DeRidder hasn't had much luck against Leesville recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Dragons will be playing at home against the Wampus Cats at 7:00 p.m. Neither of those teams managed to put together many points in their previous contests, so the offenses might be a little more motivated than usual.
While DeRidder's victory against Eunice wasn't quite the blowout it was the last time the pair played, they still came out on top. The Dragons won a contest that couldn't have been any closer, slipping by the Bobcats 13-12. Those 13 points were actually the fewest the Dragons have put up all season, but given the result they're probably not too concerned.
Javaughn Fairley produced another solid effort rushing for 92 yards and one TD on only ten carries.
They were just one part of a punishing run game: DeRidder was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 242 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 177 rushing yards every time they've taken the field this season.
Meanwhile, Leesville might've scored the first points on Friday, but it was Iowa who claimed the real prize. The Wampus Cats came up short against the Yellowjackets, falling 33-7. While losing is never fun, the Wampus Cats can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Louisiana football rankings (they are ranked 113th, while the Yellowjackets are ranked 35th).
Leesville didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Julius Brown and Jaylen Tucker. With that strong performance, Tucker is now averaging an impressive 5.4 total tackles per game.
DeRidder pushed their record up to 3-3 with the win, which was their third straight at home. Those home victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 26.3 points over those games. As for Leesville, their defeat dropped their record down to 1-5.
DeRidder was taken down by Leesville 62-35 in their previous meeting back in October of 2024. Thankfully for the Dragons, Xavier Ford (who rushed for 306 yards and four scores while picking up 13.3 yards per carry, and also picked up 74 receiving yards and one touchdown) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
