Mamou travels to Northwest in fight to keep district record clean

For the first time in a very long time, the Mamou Demons are on the cusp of getting into the LHSAA football playoffs.
Mamou (4-3, 2-0) will fight to keep their playoff hopes alive and their district record clean when they travel to Prairie Rhonde to take on the Northwest Raiders (2-5, 1-1). Game time is set for 7 p.m.
As of Monday, the Demons held the No. 36 spot in the LHSAA Power Ranking, four places away from being a playoff football team. A win tomorrow night would go a long way toward cementing that playoff spot and would give Mamou more confidence in its quest for a district title.
But, for now, Mamou head coach Dwight Collins wants his team to focus on the smaller picture.
“Being 2-0 in district is a big deal, don’t get me wrong,” stated Collins. “But, our focus has to be game to game. If we try to look down the road, we can veer off course. I keep stressing to the players that we have to continue to clean up the mistakes that are being made. When you play against really tough teams, everything counts. Penalties, turnovers and mental mistakes will not win games. So, our focus has been and will continue to be week by week.”
Last week, Mamou cleaned up its game long enough to secure a big 35-7 win over the Pine Prairie Panthers. In that game, the Demons did turn the ball over twice and committed 14 penalties.
However, the offense rolled up 360 total yards, all of which came in the running game. Defensively, Mamou held the Panthers to 112 yards and forced three turnovers; one fumble and two interceptions.
“I just wanted us to start off faster against Pine Prairie,” said Collins. “I was a little disappointed we did not go down and score on that first drive of the night. But, we picked it up and were able to move the ball on offense. That was the priority going into the game. Defensively, we were able to make the stops and get the ball back in the offense’s hands.”
As always, Mamou will rely on its running game to not only move the football, but to also retain possession and keep it away from an explosive Northwest offense. In seven games this season, the Raiders have put up 180 points, an average of 25.7 points per game.
The only two times that Northwest was unable to score three touchdowns or more was when the Raiders lost to Class 5A East Ascension 41-8 and Class 4A Cecilia 28-6.
“Northwest has athletes all over the field, but the guy they rely on the most is their quarterback,” commented Collins. “He has been there since last year. He can run, he can throw. He looks like a college athlete when you look at him on film. They want to make sure that the ball goes through him. Sometimes they will line him up at running back, just to hand him the ball.”
“Defensively, they have a big front that can run,” Collins continued. “Their special teams is capable of bringing it to the house. They are well-coached. Coach Edwards has been there for a while and knows how to get his players ready for the game.”
For the Demons, holding possession of the ball will be a big key toward a win. In order to do that, the offensive line must do its job up front and give the talented group of Demon runners room to operate in.
“We are going to have to control the line of scrimmage,” stated Collins. “As long as we can do that, I think we will be good. One of the things that we have been stressing all week long has been the elimination of penalties, especially on offense. We cannot kill drives because of dumb penalties. Defensively, we have to make someone else besides their quarterback beat us. It should be a very good game.”