Yesterday was the spring wrap-up for the Walker Wildcats and the Woodlawn Panthers. Beginning with Woodlawn’s first string offense on the Walker’s first string defense, the first twelve plays were underway. Not even a minute into the game and Walker’s number 25, Devin Boissat, recovered a Woodlawn fumble. After a few yards carry by Woodlawn’s Jonero Scott, number 3, Jalen Cook, the second ranked WR in the state from Walker snatched an interception and ran twenty yards for a touchdown. Yet Woodlawn Head Coach, Marcus Randle, felt confident in his squad ending the spring and going into the summer, “Coming in, picking up from where we left off, there are a lot of young guys who really have not played any varsity minutes. Being able to come in and put the install in, I’m pretty satisfied with where we are ending the spring and heading into the summer.” And the Woodlawn players have just as much confidence in themselves as their head coach has in them, number 3 Damon Stewart had this to say after the scrimmage last night, “In the beginning we came out and tried to compete, but our communication was lacking. We have a lot of things to work on during the summer. This spring we got new coaches and a new team, a new system so by August 17 we will be a whole new team. Stronger mind and better.”
Walker’s first string offense on Woodlawn’s first string defense took the next twelve plays. The Wildcats offense dominated the Panthers at every turn, picking up fifty plus yards throughout the dozen plays. Walker’s Cook was able to get a 30+ yard touchdown, QB Ethan McMasters ran yards for a first down, and junior WR Brian Thomas Jr. outran two Panthers for a 15+ yard completed pass. Thomas Jr. later got another twenty yard touchdown for his Wildcats. But the Panthers refused to give up against their opponents. They held their helmets high and went out with force and fight with every play, allowing number 85, Caleb Blanchard, to get big gains towards the end of the scrimmage. “I feel like we’re a young team right now. We have to improve mentally and mature. We having to come out and attack, not just get in the game and play. So if we come out stronger I feel like we are going to be a decent team.” Blanchard answered when asked about his feelings on the spring scrimmage and how he felt his team could improve. Senior Quentin Ross for the Panthers racked up huge tackles throughout the scrimmage as well, proving the Woodlawn Panthers could hold their own on defense. After the game I caught up with Walker’s new defensive coordinator, Chris Womack, who started just April 1st and asked about his opinion on his guys during his first month with the team. “It’s been a lot of fun. We just started off weight lifting and running. Going through spring we just got an entirely new coaching staff so everything’s new on both sides of the ball. We decided to let everybody learn both sides so that’s A LOT! (laugh) But I’ve been really impressed with the kids, they have great attitudes. They want to learn and I couldn’t be happier to be here.” Both teams left the crowd something to get excited for in the 2019-2020 Louisiana High School football season.
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