Matt Vines

NATCHITOCHES — Red River is football is ready.

With the scrimmage against Bossier in the rearview mirror, the Bulldogs are ready for more live-action football with the Battle on the Bricks jamboree at Northwestern State.

Red River faces Tioga on Saturday at noon, a change from the earlier announced schedule. If you don’t have tickets yet ($12), visit the Red River office.

First-year coach Travis Gary said he liked what he saw from his bunch in the scrimmage.

“I liked that attitude and effort that our guys played with,” Gary said. “They may not have always been right, but they effort was there.

“We have to clean up our tackling, which is to expected from the first live action against another team.
“We also need to focus on the small details. But once we get there, we will be fine.”

“Getting there” is something Red River football more than accomplished this past season, winning the school’s first district title since 2005.

The Bulldogs return many key members of that squad, including players like three-year quarterback Malique Smith and skill guys like Warren Bowman and Cameron Jones.

“A lot of our guys have always had the athletic ability and been able to play football, but the area they’ve grown the most in is leadership,” Gary said. “They have attacked the role of being leaders on the team, and that will be evident in the way our team plays the game.

“Our skill group as a whole I believe is second to none in our classification, but our unsung heroes are our offensive linemen. They aren’t the biggest, but they are a UNIT that works together well and will continue to grow and get better.”

The defense’s improvement throughout last season, of which Gary was in charge of when he was promoted to defensive coordinator mid-season, was the key driver of the team’s success in the second half of the 2024 campaign.

Red River must replace some big pieces like all-state performers Jacob Kellogg and Jomello McDonald, but many of the offensive and defensive starters return from a team that won six straight games, which included a first-round playoff game against Winnfield.

The action-packed jamboree at NSU’s Turpin Stadium starts Friday with Lakeview taking on Leesville (4 p.m.) followed by Winnfield against Holy Savior Menard (6 p.m.) and Leesville and Natchitoches Central (8 p.m.).

Red River kicks off Saturday’s action followed by LaSalle and Grant (2 p.m.) and St. Mary’s versus Pickering (4 p.m.).

“This will be a great experience for our kids, not only because we are in a college stadium, but because we’ll be in a college stadium that will be filled with fans from our community and from around the area.

“The people that are going to show up at the jamboree will be familiar faces, and that makes the experience that much more enjoyable.”

The Bulldogs kick off the regular season Sept. 5 on the road at Catholic-Point Coupee.