Cougars seek first win at Plain Dealing
Cedar Creek, led by senior James Myers (3), could pick up its first win of the season against Plain Dealing on Friday. Photo by Darrell James
Plainly speaking, Cedar Creek (0-5, 0-1 district) looks to be in position to earn its first win of the season in a return to district play this week.
After a rough start to the year, including last week’s 38-20 loss to Delta Charter last week, the Cougars have a chance to finally see the fruits of their labor against a historically bad Plain Dealing (0-5, 0-3 district) squad.
Creek head coach William Parkerson knows a win would do big things for his young team’s confidence.
“Finding a way to get a win would be huge for this team,” Parkerson said. “Each week, they have gotten better and continue to compete hard regardless of the score.”
For as shaky as Creek’s offense has been at times, the Lions have them beat as far as having trouble scoring — sitting with just 14 total points all season, all coming in the season opener.
Meanwhile, Plain Dealing’s defense has pretty much walked opponents to the end zone by allowing 51.2 points per game — giv-ing up 50-plus points each of the last four weeks. Plain Dealing went 0-10 last year, giving up 54.8 points per game. In 2022, the team finished with a 0- 10 record giving up 48.4 points per game.
The last win for the Lions came on Oct. 8, 2021. When you hear the term “get-right game,” this week has the makings of one for the Cougars.
And if Plain Dealing’s struggles weren’t enough to feel encouraged, Creek is coming off its strongest showing offensively, putting up season highs in yardage (212), points (20), and offensive touchdowns (3) against Delta Charter.
Creek had early momentum last week, leading 6- 0 after the first quarter, but couldn’t punch in other opportunities to stay in control. Delta Charter answered, outscoring the Cougars 30-6 over the next two quarters to put the game out of reach.
Freshman quarterback Cason Floyd tossed his first varsity touchdown last week — an 18-yard completion to Blake Robinson — while senior James Myers made more explosive plays on the ground with 7 carries for 98 yards and a touchdown.
Myers is averaging 6.55 yards per carry on 29 attempts this year with a pair of scores.
“James is a guy we have to get the ball to,” Parkerson said. “We’ve added some stuff through the season to find new ways to get him some more touches. Hopefully, we can continue to find creative ways for him to have the ball in his hands.”
Wyatt Gremilion had 16 carries for 45 yards and a touchdown last week, while Trigger Woodard finished with 14 carries for 52 yards.
Creek will also look to impose an opportunistic defense, 14 takeaways in five games, against the Lions, with Hayden Durrett leading the way at 2 interceptions and 2 fumble recoveries this season.
“Defensively, we’ve done a great job creating turnovers. It’s something we stress to the defense weekly, and they have done a great job finding ways to create turnovers each week,” Parkerson said. “We need to do a better job feeling run lanes to limit the big play; If we can shore that up, the defense will really start to dictate terms to our opponents.”
Cedar Creek (0-5, 0-1 district) travels to Plain Dealing (0-5, 0-3 district) on Friday. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
