The Wolves are steamrolling into Friday’s highly anticipated rivalry game versus Covington. A beautiful win against Hammond propels the team to 2nd in District 6 5A; however, the Covington Lions are also ranked 3rd in the District, and their only district loss came against undefeated Ponchatoula 27-3. Last year, junior running back Quintez Laurent ran the Wolves home with all three touchdowns for the Lions. This will be the Wolves’ chance to bring the Brown Jug back to Jahncke Street, where its true home is. I, personally, look at the Brown Jug as somebody that has a vacation home. However, their true home is next to the St. Tammany Parish hospital tucked away in Old Covington, where a group of devoted, either retired or teaching brothers also call home. Senior starting quarterback Grant Billson had this to say when asked about what the Brown Jug means to the team, “The Brown Jug encompasses the history of the crosstown rivalry between St. Paul’s and Covington. The team feels that the Brown Jug brings together both the past and future teams of St. Paul’s. Winning the Brown Jug brings a sense of pride and, of course, bragging rights over our rival, Covington.”
The biggest battle for the Wolves will be moving the ball on offense as the team has scored 16 combined points in the last two years, while Covington has scored 43. The most significant edge in this match up for St. Paul’s is the class difference. Covington only has 11 seniors to St. Paul’s 20. One of those seniors includes Hayes Creel, who has offers from McNeese State and Southeastern Louisiana. He said this when asked about the role the offensive line plays in a dominant run offense, “We play a huge part. We are a run-heavy team, so the offense relies on us to open holes and help our running backs get yards.” then he had this to say when asked about what a good game looks like for the offensive line, “A good game for us has our running backs tallying first downs, and moving the chains which keep the defense on their heels.”
Friday’s dress theme will be a country club, and I expect the student section to play a huge factor in the battle for the Brown Jug.