“Could you have imagined this group would make it this far?”
“Honestly, yes. I know people don’t believe that but here in ‘Raider Land’, we believed it from day one.”
Northwest football will play in their first semifinal playoff game in school history on Friday, Dec. 1 against Cecilia.
Every Northwest playoff win this season has been an upset. The Raiders entered the postseason as the 22nd seed in Division II Non-Select and proceeded to beat Franklin Parish, Wossman, and Assumption.
“It feels good,” junior linebacker Davon Thibodeaux said. “It feels unreal almost. Everybody doubted us. They think you’re not supposed to beat the sixth, eleventh, and third seed.”
“It means a lot because I was able to help my team get this far in the playoffs,” senior running back Ja’Vain Rese said. "I’m not done yet, not until I reach next week and get to the dome.”
The Raiders' main ingredient to success has been discipline and on top of that, the offense is peaking at the right time.
Northwest has scored more than 40 points in five of their last six games.
“We just keep fighting and remain disciplined,” senior defensive end Mackenzie Ardoin “We listen to what the coach says. When times get tough and we lose our head a little bit, we come together and fight through.”
“At this point in time, everybody’s evenly matched,” Raiders head coach Chris Edwards said. "It’s going to be about who’s more mentally prepared than the next team. You wouldn’t be here if you didn’t have the physical talent.”
One of the most pivotal moments in the season came in week six against Iota.
The Raiders battled the Bulldogs to a double overtime victory, proving their level of resiliency.
“It gave those guys confidence that they could win the tough games,” Edwards said. “We’re just building off of that.”
Northwest needs one final win to get to the Ceasers Superdome, which would be their first-ever appearance in school history.
“It’s great to come in and have a winning season,” Ardoin said. "It gives you inspiration and hope.”
“I hope this brings more quarterfinal, semifinal, and state runs to the community,” Thibodeaux said.
“Getting a chance to play for a state championship would mean the world for this group,” Edwards said. “Sometimes it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and we’re close. I tell the guys that we’ve gotten this close, let’s take advantage of it. Let the chips fall where they may. It may be destiny.”
With a win, the Raiders would become the lowest seed to make a state title game since 2019 back when the Jennings Bulldogs played in the Class 3A championship game as the 23rd seed.
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