After the Tigers 46-0 victory over Lakeside Friday night, JHHS head coach Terrance Blankenship was thankful. He was thankful for the 10 players on the field and the one up in Heaven that got honored on Senior Night. He was also thankful for his coaching staff that put together a dominating game plan. What Blankenship should also be thankful for is his quick feet as he was able to avoid the “Gatorade Bath” that his players tried to douse him with after the game.

Unofficial champion! With North Caddo beating D’Arbonne Woods in the regular season finale, JHHS, North Caddo and D’Arbonne Woods each finished district play with a 2-1 record.As result the Tigers claimed a share of the district championship, which is the first title, or part thereof, in Blankenship’s nine year tenure. What’s more, it is the first title on the gridiron that JHHS can claim since 2002. Staying consistent with the “thankful” theme perhaps the Tigers should give thanks to North Caddo head coach John Kavanaugh. Maybe send him a card or something.

Won but lost! Despite winning the game the Tigers, which entered the contest at #5 in the state ended up being #7 in the final Power Points ranking system. Oddly enough, North Caddo who lost to JHHS and was listed at #7 before the Friday games ended up at #5. As result North Caddo is the official district 1-2A champion. Per the LHSAA tie breaker rules when three teams have the same record the district crown goes to the team with the highest Power Points ranking. So in effect the Tigers won but they lost. Maybe Kavanaugh ought to be sending the LHSAA a thank you card.

Special Seniors! Before the game the ten Seniors that have made the 2021-22 season one of the best the Tigers have enjoyed in the new millineum were announced to the crowd. Enjoying the special night was: Justin Calahan, Devontae Mozee, Jamarriyea “Jay” Lewis, Tydre Malone, Brantrel Thompson, Javeon Andrews, Aiden Price, Terry Williams, Gregory Escobar and Sullivan Stephens. Also recognized was Javious “J-5” Holden who lost his life this past summer.

“I have had the opportunity to coach for over 20 years and this is by far the most special class of seniors I have ever had the privelege of being associated with,” said Blankenship. “They have represented themselves, their school and the team with honor and class.”

Record setting performance! Tydre Malone sliced up the Lakeside defense to the tune of 9 completions in 11 attempts for 240 yards and 5 touchdowns. The quintet by the quarterback tied the all-time single game touchdown passes mark set by Byron Anderson in 1997. Malone also set new marks for career passing attempts (379) and touchdowns (43) to go with the career completion (206) and yardage (3579) marks he already owned along with the top two completion totals (20 & 16) in one game. With just one more TD pass he will also own a share of the single season touchdown mark of 24. Making his totals even more impressive is that Malone was the QB for only five games his sophomore year and seven his junior, before being able to play a full ten game schedule this year. One can only imagine what his numbers would look like with three full seasons under his belt.

Defensive Dominance! The Tigers defense turned in their best performance of the year when it mattered most. JHHS allowed only six first downs and 111 yards in total offense all night. Actually that should be 111 yards in rushing in 52 attempts as Lakeside never attempted a pass. That equates to a 2.1 yard per carry average. Only two times did Lakeview gain more than 10 yards on one single play all night and that was on the first two possessions of the game. After that the Warriors managed only 57 yards in offense in 39 attempts. Fifteen times the defense forced a loss, including the last eight plays the Warriors ran. Two more times the Tigers forced a fumble.

“Big Play” Jay! Wide receiving / defensive back, Jamarriyea “Jay” Lewis is an “all-around” good player. On Friday he looked “all-world.” Lewis ended up with a team leading 98 yards receiving on the three spectacular grabs, two of which he took to the house from 71 and 21 yards away. Lewis also forced a fumble and finished with a season high 14 tackles on the night of which two were for a loss.

Dialing long distance! Lewis wasn’t the only one who had long scores. Brantrel Thompson scored on an 18 yard reception and scampered 55 yards for the second of his two TD’s. Devontae Mozee caught a 53 yard bomb for six and Justin Calahan caught a pass at the line of scrimmage and dashed 43 yards to paydirt. Reserve running back Chance Leonard also got into the scoring act with a 26 yard run.

Close to perfect! Jonesboro-Hodge finished the regulars season with an 8-2 overall record. What is even more impressive is that the Tigers were just two plays and four points from being undefeated. In their two losses the Tigers had a shot at winning each as a last second pass in the endzone fell incomplete against Winnfield in the season opener and in the district loss to D’Arbonne Woods the Tigers converted a game tying two point conversion only to have it called back due to a penalty.

JHHS (8-2)	8	18	14	6	46
Lakeside (3-6)	0	0	0	0	0

JHHS scoring summary:
1st Quarter: Thompson 18 yd pass from Malone (Malone pass to Andrews for 2-points)
2nd Quarter: Lewis 71 yd pass from Malone
2nd Quarter: Thompson 55 yd run
2nd Quarter: Lewis 21 yd pass from Malone
3rd Quarter: Mozee 53 yd pass from Malone (Calahan 2-point run)
3rd Quarter: Calahan 43 yd pass from Malone
4th Quarter: Chance Leonard 23 yd run.

YARDSTICK	JHHS	LHS
First Downs	12	6
Rushes / Yards	14 / 113	52 / 111
Passing (A-C-Yds)	9-11-240	0-0-0
Total Yards	353	111
Fumbles / Lost	2/2	2/2
Penalties / Yds	5 / 36	2/20
3rd down Conv.	1/3	2/14
4th down Conv.	1/2	1/8

JHHS Individual Statistics:
Passing: Malone 9/11-240yds, 5 TD’s
Rushing; Thompson 5/61, 1TD; Leonard 3/44, 1TD
Receiving: Lewis 3/98, 2TD’s; Mozee 1/53, 1TD; Calahan 1/43, 1TD; Thompson 1/18, 1TD; Atkins 1/12, Moss 1/11, Gray 1/5
Tackles: Atkins 16, Lewis 14, Strickland 8, Andrews 6, Waters 5, Jackson 4, Chance Leonard 4
Solo Stops: Atkins 13, Lewis 13, Strickland 6, Andrews 6, Chance Leonard 4, Chase Leonard 3, Waters 3
Tackles for loss: Atkins 5, Lewis 2, Andrews 2, Strickland 1, Waters 1, Jackson 1, S. Malone 1
Fumbles Recovered: Waters 1, Chase Leonard 1

Brown family honored at halftime as “JHHS Football First Family”

As part of the ongoing recognition program sponsored by the Jackson Parish Journal and in conjunction with the JHHS Athletic Department another “Football First Family” was honored at halftime. Being recognized was the Brown family consisting of brothers Scott, Andy, Shannon and Wes.
You would be hard pressed to find another family that bleeds red and blue more so than the Brown’s. For over a decade these four brothers represented JHHS on the gridiron demonstrating tremendous leadership and helping the Tigers to a state championship, state runner-up finish as well as semi-final and quarterfinal playoff appearances. After graduation each has been instrumental in continuing to assist the team through either their coaching efforts or support through their various professional endeavors.