By Dave Woodall

Contributing Writer

The No. 19 seed Franklinton Demons, who placed second behind Salmen in a very tough District 7-4A race, will make the long trek to Lake Charles to take on the No. 14 seed LaGrange Gators in a first round battle for supremacy in 4A football.

The Demons ended the season at 6-3 overall and 3-1 in district play. LaGrange, which hails from District 4-4A, ended the regular season at 8-2 and 4-1 in league play.

Franklinton will face a very balanced team in the Gators.

“We will need a big defensive effort to stop them,” said Demon coach Shane Smith. “We’ve seen in the films that they (LaGrange) are a very athletic team with some great players. We have to stop their running attack to be successful. It all boils down to do what we do and make adjustments as we go.”

The Demons will field a team that has the ability to score on any play.

Under center will be their double-threat, senior quarterback Austin Armand. His statistics are impressive. Armand has run the ball 137 times gaining 583 yards with six touchdowns. In the air, he has completed 93-of-168 passes (55 percent) for 1,304 yards with nine touchdowns and seven interceptions.

Helping out in the running game are freshman Renaz Wilson who has contributed 326 yards and seven touchdowns on 70 carries and junior Ron Robinson with 39 carries for 308 yards and five touchdowns.

The receiving corps has also been very productive with junior Donovan Alonzo leading the way with 23 catches for 469 yards and seven touchdowns.

The Gators will counter with an explosive offense of their own.

Senior Nick Pitre and junior Quindon Barry will handle the quarterback chores for the Gators who have won the last five out of six games to get into the playoffs.

Tyler Guillory, Robert Leday and Freddie Williams will man the running game.

On defense the Gators rely heavily on Tirell Wellmaker who doubles as a safety and linebacker. In the final game of the season Wellmaker had two interceptions and two touchdowns in a 34-6 win against the Washington-Marion Charging Indians.

“Franklinton has a dynamic offense that is very well balanced and is huge on the offensive line,” said Gator coach Jules Sullen.

“Our goal will be to play fast and be consistent. If we do that and control the ball we will do alright.”