Pick-6 enables Eagles to pull away for a 58-48 win in LHSAA bi-district playoff round
Photo of Evangel Christian quarterback Peyton Houston from his X page
By Buck Ringgold
Evangel Christian Academy quarterback Peyton Houston likely didn’t top his record-setting passing performance in a highly anticipated rematch with Captain Shreve on Thursday.
However, unlike that previous contest, the only stat that mattered in the end for Houston and the Eagles was a win.
In another wild high-scoring affair between the two Shreveport schools, this time it was Evangel that came out on top, needing a late pick-6 interception return to pull away for a 58-48 win in the bi-district round of the LHSAA Division I select playoffs Thursday night at Lee Hedges Stadium.
High school football playoff scoreboard: First round games (11/14/2024)
More than a month ago, at the very same venue, Captain Shreve outlasted Evangel in overtime, 77-76, despite Houston throwing for 817 yards – a national single-game high school record – and accounting for 10 total TDs.
Houston – a sophomore who is one of the more heavily recruited signal-callers in the Class of 2027 – passed for three TDs and ran for another in the first half of Thursday’s rematch, with Evangel taking a 29-28 lead at the break. He then threw another TD late in the third quarter, extending the Eagles’ lead to 10, 51-41.
Captain Shreve cut it to three points with a touchdown four minutes into the fourth and the Gators got the ball back after stopping Evangel on downs deep in Shreve territory. However, on a fourth down play, Evangel defender Damari Drake picked off a pass and took it 50 yards to the house with less than two minutes left, icing the game for the Eagles.
With the win, Evangel moves into the second round of the Division I select playoffs. The Eagles will travel next week to face Alexandria, the No. 2 seed.
Since that regular-season loss to Shreve, Evangel (6-5) has now won five straight games. The Gators end their season at 6-5.
Buck Ringgold | @Bucks_Ballpark | realarklahomasports@gmail.com
Arklahoma Sports 
One response to “Evangel Christian avenges wild regular-season loss to Captain Shreve”
[…] on Captain Shreve. After falling to the Gators in a wild high-scoring overtime game in October, the Eagles returned the favor in another scoring fest, 58-48. Quarterback Peyton Houston threw for 384 yards and four TDs, but the big TD came on a game-sealing […]
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