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The wait is over for the Airline Vikings.
After a week off with a first-round bye, No. 2 seed Airline (10-0) hosts No. 18 Westgate (8-2) in the second round of the non-select Division I playoffs Friday night at M.D. Ray Field at Airline Stadium. Kickoff is 7 o’clock.
The Tigers of New Iberia defeated No. 15 St. Amant in the first round last week.
Westgate finished tied for third in District 4-4A behind champion St. Thomas Mote and runner-up Teurlings Catholic.
Teurlings Catholic is the No. 6 seed in select Division I and St. Thomas More is No. 8.
The Vikings have faced outstanding offenses all season and they’ll face another one Friday. The Tigers are averaging 35.5 points per game. According to the Baton Rouge Advocate, seven Westgate running backs carried the ball last week. Also according to The Advocate, the Tigers went into the season with 16 returning starters.
Westgate has won six straight since losing to St. Thomas More 48-6 in Week 5.
The Panthers lost to eventual champion Ruston 20-18 in the playoffs last year. The Tigers reached the semifinals in 2022. They won the non-select Division II title in 2021.
Airline went undefeated in the regular season for only the second time in school history. The first time was 1998.
Airline is in a similar position as last season. Coming off a bye as the No. 4 seed, the Vikings edged No. 13 Southside 36-35 before falling to No. 21 Mandeville in the quarterfinals.
The Vikings are averaging 55 points per game behind the play of quarterback Ben Taylor, receivers Kenny Darby and Jarvis Davis Jr., and running back DJ Allen. Receiver/running back Micah Johnson, tight end Aiden Baker and running back Derrian Milligan have also made key contributions.
Of course, none of them would have been able to accomplish what they have without the outstanding play of the offensive line.
Taylor has completed 271-of-366 passes for 3,698 yards and 42 touchdowns with just three interceptions. He has moved to No. 2 in the all-time career passing yardage list with 11,715. He has thrown 131 touchdown passes.
Darby, who committed to LSU last week, has caught 80 passes for 1,489 yards and 22 touchdowns. Davis has caught 84 passes for 1,113 yards and nine touchdowns.
Allen has 744 yards rushing and 329 receiving. He has scored 12 touchdowns.
The Airline defense has given up a lot of points against some outstanding offenses, but it has also come up with some big stops in crucial situations.