Tigers, Panthers, Mustangs end regular season Friday

    Just a short -- and late -- This Week’s Games due to various issues going on around the parish this past week.

   First, is anybody else sorry they missed the Jena-Peabody game last week? The Giants won, 28-21, and are undefeated going against winless Bolton this week.

    I can’t “bear” to watch that one.

   Peabody takes on the Vidalia Vikings. Yikes, Vikes.

   Now, back to OUR teams.

   “Tiger, Tiger burning bright, etc., etc., etc.”

   Marksville, 6-3 overall and 5-1 in District 3AAA hosts Winnfield, 6-3 and 4-1 (remember the Peabody “no contest?”). If the Tigers from “Long-town” eat their Wheaties, they can cause problems. Marksville should win. Everything on paper says they will.

    I’m having a deja vu Oakdale-Bunkie headache on this one, but I have faith the Purple & Gold will finish with its only district loss being to Jena. MaxPreps puts the local Tigers as 135th in the state while the newcomers to the 8-team 3AAA club is 179th.

    The Avoyelles Mustangs have been chomping at the bit to go back to Buckeye since one second after last year’s game. I won’t bore y’all with what happened then, and all we can hope is that it doesn’t happen again.

    Avoyelles needs a win to have a chance of going to the playoffs. A loss will definitely send the horses to pasture.

    Avoyelles is No. 220 in the state and the Panthers are No. 251.

    I probably shouldn’t say what I’m about to say, but I have to. It looks like Bunkie should end the regular season with a win, giving the Panthers their first winning season in several years.

    Now, the last few times I’ve said something like that, the results weren’t so good. However, Bunkie is visiting Rosepine this week.

    Just looking at the two teams’ district records, they are dead even. Each one has lost to the same four teams. This is the game to see who claims the cellar in District 3AA.

    It looks like Bunkie is going to the playoffs regardless of the outcome, based on its 5-0 non-district record. Rosepine is 1-8 overall compared to the Panthers’ 5-4.

   That’s why Bunkie is 183rd in the state and Rosepine is 272nd.

   Win or lose, playoff bound or not, the three parish teams have given all football fans a lot to cheer for and be proud of.

I’m sure we all hope the athletes have good, injury-free games and represent Avoyelles Parish well in the eyes of the other teams’ fans.