by Malcolm Butler
Undefeated, baby!
Yeah, it’s early. And yeah, there is a lot of football left (thank goodness).
But after one week — two for the G-Men of Grambling State — Lincoln Parish gridiron teams sport a perfect record.
6-0.
GSU: 2-0; LA Tech: 1-0; Ruston High: 1-0; Cedar Creek: 1-0; Lincoln Prep: 1-0.
Every head coach in Lincoln Parish is rolling his eyes if he’s reading this way-too-premature column.
Good thing is, I’m not a coach (although I did sleep at a Holiday Inn Express recently, and I play one on my broadcasts at times).
And with some challenging games coming up this week, I figured if I was going to write said column, now is the time.
Not only have our local teams been winning, they’ve done so in dominating fashion.
The Tigers, Bulldogs, Bearcats, Cougars and Panthers have outscored their opponents 326-81. Get the calculator out, and you’ll find that’s an average score of 54-14.
And there have been plenty of eye-popping numbers along the way.
The winning started more than a week ago when Grambling State opened its season with a 49-7 Week Zero win over Clark Atlanta.
Mickey Joseph’s Tigers made it two straight Saturday, rolling up 644 yards of offense — including 361 on the ground — in a 48-26 victory over Central State.
That’s 97 points in two games for the G-Men.
And since Grambling got this whole thing started, nobody in Lincoln Parish has lost.
Louisiana Tech joined the party Saturday night by hanging 80 — yes, 80 — on Northwestern State in an 80-6 win at Joe Aillet Stadium.
The Bulldogs scored touchdowns on their first 11 offensive possessions and put up 63 points in the first half.
It was the most points scored by a Tech team in the modern era and the most since the Bulldogs scored 89 against Clark College in 1922. The 63 first half points were also the most ever in a half by a Bulldog team.
And to add a little more Lincoln Parish flavor, former Ruston Bearcats Dylone Brooks, Joshua Brantley, Zheric Hill and Jadon Mayfield all made their presence felt.
Brooks scored on a 28-yard run. Brantley threw a touchdown pass. Hill and Mayfield helped a Tech defense hold Northwestern State to 129 total yards.
Not a bad season opener. But the colleges haven’t cornered the market on offense. Not even close.
Ruston junior running back Dalen Powell put on a show Friday night in the 101st meeting between the Bearcats and Neville. Powell rushed for 271 yards and five touchdowns as the Bearcats rolled to a 42-16 victory. Five touchdowns.
Not to be outdone, Cedar Creek sophomore Payton Harris matched that number on the road at Delhi Charter. Harris rushed for 214 yards and five scores as the Cougars rolled to a 55-14 victory. And here’s the kicker: He did all of that in the first half. Harris took Cedar Creek’s first offensive snap of the regular season 48 yards to the house.
Talk about starting fast.
Then there is Lincoln Prep. The Panthers opened their season Thursday night with a 52-12 road win over Delhi. Junior quarterback Jabari Levingston accounted for five touchdowns, throwing for two and running for three while totaling 258 yards of offense.
So if you’re keeping track at home, Powell, Harris and Levingston combined to account for 15 touchdowns in their season openers. That’s a pretty good weekend of work.
And that’s really the fun of all of this.
Five football programs. Five different sets of expectations. Five head coaches who undoubtedly watched film following those victories and found plenty of things they didn’t like.
That’s what coaches do.
Mickey Joseph isn’t worried about Grambling being 2-0. He’s worried about the turnovers and things his Tigers need to clean up.
Sonny Cumbie isn’t going to spend this week admiring an 80-point performance. His Bulldogs are headed to Tiger Stadium to face LSU.
Jerrod Baugh wasn’t ready to hand out trophies after beating Neville. The Bearcats have Longview coming to town and a showdown with Edna Karr in two weeks.
Jacob Angevine and Cedar Creek have St. Frederick next; a team that ousted them from the playoffs a year ago.
Chaunce Davison said Lincoln Prep’s win at Delhi was one the Panthers could build on, but added they couldn’t let up with Block coming to town Thursday.
That’s their job. Mine is a little different. I get to enjoy it. And right now, there is plenty for football fans in Lincoln Parish to enjoy.
We know 6-0 doesn’t mean anything when November and December roll around. Nobody is hanging a banner for the first weekend in September.
There will be losses, disappointing Friday and Saturday nights, injuries, turnovers, bad bounces and probably a few calls that leave all of us scratching our heads.
That’s football.
But right now, football in Lincoln Parish is perfect.
