Louisiana High School Football: 2017 Season Preview of the Parkway Panthers

Written by Charlie Beuttel

Twitter: @charlie_cds3

The Panthers of Parkway High School, located in Bossier City across the Red River from Shreveport, had another fantastic season in 2016 finishing 11-2. Unfortunately, a 5A quarterfinal showdown against eventual state champion Landry-Walker (61-21) put a finish their season. The defeat was shocking for Panther fans, Parkway’s only regular season loss came at home against Evangel Christian Academy (45-8) on Sept. 23.

Some more bad news for the program came on Feb.17 when Parkway High School principal Waylon Bates relieved David Feaster of his coaching duties. Feaster was at the helm for six seasons and led the Panthers to a 59-17 record while head coach. Principal Bates said in a statement in The Shreveport Times, “Coach Feaster and I do not share the same philosophy or vision for Parkway High School athletics.” The firing came after Coach Feaster received national attention for his banishment of Alabama coaches from the school. Feaster responded by saying, “Bates cited me for insubordination and they (Parkway) said I brought too much negative publicity to the school so I had to go.” After the firing, Neal May was hired to take over the Panther football program going forward.

Despite the rocky off-season, the Panthers have a loaded roster ready to avenge their quarterfinal loss and have a buzz around the program with their change at head coach. All adds up for a team ready to compete for the state crown in 2017.

Offense

The Panthers have an outstanding offense led by senior quarterback Justin Rogers, a TCU commit, and 5-star recruit Terrace Marshall Jr. In 2016, Parkway averaged 42.5 points a game and with a season-high 69 points in a 69-54 win over Lufkin (TX) at the Battle on the Border event. During his junior season in 2016, Rogers completed 182-of-288 passes for 3,022 yards with 30 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He is also the Panther’s leading returning rusher after taking 139 carries for 848 yards and 11 more scores. Along with Rogers, Marshall also had a tremendous junior year as he snagged 55 passes for 1,250 yards and a whopping 15 touchdowns. Another name to watch is senior athlete Eric Williams who had 100 carries for 769 rush yards and 13 touchdowns and caught 28 passes for 307 yards and three more scores.

Defense

Parkway gave up on average 25 points a game while holding eight of their opponents to 20 points or less. One of the stars of their defensive unit was linebacker David Morales who had a great junior year in 2016 with 110 total tackles including 14 for a loss and two sacks while having three forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. A newcomer who certainly will solidify the Parkway secondary is Israel Mukuamu, a transfer from Berkeley High School in Berkeley, South Carolina. The Class of 2018 star had 63 total tackles and broke up seven passes in his junior year.

Schedule Breakdown

09/01/2017 vs. Booker T. Washington

9/08/2017 vs. Pearl (MS) at Battle on the Border event at Independence Stadium in Shreveport

9/15/2017 @ Pulaski Academy (AR)

9/22/2017 vs. Evangel Christian Academy

9/29/2017 @ Airline

10/06/2017 vs. Captain Shreve

10/13/2017 @ C.E. Byrd

10/20/2017 vs. Homer

10/27/2017 @Haughton

11/03/2017 vs. Southwood

Schedule Breakdown

Parkway starts the season with three exciting non-district games as they host Booker T. Washington then battle Pearl (MS) in the annual Battle on the Border event. The Panthers first road test comes on Sept. 15 when they travel to Little Rock to take on Pulaski Academy.

District I-5A plays starts on Sept. 22 as they host their arch nemesis, Evangel Christian Academy. The Evangel Eagles won the district last year and have beaten Parkway two straight years. The next three games are very winnable despite two road contests at Airline and C.E. Byrd. The final non-district game comes on Oct. 20 against Homer, which is also Parkway’s homecoming. The last road test comes on Oct. 27 as Parkway travels west to Haughton to take on the Buccaneers. The Panthers then close out the regular season with Senior Night against the Southwood Cowboys.

With this schedule, Parkway will once again battle for their district title and should clinch a very good seed going into the state playoffs. It should be a wonderful year for the Parkway Panthers and their fans with a lot of tough games on the schedule prepping the team for a run to the title game.

Photo Credit: recruitingnewsguru.com; Parkway QB Justin Rogers at the Elite 11