Slidell breaks losing streak to St. Paul’s, looks ahead at possibilities

You cannot win them all.

The message certainly rang true for St. Paul’s Friday night at L.V. McGinty Stadium in Slidell.

After 13 straight wins over Slidell dating back to 2005, St. Paul’s finally tasted defeat at the hands of the homestanding Tigers.

Senior quarterback Jacob Guidry completed 16-of-24 passes for 315 yards and five touchdowns and rushed once for 14 yards despite a bad ankle as Slidell downed St. Paul’s 35-28 to take over sole possession of first place in District 6-5A. It was the fifth straight win for the streaking Tigers.

Harlan Dixon, a superb junior running back, was outstanding with 23 carries for 122 yards and he caught four passes for 139 yards and two scores. Senior wide receiver Tito Simmons had six catches for 73 yards and a touchdown.

Things started ominously for Slidell and Guidry as he was intercepted on the second play from scrimmage, leading to a touchdown run by Jack Mashburn to give the Wolves an early 7-0 lead.

It looked like it might be the same old, same old in this series but the poise of Slidell and its seniors would shine brightly. Undaunted by the turnover, Guidry responded by guiding the Tigers to the game-tying drive, connecting with Dixon on a 38-yard touchdown to make it 7-7.

After St. Paul’s went up 14-7 in the second quarter, the Tigers responded with 21 unanswered points and never trailed again. When the Slidell defense needed s top late to preserve a seven-point lead, the Tigers got it and emerged victorious.

Speaking on The Three Tailgaters Show on WGSO, 990 AM Saturday morning, Slidell head coach Larry Favre had a ton of praise for Guidry.

“If there is any quarterback playing as well in the metro area or state as Jacob Guidry, with the stats, I don’t know who that is,” Favre said. “Jacob threw for about 360 yards and five touchdowns on one leg. This kid is having an unbelievable season. I want to see who out there is competing as well as he is.

The last Slidell win over St. Paul’s was a 20-10 victory in 2004 at Hunter Stadium.

“We were aware of the streak and numbers,” Favre said. “We didn’t focus on it but we were aware of it and it is good to get a win over a quality program. It was really exciting, a great atmosphere. It’s been a while since we had a meaningful game in late October and we were really excited to have an opportunity to compete last night. There’s a lot of pride in Slidell today.”

Favre, Slidell and all observers paying attention could see this season coming.

“The senior class I had two years ago was the first senior class I had for all four years,” Favre said. “The difference is the talent level of this senior class. They won the junior high parish championship when they were in the eighth grade. All of them came to Slidell High. We’ve had them here all four years. Ishmael Burdine has committed to Missouri. Cameron Ryals is getting a lot of attention. Maybe three more can sign and then Dixon in 2020 and some of our outstanding sophomore offensive linemen. It is about talent.”

While Burdine will attend Missouri and Dixon has a Tulane offer, Favre feels his players deserve more attention in recruiting.

“It’s so frustrating,” Favre said. “It’s all about the measurables—the height, the weight, the time in the 40. Tito Simmons is a classic example. We can put him out there and he can catch any ball that we throw to him. Harlan is the same way but yet people still have question marks. We went through that with Ishmael early on. When people came out and saw him run a 10.8 in the 100 meters, it changed how he was perceived. It is frustrating. Either you can play football or you can’t.”

Slidell travels to Fontainebleau next Friday night as Favre faces his former team while St. Paul’s returns home to host Mandeville. Slidell is currently about 13th in the Class 5A power rankings with a chance to host a first round game and climb even higher with two more wins. Favre admits to already looking at what the playoffs may bring.

“You have to pay attention to the seeding possibilities,” Favre said. “You’ve got to look ahead but Fontainebleau knows that with a win, a district championship is in its sight. They are having a great season. We’re going to keep our foot on the gas pedal. To win in the playoffs, you want to be at home and maybe be fortunate enough to play two games at home. It does give you a great chance. We had two home games in our 2004 semifinal run at Fontainebleau with a third game at Gormley against Brother Martin.”