Sanders era begins with thrilling win for Northshore over Salmen

Northshore High football has spent a lot of time in the wilderness.

The Panthers did make the Class 5A playoffs in 2017 but their last winning season was in 2008.

While Northshore baseball and softball have flourished during that time, football has largely floundered.

While it takes time to build a program, the Panthers may be on the right track in 2021.

Northshore opened its season with a thrilling 41-34 victory at city rival Salmen Friday night in the season opener for both teams.

It was the first game for new head coach Bobby Sanders, who has been part of helping build a consistent winner at Lakeshore and most recently as an assistant coach with a state championship program at his alma mater, Archbishop Rummel.

Speaking as a guest on The Three Tailgaters Show on NASH ICON 106.1 FM Saturday morning, Sanders said he was very happy that his team could play.

“It was nice to get out there and play and get a win,” Sanders said. “We were hoping we could play. Once we got power Monday, we got word we could practice Tuesday. We had to reach out to guys out of state, in Florida, in Atlanta and everywhere. We had most everyone there and playing. It was great to have a chance to play.”

It was a tale of two halves for the Panthers.

“It ended up pretty good for us,” Sanders said. “The first half might have been the worst thing I’ve been part of in our life. We started slow in our jamboree and our scrimmage. We wanted to get off to a fast start but we did the complete opposite. I was proud of the way we responded in the second half.”

Junior quarterback Jack Buell threw four touchdown passes, including a pair to T.J. Coleman and one to Brother Martin transfer Austin Jackson.

Northshore trailed 12-0 and trailed 34-28 in the fourth quarter before rallying with the final two scores of the game for the win.

Brandon Hines caught a touchdown pass while Hines had an interception as well for the Panthers while Chandler Chapman ran for a score. Charles Watts was a force in the run game with 121 yards rushing.

“We have four really good receivers with a lot of speed,” Sanders said. “Buell had a lot of good moments. We need him to manage the game well. He got better as the game went along.”

Trent Johnson ran for a pair of scores for the Spartans while quarterback Jack Gillikin ran for a score. Donald Cousizan had an interception return for a score.

The process has begun to try to finally build a winning program at Northshore.

“We kind of just hit the reset button on everything,” Sanders said. “The school opened in 1982 and we have just nine playoff appearances. There’s something wrong there. I saw what it takes to win and win big with Coach Jay Roth and Nick Monica at Rummel and with Coach Ryan Manale at De La Salle and Coach Craig Jones at Lakeshore. We started off with a blank canvas. We have to implement things and build a tradition.”

Northshore, which is playing away from home while its new field is installed, will travel to Lakeshore next week while Salmen will host Bogalusa. The Lumberjacks are 2-0 after defeating Pine 42-28 Friday night.

“We lost about 10 yards of turf to the hurricane,” Sanders said. “Ponchatoula, week five, is our next home game. That is the goal to play at home but that is up in the air.”