Byrd Yellow Jackets vs Carencro Golden Bears Friday Dec. 2
Catch all the action with Charlie Cavell as the No. 3-seeded Byrd Yellow Jackets travel south on Interstate 49 to Lafayette Parish where they will battle the No. 7- seeded Carencro Golden Bears.
It’s the first time since 1964 that Byrd has reached the state semifinals, and the first time ever in Class 5A.
Kickoff for the semifinal game is set for 7 p.m., Friday, Dec. 2 at Carencro.
The Yellow Jackets own a 12-0 overall record and are the No. 3 seed in the playoffs. Byrd captured the District 1-5A title, its first district title since 2002. Byrd beat Archbishop Rummel 35-24 last Friday to advance to the semifinals.
The Carencro Bears own a 12-1 overall record and are the No. 7 seed in the playoffs. The Golden Bears beat the No. 2-seeded Jesuit Blue Jays 28-17 last Friday to advance to the semifinals.
In danger of relinquishing its 28-24 lead in the fourth quarter, Byrd’s defense forced a Rummel turnover. The Yellow Jackets offense then went on a 15-play, 82-yard drive capped off by a Richard Carthon touchdown to seal the 35-24 victory. Carthon rushed for 154 yards and three touchdowns to lead Byrd.
The Carencro Golden Bears advanced to the Class 5A semifinals with a 28-17 win over the Jesuit Blue Jays at Tad Gormley Stadium in New Orleans last Friday. Fullback Alex Johnson rushed for a game-high 227 yards and one touchdown for the Bears.
This will be the first-ever meeting between Byrd and Carencro. The last time the Yellow Jackets played in Lafayette Parish was in 2005 in the state quarterfinals against the Acadiana Wrecking Rams. The Jackets lost that game 49-6 to the Rams.
Mike Suggs is in his 14th season as the head coach at C.E. Byrd. Suggs owns a 94-57 (.622) record as the top Jacket. He is the school’s all-time winningest coach with 94 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. Airline is coached by Bo Meeks, who is in his first season at the helm of the Vikings’ football program. Meeks owns a 40-20 overall coaching record. He came to Airline after two years at Calvary Baptist Academy where he posted a 19-6 mark. Meeks also spent two seasons at Mangham where he went 14-10.
2011 Schedule and Results
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
10/7 vs. *Haughton (HC) ............. W, 48-7
10/14 at *Parkway ....................... W, 52-21
10/20 at *Southwood ..................... W, 49-8
10/27 vs. *Captain Shreve ........... W, 35-10
11/4 vs. *Airline ......................... W, 52-17
11/11 vs. West Jefferson ............. W, 56-21
11/18 at Airline ............................ W, 35-24
11/25 vs. Rummel ....................... W, 35-24
12/2 at Carencro ................................ 0-0
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