in the fourth. He carried the ball only eight times on the night as Tide runners piled up 290 total yards on the ground.
Aubrey’s first TD at the 8:41 mark was followed by a Lucas Owens 18-yard dash with just 22 seconds left in the opening stanza to give the Tide a 14-0 lead.
BTW answered with an 11 play, 80-yard drive capped by an eight-yard scoring pass from Vincent Blake, Jr. to Vontravious Moore. A successful run for two made it 14-8 with just over eight minutes left in the second quarter.
Minden came back with a pair of TDs on consecutive possessions, with Owens’ second score of the night coming on a 16-yard dash up the middle at 5:23 before the half and Jaden Johnson’s eight-yard run three minutes later for a 28-8 Tide lead.
BTW’s Blake broke loose on a scrambling 61-yard scoring run for the Lions to make it 28-14, but Minden turned a short kickoff into a three play, 52-yard scoring drive. With 42 seconds remaining before intermission, Johnson hauled in a 33-yard scoring pass from Hudson Brown to make it 35-14.
BTW’s Devandre Johnson caught a 12-yard scoring toss from Blake to end a 10-play, 63 yard drive with just over a minute left in the third quarter and the Lions trailed 35-22 after a two-point run.
Sophomore Abreon Curry rambled to the Lions’ three-yard line with the ensuing kickoff, but a penalty moved to ball at the BTW 33. Three plays later, Brown sneaked it in from four yards out for the first of his two scores and a 42-22 lead with 18 seconds left in the third quarter.
Brown scored again with 8:50 to go in the game on a two-yard sneak and Aubrey’s 63-yard scamper ended the scoring for the Tide. BTW got into the end zone with 14 seconds left in the game on a Zarvea Frazier two-yard run.
BTW piled up 411 yards in total offense compared to the Tides’ 361, but the Tide defense came up with big plays when needed.
Aubrey’s total led all rushers, followed by Owens Jr. with 59 on 10 carries. Johnson picked up 22 yards on four attempts and Kaiden Shine carried three ties for 16 yards.
Minden completed five of six passes on the night for 71 yards with Brown going three-for-four for 51 yards. Johnson had one completion in one attempt for 13 yards ad Kaiden King was one-for-one and six yards. Johnson caught four passes on the night worth 57 yards.
BTW’s Blake was in triple digits rushing and passing for the evening. He completed 18 of 29 passes for 214 yards and rushed 18 times, picking up an even 100 yards. Frazier added 90 yards on 15 attempts. Devandre Johnson caught seven passes for 58 yards and Caden Harris had three receptions for 66 yards.
Minden now stands at 2-2 in District 1-4A play, 3-4 for the season heading into Friday’s homecoming game against the Bossier Bearkats (3-4, 1-3). Bossier dropped its last game to district foe Northwood by a 48-14 score.
BTW sports a 4-3 season record and is 1-3 in district play. The Lions will next face undefeated Loyola, a 62-14 Friday winner over Woodlawn.