Evangel hangs on to win ‘phenomenal’ football game vs. Airline

Those of you who witnessed the District 1-5A matchup between Evangel Christian Academy and Airline on Friday, Oct. 30 probably became extremely tired from the see-saw battle, one neither team seemed capable of winning for more than three quarters of the action.It was a bit like watching a professional tennis match that goes on and on and on. But think about us poor souls who have to write about it. Granted, Evangel’s 52-42 victory, which was much closer than it looks, won’t go down as the Game of the Year in Northwest Louisiana football, but it would certainly be in the top 5.That’s because the Eagles built a 29-7 lead only to see the Vikings battle back and go ahead in the third quarter behind the fabulous Chase Williams. But the also-fabulous Peyton “Pop” Houston, who wasn’t supposed to be in the lineup, tossed three TD passes and willed his team to victory. Williams countered with a career night of four rushing TDs and two passing.“Anytime we play Airline, it’s a war,” Evangel coach Denny Duron said. “It’s anybody’s game and that’s exactly what it was tonight.”NORTHWOOD WINS: Northwood continues second half run, St. Mary's, Glenbrook winSWISS KNIFE: Evangel’s Aiden Carter is a Swiss Army Knife for the EaglesPREDICTIONS: Find out which Shreveport-area football teams should win Week 9 gamesDespite the nearly 100 points scored, it was a couple of defensive plays which finally broke the tit-for-tat affair and allowed the Evangel fans to breathe. ECA’s Landon Mott recovered an errant toss at the Airline 11-yard-line with less than five minutes remaining and it was turned into a score. Then, ECA’s Jayden Hick intercepted Williams on the next offensive series to seal the deal. Airline had scored 28 unanswered points prior to the stops.“I liked the way our guys fought,” Airline coach Justin Scogin said. “We did a great job competing and not worrying about anything but the current play. We didn’t worry about the score, we just kept playing. Unfortunately for us, Evangel made a few more plays than we did. All the credit to them. It was a phenomenal high school football game tonight.”Kionte Mims II had a productive night with a pair of TD runs including one off-tackle that went for 99 yards.Jimmy Watson covers Louisiana sports for the USA TODAY Network. Email him at jwatson@shreveporttimes.com and follow him on Twitter @JimmyWatson6.This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: Evangel hangs on to win ‘phenomenal’ football game vs. Airline