Woodlawn Football wins thrilling comeback vs. E.D. White, 29-26, on late Collins-Brown TD

Sep 24, 2022

Ryan Brown’s father, Tim, shouted from the sideline two weeks ago for the sophomore wide receiver to play so clearly well that his coaches had no choice but to keep him on the field.

And as star quarterback Rickie Collins rolled to his right late Friday in need of a final score to convert Woodlawn High’s comeback into a thrilling victory, the younger Brown was the weapon waiting to rise over an E.D. White defender for the reception and twist his body toward the pylon for the go-ahead touchdown.

The Panthers (2-2) added a two-point conversion to stretch their lead to three points, then held the visiting Cardinals (3-1) to a 42-yard field goal that fell short and to the right to preserve a 29-26 win for the resilient home team that had trailed by three touchdowns just before halftime.

“The first thing I see when I line up is everybody lining up in the back of the end zone, phones getting pulled out and everything like that,” Brown said. “First we call all-hitch, but coach checked it to smash. I had the corner, and I bent because I didn’t have much space. So I went up, caught it and I’m looking down initially and thinking I’m not hit, so I twisted, caught the pylon and scored the touchdown.

“I scored my first varsity touchdown, and it was the game-winner. So the emotions were high. I’m happy. Then we won the game. So that was the best varsity touchdown I think I could’ve caught.”

For the second straight week, Woodlawn managed to weather early miscues and build its way to a dominant second half and victory.

Four early turnovers Friday dug a 20-0 deficit to the top-ranked team in Class 3A, the Division-II runner-up to end last season that had outscored its opponents by a 124-6 margin the previous three weeks.

But once the Panthers sured up their ball security, E.D. White had few answers for Collins and company on either side of the ball.

“The first few possessions the last couple games have led into turnovers that have put us in these bad situations as a team,” coach Marcus Randall said. “We saw it again going down 20-0 in the first quarter, turning the ball over three times and then having a bad snap. And that’s things that we work on all the time, situationally. But we’re just trying to find ways to start faster right now.”

Seniors Rickie Collins and Tramon Douglas II linked up for a touchdown late in the first half to help take some momentum into the locker room.

And the Woodlawn defense meanwhile continued to hold the Cardinals scoreless for more than two straight quarters of game clock to leave the door open for the comeback.

Senior running back Jay’veon Haynes and Collins added rushing touchdowns in the third and fourth quarters, respectively.

And sophomore Klayton Tate added the second and third of his 3-for-3 night of extra points, with the latter providing the Panthers their first lead, 21-20, with less than 10 minutes remaining.

“I think that’s the mark of a defense is to be able to go out and say, ‘defense wins championships,’ and have a defense that can go out and still play every play like it’s supposed to be played knowing the situation,” Randall said. “We’ve been seeing that pretty much since Game 1 against U-High. Those guys have been coming out and getting better and better at doing those things.

“We came out in that second half and didn’t give up any more points until right there at the end of the fourth quarter. We were able to come out there and get some big, quick stops and not let them eat up all the time the clock. And that’s why we were able to make the run.”

E.D. White finally scored again to move back ahead, 26-21.

But Woodlawn wasn’t done, either, and marched its way right back downfield for Collins’ touchdown to Brown and subsequent two-point conversion to senior Clayton Adams.

“You’re looking to hit that high point in district and then looking to ride that momentum through district and the playoffs,” Randall said. “So that is a good thing to be able to say we’re not playing our best ball, but are still able to start seeing some positives from the other end in not giving up and being able to fight from behind.”

The Cardinals worked their way to the 25-yard line and allowed the clock to wind down to set up a do-or-die 42-yard field goal that missed its mark.

And the Panthers evened their record heading into homecoming Friday against St. James and district the following Thursday in a nationally televised matchup against Zachary.

Woodlawn High pep rallies return after three years

Sep 19, 2022

Woodlawn High will host a pep rally for the first time in nearly three years next Friday, Sept. 30.

The event celebrating homecoming, including the Panthers’ football game that evening against St. James, will be held in the gymnasium during the final block of the day.

Students must have a ticket to attend. Tickets are available for purchase during lunch this week for $1 in the courtyard.

And those festivities are just the first of a slate of events being planned for not only football season, but throughout the school year.

“As a student, I’m very excited to be a part of our pep rally committee this year to help make up for all the others we missed,” said Layla Shelton, a senior and a member of the Panthers’ cheerleading squad. “I look forward to expanding the school’s spirit.”

The joint group of students and teachers hope to help highlight some of the achievements and activities happening on campus and spark a level of enthusiasm and morale hindered by COVID-19 limitations the past two years.

“This is my second year at Woodlawn, and the first year it felt really different,” cheer sponsor Ashley Thomas said. “Having such a small squad and hearing from the squad how much everything would change year to year whether a new sponsor 

“Then hearing about how the football program has grown so much and brought recognition for the school, but yet the students didn’t necessarily feel that or feel a part of that school spirit… that became almost a passion project.”

Thomas and fellow teacher Nancy Geter, whose club sponsorship includes the yearbook and color guard, helped spearhead the committee of about 12 members including faculty and students.

The next pep rallies are planned to lead into the Panthers’ nationally televised matchup Oct. 6 against Zachary and the opening round of the playoffs Nov. 11.

“It’s good to have pep rallies back because it boosts the school morale and can help get people more excited for the games and also help get the players more excited,” senior defensive lineman Devin Boyd said. “The last two years we didn’t have pep rallies, so having those back is going to get us more excited and bring more fans, I feel like, by getting them more hyped about the game when we have a good pep rally.”

But principal Scott Stevens and the pep rally committee agreed on the importance to continue that schedule into the spring for other sports and student organizations.

“It’s such a big campus with so many students that there’s something here for everybody,” Thomas said. “So that was idea behind not only highlighting the football team and the great things happening there, but also the hard work other student and teachers are doing in other areas, like showing what the theatre program can do because they have incredible performances, or the orchestra and how the band has grown.

“There’s really no better way to bring the school together than having a pep rally where you can showcase everything.”

Woodlawn rolls away from G.W. Carver for first win of football season

Sep 17, 2022

Woodlawn High overcame early miscues Friday to score 26 unanswered points and secure its first victory of the football season.

Senior quarterback Rickie Collins, an LSU commitment, passed for four touchdowns and rushed for another in the 40-14 defeat of G.W. Carver (1-2) in the eam’s first true home game of 2022.

“I did see us take a step forward, especially when we start talking on the offensive point of view,” coach Marcus Randall said. “We saw some of that toward the end at LCA (the previous week). But I think even though we had some turnovers early this week, we were moving the ball straight down the field and could’ve scored on the opening drives as well but had some issues with ball security and things we’re going to have to tackle.

“But I think the protection was better. I think those guys are starting to gel, the front five, as far as picking up blitzes and stuff like that. And we saw that once we give Rick some time to throw the ball that we can start making some of those big plays that we want to make down the field.”

After turning the ball over on its early possessions, the Panthers (2-1) got on the board with scoring throws from Collins to junior Justycya Turner and senior Tramon Douglas II.

The Rams knotted the game at 14-14 in the second quarter, but Collins and company answered with a 21-yard touchdown to senior athlete Clayton Adams to pull back ahead before halftime.

And Woodlawn rolled away with three more scores — a Collins run, a Collins screen to Louisiana (Lafayette)-committed senior running back Jay’veon Haynes and a run by junior running back William “J.R.” Jackson — and a shutout defensive performance after the break.

The Panthers allowed just 15 rushing yards on 28 carries in the game and snatched a pair of interceptions, one by Adams and one by Tennessee commitment Jordan Matthews.

Randall said he has started to see some a similar trajectory to 2021 when the team overcame an 0-3 start on the field and 1-3 start overall — as a result of a forfeit by Madison Parish — to win five of its next six, including its first postseason victory since 2010.

“I feel some of those same things,” Randall said. “I still think that we’re not really there yet, but I do see us trending in that direction. Every week we’re getting better and better, and I think the way last year played out does play a big part into this year. Because last week after going 0-2, I was looking to see how our morale was gonna be at practice. And I just see that our guys are still up high and confident. They understand that just because we lost the first couple games, nobody’s went into the tank. Everybody just seemed to want to go harder last week, and I see that same progression this week.”

The Panthers host 2021 Division-II runner-up E.D. White (3-0) on Friday in their second of four straight home games.

The Cardinals climbed to No. 1 in this week’s LSWA Class 3A polls after staying perfect on the season while other top teams University Lab (1-2), Union Parish (2-1), Sterlington (1-2), Madison Prep (1-2) and Lake Charles College Prep (1-2) all stumbled during a chaotic Week 3 for the group.

Coach Kyle Lasseigne’s program has outscored its three opponents thus far by a 124-6 margin with a pair of shutouts.

“We’ve got to be efficient, and we’ve got to be great on first downs,” Randall said. “By them being the power running team that they are and, like you said, trying to take the time off the clock, if we can be great on first downs and get them behind the sticks and make them a little bit uncomfortable and come out of being able to just run what the normally run, then that will be great for us to help get our offense up and going. And they’re playing with the two-high safeties, and we’ve just got to be ready to run the ball and be effective in our short passing game.”