Byrd pulls away late in 46-22 win over Huntington

SHREVEPORT – Byrd broke open a tight game in the second half to defeat Huntington, 46-22, on a beautiful Friday night at Lee Hedges Stadium.

The Yellow Jackets were able to retake the lead which they would never again relinquish on a 45-yard field goal from Abram Murray as time expired in the first half to make it 17-16. Byrd added to the advantage on a five-yard run from quarterback Lake Lambert midway through the third quarter.

Lambert stretched the lead further with an explosive 95-yard touchdown run on the opening play of the final quarter to give the Jackets a 32-16 cushion.

Huntington’s Kamron Evans connected with Tre Carter on 21-yard pass touchdown pass with 8:46 remaining.

Byrd had answers yet again.

The Yellow Jackets sealed the deal with two late touchdowns, a one-yard run from Desmond Simmons followed by a 12-yard run from Tyler Nichols with 47 seconds left.

“I am glad we came away with win but we need to improve,” said Byrd head coach Stacy Ballew.

Lambert finished the night completing a perfect 6-of-6 passing for 79 yards, adding two touchdowns on the ground.

“That O-line was doing a great job and we kept moving the ball down the field,” said Lambert.

A six-yard run by Tyler Nichols three minutes into the game was followed by Dixon Poirier’s 35-yard touchdown run to make it 14-0 with 8:43 to go in the 2nd quarter.

Evans put the Raiders on the board for the first time with a touchdown pass to Kenton Brossett. the ensuing two-point conversions made it 14-8. Huntington scored again on a little but of trickery. A four-yard scoring pass from Markell Hampton to Tre Carter on an end around was followed by Evans’ two-point connection with Tre Carter to give the Raiders their only lead, 16-14. with 23 seconds to go in the half.

Byrd (2-0) will challenge Calvary Baptist (1-1) on Thursday while Huntington (1-1) will look to rebound when it plays Neville (1-1) at home on Friday.