Fontainebleau’s homecoming game is tonight at the Dawg Pound as the Bulldogs host the Covington Fighting Lions. FHS (3-1, 1-1) tries to regroup following last week’s disappointing 14-13 loss to Northshore. CHS (2-2, 1-1) is coming off a 42-20 home victory over the Ponchatoula Green Wave.

Fontainebleau captured last year’s game 31-0.

FHS coach Gregg Hudson said Covington played a strong game downing Ponchatoula. “Covington played really well. The score was a little surprising to me. The district appears to be pretty balanced this year,” Hudson said.

Covington'€™s Denizel Ladner (12) puts the stop on Ponchatoula'€™s Jacques West during last week'€™s district game played Jack Salter Stadium. The CHS Lions travel to Fontainebleau tonight to battle the Bulldogs in the Dawg Pound. (File Photo by Mike McCall)

Hudson said homecoming activities definitely provide distractions for the players. “It’s important for our players to stay focused for the task at hand to be ready to play football.”

Junior wingback Perrin Sims returns to the FHS lineup after missing two weeks. Sims’ return should help the Bulldogs’ ground game.

FHS rushed for 124 yards last week against a tough Northshore defense. Senior running back Vinnie Tonagel led the attack with 70 yards on 12 carries, averaging 5.8 yards per rush. Tonagel had a strong game in last year’s victory against Covington, rushing for 144 yards on just 11 carries with a 16-yard TD.

Senior fullback Clay Fritscher added 50 yards on 18 rushes against Northshore.

Fritscher picked up tough yardage inside, opening up things for Tonagel on the outside.

Bulldogs’ junior quarterback Addison Melancon hit 8-of-17 passes for 187 yards and two TDs last week. He connected with Jordan Zulli for a seven-yarder, and 34-yards to Fritscher.

FHS’ defense has two shutouts to its credit, while giving up 42 points (10.5 PPG). Junior linebacker Thomas Babin tops the Bulldogs with 21 individual tackles. He has two assists and a sack. Babin led the Dawgs’ defense with eight tackles last week. Junior linebacker Kris Rice is next with 19 stops and six assists. Rice has two interceptions, three caused fumbles and a recovery. Senior defensive end Gerald Gruenig tops the Bulldogs with eight sacks. He has 17 individual tackles and two assists. Senior defensive tackle Darrel Brown is next with seven sacks, while tallying 11 solo stops with five assists.

Covington’s offense is led by junior running back Phillip Bickham, who rushed for 167 yards on 26 carries and three TDs in the Poncahtoula victory. He scored on runs of 52, 44 and one yard.

CHS junior quarterback Tyler Scott was on target, connecting on 14-of-15 passes for 156 yards, including a 64-yard strike to Colt Bruhl. Scott also scored on a 4-yard run. Place kicker Spencer Graham was 5-for-5 on point after touchdowns.

Hudson said everything starts for Covington with those two guys (Bickham and Scott).

“Bickham is a dangerous back. He doesn’t need much room. He can hurt you when he gets into the secondary. Their quarterback (Scott) can also run the ball, and he has a good arm,” Hudson added.

Hudson said his defensive players would have to execute the game plan to stop those two.

“Our defensive coaches have done a good job preparing our players.”

“We played a pretty good offensive game last week, but we weren’t able to punch it in when we got inside the 10,” Hudson said. “We were inside the 10 four times last week on separate drives, but weren’t able to finish.”

Junior safety Jeremy Fos made his first start in the Bulldogs’ secondary last week. He intercepted a pass at the FHS 44 with 1:27 left in the game to give the Bulldogs life.

CHS first-year coach Malter Scobel got his squad fired up last week. The Lions came through with an offensive onslaught scoring 42 points. He said the Lions’ offensive line did a good job protecting Scott.

“Tyler made some good throws. The receivers did a nice job, running crisp routs to get open. Our offensive coordinator Larry Route did a good job with the play calling with input from the other coaches,” Scobel added.

The Lions’ defense recovered two Ponchatoula fumbles, and Matt McCormick returned an interception for a TD in the third quarter.

Scobel said his Lions after protecting the ball last week with no turnovers would have to have a similar performance this week against Fontainebleau to be successful.

“We can’t afford to turn the ball over. We can’t have penalties and mental mistakes. We will have to do a good job of tackling to stop their Wing-T. Their quarterback (Melancon) knows how to run play-action,” Scobel added.

Scobel also said Fritscher is their main guy running the ball inside.

“Fontainebleau has a good defensive front with active linebackers. I’ve known their defensive coordinator Scott Hildebrand for a long time. He does a good job preparing the defensive schemes,” Scobel added.

Lions’ junior linebacker Kyle Crouch had five solo tackles and seven assists last week. He also caused a fumble. Crouch has 19 individual stops with 12 assists on the season including five tackles for losses. He has caused two fumbles.

CHS junior safety Denizel Ladner made five tackles with four assists last week, while also recovering a fumble. Ladner has recorded 23 primary tackles with 13 assists. He has blocked a field goal, intercepted a pass and recovered two fumbles.

Senior linebacker Jeffry Joiner was credited with five solo stops and six assists. He also caused a fumble. He has been in on 27 tackles with five forced fumbles and three recoveries.