LUTCHER – Lutcher head football coach Dwain Jenkins knew this season wouldn’t be easy.

Coming into the fall, Jenkins had more than a few holes to fill on his depth chart, the biggest one at quarterback, and he had plenty of pups to get ready for a grueling schedule that included ranked 2A teams Amite and St. Charles Catholic right off the bat.

The Bulldogs put up a fight, but both games ended in heartbreak.

After taking a 21-6 halftime lead against Amite, Lutcher turned the ball over six times – including an interception return for a touchdown – in a 28-21 loss.

The following week the Bulldogs got another stab in the heart, this one from St. Charles Catholic. Down 23-21 in the final minutes of the game, Jacoby Williams seemed to have scored a go-ahead touchdown. But flags were down. The Bulldogs were penalized for an illegal chop block, nullifying the touchdown and helping the Comets hold on for the 23-31 win.

But rather than roll over and play dead, Lutcher came back in weeks three and four with solid victories, showing exactly what its offense was truly capable of. The Bulldogs defeated Frederick Douglass, 57-28, on Sept. 20, then defeated South Lafourche, 42-7, to improve to 2-2.

Then they let one get away.

After taking a 15-14 lead in the first half against St. Amant, the Bulldogs let the Gators score on three consecutive offensive plays to take a 39-15 win.

But there’s no time for wallowing now.

This week Lutcher will travel across the Mississippi River to take on its arch-rival, St. James, in the District 9-3A opener for both teams. St. James is undefeated and ranked No. 1 in the state in the most recent Louisiana Sports Writers Poll. The much-anticipated matchup is the first district contest between the two schools since 2017. St. James has won the last two, non-district, contests. This is the 42^nd meeting overall between the two and it is expected to be an event. St. James is hosting a pre-game college fair for historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and the Southern University Human Jukebox is scheduled to perform at halftime.

At some point a football game must be played, however, and Jenkins has to hope his youngsters can handle the hoopla. First year starting quarterback Mekhi Patterson has shown flashes of brilliance at times, connecting with receiver and Jacoby Williams and Rashon Williams. Ra’saun Storks had an 85-yard touchdown run and Rashon Williams had a 75-yard punt return against Douglass. Storks had a 75-yard run against Amite, as well.