There was a time in the past when how a team performed during the “second season,” otherwise known as when district play begins, determined whether or not a school would qualify for the LHSAA postseason. In this era of power ratings, district standings don’t carry as much weight as they used to, but winning the district is still something that every team strives to do.
Jonesboro-Hodge and Weston begin the “second season over the next couple of days, as JHHS will travel to Lincoln Prep for a District 1-1A contest on Friday, while Quitman, who has already opened district 1B play with a victory over Doyline this past weekend, hosts Weston for round one of their 2026 District 1B battles this Thursday evening. Tip-off of both matchups is set for 6:00 pm for the girls’ games, followed by the boys’ competition.
JHHS vs Lincoln Prep: Both games are a battle of “have’s” vs have-nots”. In girls action it is JHHS that looks to have the upper hand as they enter the District 1-1A opener with a 10-13 record after having beaten Union Parish 50-43 on Tuesday, giving the Lady Tigers, who have won 6 of their last 9 games, victories over their fourth team with a winning record and third since the calendar flipped to 2026. It is a different story entirely on the boys’ side as JHHS enters with a 3-19 record and a #35 power ranking in Division IV, while Lincoln Prep is the #1 rated Division IV team among “select” schools with a stellar 17-3 record.
Quitman vs Weston: When the season schedule first comes out, there are two games that are always circled by the two Jackson Parish rivals, and that is the two District 1B games that will be played against each other. The battles are always ones that “you throw the records out” due to the tenacious rivalry between the two schools separated by less than 10 miles as the crow flies. This year, the Quitman boys seem to be in the best position based on their current 13-game winning streak that has led to a tremendous 17-4 record and #4 ranking in Class B. While Weston comes in with only a 9-13 record, the Wolves are showing promise, having won five of their last nine games. In the contest between coaches Kyle Leach of Quitman and Matt Herring of Weston, the longest tenured coach in the parish and the newest coach to the area, the game between the two local girls’ teams looks to be a toss-up. Both schools are enjoying winning seasons, with Quitman sporting a 15-7 overall record and Weston sitting at 13-9, and both are relatively close in the Class B ranking as #9 and #13, respectively.
Tuesday Tilts
Quitman Dominates Forest on “Senior Night”
Quitman High School honored its 10 senior student/athletes by dominating Forest High School in girls’ and boys’ action. Both contests ended up being complete mismatches as the Lady Wolverines won by a 54-14 margin while the boys took an easy 69-22 victory to keep both Forest squads winless this season.
Quitman 54 Forest 14 (Girls): The Lady Wolverines scored the first 25 points of the game and never looked back while holding an opponent to less than 15 points in back-to-back games for the first time in head coach Kyle Leach’s 22-year tenure at the school. While the night was dedicated to the seniors at QHS, it was also a special night for Breelyn Boon,e who obliterated her previous career high of three points by exploding for 10 points to share the team lead in scoring with Allie Robertson. Chipping in with 8 points in limited action was Anna Claire Leach, while Sophia Kleibert and Emma Walker scored six points each, and Braelyn Patton finished with four. Hallie Kate Pullig scored 3 points, as did Lily Jones, who equaled her career high set one game ago. Keeley Davis and Kinsley Ponder tallied two points apiece as well.
Quitman 69 Forest 22 (boys): A 24-0 second-quarter advantage by the Wolverines helped open up a 41-8 halftime advantage that led to Quitman winning their 13th game in a row and saddling Forest with a 15 straight loss against zero wins. Brayden Smith, Taden Thomas, and Brayden Martin all reached “double-digits” in scoring with 17, 13, and 12 point,s respectively. Abel Leach netted 9 points, and Asher Schultz added 7, while Lucas Leach and Hayden Seymore tallied 3 points apiece. Kaleb Maxwell and Shane Reed both made a basket and Eli Jackson canned a free throw.
JHHS Girls Upend Union Parish
JHHS 50 Union Parish 43 (girls): Samone Mallard scored 16 of her game-high 20 points in the first half to lead the Lady Tigers to a 32-11 advantage as JHHS gained revenge for the 59-52 overtime loss to the Lady Farmers on December 30th. Jalenya Jackson and Nesha Johnson chipped in with 14 and 12 points, respectively, to help put an end to a three-game slide. Syla Malone and Sanaa Tatum tallied two points each. The victory over the 14th-ranked team in Division III jumped JHHS to #18 in the Division IV power rankings and improvement of four spots from the week before.
Union Parish 80 JHHS 55 (boys): The Tigers gave up their second-highest point total this season in their fifth straight loss and 10th in the last 11 games. The loss overshadowed a career scoring night for Dylan Hayes who poured in a game high 24 points. Jaquan Qualls also came up big for JHHS with 18 points and Channing Gray added 11, including the only 3-pointer of the contest for the Tigers. King Campbell finished with five on the night that saw only four J-H players tally points.
Division III Jena Jolts Weston
Jena 70 Weston 31 (girls): Playing the 4th-ranked team in Division III among “non-select” schools proved to be too big a bite to handle for the Lady Wolves, who played their 12th in 22 games against a school with a winning record. Teegan Hall hit 5 of 7 shots to lead Weston in scoring with 10 points, and Rachel Bandy scored 6 on the night, as WHS made only 12 baskets and went 0-8 from the three-point line. Kate Keiffer and Carly Jo Griffin finished with four points each, Saniyah Saulsberry scored three and Addison Faulkner made a basket.
Jena 55 Weston 29 (boys): The rims in the Jena gym were unkind to the Wolves, who managed to make only 10 field goals in 34 attempts and went 7 for 17 from the free throw line as they equaled their lowest scoring total of the season. Brody Tidwell was the high scorer for the Wolves with 8 points, while Malachi Harris and Gunner Younse both finished with 6 points each. Abram Toms scored three points, and both Jacolby Lowe and Eli Henderson finished with two points, as did A.J. Woodard, who made his first-ever varsity basket.
Saline boys Crush Calvin
Saline 74 Calvin 42 (boys): After making a pair of free throws in the first quarter, Gavin Dailey erupted for 25 of his game-high 27 points over the final three periods to help Saline stretch their winning streak to a season best 5 games. Eli Feguson and Elijah Calloway also came up big with 18 points apiece as the Bobcats scored their second-highest point total of the season. Jackson Bougues finished with five points, both Hayden Jackson and Conner Roberts made a basket. Braydon Robinson and Hayden Laborde also made a free throw each as Saline, ranked #4 in Class C, improved to 16-10 on the season. Calvin fell to 8-12 overall.