The Slidell Tigers built a 23-0-first-quarter lead en route to a 33-6 victory over the Northshore Panthers in a District 7-5A match up at L.V. McGinty Sr. Stadium Friday on senior night.

Slidell (5-5) finishes district play at 3-4. The Tigers now await the brackets being released today to find out if they made the playoffs. Northshore (2-8) caps a tough season at 2-6 in district.

SHS controlled the game from the start. The Tigers started the opening drive at their own 19. On third-and 12, Northshore blitzed, but quarterback Randal Meyer threw a quick pass to Jonathan Miles, who took it 70 yards to NHS’ 13.

Slidell’s Jaron Wiggins runs in the open field, while being pursued by Northshore’s Keith Sanchez (7) during Friday’s game at L.V. McGinty Sr. Stadium. (Photo by Shannon Diecidue)

The Panthers defense stood strong and forced a field-goal attempt on fourth-and-five from the eight. Before the play, Northshore jumped off sides. The penalty was half the distance, making it fourth-and-one AT the four.

The Tigers decided to go for it. Jaron Wiggins took a handoff and scored the touchdown. Chris Barnes’ extra point made it 7-0 with 9:45 left in the first quarter.

The Panthers went three-and-out on their next possession. NHS set up to punt, but the snap went over Taylor Eads’ head. Brent Carroll recovered the loose ball for Slidell at NHS’ 27.

The Tigers advanced to the 17 and settled for a Barnes 33-yard field to make it 10-0.

Northshore began to mount a drive. Quarterback Steven Gaines hit Trevor Harrison for a 16-yard gain, but Harrison fumbled and Brian Smyre recovered for the Tigers at the Panthers’ 44.

Slidell once again took advantage of the turnover. On third-and-one from the six, the Tigers lined up in the T formation. Miles took the handoff and ran right for the easy score. The PAT was no good, keeping it 16-0 with 3:10 on the clock.

Miles talked about the score.

“Armand (Williams) pushed his man in and he created a hole for me, so I did what just did what I had to do,” Miles said.

Northshore turned the ball over on the next drive when linebacker Todd Davis intercepted a pass and returned it 27 yards to NHS’ 13.

Following a Tigers’ penalty, Meyer found Williams for an 18-yard score. Barnes tacked on the PAT, increasing Slidell’s advantage to 23-0 with 1:59 remaining in the first period.

Northshore’s offense came to life on the ensuing possession.

The Panthers drove 64 yards on 15 plays, which took 6:43 off the clock. But Northshore failed to score after missing a 37-yard field goal.

SHS took the next drive to NHS’ 11, but turned it over on downs.

The Tigers led 23-0 at halftime.

In the third quarter, the Panthers got on the board.

Quin Johnson intercepted Meyer’s pass at his own 46. On the first play, Gaines rolled right, pump faked and hit Chopin, who was all by himself. He took it 54 yards for the score. The extra point was blocked by Adam Mitchell, keeping it 23-6 at the 7:34 mark.

It stayed that way until the fourth. Slidell had a second-and-11 from NHS’ 43. On the first play of the period, the Tigers lined up in the wildcat with Miles taking the snap. He faked a handoff and then kept it himself. He ran left and up the sideline, 43-yards to pay dirt. Barnes’ PAT was perfect and SHS upped the lead to 30-6.

Barnes added a 33-yard field goal on the next possession to seal a 33-6 win.

Slidell coach Artie Liuzza said he was proud of his team for rebounding after last week’s 34-33-overtime loss to Hammond.

“We got turnovers and we capitalized on the turnovers,” Liuzza said. “Our kids, as I said the other day, were real resilient. We played our tail off last week against Hammond. When you lose a game like that, you’re always concerned about maybe a mental letdown the next week. But I guess because we had Northshore, it’s such a rivalry, that our kids really came out this week with total concentration. Preparation at practice was great. I’m really proud of them.”