Woodlawn Football stumbles late against St. James, 30-27

Oct 1, 2022

Woodlawn High appeared poised early in the fourth quarter Friday to seal away a third straight victory and kick its homecoming celebration into full-gear.

But visiting St. James (4-1) flipped the script with a swift comeback and left the home-standing Panthers (2-3) stunned as time expired on their attempted answer.

“I think that we played hard and we played to the end,” coach Marcus Randall said. “But we came out and did some things, and they made some plays and made one more play they we made right there toward the end of the game.”

The Wildcats struck first with a goal-line run by Kaden Williams to cap a first-quarter possession on which the senior running back was heavily featured.

But Woodlawn took a 14-6 lead into halftime on a pair of touchdown passes from quarterback Rickie Collins to fellow seniors Clayton Adams and Tramon Douglas II.

And the Panthers took a stronger hold with a defensive goal-line stand in the third quarter, capped by a fourth-down deflection by senior corner Jordan Matthews, and an ensuing march down the field.

Adams continued his impressive evening with a winding and powering 13-yard run through missed tackles early in the fourth quarter to a 21-6 lead after the extra point.

“This is what we’ve been looking for from Clayton,” Randall said. “We knew he was the senior receiver coming back with the most experience and the most accolades, and we’ve definitely been looking for him to have this type of game every week. But I think this is the best time for him to get hot if he’s gonna get hot as we enter district. We know we’ve got a big one next week, and hopefully we can build off of some things that we were able to build this week.”

St. James still had plenty of time and plenty of fight and big plays up its sleeves.

Junior quarterback Brayden Williams capped the Wildcats’ next drive with a fourth-down touchdown run and two-point pass to junior Kobe Brown to pull back within 21-14 with 9:10 remaining.

And senior Zaylen Brown snatched an interception plays later and retuned it 50 yards to the end zone in a stunned Panther Stadium.

Brayden Williams and Kaden Williams connected for the go-ahead two-point conversion to provide St. James a 22-21 advantage with 8:03 on the clock.

“They had that 16-point swing on us at the end, and that was really the tale of the game,” Randall said. “We ended up getting back in it. And then fourth-and-forever, we end up giving up a hook-and-lateral on a perfect play that they executed perfectly, got the first down, kept the game going and eventually scored on us right there late.”

Collins, Adams, senior running back Jay’veon Haynes and company pieced together an answer with a long drive and goal-line Collins run to pull back ahead, 27-22, with 3:05 to play.

But the Wildcats would have and make the most of the last opportunity for a full drive.

Backed into a fourth-and-21 from its own territory, St. James pulled off a highlight-reel hook-and-lateral between Brayden Williams, LSU commit Khai Prean and junior speedster Kobe Brown to keep its hopes alive.

And the Wildcats kept willing their way to an eventual touchdown from a rolling Brayden Williams to a tightly covered Kobe Brown, followed by two points on another quarterback keeper.

“We knew that was going to be a tough game,” Randall said. “And I think we came out and did enough to have ourselves a shot to win the game there, and I think (the players) know it, too. If we get the fourth-down stop on fourth-and-forever, we’re walking out of here with a W instead of an L. So that’s some of the things we’ve got to continue to work on and have been working on is just those situations in games, and this will be another one that they’ve now seen.”

Woodlawn will host reigning Class 5A champion Zachary next Thursday in a District 4-5A opener that ESPN will broadcast to a national audience.

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.”