Jonesboro-Hodge High School makes its longest road trip of the regular season on Friday, when the Tigers travel to southwest Louisiana to take on Class 2A DeQuincy for the final non-district football game of the season. Game time is set for 7:00 pm.
While having no meaning in district standings for both teams, the contest does carry serious ramifications as far as the power rankings and possible playoff hopes. Jonesboro-Hodge enters the contest with a 3-3 overall record and currently sits at #20 in the Division IV “non-select” school power rankings, while DeQuincy will try to improve on its 2-4 record and #24 ranking in the power polls.
“It is a big game for both teams as whoever wins will put themselves in a good position for the postseason,” said JHHS head coach Terrance Blankenship.
Both teams enter the contest on the heels of one-sided losses to highly ranked teams. The Tigers are coming off a 43-0 loss to undefeated Haynesville, ranked #1 in Class A according to the latest Louisiana Sports Writers Association poll, in what was a battle for the top spot in District 1-1A. The loss broke a three-game winning streak for the Tigers.
Class 2A DeQuincy fell to Erath, which has a 6-0 mark and is ranked #7 in Class 3A, after dropping a 28-19 contest to Grand Lake, the team that put JHHS out of the playoffs last year.
The contest marks the second time the two teams have ever played with the first being last year’s 38-20 victory by DeQuincy that was much closer than the final score indicated, and the game that Coach Blankenship credits with helping propel JHHS to a late-season surge.
“Even though we lost we played perhaps our best game of the season up to that point,” recalled Blankenship. “It gave us confidence the rest of the way as we were 1-5 coming into that game while DeQuincy was 5-1 and ranked #3 in the state and we proved that we could play with them.”
Blankenship hopes this year the Tigers come away with more than a “moral victory.”
“I think we are a better team this time around and have a good shot if we play to our potential,” said Blankenship. “A win would be huge as it would be a great foundation to close out the year with.”
One hopeful boost will be the expected return of starting tailback and strong safety Landon Boston, who has been out since the early part of the season with a hamstring injury.
“We are excited to have Landon returning for us,” said Blankenship. “His loss really hurt us as he was a key contributor on both offense and defense. On the bright side, we have had several players step up in his absence, and now that he is back, we should be even stronger on both sides of the ball.”
Listen to Tiger Football on the Roux102
If you are not able to make the trip, you can listen to the broadcast of the game by tuning into The Roux102, located at 102.3 FM on your radio dial. You can follow the game by downloading the Roux102 App. The broadcast will begin at 6:30 pm with the Tiger Pre-Game Show.
Directions to DeQuincy High School
For those planning on making the roughly 170 mile trip you can expect a travel time of approximately 3 hours. According to Google Maps the fastest way to go is:
From Jonesboro take Hwy 167 South to Alexandria
From Alexandria take Hwy 165 South to Kinder
From Kinder take US 190 West to DeQuincy
DeQuincy High School located at 207 North Overton Street.
Transportation to the game avaialable
Don’t feel like driving but want to make the game? Then come cheer on the Tigers by riding the spectator bus that will load up at 1:00 pm on Friday in front of the boys’ gymnasium on the JHHS campus. The cost per seat is $42.00 per person. To make reservations, contact Tamara Tate or Latonya Moss.