Northshore’s Panthers will try for their second consecutive win tonight when they host the Bonnabel Bruins at 7 p.m.

Both teams won their openers. Northshore is coming off a 15-0 road victory over East Jefferson, while Bonnabel defeated St. Augustine, 35-22, after leading 28-0 at halftime.

The two met last season with the Panthers winning 21-20. In last year’s game, Northshore quarterback Jervious Epherson injured his foot and was lost for the season.

Taylor Eads

The Panthers scored 61 points in three games with Epherson last year and 76 points in seven games without him, but this year is different.

Northshore third-year coach Mike Bourg said the position’s depth is stronger by having Breck Kline and Eric Verzwyvelt backing up Epherson. Kline also plays wide out for NHS.

“Breck makes us better at receiver, and I like him at quarterback if anything happens to Jervious,” Bourg said. “Behind him, we have Eric Verzwyvelt, who’s improving, so I’m happy with our backups.”

Bourg enters the game with a 9-2 record in contests held before Oct. 1 while at the helm of the Panthers.

Bonnabel first-year coach Craig Lingle said the Panthers are a good team.

“I saw them play in person against East Jefferson, and I saw film on the jamboree against Slidell,” Lingle said. “They do everything well, and we’re going to have to play a good ball game to win.”

He added that playing Northshore on the road only makes things tougher.

“They’ve got a big home crowd, and the announcer (Todd Jabbia) gets the fans into it,” Lingle said.

Northshore runs a spread offense led by Epherson, who rushed for 128 yards and two touchdowns last week while throwing for 42 yards.

Bruin coach Lingle said Bonnabel needs to figure out a way to contain Epherson.

“Everything revolves around Epherson. He’s the straw that stirs the drink,” Lingle said. “He’s the best athlete on the field. We also have to play pass defense. A lot of those guys are one dimensional, but he has developed into a good thrower as well as a good runner.”

Northshore’s running back is senior Channing Wise. Last week, he helped the Northshore rushing attack with 73 yards.

Defensively, Bonnabel runs a four-man front led by senior defensive end James Kilpatrick (6-foot-1, 225 pounds), who had six tackles and an interception and he hurried St. Augustine’s quarterback twice.

“They have real good defensive ends No. 73 (Randy Hood) and 99 (Kilpatrick),” Bourg said. “Their nose tackle No. 77 (Aaron Gatlin) is real big and active.”

Offensively, Bonnabel runs a Wing-T. The quarterback is junior Carroll Barriere, who threw for 40 yards and scored a touchdown on a quarterback sneak last week.

The three running backs combined for 301 yards and four touchdowns, led by junior Bobby Smith, who gained 135 yards on 10 carries and scored twice. Senior Donovan Weatherspoon recorded 14 totes for 101 yards and a pair of TDs, while senior fullback Herman Lee chewed up 65 yards for Bonnabel.

Bourg said it’s a tough offense to stop.

“They’ve got some good athletes,” Bourg said. “We’re going to have to play well and score a lot of points to win.”

Bourg is looking for a defensive performance like he got last week. Junior middle linebacker Taylor Eads led the attack, making 14 stops, with 10 of them being solos and six for losses.

He also recorded a safety and picked off a pass. Adding to his game, Eads also punted, and Bourg said he averaged more than 40 yards a kick.