By Shawn C. White

 

 

Good week to be a football player in Bienville Parish as both the Ringgold Redskins (3-4) and the Arcadia Hornets (3-4) racked up big wins.  Arcadia took the homecoming 54-0 shutout win over the Plain Dealing Lions (0-7).  Ringgold got back on track with a 30-6 home win over the Magnolia School of Excellence Mariners (0-7).  

 

 

The Hornets got back to their winning ways with a homecoming win over Plain Dealing.   The Hornets piled on their lead to halftime and had a running clock for the second half.   Rodtravious Jackson made every one of his four completions count for points as he was 4-for-5 throwing for 142 yards and four touchdowns.   The receiving touchdowns were spread around to Darrel Sneed, Jr.,  Tekiyrian Abney, Kristofer Jackson, and Bratreviauntae Ferrell.   Ferrell also burned up the field with 5 carries for 103 yards and a rushing touchdown.   Ferrell combined for 153 yards total offense.  Ferrell added six more points on two-point conversions.   Kristofer Jackson and Rodtravious Jackson also had two-point conversions.  

 

Arcadia’s Joe Salvaterra tortured the Plain Dealing offensive line, getting past them for four sacks and 10 yards for loss in total.   Salvaterra also had 5 tackles (4 solo, 2 assists) for the Hornets.   Rhyheem Abney snagged a pick-six for a 42-yard touchdown.  

 

The special team also added points to the scoreboard in the shutout.  Justin Nelson took a punt return for 74 yards to the house for another six points.  

 

Arcadia with the win is still hunting for a playoff spot as they sit at No. 24 in the current Geaux Preps power ratings for Division IV Nonselect.   The top 28 will qualify for the playoffs. 

 

 

Ringgold broke their three-game slide on Friday night with a home win over the Mariners.  Ringgold.  Magnolia has had the edge in the game history with the Redskins going 4-1 before the win and not allowing a win since 2019.   The Redskins broke that four-game streak and moved to 3-4

 

The Redskins used the ground game to take the win over the Mariners with Caden Allums with 11 carries for 84 yards and a touchdown.  Allums also scored three 2-point conversions.   Jaxon Page added another rushing touchdown for Ringgold.  

 

Keonce Moore completed only one pass but made it count toward points on the board as he connected with Antravion Kinsey on a 12-yard touchdown pass.   

 

Ladaunte McCoy showed out for special teams as he took an 80-yard kickoff return to the end zone.  

 

Moore showed his defensive side as he collected 5 solo tackles.   

 

Both Bienville Parish teams might have their hands full this coming weekend at home as they will face the exact opposite of what they had last week.  Ringgold will host Lakeside (6-1) in the Lake Bistineau Battle.  Lakeside might have a chip on their shoulder coming to Bienville Parish as they suffered their first loss of the season last week against Red River.   Arcadia will go from facing a winless team to an undefeated Haynesville Golden Tornado (7-0) team at home.   

 

The Castor and Saline boys and girls cross country team headed to Minden at the Minden Recreation Center to compete in the Lakeside Anthill Challenge 5K.   Castor Lady Tigers finished in third place with 82 points.  The Castor Tigers varsity cross country team finished 5th of 8 teams with 146 points.   Saline sent five runners to compete for individual honors.

 

Two Bienville Parish girls medaled in the 5K race on Saturday morning.  Saline Bobcat sophomore Morgan Cheatwood finished in 9th place with a time of 22:59.98.   Castor’s Kaylie Ann Shirley added another medal to her collection with a 10th-place overall finish in 23:20.63. Senior Tiger Jenna Braggs added a top-15 finish in 15th place.  Saline’s Ally Hillman also had a top-20 performance finishing in 20th.  Rounding out the Bobcat sophomore trio was Adysen Breeland in 27th place.  Adding points to the Castor Lady Tiger total was Malorie Cooper (32nd), Hannah Miller (33rd), and Avery Jordan (38th).  

 

Castor’s Dakota Ryder was the top Tiger runner finishing in 23th out of the 76 runner field.  Saline’s Ryan Mauthe was the top Bobcat runner at 27th place.  Right behind Mauthe was another TIger as Danny Weaver finished 28th.  Other scorers for the Castor Tigers varsity team were Canaan Cook, Aydin Hayes, and Antwon Boyer. 

 

 

Bienville Parish must have brought some excitement to the Smoothie King Center last year when the Saline Bobcats came up short against the Cedar Creek Cougars.  Not just one team but two teams from Bienville Parish will be featured to play in a pre-game NBA New Orleans Pelicans game on January 15, 2025, at 12:30 pm.   The Ringgold Redskins fresh from their Marsh Madness trip will take on parish rival Gibsland-Coleman Bulldogs before the New Orleans Pelicans will face the defending Western Conference Champion Dallas Mavericks.   

 

“The opportunity to play at the Smoothie King Arena is a dream come true for our players and coaches,” said Ringgold head coach Jeffrey Trent.  “This is a rare opportunity for our community to see their kids on an NBA court.  For our program, this is a reward for all the hard work they’ve put in over the last five seasons.  Coming off our semifinal appearance last season, our kids will be able to use this to jump-start that journey back to Lake Charles.  To be able to participate on a platform like this is everything we’ve dreamed of for our program.  The kids being able to see a really good NBA game that night is the icing on the cake.”

 

The New Orleans Pelicans are offering tickets through either school where a QR Code is available to purchase.