Matt Vines

COUSHATTA – There’s no place like home.

For a Red River bunch that hits the road in five of its first six games, the chance to play at home this week is one in which the Bulldogs aim to take advantage.

Red River (0-1) welcomes Class 1A St. Mary’s (0-1) on Friday at 7 p.m.

“Our goal is to win the game every week, but yes, it’s very important to win get the win this week,” said Red River coach Byron Keller, acknowledging the opportunity Friday given the Bulldogs’ road-heavy schedule. “We’ll have the crowd excitement in our home opener, and it’s important to play well in front of the home crowd so we can keep that excitement for the rest of the season, especially for events like Homecoming and Senior Night.”

Both teams are coming off difficult road losses in which the offenses struggled to find the end zone.
Red River fell at Catholic-Pointe Coupee, 26-6, while St. Mary’s was defeated, 39-6, at Bunkie.
Red River’s one touchdown, a 32-yard fade route from quarterback Malique Smith to receiver Jomello McDonald, could provide a key to this week’s game.

St. Mary’s allowed five Bunkie touchdowns from at least 25 yards, which included passes of 38, 57, and 99 yards.

McDonald, a stud basketball player who led the Bulldogs to the state championship game this past season, could find an advantage against smaller defensive backs.

But Red River had plenty of things to clean up from its Week 1 checklist.

The Bulldogs offensive and defensive lines struggled to match a physical Catholic bunch, which allowed the Hornets to establish a steady running game while the Bulldogs had to mostly rely on big passing plays for its offense.

When running back Warren Bowman did touch the ball, he averaged more than six yards per carry on his five touches (43 yards).

McDonald totaled 43 receiving yards as Red River mustered 145 total offensive yards.

“We focused on improving ourselves this week, and after studying the film, we identified mistakes that we have to fix going into the St. Mary’s game,” Keller said.

Turnovers kept the score close throughout the first half and early part of the second half. The Bulldogs recovered three fumbles in soggy conditions, two of which came in the red zone.

While the rain from Hurricane Francine will likely be dried up come kickoff Friday night, the Bulldogs believe they can force turnovers no matter the conditions.

“We now know that we can really do it (force turnovers) in game situations, so we want to continue to play fast and physical and force even more turnovers,” Keller said. “Now we just have to capitalize on those turnovers on offense.”

Despite St. Mary’s Week 1 struggles against a solid Class 3A program in Bunkie, Keller knows the recent success the Tigers have had.

Keller, who coached in Natchitoches Parish at Lakeview, is aware of a St. Mary’s program that reached the quarterfinals each of the past two seasons.

“They’ve felt success, and they know how to win tight games,” Keller said of a St. Mary’s program that’s in a coaching transition from Aaron York to Kedrin Seastrunk this year. “We have to go out and set the tone early so they don’t have a chance to get their momentum going.

“They are still talented and have playmakers on the field. We’ll have to be very disciplined in our attacks to keep the playmakers at bay.”