While the Many offense likely found some solutions in the second half of an overtime loss at Avoyelles, the Tigers are looking for a spark in a major way when they roll into Red River (1-5, 0-1) to start District 4-2A play.
The Tigers (1-5) are still developing many of their young players across the board, but Many did find a way to turn their season around in 2025 in the back half.
Those Tigers, albeit a more veteran bunch, won four of their last six games after a 2-3 start and bulldozed past Red River in the first round of the playoffs.
Just the Red River series displayed how much Many progressed in the second half of the 2025 season, losing 34-6 in the regular season before edging the Bulldogs in 35-27 fashion in the first round of the playoffs.
Now Many is aiming for a similar turnaround, and the Tigers hope that begins Friday in a Week 7 rematch with Red River.
This past week, stud running back Daniel Thomas took to the air in the second half to jolt a Many offense alive that didn’t score in the first (0-0 tie at halftime in fact).
Thomas completed 5-6 passes for 54 yards and a touchdown to add to his hard-earned 137 rushing yards and two scores on 26 carries.
Many freshman Luke McCarty had been 0-5 through the air up to that point.
Thomas’s five completions (with zero interceptions) is nearly half of Many’s nine completions all season, and those came with seven interceptions, including a couple returned for scores.
Thomas has five 100-yard rushing outputs in the first six games and crossed the 1,000-yard mark for the season (1,081) to go with 11 scores. Thomas has had a hand in 12 of Many’s 18 touchdowns this season.
Whether Thomas becomes the main quarterback at Red River this week remains to be seen as the effect on his traditional running is largely unknown.
But Winnfield didn’t need a pass to crush Red River this past week as its Wing-T attack bulldozed Red River’s defense in a 68-39 thrashing.
If Many can be anywhere near as effective in their power game, perhaps the Tigers won’t need Thomas under center either.
If the Tigers are to make another postseason push, they’d benefit from a kickstart now. Many sits at No. 34 in the Division III Non
Select power rankings, a full point behind No. 28 Avoyelles, who currently holds the final spot.
Red River’s more difficult schedule has the one-win Bulldogs sitting at No. 19, still in reach of a home playoff game but in need of wins to solidify their postseason spot.
Friday’s contest marks a Homecoming of sorts for second-year Many coach Tyler Hassell. While he’s Many bred, Hassell did spend one season on Red River’s staff as the Bulldogs won their first district title in two decades in 2024.