Are you ready for some football? The answer is a resounding YES and thank goodness the Jonesboro-Hodge Tigers are going to get to play. If you have followed the back and forth banter of the leadership of the LHSAA then you know the prep football season was in doubt for a while.
Three times before in the 101 year history of Jonesboro-Hodge football a season been cancelled. The Coronavirus threatened to cause a fourth to be set aside but thankfully the 2020-21 edition of Tigers will get to take to the field beginning on October 2nd.
It is on that Friday where JHHS will open the season on the road at Delta Charter, located in Ferriday in a rematch that saw J-H win by a 52-26 score. Originally this was the third game of the schedule but while the pandemic that has caused much grief over the last several months didn’t cause the season to be cancelled it did wipe out two very important games for the Tigers.
The first was the season opener against rival Winnfield that caused a break in the series for the first time since the 1940’s. The second was the loss of Class 5A West Ouachita who brought with them the promise of lots of fans to Caldwell-Peacock Stadium as well as important power ratings for the Tigers.
“I hate we didn’t get to play the first two games” said Head Coach Terrance Blankenship. “They meant a lot to our season for different reasons but on the positive side we are going to get to compete for a district title, which is our main goal and have the playoffs to look forward to.”
After going east for the first game, J-H will head west to Shreveport for game two where the Tigers will face Class 3A Loyola Prep who won 41-0 last year and left a bad taste in the Tiger’s mouth by running up the score late in the game.
Much to the delight of Tiger fans Caldwell- Peacock stadium will be the site of the next three games with Rosepine, Mansfield and Huntington of Shreveport paying a visit. The Tigers had a shot at victory in all three of these contests last year but lost each in the fourth quarter.
“I am looking forward to getting another shot at these guys again,” reflected Blankenship. “We have a shot to win each of these games and hopefully the experience we gained will put us over the top this time.”
District 1-2A play begins on November 6th with J-H traveling to D’Arbonne Woods in Farmerville who the Tigers set school records against in a 66-6 throttling. North Caddo then pays a visit followed by the season ender at Lakeside in Sibley in a rematch of one of the most exciting games Tiger fans have witnessed in years where J-H came out on top 48-43 to secure second place in district play.
See below for the Tigers 2020-21 schedule.