The St. Amant Gators will challenge the Ouachita Parish Lions at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. St. Amant has given up an average of 31.6 points per game this season, but Friday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.
The home team had won the previous three meetings between St. Amant and Denham Springs, and Denham Springs kept the tradition alive. The Gators were dealt a 54-26 defeat at the hands of the Yellowjackets on Friday. The contest marked the Gators' lowest-scoring matchup so far this season.
Even though the team lost, they still had their share of impressive performances. One of the best came from Tre Mayfield, who threw for 274 yards and three TDs, and also rushed for 37 yards. Jaquan Gordon was another key player, picking up 160 receiving yards and one touchdown.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Ouachita Parish). They blew past Pineville 56-0 on Thursday. The score at the end of the third wound up being the final score as the Lions just coasted through the last quarter.
St. Amant better keep an eye on Montrell Conner. He was instrumental in Ouachita Parish's win, throwing for 211 yards and five TDs while completing 90% of his passes, and also rushing for 35 yards. Conner is becoming a predictor of the Lions' success: when he posts at least three passing touchdowns the team is 4-1 (and 2-3 when he doesn't). Another player making a difference was Seneca Battle, who picked up 88 receiving yards and three scores.
Ouachita Parish's run defense was locked in: Pineville could only muster 2.1 yards per carry. While two picked up at least five total tackles, Ja'Marcus Jacobs stood above the rest. He forced one fumble, made five total tackles, and defended one pass. Ouachita Parish didn't have any issues in that department, having averaged 12.2.
With the victory, Ouachita Parish broke their four-game losing streak and moved their record to 6-4. As for St. Amant, their loss ended a five-game streak of away wins dating back to last season and brought them to 7-3.
Everything came up roses for St. Amant against Ouachita Parish in their previous meeting back in November of 2023, as the squad secured a 31-3 win. In that game, the Gators amassed a halftime lead of 28-0, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Friday.
