Haynesville outlasts Mangham in Division IV select football title game

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In a back-and-forth affair Thursday afternoon, the Haynesville Golden Tornado (14-0) won their 18th state title, beating the Mangham Dragons 39-37 to win the Division IV non-select championship.

The first half featured non-stop scoringr, with both teams combining for five touchdowns in the first quarter and 59 points by halftime.

In the second half, though, the defenses tightened up. MHS scored a go-ahead touchdown late in the third quarter for the only score of the period. HHS struck back in the fourth, taking the lead for good, although Haynesville did take an intentional safety as time expired in the fourth quarter.

Big plays

The Golden Tornado only ran 16 plays in the first half, but a large part of establishing its lead came on defense.

Early in the first quarter, linebacker Aiden LeBlanc forced a Dragons fumble, which defensive back Ethan Henderson returned 25 yards for the opening touchdown. In the second quarter, with HHS holding onto a five-point lead, safety and LSU football signee Isaiah Washington stepped in front of a pass, made the interception and took it 77 yards for the score.

Big players

Both Henderson and Washington starred on both sides Thursday. Henderson finished with 96 yards rushing and two touchdowns on offense while adding six tackles to go with his fumble recovery touchdown on defense. For Washington, he added 87 yards rushing and two touchdowns as a quarterback, but made his mark on defense, racking up 14 tackles to go along with his interception.

This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: Haynesville outlasts Mangham in Division IV select football title game

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