Natchitoches Central has enjoyed a three-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will square off against The Byrd Yellow Jackets at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the pair posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.
Last Friday, Natchitoches Central and Haughton were almost perfectly matched up, but Natchitoches Central suffered an agonizing 36-35 loss. That's two games in a row now that Natchitoches Central has lost by exactly a single point.
Zion Thompson put forth a good effort for the losing side as he rushed for 204 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 7.8 yards per carry. Naiim Helaire was in the mix too, providing Natchitoches Central with two touchdowns.
Meanwhile, Byrd didn't have too much trouble with Southwood at home on Friday as they won 37-18. Given Byrd's advantage in MaxPreps' Louisiana football rankings (they are ranked 78th, while Southwood is ranked 237th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Natchitoches Central's loss was their fourth straight at home, which dropped their overall record down to 2-7. Admittedly, the team was facing some tough opposition over that stretch, including 8-1 Captain Shreve and 8-1 Airline (their opponents had an average overall winning percentage of 75% over those games). As for Byrd, their victory bumped their record up to 3-6.
Natchitoches Central was dealt a bruising 34-3 loss at the hands of Byrd in their previous matchup back in November of 2022. Can Natchitoches Central avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
