Mandeville’s Skippers will host the Slidell Tigers at 7 p.m. Thursday in a District 7-5A contest.

In last year’s game, the Skippers tallied 28 points in the second half to win 31-20 after trailing 7-3 at halftime.

Both squads are coming off opening district shutouts last Friday. MHS (3-0) blanked St. Paul’s 17-0, while Slidell (2-1) beat Covington, 35-0.

Slidell quarterback Blake Forbis (12) runs upfield as Covington'€™s Ryan Robinson (30) chases him during last Friday'€™s district opener held at L.V. McGinty Stadium. (File Photo by James Elorriaga)

Mandeville has outscored its opponents 66-13 this season, while SHS has beaten up on its last two opponents by a combined, 98-14.

This season, MHS’ defense has been stout. The unit has back-to-back shutouts and has allowed just 13 points. The Skippers have scored 66 points through three games.

Mandeville third-year coach Guy LeCompte said everyone played well last week and credited his defensive coordinator.

“Craig Jones and all the coaches have done an outstanding job all year,” LeCompte said. “It was a total team effort. They executed the game plan really well.”

In last week’s win, senior Hayden Harper led the Skippers with seven solo tackles while adding an assist, a tackle for loss and a pass defensed. He leads the Skippers with 10 solo tackles this season. Senior cornerback Jerry Mitchell recorded seven stops, with six individual stops. He has nine solos this year and nine assists. Defensive back Austin Storms was in on five tackles, and he picked off a pass. On the season, Storms has nine tackles and assisted on eight more. He also leads the squad with three interceptions.

The Skipper defense gave up just 125 yards to SPS.

MHS will be facing a spread offense, led by senior quarterback Blake Forbis and the tandem junior running backs of Zachary Johnson and Jaron Wiggins, and all three played major roles in Friday’s win over Covington.

Forbis threw for 214 yards and a pair of touchdowns (35 and 17 yards). Despite starting the game 0-for-3, Forbis still finished 15-for-20.

Following the rough beginning, Forbis clicked on his next nine pass attempts. The big one was a 35-yard scoring strike to wide receiver Travis Markey, which put the Tigers up 14-0 in the second quarter.

On the ground, Johnson and Wiggins combined for 176 yards on 23 carries and three TDs.

Johnson ran 12 times for 91 yards and an 11-yard tally, while Wiggins lugged the ball 11 times for 85 yards and two scores (2 and 1).

Slidell’s offense took advantage of three turnovers provided by its defense and scored touchdowns on each one of them.

Senior defensive back Chad Livingston, who played wide receiver for the Tigers last year, had a sack and an interception. His pick occurred with SHS leading 14-0 and Covington threatening to score with the ball on the Tigers’ five.

SHS drove 98 yards and scored following Livingston’s interception.

Slidell second-year coach Artie Liuzza said Livingston has done a good job.

“Chad’s a real good player,” Liuzza said. “He does a lot of checks on defense. He’s a two-year starter, first on defense. He’s got an awareness that makes him good in the secondary.”

The other two turnovers came on a fumble recovery by senior defensive back Chris Tranchina and an interception from junior defensive back Raphael Marks. The fumble recovery came in the first quarter of a scoreless contest and the Tigers scored on the ensuring drive.

Liuzza said his front four producing pressure helped his club get the turnovers.

The Tigers’ defense will go up against Mandeville’s spread offense. LeCompte said he did not know who his starter would be. In last week’s win, junior John Wenzel took over the signal calling duties for Andy Bertoniere during the first quarter.

Wenzel threw for 106 yards and a pair of scores. His first one was to Michael Garrido for 17 yards. His second tally made it a two-score game with a 35-yard pass to Will Bunns.

If the game comes down to kicking, both clubs should be in good shape.

MHS kicker Matt Dombrowski has hit three field goals this season, including a 25-yarder last week. Slidell’s Chris Barnes has hit all 15 of his extra points this season.