56-3 Victory
The Jena Giants traveled to Alexandria this past week to take on the Menard Eagles in Week 2 of the Louisiana High School football season. Although Menard leads the all-time series between the two teams, the Giants have dominated the Eagles in recent years including last Friday winning 56-3.
Both teams would come into this matchup with 1-0 records after dominant performances in Week 1. Menard comes into this season with senior heavy team that returns a lot of starters from a playoff team a year ago.
The captains for the Giants were seniors Luke Smith, Cale Parker, Bubba Stevens, and Sedrick Wilson. Menard would win the toss and would elect to receive the ball.
The young Jena Giants defense gave up over 400 yards of total offense and 48 points a week ago at Mangham and were looking to make corrections against Menard. Last Friday would be a different story as the Giants defense would shut down the Menard offense, only giving up 123 yards of total and 3 points in the game.
Two of the defensive highlights came from senior safety Xavier Brown who had an interception in the game and junior Carter Nichols who had a blocked punt.
The Giants offense for the second week in a row would be dominant as they would score on all 8 offensive possessions.
The Giants would improve to 2-0 with a 56-3 victory. Running back Daniel Hatcher would have touchdown runs of 48 and 86 yards. Hatcher would finish the game with 8 carries for 201 yards and 2 touchdowns. Sedrick Wilson would continue his hot start as he finished with 14 carries for 119 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Deuce McPherson would throw for 2 touchdowns and Zadrien Cooper finished with 3 receptions for 49 yards and a touchdown. Cale Parker would catch his first career touchdown. The Giants offense would have 20 first downs and 497 total yards in the game.
With the win, the Giants improve to 2-0 on the season. This is the third year in a row that the Giants have started 2-0.
The Giants will finally return home this week as they will have their home opener this Friday night. The St. Frederick Warriors will come to town to take on the Giants. Last year, St. Frederick kicked a walk off field goal to defeat the Giants 15-14 in a surprising result. The Warriors shut down the Giants run game last season.
This year, the Warriors come in still looking to pick up their first win after starting the season with losses to Loyola Prep and Franklin Parish.
Everyone is encouraged to make plans to pack Guy Campbell Memorial Stadium Friday night. It’ll be senior night as the Giants will honor their seniors. Kickoff will be at 7:00 pm.
Fans are also reminded that tickets may be purchased through the new app the school is using to help make entry into games easier. Simply download the GoFan app to your phone and search for Jena High School, then follow the prompts to purchase tickets. Tickets purchased through the app will be scanned at the gate for fast entry. Purchasing tickets with cash at the gates will also remain an option.
If you can’t make it to the game, then you can hear all the action live on 102.7 KJNAFM starting at 6:00 with the Cajun Seafood and Specialty Meats Jena Giants pre-game show.
If you are not in the listening area, then you can download the MIXLR app and search for KJNAFM or go online at www.mixlr.com/kjnafm.
