The Jena Giants started district play this past week, coming into the game last Friday after suffering their first loss of the season against Tioga the prior week. Another tough matchup awaiting them last Friday as the undefeated Marksville Tigers would come to town for a Top 5 Power Point ranking matchup with Jena at #3 and Marksville at #5. The game would feature two of the best offenses in the Cenla area.
Last season, Marksville was leading Jena 13-8 at halftime, but the Giants would score 28 unanswered points to go on to win 36-13. The captains for the Giants would be seniors Luke Smith, Bubba Stevens, Cale Parker and Sedrick Wilson. Jena would win the toss and would defer to the 2nd half.
This game would be a fun one to watch if you enjoy offense as both teams would light up the scoreboard. Both teams would score on every offensive possession except one. Marksville would get a couple of incredible performances from their star players, junior quarterback Devin Lavalais and senior receiver Armonii Benjamin. Lavalais would pass for 199 yards and 5 touchdowns and would also run for 137 yards and a rushing touchdown. Benjamin would have 5 receptions for 80 yards and 4 touchdowns.
The good thing for Jena was that their offensive players showed up as well. The dynamic duo of running backs Sed-rick Wilson and Daniel Hatcher would once again prove to be tough to stop. Sedrick Wilson would finish with 21 carries for 211 yards and 4 touchdowns while Hatcher finished with 20 carries for 163 yards and 3 touchdowns.
The game would really be a shootout as both defenses could not stop the opposing offenses. The deciding factor would be which defense would finally get a crucial stop to allow their team to gain the offensive advantage.
During the 1st quarter, Daniel Hatcher scored two rushing touchdowns, a 3-yard run and a 28-yard run, getting both two-point conversions. The 2nd quarter saw Sedrick Wilson bring Giants fans to their feet with a 58-yard touchdown run. He also scored the two-point conversion.
With 3 seconds left in the 1st half quarterback Deuce McPherson would connect with Adrian Sharp for a 4-yard touchdown pass to put the Giants up 32-30 going into halftime. The Giants would get the only defensive stop of the game as they would force Marksville to turn it over on downs. This would be all the Giants offense would need to stay ahead as Wilson would score three touchdowns in the second half, a 21yard TD run, a 2-yard TD run and a 39-yard TD run, with Hatcher adding another 1-yard TD run. The Giants would go on to win 62-46.
Carter Nichols would lead the Giants defense with 9 tackles in the ballgame.
With the win, the Giants improve to 5-1 on the season and 1-0 in district play. The win would also move the Giants up to #1 in the Division III Non-Select power rankings. The Giants offense would pick up 25 first downs in the game and would rush for 374 yards.
This week the Giants will welcome in another district foe as the Vidalia Vikings come to town. Vidalia comes in with a record of 2-4 on the season after they lost to Buckeye to start district play last week. It will also be Homecoming this week so their will be festivities all week. Make sure you get to the game early to get a good parking spot and seat. Kickoff will be at 7:00.
If you can’t make it to the game, then you can hear all the action live on 102.7 KJNA 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.
