By Gray Haynes

Friday night, the North Webster Knights traveled to Haynesville to take part in the Pineland Jamboree. The Jamboree format was for opponents to play one quarter in each contest with game-like situations. The Jamboree featured Homer and Haynesville from Claiborne Parish and Minden, Lakeside, and the Knights from Webster Parish. In their first game of the night, the Knights faced off against the Pelicans from Homer. 

Homer won the opening coin toss and elected to receive. The kickoff went out of bounds giving the Pelicans the ball at their own 45. A wide receiver screen took the ball to the Knights’ 38 yard line. On the next play, Homer’s quarterback threw a perfect pass, hitting the receiver in stride for a 35 yard touchdown. The two point conversion was no good giving the Pelicans a 6-0 lead that they would never relinquish.

North Webster junior JaKayden Jackson took the ensuing kickoff at the 10 and returned the kick out to the 31 yard line. The Knights called Jackson’s number again as he gained 9 yards on a counter play. J’Quorion Easter then picked up a first down on a 2 yard run. Easter picked up 1 on an inside run. An incomplete pass left the Knights facing 3rd and long. A fumbled handoff gave Homer the ball back in Knights territory early in the quarter. Homer snapped the ball over the head of the quarterback who ran backward and retrieved the ball and found a receiver who weaved in and out and around Knights’ defenders for a 41 yard touchdown. The two-point conversion was no good. Homer was now leading 12-0.

Jackson, again, took the kickoff and returned it 22 yards out to the Homer 42 yard line. He then picked up 2 yards on a sweep. Ke’shun Evens picked up 6 yards on a run. On the next play, Evans picked up 17 more. A pass from Justin Stewart to Jordyn Woodfork picked up 11. Easter, then took the ball around the right side for 15 yards down to the 4. On the next play, Stewart found Jardin Gill and a 5 yard touchdown pass. The PAT was no good making the score 12-6. 

Homer returned the kickoff for a touchdown, but a holding penalty brought the ball back to their own 39 yard line. A Pelican receiver made a diving catch to give the Pels the ball at midfield. After an errant snap and a penalty, Homer faced 3rd and 30. A wide receiver screen took the ball to the Knights’ 45. Homer scored on the next play to make the score 18-6. The two point attempt was no good. The Knights took the kickoff and mounted a promising drive with Stewart hitting tight end Lederiun Lewis for 20 yards, but time ran out with the Knights driving. The final score was 18-6 in favor of the Pelicans.

In their second game of the night, the Knights faced off against Haynesville. On the opening possession, Haynesville started at the 40 after the kickoff went out of bounds. The Knights’ defense forced a three and out and a punt. North Webster took over at their own 37 yard line. The Knights picked up a first down on an 11 yard pass to Gill. Jackson, then, took the ball 15 yards around the left side for another first down to the Haynesville 28. The Knights’ drive, then, stalled out after two negative runs and an incomplete pass. They were forced to send out Deaken Whitlock to punt. The punt rolled into the endzone for a touchback and Haynesville took over at the 20. Haynesville picked up one first down and was forced to punt the ball back to the Knights. 

The Knights couldn’t get anything going on offense and punted the ball back to the Tornado. Haynesville took over at their own 38. With time running out in the quarter, the Knights’ defense held firm on a 4th and 20 from midfield. The Knights were content to kneel on the ball to burn up the remaining 17 seconds with the final score tied at 0. Next week, the Knights begin the regular season hosting the Minden Crimson Tide in the Battle for the Boot. This game is sponsored by the Louisiana National Guard, and the winner takes home a trophy to keep for a year. Last year’s game ended with the Knights taking home the boot after a 7-6 win.

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