It’s been more than a decade since rivals DeQuincy and Vinton have won a district football title.

One of them will end that drought on Friday at B.S. Walker Stadium in Vinton.

DeQuincy (8-1, 2-0) last won a district title in 2000 when Vinton head coach Tyler LaVergne’s father Chad LaVergne was the Tigers’ head coach.

“Chad is a guy I look up to and that I thought I was going to get to play for in high school when he was in DeQuincy,” Tigers head coach Tate Woodard said. “He left, actually, when I was an eighth-grader, but they’ve done a great job over there.

“They’ve got that program back on track, and I pull for those guys every week except for one. So it’s fun to see those guys get back on track.”

Vinton (6-3, 2-0) shared the district title with Kinder in 2006 and won it outright in 2003.

“It’s a neat atmosphere being that both schools haven’t won a district championship in a long time,” Tyler LaVergne said. “We’re playing for one in 2024, and I’m on the opposite sideline.

“It’ll be a great atmosphere, a playoff-type atmosphere. DeQuincy Week is always a big week regardless of record or what’s on the line. But this week gives our kids a good experience and a great atmosphere to play in on Friday night.”

Vinton has won three consecutive games and is assured of its first winning season since 2014. Running back Jaidon Briggs is enjoying a breakout junior season with 1,348 yards and 16 touchdowns.

“He’s a great player for us this year,” LaVergne said of Briggs. “He’s really stepped up in his role and carried a workload for us, especially in these district games and these big district games. He’s a guy we really want to feed the ball to as much as possible.”

The Vinton defense is allowing 16.3 points a game and is the one team to hold Hamilton Christian dual-threat quarterback Javon Vital in check in a 13-8 loss in Week 3.

Vinton will be tested by the LaVergne brothers, no relation to the Vinton head coach. Senior Wyatt LaVergne has 1,159 yards and 18 touchdowns. Sophomore Ty LaVergne has scored five times in the last three games as the Tigers’ short-yardage and goal-line back, filling in for Hayz Hext after he was injured in Week 5.

“They have great offense, powerful weapons all over the field,” LaVergne said. “What we need to do in order to slow them down is to, one, hang on to the football on offense and not give them a whole bunch of time to score, and eliminate mistakes and penalties on defense just to keep them at bay.

“We’re going to have to execute and create some turnovers. They’re a very powerful offense that scores a lot of points, and we’re going to have to do everything we can in order to slow them down, not get them wrong.”

DeQuincy’s defense has been tough to break, allowing 10 points a game, led by Wyatt LaVergne, M.J. Clark and Cameron Joyce, who have combined for 50 tackles for a loss.

“Their offensive line does do a great job,” Woodard said of the Lions. “Their scheme fits them really well. The split back is a tough offense to stop, and they run it well. We’re gonna have to play a lot of disciplined football this week. We’re gonna have to be physical at the point of attack because that’s where they beat you.”

Elsewhere

Iowa, Jennings, Kinder and Hamilton Christian can win outright district titles after securing part of their respective district titles last week.

In their first season in District 3-4A, Iowa (8-1, 4-0) has cruised through the district by an average of 33 points. The Yellow Jackets play tonight at DeRidder (5-4, 3-1). The Dragons can force the Yellow Jackets to share the title with a win.

Class 3A No. 2 Jennings (8-1) hasn’t lost since Week 1 to Iowa and needs a win Friday at Westlake (6-3, 2-1) to clear things up in District 3-3A.

Kinder (7-2, 3-0) can be the lone school hoisting the District 5-2A trophy with a win at Avoyelles (5-4, 2-1) on Friday. It would be Kinder’s first district title since 2020.

In District 4-1A, Hamilton Christian (7-1, 4-0) hosts Basile (5-4, 2-2) tonight at Cougar Stadium. Hamilton shared the district title with Basile and Grand Lake in 2021.