MANY – Despite a 34-6 loss at Red River this past week, the Tigers still have all of their major goals intact.
Many (4-4, 2-1 District 3-2A) steps out of district play to host North Webster in its final regular season home game.
The Tigers hope that the Knights aren’t the last opponent to grace Tigers Stadium this season as Many, sitting at No. 17 in Division III Non-Select, still could host a home playoff game by climbing into the top 16.
That will certainly require a win against No. 24 North Webster (3-5), who is still in the playoff picture but has suffered four straight losses by at least 28 points each.
Some of those North Webster losses are against elites like Sterlington (50-7) and Haynesville (38-0), and others have come against programs like Carroll (33-0) and Richwood (34-6) that are having positive seasons against tough competition.
The Knights do own a win against a Class 4A Minden squad that is 4-4, so it’s a bunch that expects to compete when they head to Sabine Parish.
Many certainly had the same thought when they traveled to Red River Parish this past week, and the Tigers struck first with a Daniel Thomas rushing touchdown.
But Many struggled to corral Red River weapons like Malique Smith and Warren Bowman.
Smith threw for 205 yards and five touchdowns with Bowman catching three of those scores on four catches for 85 yards.
The most painful touchdown was a fourth-down pass in which Smith scrambled before finding Bowman in the near corner of the end zone late in the second quarter, putting Red River up 21-6.
Many struggled to finish drives as turnovers and failed fourth downs halted momentum.
“It didn’t go our way — Red River had a dominant performance, and they did everything right,” Many coach Tyler Hassell told KTBS following the game. “We didn’t tackle in space, but our guys fought to the end, and we’ll be better because of this game going into Week 9 and Week 10 and hopefully what’s a long playoff run.”
North Webster spreads the ball around offensively with four players owning at least 20 carries and six different players with multiple catches.
The offense starts with quarterback Justin Stewart, who averages 73 passing yards and 20 rushing yards per game.