STONEWALL – North DeSoto has built a program in which expectations to reach the Caesars Superdome exist every year.
The Griffins have set foot on that hallowed football ground once, falling in the final minutes in 2022 before coming up just short in the 2023 semifinals.
As preseason No. 2 North DeSoto embarks on yet another journey with a state championship game as its intended destination, the Griffins will face an opponent who won the Division III Non-Select trophy last year and who is a regular in state championship games.
Union Parish, ranked No. 4 preseason in Class 2A, will pay a visit to North DeSoto to kick off the regular season Friday at 7 p.m. in one of the more anticipated matchups across the state.
The Farmers, who dropped down to Class 2A this year, have won three state titles since 2001 but have played for a state title in each of the last four seasons.
North DeSoto may have lost 23 seniors from a year ago, but the Griffins have plenty of firepower and experience as the program has established the ability to reload each year.
Quarterback Luke Delafield is locked and loaded as one of the top signal callers in the state, and he returns the state’s top target in receiver Cole Cory (1,139 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns in the regular season). Delafield ranked seventh on the state’s leader list with 2,475 yards in the regular season.
Cory returned a punt for a touchdown in a 27-12 jamboree win against Mansfield this past week, while the defense flexed its muscle in a 14-0 shutout of Logansport.
The Griffins don’t just air it out, they produced a pair of 1,000-yard rushers this past season as well. Leading rusher Kenny Thomas is back in the fold after gaining more than 1,400 yards on the ground.
Union Parish will miss running back Jy’marion Island (third in the state with 1,894 rushing yards in the regular season), but the Farmers reload each year as well, especially in the backfield.
The more physical team should have an edge in the season opener, but if North DeSoto establishes any kind of lead, Union Parish may be hard-pressed to play catchup in a run-heavy offense.
But the Farmers proved they can handle dynamic offenses as they edged Calvary Baptist in the jamboree.
In a schedule that starts with a bang with home games against Union Parish, West Monroe (Week 3), and rival Northwood (Week 4), Union Parish provides an appropriate amount of pop to excite the fanbase.