BY MATT VINES, DeSoto Parish Journal
STONEWALL — The North DeSoto girls soccer team will take aim at a district title this weekend when it finishes its district schedule Friday at Northwood and Saturday at Caddo Magnet.
The Lady Griffins (14-4-4, 3-1 District II-1) shut out Pineville (2-0) and Minden (4-0) to put themselves in position to take a swing at the district crown.
North DeSoto is on a three-match winning streak, which included a Senior Night win against Minden in a pair of senior’s final home matches.
But they’ll see the North DeSoto soccer field again as the No. 5 Lady Griffins are set to host at least a first-round playoff match.
If NDHS can handle business against Northwood, No. 2 Caddo Magnet awaits in what will feel like a late-round playoff bout.
Thirteen North DeSoto boys soccer seniors celebrated their final home game with a 2-1 win against Minden on Tuesday night, building a winning streak of two that snapped 12-match winless streak (0-10-2).
The Griffins (6-12-2) entered Thursday night’s finale at No. 35 in the Division II rankings, needing a win against Benton and possibly help to vault into the 32-team playoff.
NDHS started the streak with a 6-1 domination of Huntington to turn around a week that started with losses to Sterlington and Haughton.
BOYS BASKETBALL
North DeSoto (6-4, 0-1 District 1-4A) snapped a four-game skid with a 36-33 win against Logansport on Monday.
The bad news? The Griffins opened district play with a 50-point loss to Booker T. Washington.
NDHS is No. 31 in the Division II power rankings, sitting 0.7 points outside of a spot in the 28-team playoffs.
The Griffins, who haven’t won a district game in more than a few years, will likely need at least a couple to make a playoff push.
NDHS heads to Northwood on Friday before hosting Evangel on Tuesday and traveling to Huntington on Wednesday.
Mansfield (6-15, 2-2 District 3-2A) is in a similar situation sitting at No. 30 in Division III, about 0.4 points out of the playoff picture.
The Wolverines started 2-0 in the league but fell in overtime to Lakeview and dropped a nine-point decision at home to Red River.
Mansfield will need to repeat their victories against Many on Friday and Jonesboro-Hodge on Tuesday to keep their playoff hopes alive.
Logansport (5-7, 1-2) is currently in the playoffs at No. 27 in Division IV, holding less than a 0.1-point edge on No. 29.
The Tigers earned their first district win Tuesday in a 47-43 triumph over Montgomery.
Logansport was drilled by St. Mary’s by 42 points before they couldn’t duplicate their earlier win against NDHS, falling by three.
The Tigers have just four games left in their regular season – all district games – which starts Tuesday against Northwood-Lena, a team that won by 14 over Logansport to begin district play.
Stanley (8-19, 1-2 District 3-B) picked up its third win against Converse this season in 48-43 fashion on Tuesday. The Panthers have work to do at No. 32, and their five-game stretch to end the season started late Thursday night against Zwolle.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
The girls basketball playoff picture is much more settled in DeSoto Parish.
Mansfield (12-8, 3-1 District 3-2A) has all but guaranteed itself a first-round home playoff game sitting at No. 10 in Division III.
The Lady Wolverines lost a tough fight to Lakeview (No. 5 in Division IV) in the first salvo of the top two competitors for the district crown.
Mansfield rebounded by topping Red River, 44-7, on Tuesday, the second district opponent that the Lady Wolverines held in single-digits. Mansfield hosts Many tonight before heading to Jonesboro-Hodge on Tuesday and Winnfield on Friday.
Both North DeSoto (No. 17 in Division II) and Logansport (No. 17 in Division IV) are clawing for one of those 16 home games in their respective divisions.
The Lady Griffins (16-5, 1-0) picked up a win in their District 1-4A opener by handling Booker T. Washington at home, 51-39. NDHS heads to Northwood tonight with Evangel visiting on Tuesday.
Logansport (8-9, 0-3 District 3-1A) is still looking for its first district win after losses to St. Mary’s and Montgomery.
The Lady Tigers start their five-game stretch to end the season with one-loss LaSalle tonight at home before hosting Northwood-Lena on Tuesday and heading back to LaSalle on Friday.
Stanley’s losing skid extended to six games with losses to Negreet and Converse. The Lady Panthers are squarely out of the playoffs at No. 43 with four games remaining.
