The Many Tigers football team is No. 1 ranked across the board heading into Alexandria tonight to face Holy Savior Menard for the fourth district game of the season.
The Tigers took over the top spot in the LHSAA’s power points ranking after rallying past Avoyelles 34-30 at John W. Curtis Stadium last Friday night. Many already owned the No. 1 spot in the Louisiana Sports Writers top 10 poll, but jumped from third to first in the more important rankings while Avoyelles suffered its first loss and dipped from second to third.
The No. 1 LHSAA ranking guarantees homefield opportunities in the state playoffs.
Many comes in with an overall record of 6-1 and 3-0 in District 3-2A. Menard has a 1-6 record and 1-3 in district. Game time is 7 o’clock with the game broadcast on 99.9 KTEZ with Randy Bostian and Brad Ford starting at 6:25.
The Tigers, the defending 2A state champions, are trying to win the district for the ninth year in a row. They have won six straight games since an opening 42-32 loss to Union Parish.
When Tiger head coach Jess Curtis was asked about the No. 1 ranking and the rest of the season, he said, “We’re proud of our team. We take it one week at a time and we’re ready to rock-n-roll.”
This week, the Menard Eagles are front-and-center for the Tigers. Their 1-6 record may be deceptive.
Menard tries to do a lot of different things on offense. According to Coach Curtis, Many has had a great week of practice and will be well prepared to shut down Menard’s offense.
Team awards last week for the Avoyelles game included the entire defense winning the game ball. The defense made a huge stop on fourth down with Many trailing 30-26 late in the game, giving the ball back to the offense for a short game-winning drive.
The Hard Hat Award went to quarterback and safety Tackett Curtis, who scored the winning touchdown on a 15-yard run with just under a minute left in the game. The Sledgehammer Award went to both Marquise Maxie and Garet Culverson for setting the edge on their side of the defense.
The Tigers will come home for their final regular-season contest in Many next Friday night against Bunkie.
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