Byrd Yellow Jackets Showdown With The Southwood Cowboys

SHOWDOWN WITH SOUTHWOOD
The Byrd Yellow Jackets will put their unblemished record on the line Thursday night in a showdown with the Southwood Cowboys. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. on Oct. 20 at Lee Hedges Stadium. It’s a Southwood home game so the Jackets are the visiting team.

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A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE TEAMS
The Yellow Jackets owns a 6-0 record and a 2-0 record in District 1-5A after last Friday’s 52-21 win over the previously unbeaten Parkway Panthers. The Southwood Cowboys own a 1-6 record and a 0-2 District 1-5A record following last week’s 29-20 loss to the Captain Shreve Gators. Southwood’s lone win came in a 28-21 victory over Northwood in week four.

RECENT RESULTS
Senior quarterback Richard Carthon rushed for a game-high 133 yards and accounted four five touchdowns to lead the Byrd Yellow Jackets to a 52-21 win over the Parkway Panthers, in a District 1-5A battle of unbeatens.
Captain Shreve took advantage of four Southwood turnovers to defeat the Cowboys 29-20 last Friday in a District 1-5A game at Lee Hedges Stadium. Gators running back Chris Hunter had his sixth 100-yard rushing game of the season with 123 yards on 29 carries.

THE SERIES
This will be the 40th meeting between the Byrd Yellow Jackets and the Southwood Cowboys in a series that dates back to 1970. The Jackets lead the overall series 22-17. This has been a series of streaks as Byrd won the first four meetings, then Southwood won 15 of the next 16. The Yellow Jackets have won 17 of the last 19 games since 1992, including a string of 12 straight at one point. Byrd crushed Southwood 48-7 last year.

THE COACHES
Mike Suggs is in his 14th season as the head coach at C.E. Byrd. Suggs owns a 90-57 (.612) record as the top Jacket. He is the school’s all-time winningest coach with 90 victories. Suggs was the Class 5A Coach of Year and the District 2-5A Coach of the Year in 2002. Suggs was an All-State end for the Southwood Cowboys in 1980 before taking his talents on to Northeast Louisiana University where he played wide receiver for the Indians. He
served as a graduate assistant coach with the Indians’ 1987 National Championship team. After a two-year stint at Southwood, he came to Byrd in 1990. In 1998, Suggs replaced Alan Carter to become the 13th head coach in Byrd history. Suggs and his wife Sandy have a daughter Cali, a senior cheerleader at Byrd, and a son Andrew, who is an eighth grader at Caddo Middle Magnet. Southwood is coached by Brian Taylor, who is in his third season at the helm of the Cowboys’ football program. He is a Southwood alum who played defensive back at UL Monroe. Taylor owns a 4-16 record in his previous two seasons at Southwood.

C.E. Byrd High School Facts
Located: Shreveport, Louisiana
Founded: 1925
Enrollment: 2,230
Nickname: Yellow Jackets
Colors: Purple and Gold
District: 1-5A
Stadium: Lee Hedges Stadium
Principal: Gerald Badgley

Coaching Staff
Head Coach/Off. Coordinator: Mike Suggs
Running backs: James Wilkerson
Off. Line: Craig Harris
Wide Receivers: Frank Wade
Def. Coordinator/LBs: Stacy Ballew
Defensive Line: Lindsey Bruno
Safeties: Jason Pope
Corner Backs: Eric Evans
Freshman: Chad Lewis, Derrick Murray,
James Bradford, James Opie

Yellow Jackets Team Facts
2010 Record .................................. 6-5, 4-3
Off. Starters Returning ............................. 7
Def. Starters Returning ............................ 7
Offensive Formation ........... Multiple Option
Defensive Formation .......................... 4-2-5

2011 Schedule and Results
9/1 vs. West Monroe ............... W, 30-23
9/10 vs. Marshall, TX ................ W, 48-23
9/16 at Fair Park .......................... W, 63-8
9/23 at Ruston ........................... W, 42-14
9/30 Open
10/7 vs. *Haughton (HC) ............. W, 48-7
10/14 at *Parkway ....................... W, 52-21
10/20 at *Southwood ............................ 0-0
10/27 vs. *Captain Shreve .................... 0-0
11/5 vs. *Airline .................................. 0-0