No matter who has the ball, Kinder wants to control the ground game.

The fourth-seeded Yellow Jackets will host No. 5 Union Parish in the Non-select Division III quarterfinals tonight at John C. Buck Stadium.

Union Parish (8-4) is the defending state champion and has played in four consecutive state title games. Kinder (9-2) is after its first quarterfinal win since a run to the Class 2A state championship game in 2020.

Union Parish has a strong ground game with a hefty offensive line that averages 222 yards a game. That line includes 6-foot-1, 398-pound De’Marco Knighton and 6-4, 275-pound tight end Ari Slocum.

“They’re going to be the biggest team we’ve played this year,” said Kinder head coach

Justin Reed. “Probably the most athletic team we’ve played this year.

“It’s just kind of this bully ball. And they can turn around and head it off to a fullback or a tailback that’s really athletic. Behind about, I don’t know, 700 or 800 pounds of offensive line on each side.”

Leading the Farmers’ backfield is Tyquereis Wilson (918 yards, 10 TDs) and Derrick Dew (689 yds., 9 TDs). Wilson ran for 121 yards and two scores in the Farmer’s 42-8 win over Red River in the regional round.

“They’re going to dare you to come tackle them,” Reed said, “so that’s what we’re going to try to do. Whenever you do have a chance to make that tackle, you can’t miss. Because if you miss, they’ll make you pay and then they’ll go the distance on you.”

Kinder showed its run-stopping ability last week in a 28-12 win over Westlake in the regional round. The Yellow Jackets held the Rams to 61 rushing yards and made 10 tackles behind the line of scrimmage.

“We kind of got to adjust to how we line up to their formations compared to how we lined up to Westlake,” Reed said. “But I think our kids have done a good job of getting ready to play.”

Kinder quarterback Isaiah Thomas has thrown for more than 200 yards in three of his last four games, but Reed said the air game needs a strong run game to go with it.

Running back Logan Leboeuf ran for 151 yards last week and has 1,271 on the season. Leboeuf and Thomas will face a pair of defenders with more than 100 tackles in Wilson (131 tackles, 18 tackles for loss) and Jveon Henderson (100 tackles, 16 TFL).

“We think we’re going to have some opportunities in the passing game,” Reed said. “However, we’ve got to be able to run the ball to win the game. So if they’re able to match us six on six in the box, or even five on six, and we can’t run the ball at that, then it could be a long night for our offense. So I think just establishing a run game, it might be difficult, but it’s something that we’re going to have to do.”