It was a topsy turvy week in local football action with some big wins and losses as teams play their non-conference schedules to help them get ready for district.
The New Boston Lions played their first game of the season on Friday and hosted Shelbyville in a game that saw the Lions roar, and roar loudly in a 55-42 win over the visiting Dragons.
It was a big night for the New Boston offensive unit with giant numbers in passing, receiving and rushing.
Quarterback Ridge England brought his A-game to the contest with 12 of 20 passing for 294 yards and four touchdowns and Ashton Rowden plowed through the Shelbyville defense for 197 yards of rushing and three touchdowns. A lot could be said for the high flying exploits and all-star performance of wideout Kason Campbell, who ended the night with 163 receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns, plus nine tackles and a pick-six for another score on defense.
Next up for the Lions will be another home game this Friday to take on the Atlanta Rabbits. The Rabbs are coming off a 25 to 15 win over a very good Hooks Hornets squad so you can expect this one to be a good battle. The Lions defense will have to stop Atlanta playmakers senior Jayden Riley who had 86 rushing yards and two touchdowns plus 20 yards receiving, freshman QB Brayden Thompson who threw for 136 yards and sophomore CJ Whaley who reeled in 46 yards receiving. Whaley holds seven D1 college offers already, is 6’ 5” and can also break one on returns. He had a 72-yard punt return against Hooks, so he is quick as well as big.
The Lions were our only coverage team to garner a win last week so everyone will be looking to turn the ship around this Friday.
The DeKalb Bears fell to a very good 4-A team at Pittsburg by a score of 38-8 last Friday so they will look to get back on track this Friday with another road trip to face the Jefferson Bulldogs. The Bulldogs fell to the Newton Eagles 22-14 last week and this should be a game where the Bears will come home happy with a win.
The Hooks Hornets will take a bye this week and regroup from their loss to the Rabbs and come back to action on the 19th against Winnsboro, a team that defeated Redwater this week by a score of 72-7.
The Dragons will seek to get their season on track this week as they will host the Paul Pewitt Brahmas on Friday with kickoff set for 7:30 p.m. The Brahmas are 1-1 on the season with a shutout of Linden-Kildare and a close 30-26 loss to White Oak. They will be a tough hurdle for the Dragons to get over this week.
In 2-A football, the Maud Cardinals fell to Elysian Fields 42-26 last Friday and the Pirates of James Bowie were bested 39-8 by the Hawkins Hawks.
The Pirates will be back in action on Thursday to face the 1-1 Overton Mustangs who fell to Carlisle 17-7 last week. This is a game where the James Bowie backfield of Nate Potter, Trigger Crocker and Jack Coleman could have a really good night and get the Pirates their first win of 2025.
The Cardinals will hope to fly high again this week on the road at Mt. Enterprise. The Wildcats are 2-0 on the season and coming off a decisive 64-27 win last week over Alba-Golden so this will be a tough one for Maud.
Tribune photo by Aaron Harper The high flying Maud Cardinals will be back in action this week to face Mt. Enterprise after a 42-26 loss last week to Elysian Fields.
Tribune photo by Susan Lindsey Wideout Kason Campbell and Colton Thomas celebrate after Campbell finds paydirt in the Lions 55-42 win over Shelbyville. Campbell scored three times in the contest including a pick-six.
The Hooks Hornets battled Atlnta last week and fell short but will be back on the field this Friday to challenge a very good Winnsboro Raiders squad.
