The surprising Covington Lions under first-year coach Malter Scobel host the Wolves, the defending three-time district champs, tonight in a key district battle at Jack Salter Stadium. Both clubs find themselves in a must win situation tonight to stay in the running for a playoff spot with just two district games remaining.

CHS (4-3, 3-2) and St. Paul’s (6-2, 3-2) find themselves one game back in the district race behind Mandeville and Northshore who go against each other tonight at Skipper Stadium.

Covington dropped a 35-14 decision to district co-leader Northshore last week, while St. Paul’s defeated Ponchatoula 42-28. St. Paul’s took it to Covington last year taking a 48-6 victory.

St. Paul'€™s junior defensive end Houston Bates pulls down a Ponchatoula runner for a loss in last week'€™s 42-28 victory over the Green Wave. The Wolves are on the road tonight taking on the Covington Lions at Jack Salter Stadium. (File Photo by Mike McCall)

St. Paul’s coach Ken Sears said his club has to take care of the ball.

“Covington has a very opportunistic defense. They have a way of always being around the ball. The key for us is to take care of the football, and make good decisions in the passing game,” Sears said.

CHS junior running back Phillip Bickham continues to spark the Lions’ running game. Last week, Bickham rushed for 73 yards on 15 carries with a 59 yard TD run. Junior quarterback Tyler Scott calls signals for the Lions. Scott completed 14-of-35 passes for 172 yards. He had a touchdown, but was picked off three times by Northshore.

Sears said a big focus for his Wolves’ defense will be to try and stop the run first.

“Bickham is a dangerous runner. Without a doubt both of those guys (Bickham and Scott) are weapons. They also have good receivers,” Sears said.

Covington senior receiver Eddie Pea came up with four receptions last week for 84 yards including a 47 yard score. Scott completed passes to eight different receivers last week. Sophomore Jarius Bickham had three catches for 24 yards.

Sears said his club has had a solid week of practice preparing for Covington.

“Our players are focused, and know the importance of the game. We need to pull together as a team, and be successful in all phases of the game,” Sears added.

In last week’s victory over Ponchatoula, St. Paul’s sophomore runner Mikhail Washington led the Wolves with 89 yards on 11 carries with three touchdowns. Washington tops the Wovles with 476 yards on the season followed by sophomore Stephon Smith with 455 yards. Smith gained 58 yards on seven carries last week. Julien Lamothe picked up 62 yards on just two carries last week including a TD.

Wolves’ sophomore quarterback Alec Duncan has completed 40-of-76 passes for 668 yards on the season.

Lions’ Otis Jacobs led the CHS defense last week with eight tackles and three assists. He also caused a fumble. Kyle Crouch tallied six solo stops with three assists to go with a sack. Linebacker Jeffry Joiner had five stops and five assists with one tackle for a loss. Casey Hebert chipped in with four individual tackles and four assists. Senior defensive end Barry Grinnell was credited with two sacks.