On Thursday night, Southern Lab faced a challenge against Denham Springs, but the Kittens are determined to turn the loss into a focus for the season ahead. A setback moves them to 3–3 in the season, but with plenty of games left, there’s still room to
rebound and make a strong push. This mindset resonated with Freshman quarterback, Dexter Ricard, who emphasized the value of staying together. “We need to, like, build chemistry as a team, man, keep fighting.’Cause I feel like, you know, some of us kind of gave up towards the second half. We need to keep fighting,” he said. Being the youngest class on the field, Dexter Ricard has the heart of a lion and isn’t afraid to take charge.
In the first quarter, he bulldozed through the middle of the field, nearly reaching the goal with just 28 seconds left on the clock. Southern Lab’s defense made several strong tackles, but it wasn’t enough to stop Denham Springs from scoring. With a fresh drive to start the second quarter, Dexter connected with Junior, wide receiver Jayce Wright, who caught the ball and scored Southern Lab’s first touchdown with seven minutes and twenty two seconds left on the clock. The Kittens struggled with a few fumbles, and although there was an interception, it came up incomplete, ending the first half with a score 6-27.
With Southern Lab being a 1A school facing a 5A opponent like Denham Springs , the Kittens had fewer options and less depth on the field. Reflecting on the game, Head Coach Asberry responded, “We struggled. The defense came out there and they played really good football. We got a few pieces back on defense, but down the stretch, they clearly had more interior linemen than we did. I hope it’s a reality check for us.” Starting the second half, the Kittens kept playing despite missed catches and hustle. The defensive line stopped Denham Springs from scoring just enough for Dexter Richard to get the first down with just 2 minutes left on the clock towards the end of the third quarter, showing the team’s determination. Defensive linebacker, Chreston Bent, has reflected on this mindset here. “Coming back at halftime, we like to put it like it’s zero to zero, we just got to keep playing and give our offense encouragement and go out and put the ball in the box,” he said.
And there it goes—wide receiver Jayce Wright again with the second touchdown to start the quarter, followed by wide receiver Anthony Weatherspoon with the two-point conversion, putting Southern Lab at 14–41 against Denham Springs. The defensive line kept their stance and the offense kept running the game still with the same score 14-41. Despite the loss, with their determination, they are poised to be even stronger and nearly unstoppable in their next matchup. “Coming to Southern Lab is a standard—people come to see us win,” Chris Benton.
