Varnado plays non-district game tonight
Published 2:41 pm Friday, October 24, 2014
Varnado looks to get its second straight win tonight, as the Wildcats complete a three-game road trip by taking on Haynes Academy at Jefferson Playground tonight.
The Wildcats (3-4) come in after downing Christian Life Academy, 42-22, in a game in which they outscored CLA, 28-0, in the second quarter.
VHS won last year’s contest 28-14.
Varnado is 14th in the Class 1A power points.
Wildcats coach Scott Shaffett feels his team realizes that every week is big now.
“It’s all about power points,” Shaffett said. “Every game is very important. We’re playing some good ball right now. We’re still banged up, but we’re playing some good ball.”
Varnado used a strong rushing attack that gained 390 yards on the ground. Nick Darden led the running game with 200 yards on 19 carries and a pair of touchdowns.
Tyrandis Crosby finished with 91 yards and Wilbert Gray had 74 yards on 10 attempts with two scores.
Quarterback D.J. Jefferson threw for 64 yards with a 32-yard touchdown pass to Armontee Kemp. He also ran for 25 yards.
“D.J. has really stepped it up,” Shaffett said. “He’s athletic. He’s matured throughout the season and he’s playing real good ball. Whether he’s just handing it off or throwing a pass, he’s doing it with confidence. He’s putting the team first.”
Defensively, Varnado did a good job last week, holding Christian Life’s offense to 255 yards.
“We’ve been playing good defensively for most of the year,” Shaffett said. “The only thing I feel we need to do is get better in the third quarter. We play lights out in the first and second quarter, but then we come out relaxed in the third quarter.”
Haynes Academy enters this week with a 4-3 record. The Yellow Jackets ended a two-game losing streak last week with a 52-15 win over Metairie Park Country Day.
During the losing streak, Haynes was outscored by a combined 67-7 against Ridgewood and Houma Christian.
The Yellow Jackets are 11th in power points for Division IV.