Sports

First, a reminder. The deadline to turn in your picks is 5 p.m.

Well, once again, it’s athletic week in Lake Providence, since it seems that most of the news this past week was our athletes. The most talked-about game of the week was the LSU vs Ole Miss game with LSU favored to win. The Ole Miss Rebels had other ideas and, for Lake Providence, it was personal. Wydett Williams, Jr., or “Junior” as he is affectionately known, set the pace for the game by reading Garrett Nussmeier perfectly with an interception that set the stands on fire. Even if you’re for LSU, you have to be impressed with this young man. At the press conference, he answered each question respectfully with “yes, sir” and “no, sir.” Best of all? He gave credit for his success to God. On national television. Somebody raised this young man right. Hmmm … good job, Sheriff and Rene Williams. There were a lot of Lake Providence folks at the ballgame, some in purple and gold and some in red.

The Briarfield Academy Lady Rebels turned in an impressive performance at South State this past weekend in Sterlington, garnering four wins and one loss to take the South State trophy and move on to the championship this weekend in Magee, Arkansas. The top four teams that will advance to the championship are Franklin, Humphreys, Claiborne and Briarfield. Briarfield is seeking its fourth state championship in a row.

In an epic scoring battle, the Rebels dropped a close loss to Prairie View at home. When the final buzzer sounded, the teams had combined for 97 points.

The General Trass High School Panthers traveled to Monroe on Friday night to face the Carroll High School Bulldogs in a non-district matchup. Both teams entered the game with 1-2 records, and Carroll came away with the win after pulling ahead early and holding off a strong second-quarter surge from the Panthers.

The Griffin Middle Academy Junior Panthers football team would like to extend their deepest appreciation to Dr. Bryman Williams, a proud native of Lake Providence, for his generosity and dedication to his hometown.

Briarfield came into Friday night’s game on a threegame winning streak. The Rebels saw that streak extend to four with a 52-6 win over the Tensas Academy Chiefs. The win over Tensas marks the fourth over the Chiefs dating back to 2023. (9/20/24, 36-0, 11/8/24, 54-0 and 9/15/23, 56-6).

The Briarfield Lady Rebels honored their seniors and continued a hot winning streak last week, playing twice and winning both games. On Tuesday night, September 16, Gracie Forman struck out 10 batters as the pitcher led Briarfield past Humphreys Academy 5-1. Forman gave up three hits and one run over seven innings while walking none.

University of Mississippi fans for sure know who their safety is after last Saturday’s game. The game was close. Ole Miss was on top 41-35, but Arkansas was driving. It was late in the fourth quarter when Ole Miss forced a fumble and number 16, our own Wydett Williams Jr., recovered the fumble, effectively shutting down the Hogs’ drive and sealing the win. Not only that, but “Junior” had four solo tackles and a blocked pass. In the photo above, a screenshot captured from television coverage of the game, Wydett (center) celebrates with teammates. For the next two weeks, two Louisiana teams, first Tulane and then LSU, will travel to Oxford, Mississippi to face the Rebels. There is one corner of Louisiana that seems to be rooting for the Mississippi team.

The Briarfield Lady Rebels were hot last week, posting a win against the Tensas Lady Chiefs and answering early losses to Riverfield Academy with a second impressive win over the Raiders. Briarfield continued its winning streak, shutting out Tensas Academy, with an 8-0 score.