MHS hosting CHS

Mandeville’s Skippers (6-3, 5-1) host the Covington Lions (4-5, 4-2) tonight at Sidney Theriot Stadium on senior night.

MHS trimmed CHS 25-17 last year, which clinched the district title for the Skippers in a close district race.

Mandeville downed Northshore 23-14 last week on the road to keep its district hopes alive, while Covington fell to district leading St. Paul’s 20-3 on the road.

Mandeville coach Guy LeCompte said both teams have a lot riding on tonight’s game.

“Bottom line, Covington needs a win to get into the playoffs so they will be motivated. Both sides will be fired up because there is a lot riding on the game with potential playoff match ups,” LeCompte said.

LeCompte said Covington has big play potential.

“We have to avoid giving up the big play. They have the capability of scoring a lot of points on special teams,” LeCompte added.

LeCompte said his team continues to work hard.

“They have been motivated since game one and continue to show improvement. They are a focused group and aren’t looking ahead to anyone other than Covington. The team is excited about the upcoming playoffs and their potential,” LeCompte said.

The Skippers’ offense is in sync with senior quarterback John Wenzel breaking the 1,000-yard plateau with 1,323 yards clicking on 112-of-219 attempts. He has seven TDs with nine interceptions with the majority of those coming early in the season. Skippers’ sophomore backup quarterback Matt Bergeron has connected on 14-of-31 passes for 110 yards with a TD and two picks.

Seniors Chris Houlemard and Tyler Spotts are the Skippers’ top receivers with 25 catches each. Spotts has pulled in passes totaling 406 yards with two TDs, while Houlemard has 316 yards also with two scores. Junior Elijah Leveé has 24 receptions for 288 yards with a team-high three touchdowns.

Houlemard returned a punt return for an 82-yard score in last week’s victory over Northshore.

Sophomore running back Charles Jones leads the Skippers’ ground game with 688 yards on 135 carries and eight TDs. Jones is also used in the passing game coming in with 15 receptions for 88 yards. Jones rushed for 89 yards last week on 19 carries.

Wenzel isn’t shy about tucking the ball and running. He gained 66 yards on nine rushes last week and has picked up 277 yards on 50 rushes with two touchdowns on the season. Wesley LaBorde chips in with 152 yards and a touchdown.

Skippers’ senior linebacker Kris Rice delivered another solid game last week with two interceptions giving him five for the season. He also had a sack and forced a fumble, while registering three solo tackles with five assists. Rice leads the Skippers with 44 solo stops and 33 assists.

Billy Brooks contributed four primary tackles and five assists with one stop for a loss, while Sam McGivern recorded five primary tackles with an assist and also picked off a pass, his second of the season.

Linebacker Zach Ferger chipped in with three individual stops, three assists and two stops for losses. Everett Ellefsen notched two sacks and recovered a fumble. Ellefsen was in on six tackles for the Skippers.

Covington, which scored 41 points in a 10-point victory over Northshore two weeks ago, struggled against St. Paul’s last week. The Lions’ only points came on a Spencer Graham 31-yard field goal during the final minute of the first quarter.

The Lions hope to get their running game back on track led by senior Phillip Bickham. He was limited to 31 yards on 13 carries last week.

Lions’ senior quarterback Tyler Scott passed for 102 yards hitting on 8-of-15 attempts with an interception.

Lions’ receiver Dexter Thompson caught three passes for 71 yards last week including a 49-yard hook up with Scott on the first play from scrimmage in the second half. Jarius Bickham had two catches for 15 yards and his brother Phillip had two receptions for eight yards, while Chuckie Humphries had one for eight yards.

Covington coach Malter Scobel said his club has to win to have any chance to make it into the playoffs.

“We have to win and then it’s not certain we’ll get in,” Scobel said.

“We have to eliminate the little things. That has been our achilles heel for most of the season. We have kept things close. Some things we have improved on, but for the most part we haven’t had too many complete games of playing four quarters,” Scobel added.

Scobel said his club would have to play sound in all phases of the game.

“We can’t afford to have any breakdowns on special teams. Guy (LeCompte) does a good job running the Skippers team and they can be explosive on special teams. “

Defensively, CHS senior middle linebacker Kyle Crouch registered 10 primary tackles with five assists last week. He also caused a fumble and broke up a pass. Junior end Devin Perez made five solo stops with one assist. He recovered a fumble last week for the second straight week. Two weeks ago, he returned a fumble 33 yards for a TD against Northshore.

Sophomore linebacker Otha Peters chipped in with four tackles and six assists, while

Denizel Ladner made six tackles with two assists. Linebacker Ryan Robinson came through with four primary stops and three assists and Daniel LaRocca delivered three tackles and two assists.