North DeSoto removes 'monkey'; Benton, Byrd, Minden, Green Oaks among winners

Dennis Dunn was happy to send the animal on its way.

After six years of frustration with Northwood, Dunn’s Griffins are the outright, on-the-field champions of District 1-4A following a 64-29 demolition of Northwood in Blanchard on Thursday night in their regular season finale.

“It feels good to finally get that monkey off our backs,” Dunn said following the contest. “It’s been like a six-year curse. I’m so proud of the way the kids responded after every one of their scores.”

North DeSoto (9-1, 7-0) actually won the title in 2020 after Northwood (5-5, 5-2) forfeited to the Griffins and the two schools shared the title last season. But with Landry Wyatt hauling in four eye-popping touchdown catches in the first half on throws by Luke Delafield, this one was a no doubter. Cole Cory also had a TD catch.

"There’s nothing better than winning a district title in front of one of the biggest atmospheres in high school football,” Cory said. “I’m really proud of how relentless our team was tonight. When you have a guy like Landry Wyatt, who is an absolute threat to the secondary of a defense, and Luke Delafield, who’s the best quarterback in the state, it make it easy to score like we do. Above all, we give God the glory.”

Delafield completed 15 of 20 throws for 322 yards and five TDs with Wyatt catching six for 176 yards and four total TDs. Trysten Hopper rushed 31 times for 158 yards and a score, and Kenny Thomas added 117 yards.

"We knew going into the game that they were going to play their hardest and that the only way they could win was by us beating ourselves," Delafield said. "I thought Landry played lights out with four first-half TDs, the O-line and running backs did great as well as the defense that shut them down in the second half."

With the Griffins leading 43-29 at the break, the Griffin defense, led by BT McMillian, who also had a rushing TD, Kaleb Carter and CJ Davis pitched a shutout in the second half to complete a perfect run through the league. The defending LHSAA Non-Select Division II runners-up are now set for another possible long playoff run.

“The win tonight has been a long time coming,” McMillian said. “The preparation this week has been like no other. Our coaches spoke to us about playing for the brothers before us — the ones who didn’t have the opportunity to beat them. We made some second-half adjustments in the run game and began to play Griffin defense.”

Friday games

Benton 45, Parkway 21: The Tigers (5-5, 4-3) made a case for a playoff spot in the 28-team field with a win over the Panthers (7-3, 4-3). Greg Manning scored four TDs including two on Jeff King passes, who had three TD tosses on the night. King also caught a 47-yard TD pass from Malachi Zeigler. Benton’s Tyler added a pick-6. Antonio Gladney had two rushing TDs for Parkway.

Byrd 42, Natchitoches-Central 14: The Jackets (4-6, 4-3) made a push for a first-round home playoff game with a win over NCHS (2-8, 1-6). Malachi Johnson had 10 carries for 161 yards and two TDs for Byrd, while Quinton Hilliard added two rushing scores. Asher Murray had a 44-yard TD run and hit Matthew Booras on a 26-yard scoring pass. Dillon Braxton had two TD catches for NDHS.

Minden 36, Woodlawn 6: The Crimson Tide (3-7, 3-4) closed out the regular season with consecutive wins over BTW and Woodlawn (4-6, 2-5). Dunovan Robinson had 21 carries for 133 yards and two TDs for Minden while Jakobe Jackson added 14 carries for 92 yards and three scores. Woodlawn's sole score came on a rush by Isaiah Kennedy.

Evangel 42, BTW 6: The Eagles (6-4, 5-2) took a win over the Lions (3-7, 1-6) in their last regular season game in Class 4A. BTW's only score came from Andrew Houston on a 3-yard run.

Arcadia 62, Plain Dealing 22: The Hornets (7-3, 3-3) locked down a first-round home playoff game with a win over the Lions (0-10, 0-6). Plain Dealing had two TDs from Aaron Reddix and one from JJ Ray.

North Webster 52, LRCA 12: The Knights (6-4) closed out the regular season with a win over the Lafayette-based Tigers (1-6). Jkobe Lawson had four TDs and added an interception. Tutt McGlothen had TD passes to Lawson and Kemaurion Jefferson, while rushing for one score.

Jonesboro-Hodge 30, Winnfield 20: J-Hodge (4-6, 2-3) overcame Winnfield (2-8,1-4) on Friday night behind four TD passes by Symeon Malone to Christian McGuire, Chance Leonard, Zamauryian Palmer and Dwayne Palmer. Jake Jones scored three TDs for Winnfield.

Green Oaks 48, Lakeside 30: The Giants (3-7, 2-3) strengthened their chances for the playoffs with a win over the Warriors (3-7, 0-5). Stedtravious Brisker and Tovoras Lee had two rushing TDs each for Green Oaks while Montavious Kelly, Delarrious Marshall and Tony Johnson had TD receptions. Brock Case and Jordan Case had two TDs each for Lakeside.

Thursday games

Huntington 44, Bossier 6: The Raiders (7-3, 5-2) increased their playoff seeding with the District 1-4A win over the Bearkats (1-9, 0-7). Kaleb Tucker caught three TD passes, while Preston Summage and James Watson also scored for the Raiders.

Airline 47, Southwood 8: The Vikings (9-1, 6-1) closed out their regular season in a big way with a win over the Cowboys (0-10, 0-7).

Many 56, Lakeview 26: The Tigers (7-2, 5-0) clinched the District 3-2A title Thursday by scoring often against the Gators (3-7, 0-5). Hayden Evans tossed five touchdown passes for Many with Mason Leach catching two TD tosses. Jeremiah James also scored for the Tigers.

Jimmy Watson covers Louisiana sports for the USA TODAY Network. Email him at jwatson@shreveporttimes.com and follow him on Twitter @JimmyWatson6.