Wampus Cats, Tioga clash for 3-4A title
Published 12:24 pm Tuesday, October 26, 2021
- Wampus Cat receiver Ke'Mhari Pruitt (2) takes the handoff from Parker Maks during last week's win over Peabody. Leesville journeys to Tioga on Friday for a chance to claim the outright District 3-4A championship. (Photo by Daniel Green)
By Daniel Green
TIOGA — It doesn’t get much bigger than this.
The Leesville Wampus Cats (6-2, 3-0) will take to the road for a 7 p.m. Friday contest against the Tioga Indians (3-5, 2-0) in a game essentially for the District 3-4A championship.
With a victory, Leesville will claim the league title outright, while a win for Tioga will put the Indians in the driver’s seat as they would play once more against DeRidder next week.
Needless to say, this is the big one for the Wampus Cats.
District play has been good for the Cats offensively as they are averaging over 48 points per game. Defensively, the Cats surrender 18 points per game, but do own a shutout in league action, that coming last week in a 54-0 win against Peabody.
Although Tioga is just 3-5 on the season, it usually gives Leesville all it can handle and more with their balanced offensive attack. However, many of the standouts for the Indians over the past few years have graduated. But it was those players who set the standard for this version of the Indians to emulate.
Leesville features a 1,000-yard back in Caleb Gallashaw, who is averaging over 10 yards per carry. Over the last two weeks, he has found the endzone 10 times and has accounted for nearly 600 yards of offense.
Additionally, quarterback Parker Maks has stepped out and done a nice job for the Cats in his role. Last week, he threw for 205 yards and two scores, hitting his favorite targets, Ke’Mhari Pruitt and Daveion Grubb, for one each. Along with Gallashaw, Pruitt and Grubb give defensive coordinators nightmares in preparation for Friday nights.
Defensively, the Wampus Cats are led by linebackers Frank Ford Jr. and Caden Bealer. They have accounted for over 80 tackles each this season.
Leesville will take Week 10 off to prepare for the playoffs and a potential first-round home game, while Tioga plays at DeRidder next week.
