St. Tammany News

Panthers hope to continue streak

The Northshore Panthers look to remain undefeated when they host the Ponchatoula Green Wave at 7 tonight in the District 7-5A opener for both squads. Northshore won last season's game 13-9.

The Panthers (3-0) are coming off a 21-20 victory over Bonnabel. Ponchatoula (2-1), which went 0-10 last season under then coach Scott Martin, fell to Live Oak, 25-20. Mike Baiamonte replaced Martin.

Both coaches have a lot of respect for each other. Baiamonte said NHS second-year coach Mike Bourg has done a great job turning the Panthers' program around.

Bourg said the two coaches came into their respective programs in similar situations.

"I have a lot of respect for the job Mike is doing, and that's a compliment to him," Bourg said.

Bourg added that as good as his squad has played this year, he wants to see it continue.

"I'd love to be 4-0 going into Fontainebleau (next week's opponent)," Bourg said. "We're not good enough to overlook anybody. We have to beat a good Ponchatoula team, which should be 3-0."

Northshore runs a spread offense with sophomore quarterback Jervious Epherson at the helm. His main target is junior wide receiver Archie Ambo. Last week, Ambo threw a touchdown pass to Jeremy Wells on the Panthers' first offensive play from scrimmage when NHS decided to throw a halfback pass.

Baiamonte called the two "game changers."

The Panthers' starting running back will be J.P. Verzwyvelt, but junior Justin Walker will see more playing time. Bourg said the question mark coming into the season was whether Walker could get the tough yards, but he has answered that so far this season.

Defensively, the Green Wave run a 4-3. Senior middle linebacker Jordan Piper is the team's leading tackler. Baiamonte said NHS' offensive style will challenge his entire defense.

The Green Wave offense is a double-slot option style. The plan is to control the ball and the clock. Baiamonte said the way the Panthers like to blitz challenges any high school team, and he added Northshore does it from both sides.

NHS will rely on stopping the run with junior middle linebacker Chad Gough-Fortenberry. This season he has been in on 14 stops, 5 1/2 for loss, three assists and 1 1/2 sacks. Bourg said Fortenberry has been solid in the middle and has had three real good games.

The defensive ends are juniors Chris Faulk and Chris Wade.

Last week, Wade made five tackles, assisted with four, had three for a loss and recorded two sacks. One of his sacks came on a last attempt by Bonnabel to win the game.

This season, Faulk has been in on 14 tackles, three for a loss, six assists and 2.5 sacks.

Bourg said teams have been having trouble running because his defenders have stepped up.

The Ponchatoula quarterback is senior Chaz Briggs. Last week, he ran for more than 130 yards and one touchdown. He has rushed for seven TDs on the season with three each in the first two games.

Ponchatoula shuttles five running backs in and out. Baiamonte said senior Michael Chaney and sophomore Joseph Green played the best last week, but without a feature back, that can change week-to-week. The other guys who will see time in the backfield are seniors Kyle Decoreaux and Kevin Matherne along with junior Jonathan Burrell.

His wide receivers are seniors Chris James and Jareth Waguespack.

If the game comes down to special teams, Northshore will rely on senior Wesley Baylor, while the Green Wave will counter with senior Jared Poche.

If you can't make it out to the game, join play-by-play voice Shawn McManus and color analyst Don Crockett on ESPN Radio 1560 AM-WSLA.