Issuu

FALL 2026

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Photo by Kacie Galtier

I love the start of football season because it means we’re that much closer to duck and deer season. I played football at E.D. White in eighth and ninth grade. I played defense. We played during the week, but I knew if I kept playing, Friday nights were next. That meant committing a whole lot of hunting weekends to football, and I wanted to go hunting. We all have to make life choices. I still watch every E.D. White game. I’m either there or I stream it, and these days I have another reason to be in the stands. My daughter is a cheerleader. That’s the thing about high school football. Long after you leave school, you still feel connected to it. You remember the big games and the rivalries, and you keep up with the team. And when your kids get there, you get to experience it all over again. High school football is a big deal in the towns we serve. I love the rivalries, the traditions and the things each community does a little differently. In Orange Beach, they have a pep rally on the beach. When Central plays Zachary, even the mayors get involved, with steaks from Rouses on the line. The winning mayor gets bragging rights, and the losing mayor has to cook dinner. We’re proud to be part of high school football throughout the Gulf Coast. This year, the Manning Passing Academy celebrated 30 years, and Rouses has been involved since the very beginning. We’ve watched generations of high school players come through the

program, including plenty from the same Photo by Romney Caruso schools you’ll read about in this issue. For years, we’ve supported local high schools by donating Rouses water for their football concession stands. Schools sell the water at home football games, and the proceeds go back to the schools to support athletics, bands, cheerleaders and other student programs. It’s become one of our favorite ways to support local schools because it gives them a way to raise money throughout the football season. Schools interested in participating in our football concession stand water program can contact us at sponsorships@rouses.com. We couldn’t get to every school or every rivalry in one issue. But we tried to capture what makes Friday nights so special, from the players and coaches on the field to the bands, cheerleaders, families and fans in the stands. Donny Rouse

CEO, 3rd Generation

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Creative Director & Editor Marcy Nathan Art Director & Design Eliza Schulze Illustrator Kacie Galtier Marketing Manager Harley Breaux Copy Editor Patti Stallard Advertising & Marketing Tim Acosta

Amanda Kennedy

Stephanie Hopkins Nancy Besson

Taryn Clement

Emily LaJaunie

Jennifer Bourgeois

Contributors ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT David W. Brown is a freelance writer whose work appears in The Atlantic, The New York Times, Scientific American and The New Yorker. His most recent book, The Mission: A True Story, a rollicking adventure about a motley band of explorers on a quest to find oceans on Europa, is in bookstores now. Brown lives in New Orleans. ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT Nick Underhill began his career covering the Saints for The TimesPicayune, The Advocate, and other local publications before moving to Boston, where he chronicled the final chapter of the Belichick-Brady era for The Athletic. Upon returning to New Orleans, Underhill founded NewOrleans.Football, a subscription-based platform featuring in-depth articles and podcasts, sponsored by Rouses Markets. ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT Adam Guttuso is Managing Producer for NewOrleans.Football, where he covers the New Orleans Saints and the NFL through video storytelling and multimedia content. ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT Juan Nogueira is a media specialist at WDSU (NBC) Hearst Television in New Orleans with more than 15 years of experience driving tens of millions in revenue for clients across industries — from cars to groceries. ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT LeBron "LBJ" Joseph has been a broadcaster in New Orleans for more than 40 years. His humor and deep knowledge of New Orleans music are unmatched. He's the anchor of Good Morning New Orleans on WGNO and an announcer on iHeartRadio's WYLD-FM and Voodoo 103.7. He's known for greeting everyone with a warm "Hey, my baby!"—and he's as comfortable on the water as he is behind the mic.

ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT Long before LBJ was

behind the mic, he was a member of St. Augustine High School’s legendary Marching 100.

IN MEMORIAM: MIKE DETILLIER ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT This issue is dedicated to the

memory of Mike Detillier, who loved high school football as much as anyone we've ever known. Over the years, Mike joined us for countless WWL broadcasts from our stores and was part of Sports on the Bayou on HTV. We were fortunate to share so many football seasons with him. Read more about Mike and his remarkable football legacy on page 64.

Photo courtesy The Times-Picayune/NOLA

Cover photo by Romney Caruso

R O U S E S FA L L 20 26

Table of Contents IN EVERY ISSUE

“

The uniforms, the megaphones, Friday nights with your friends being loud and silly and honestly kind of obnoxious — in 8th-9th grade, pep squad felt like peak high school experience. And looking back, it kind of was. — Ali Rouse Royster, 3rd Generation

”

1 Letter from Donny Rouse 5 Letter from the Editor by Marcy Nathan 7 Cookin’ on Hwy. 1 with Tim Acosta 9 Remembering Mr. Joe Watson by Ali Rouse Royster

CONCESSIONS 51 Jalepeno-Corn Dip Fiesta Corn Dip 52 Almost Crawfish Monica Pasta 53 Sausage Balls Cowboy Ranch Dip

13 The Quarterbacks by Nick Underhill

54 White Chicken Chili

37 The Coaches 43 Reginelli's Way by Nick Underhill

ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT Adam Guttuso takes us

inside some of the Gulf Coast’s biggest high school football rivalries. All across the Gulf Coast, communities organize their falls around one or two Friday nights — when the school down the road rides into town to play football. Some of these beefs date back more than a century. High school football rivalries do more than determine playoff seeds around here; they seep into the foundation of local communities for generations. Here’s a few from across the region, starting on page 21.

26 The Marching Band by David W. Brown

THE COACHES

15 Coach Kyle

THE RIVALRIES

THE BAND

THE TRADITIONS 16 The League by Nick Underhill

55 Three-Meat Chili 59 Friday Night Bites by David W. Brown

THE CULTURE 63 What's the Name of Your School? by LeBron "LBJ" Joseph 65 The Stadium by Juan Nogueira

19 The Championship by Nick Underhill 21 The Rivalries by Adam Guttuso 23 The Rituals

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Coach Reginelli rode shotgun, and my friend Allison sat in the back waiting for her turn to drive. As we approached the Huey P., I asked, “Where do you want me to pull over?” He said, “Just drive on over the bridge.” My hands did not leave 10 and 2 until we were safely on the other side. Coach Reginelli did not let us smoke during driver’s ed. But if there was ever a time I wanted a cigarette...

Letter from the Editor by Marcy Nathan, Creative Director Michael Lewis (the writer, not the Saints’ “Beer Man”) wrote a famous story called Coach: Lessons on the Game of Life about Billy Fitzgerald, who coached him in baseball at Isidore Newman School in New Orleans. One of those teammates was Sean Tuohy, whose family would later become the subject of Lewis’ book The Blind Side. Coach was first published in The New York Times Magazine. At its heart, Coach was about something far more important than baseball. Billy Fitzgerald taught those boys how to cope with what Lewis called “the two greatest enemies of a well-lived life, fear and failure.” When Lewis received the letter telling him he had been admitted to Princeton, there was one person he couldn’t wait to tell. He ran back to school to tell Coach Fitz. Fitz coached baseball and basketball at Newman. He also taught eighth-grade science, which is where I met him as my teacher. I can still remember him firing a piece of chalk across the classroom. He had a great arm. The Oakland Athletics thought so, too. Tony Reginelli was Newman’s longtime football coach. He coached Cooper

Manning and Peyton Manning, along with generations of Newman boys. He won more than 200 games and eventually landed in the New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame. Like Fitz, Reginelli had more than one job at Newman. He also taught driver’s ed. If you didn’t take driver’s ed at school, there was Victor Manning Driving School, the oldest driving school in the country. It’s still teaching New Orleanians to drive today. Friends who took driver’s ed at Victor Manning all those years ago remember being allowed to smoke in the back seat while the other student drove. But almost everyone I knew at Newman took driver’s ed with Coach Reginelli. On my first day, I assumed we’d stay somewhere Uptown. I was expecting Claiborne, maybe. Some traffic lights. Some parallel parking. Everyone I know who learned to drive from Coach Reg can parallel park. But we headed for the Huey P. Long Bridge The lanes were just nine feet wide, with no shoulders. And there were 18-wheelers that seemed to take up every inch of the lane next to you.

I’ve heard from so many former Newman students with the same story: Coach Reginelli put them behind the wheel and sent them over the Huey P. Long Bridge on their very first day. Apparently, his philosophy of driver’s education was that if you could make it over the Huey P. Long Bridge, the rest of New Orleans would pretty much take care of itself. They remember his aftershave, too. I should mention that Allison had to take driver’s ed three times before she passed the course. (Sorry, Allison.) Maybe Coach Reg understood something about fear and failure, too. Michael Lewis got into Princeton and ran back to tell Coach Fitz. When I passed my driver’s test, there was one person I couldn’t wait to tell: I ran back to tell Coach Reg. We all have our milestones. And we all have our coaches. Our guest editor for this issue, sportswriter Nick Underhill, profiles Coach Reginelli in these pages. He did an amazing job of capturing the coach so many of us remember, on and off the football field. I hope somewhere in this issue you find yourself thinking about one of your coaches, too. And while we’re giving thanks, to whoever finally widened the Huey P. Long Bridge: Thank you.

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We were making sausage balls with our fresh green onion sausage and Bisquick. I only knew Bisquick for biscuits, but apparently everyone else knew better. Sausage balls are a Southern classic that seems to be making a comeback. I wanted to show something else you could make with our fresh sausage, which our butchers craft in-store. I’ve been making grilled sausage bread ever since my wife, Cindy, saw a chef make something similar on social media and showed it to me. I took one look and said, “I can do that.”

Cookin’ on Hwy. 1

by Tim Acosta, Advertising & Marketing Director

Every issue of this magazine seems to end up with two themes. There’s the one we put on the cover, and then there’s the one that just happens. This issue, jalapeños.

apparently,

about

We didn’t plan it. But somewhere along the way, we started putting jalapeños in just about everything. Fresh jalapeños. Pickled jalapeños. Candied jalapeños. They kept showing up in recipe after recipe. I’m not complaining. I put jalapeños on just about everything anyway. Even lunch the day we photographed the food got the jalapeño treatment. We had Mrs. Rouse’s chicken salad with Lafitte’s candied jalapeños. We liked it so much we tried it on crackers. Then we tried it on Doritos.

Nolan Dumas, left, with Chris Acosta, Center Sto re Director, right. Blake Richard, Ma rine Supply Director, bottom.

For this issue, I made it with our fresh jalapeño pork sausage. The technique is pretty simple. Take a loaf of Rouses French bread, cut it lengthwise and hollow out some of the center. Add pepper jack cheese, then take our fresh jalapeño pork sausage out of the casing and press it right into the bread. Here’s the trick when you grill it: Start with the sausage side down and cook it through before flipping. You want the sausage to reach 160°F. Brush the bread generously with garlic butter, then flip the whole thing over and let the bottom of the bread get golden and crispy.

“

Before our athletes can play, they must fill out a form listing any medical conditions. Blake Richard put down ‘DDGL.’ Nobody knew what that was, so we called him into the office and asked him to explain it. He said, ‘Drop-dead good-looking.’ — Kyle Lasseigne, Head Coach at E.D. White

”

And because our fresh jalapeño pork sausage apparently wasn’t enough, I added more jalapeños on top. Because apparently that’s what we’re

doing with everything in this issue.

o st m Ac

r a's G

ille

e Br us a g a S d

ead

Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it. It’s delicious. I admit, I probably started all of this with my recipe.

Photo by Romney Caruso

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Shrimp & Sausage & Peppers & Onions & All That Jasmine Down here, nothing makes a Jambalaya

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often, his favorite topic of conversation.

Remembering Mr. Joe Watson by Ali Rouse Royster

We remember and honor the legacy of our longtime team member and family friend, Joe Watson who passed away in August. Joe began his career at Rouses Markets in 1983 as a grocery stocker and spent more than three decades with us, eventually becoming director of Produce and Floral. Produce was never just a department to Joe; it was his passion and, very

Rouses Produce Buyer Kerry Adams remembers that if Joe believed in a new program, he got behind it "200%" even if he was ahead of his time. And if you asked him a produce question, you had better have a few minutes, because Joe was going to give you a full answer. I learned that firsthand when I was starting out in the office in the mid-2000s, fresh out of college. Part of my job was building our online presence through social media and a customer service portal on our website. Every so often, an off-the-wall produce question would land in my inbox, and I would walk over to Mr. Joe's desk to pick his brain. What I thought might be a quick chat over a sip of my refilled coffee usually turned into a journey through his vast produce knowledge — where something

was grown, when it was in season, why it tasted a certain way, how it should be handled. He never gave me just an answer; he gave me the story behind it. Joe shared that same curiosity and enthusiasm throughout his career, whether traveling with my grandfather to visit growers or thinking ahead to the next idea. He was always ready to answer my uncle's famous question, "What's next?" After decades at Rouses, what ended up being next for Joe was a step away from retail but still centered on his passion for produce, as vice president of retail for the International Fresh Produce Association. Our relationship changed, but our connection remained. We were always ready to support each other along the way. We will miss his stories, his energy, his friendship and the unmistakable joy he found in sharing his love of produce.

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evamor.com

The water worth ﬁnding can be found at

N E W

O R L E A N S

S A I N T S

2026 SCHEDULE PRESEASON OPPONENT

TIME [CT]

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS

3:00 PM

FOX 8 | GRAY TV

AUG. 22

AT LOS ANGELES RAMS

3:00 PM

FOX 8 | GRAY TV

AUG. 28

AT DALLAS COWBOYS

7:00 PM

FOX 8 | GRAY TV

DATE

WEEK

DAY

SATURDAY AUG. 15

SATURDAY

FRIDAY

REGULAR SEASON WEEK

DAY

DATE

OPPONENT

TIME [CT]

SUNDAY

SEPT. 13

AT DETROIT LIONS

12:00 PM

FOX

SUNDAY

SEPT. 20

AT BALTIMORE RAVENS

12:00 PM

CBS

SUNDAY

SEPT. 27

LAS VEGAS RAIDERS

3:25 PM

CBS

MONDAY

OCT. 5

ATLANTA FALCONS

7:15 PM

ESPN

SUNDAY

OCT. 11

MINNESOTA VIKINGS

12:00 PM

FOX

SUNDAY

OCT. 18

AT NEW YORK GIANTS

12:00 PM

FOX

SUNDAY

OCT. 25

VS PITTSBURGH STEELERS (PARIS)

8:30 AM

NFLN

BYE

8 9

SUNDAY

NOV. 8

CLEVELAND BROWNS

12:00 PM

CBS

SUNDAY

NOV. 15

CAROLINA PANTHERS

12:00 PM

FOX

SUNDAY

NOV. 22

AT CHICAGO BEARS

12:00 PM

FOX

SUNDAY

NOV. 29

AT CINCINNATI BENGALS

12:00 PM

CBS

SUNDAY

DEC. 6

GREEN BAY PACKERS

12:00 PM

FOX

SUNDAY

DEC. 13

AT CAROLINA PANTHERS

12:00 PM

CBS

SUNDAY

DEC. 20

AT TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS

12:00 PM

FOX

SUNDAY

DEC. 27

ARIZONA CARDINALS

12:00 PM

FOX

SUNDAY

JAN. 3

AT ATLANTA FALCONS

12:00 PM

FOX

TBD

TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS

TBD

SAINTS HOME GAMES IN BOLD | SELECT GAME TIMES SUBJECT TO CHANGE

The Quarterbacks by Nick Underhill, photos courtesy Manning Passing Academy

The Manning Passing Academy (MPA) could have become something much, much bigger by now. It could have been moved to Orlando. Disney came calling years ago with the kind of pitch that makes sense if the goal is to make things bigger (which, usually, is at the heart of most everything in sports). And what a draw Disney would have been for the MPA…it’s Disney. Families could go to the parks. The camp could run for a week. The Mannings could rotate in and out. Coaches could come at different times. Everything could be larger and easier to market and monetize — and the only thing limiting growth would have been imagination.

eyton Manning remembers the conversations vividly. “I remember telling my dad, you can move it to Disney, but Eli and I won’t be going with you,” Peyton said. “We’re going to do it in Louisiana where we played high school football. That’s the only place to do it.”

lege quarterbacks. We’re not trying to make college receivers. Our mission was to enhance the high school experience.”

That answer may explain why the camp is still thriving and has never lost its way.

“Keep it in South Louisiana, keep it just about football,” Eli said. “We don’t go to movies. We don’t go to water parks. It’s not a celebration. It’s not a party. This is football.”

Yes, the Manning Passing Academy has grown into a national event. This is the 30th year. More than 1,200 players were back at Nicholls State University this year, with quarterbacks, receivers, tight ends and running backs coming from across the country. The camp has become a stop for the best college quarterbacks in the country, a place where future NFL players work as counselors before they reach the league. But the whole thing still feels local because it is local. Because it never let the seedy side of sports steal its soul. Archie Manning started the camp in 1996 with a much smaller idea. He said the first

Disney was a fork in the road. The Mannings could have chased the bigger version of the event, but they kept it in Louisiana and kept football at the center.

year had 185 campers. Peyton was going into his junior year at Tennessee. Eli was still a kid. The players mostly came from Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Archie figured maybe the camp could grow into a regional thing, something that brought in 300 or 400 kids every summer, if he played his cards right. Thirty years later, it draws kids from all 50 states and players from different countries, as well as 14 young women who are there to sharpen their skills for playing flag football. “Our mission was to enhance the high school experience,” Archie said. “We’re not trying to make high school players into col-

Football camps can become a lot of things once enough people start paying attention and people associated with the games get involved. Recruiting showcases. Social events. Brand platforms. A place where the campers drift into the background while everyone else chases access or rankings or money. Peyton has seen it happen. College camps serve a different purpose now. A lot of them are about evaluation. Run the 40. Test the vertical. Figure out who should be recruited. He gets why that exists. Colleges need to

W W W. R O U S E S . C O M

find players, and players need to find colleges. But that’s not what the Mannings are after. “People ask me about NIL [name, image, and likeness rights of players], and I don’t have any advice because I didn’t play when that was going on,” Peyton said. “But I can help them with how to read a defense and how to get their footwork right.” Three-step drops. Five-step drops. Reading coverage. Throwing mechanics. Competing in seven-on-seven. Meeting about football when the practices are over. That’s what the Manning Passing Academy is all about. Eli said the campers go through three practices a day. They play seven-on-seven. During downtime, they are still meeting about football. “It’s really about trying to get better and helping these kids,” Eli said. “I think that’s the mindset, and we’ve never gotten away from that.” The things that have made this camp special are the same things that have kept the camp special over the years. It’s a family business for local folks. Archie Manning is still working the phones to get college quarterbacks there. Peyton, Eli and Cooper are still coaching. Cooper’s sons have moved through the program from camper to counselor, and Peyton and Eli’s former teammates are now sending their own kids to the MPA. Peyton said it makes him feel old when a former teammate calls to say he is bringing his son. Austin Collie, one of Peyton’s receivers with the Colts, had two boys at the camp. Peyton’s son Marshall has been through it, and Cooper’s son Arch Manning attended the MPA and was a counselor there after his first season at Texas. “It’s been important to our family that this camp has continued and helps kids from all over,” Peyton said. “But it’s certainly fun to have family members here as well.” “It’s about us being together,” Eli said. “I like coaching the kids, but I like hanging out with Peyton. I like working with him at night and having lunch with him and being in the dorm room. That’s kind of what’s special for us coming here.” 14

R O U S E S FA L L 20 26

The camp also has value for South Louisiana. It brings families into hotels, restaurants and local businesses every summer. Nicholls has promoted the 2026 camp as a major economic driver for the Bayou region. Local estimates have put the annual impact between $2.5 million and $3.2 million. And Peyton said it plainly: Louisiana is the only place to do it. If you think about it, this camp has had every reason to drift. It has the Manning name. It has star power. It has history. It has enough successful alumni to sell itself as a pipeline, if the family wanted to frame it that way. There might not be anything more telling on what the camp is about than this: Despite dozens of eventual NFL players coming through the camp, Archie couldn’t tell you which ones have been there or not. He doesn’t track the campers; it doesn’t matter to him. Sometimes he calls a college quarterback to invite him as a counselor and finds out the player attended the camp for two years as a kid. Archie actually seems more interested in the former campers who walk up years later and tell him they were there during this year or that year. It’s not about the clout or attention. It’s about helping high school players, teaching fundamentals and doing something for his family and state. Help a quarterback play with more confidence. Help a receiver understand timing. Give a high school player something useful before the season starts. And let him enjoy football. That is the soul of the thing. The Manning Passing Academy is national now. The best college quarterbacks come through Thibodaux. NFL players have passed through it, and the names attached to it will always create attention. You don’t need Disney for that. But the camp still belongs to Louisiana. Sounds like it will as long as it keeps going, too. I asked Eli if the family plans on keeping this thing going once Archie stops running it. He looked over at his dad, thought for a beat, and then started talking. In that pause, you could see him calculating all the work his dad does to make this happen. “We’ll see,” he said. It’s a lot of work. Archie stays in touch with the college players, gets the right people there, and makes sure the whole thing still

feels like what it is supposed to be. Looking at all the campers and how things happen on time, you can tell a lot goes into it. “He’s passionate about it, and it shows,” Eli said. Eli did not make some big declaration about carrying it forever. He put a condition on it, which is probably the right way to think about something like this. “We’ll do it as long as it’s still being run well and the college kids want to come and the high school kids want to come,” Eli said. “Peyton and I love being here. We love coaching ball and having fun doing it.” That is about as close as he came to a promise. One thing I'll bet on, though: As long as it’s going on, it will be going on here, in Louisiana, where it belongs.

“

I played offensive line at ED White, on the same team as Chris Acosta. In 2006, I became a ref. Wow, that's 20 years. I started with JV, 8th grade, even little league games on Saturdays. Then I became a high school ref. Being a ref keeps me involved with football, a game I love. I've called games at ED White numerous times. It's always fun going back, but I'm always impartial. — Bradley Ordoyne, Produce/Floral

”

Coach Kyle

For Kyle Lasseigne, coaching at E.D. White has always meant coming home. A 1988 graduate of E.D. White, Lasseigne played defensive back and tight end for the Cardinals before heading to LSU, where he studied microbiology and graduated cum laude. He went on to medical school, but football called him back. His first coaching job was at Assumption High School in Napoleonville, where he worked under longtime Mustangs coach Don Torres. It was a program that produced remarkable talent, including future NFL players and Super Bowl champions Brandon Jacobs and Tramon Williams. Lasseigne later told the Houma Times that Torres’s influence went well beyond football, teaching him not only the game, but how to be a father and a loyal friend.

Photos cour tesy E.D. White

Rouses Markets has been involved with the Manning Passing Academy for 30 years, since the very beginning. E.D. White head coach Kyle Lasseigne has seen firsthand what the experience can mean for young players. ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT “We had 15 kids participate this year. We’re in the middle of

preparing for our own season, but we want them to go because it’s such a valuable experience. For us, the competition is a big part of it. “Over the years, we’ve had kids who will tell you one of the highlights of their year happened at the Manning Passing Academy during the 7-on-7. One of those kids was Josh Kortright, who played wide receiver for our varsity team and is at LSU now. A few years ago, Josh made a game-winning catch in the 7-on-7, and he couldn’t wait to come show me the video of him catching that pass. “Josh wasn’t necessarily the most gifted player. He was the kid who kept showing up, gave everything he had, and became important to the people around him because of it. He went from being a kid who ate by himself to a kid the whole school embraced because of his commitment to the game. Football will do that. And we have hundreds of stories like that. The Manning Passing Academy was a big part of his story.” Kyle Lasseigne used to coach Brad at E.D. White. Now Brad gets to officiate Kyle’s games, which has changed their relationship on Friday nights. “We’re buddies in the store, but not on the field,” Lasseigne joked.

When the opportunity came in 2000 to return to E.D. White, the pull to come home was too strong to ignore. Lasseigne joined the E.D. White coaching staff that year and was named head coach in 2007. He later stepped away from the head coaching position for five years but never really left E.D. White, continuing to serve in athletics while watching his own children go through the school. He brought the lessons from Assumption with him. When Lasseigne celebrated his 100th win at E.D. White, Torres was one of the people he singled out for helping him get there. “He is the most genuine person I’ve ever known,” Lasseigne told the newspaper. “I’m proud to say that my coaching style resembles his.” Lasseigne's homecoming story is one we found more than once while working on this issue. Scott Wattigny returned to Holy Cross, Michael Courville returned to Teurlings Catholic, and Jeremy Turcotte returned to Bay High in Bay St. Louis, former players who came back to lead the programs that helped shape them. For these coaches, the school colors, rivalries and traditions weren't things they had to learn when they took the job. They grew up with them. At E.D. White, that football tradition stretches back generations. The Cardinals won their first state championship in 1968 and followed it with another in 1969. This year, E.D. White is honoring those backto-back state championship teams as its 2026 Cardinal Champions. And the Cardinals have continued to make their own history. In 2024, Lasseigne led his alma mater all the way to the state championship game in the Caesars Superdome, where E.D. White faced Archbishop Shaw, another chapter in a football story that began for him on the E.D. White campus nearly four decades ago. THE RIVALRY RETURNS “Vandebilt is our biggest rival, but we hadn’t played them in five years because we were in different classes and different divisions. They have a new coach, and we agreed to restart it this year. It’s a rivalry that means a lot to both schools.” W W W. R O U S E S . C O M

the League by Nick Underhill Let me start by assuring that what you’re about to read is completely true. Some of the details will be hard to believe, I know, but you’re going to have to have a little bit of faith if you

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amén. Lord of life, we thank you for the gift of sport, for those who glorify God through the exercise of their bodies, for the friendships born on the field and the joy of playing as a team. You teach us that in life, as in the game, no one is saved alone. We need others to grow, to learn respect, to overcome our limits, and to celebrate together the victories we achieve. We ask that sport may always be a school of fraternity, not of empty rivalry, a space of encounter, not exclusion, a path of peace, not violence. May those who play, train or cheer discover in sport a universal language that brings cultures together, unites peoples, and sows respect, solidarity and personal growth.

didn’t witness this firsthand because it seems too…perfect.

f you live in Louisiana or one of the surrounding states, you know about the mighty Catholic League. These schools have appeared in documentaries and books, and many graduate from playing on Friday nights to playing in nationally televised Saturday football games. Many of these players are so good that they become one-name guys in the NFL. Tyrann and Leonard and Ja’Marr prove that theory.

And somehow, last year almost feels fake. But you have to believe me when I tell you this: Seven of the eight teams in District 9-5A went undefeated in district play last September. And combined, the league went 23-1 against outside competition. The lone loss — Archbishop Rummel, 27-26, at Lafayette Christian — came in the season opener before anybody had really figured out who they were yet. I tried to figure out how many guys got scholarships, but when it’s at the scale it was last year and your goal is to be completely accurate, you tend to back off of estimates

and guesses and uncertainties. So let me just say this: At least 20 players got Divison 1 scholarships. Again, that's from eight schools. Ron Brocato has been writing about this league since before some of these coaches were born, and even he called last year one of the strongest, top to bottom, that he’s seen in decades. In an interview last September, Jay Roth, a former Rummel coach, put it another way. Roth’s the winningest coach in league history, and he doesn’t sugarcoat much: “It’s a brutal, brutal district. There are no weeks off.” Best Catholic League season ever? People will debate that — it’s what we do here. But the answer, whether it was 2025 or some season in the 1970s, isn’t the important part. The fascinating thing is whether or not this is slowing down. It doesn’t seem to be. Before we look ahead to this season, here’s a quick history lesson to get you up to speed or just to refresh memories. The Catholic League, at least as we know it, dates back

Lord Jesus, may every sport become a parable of life lived with you, working with joy and effort, living with humility in defeat and with gratitude in the victory you offer in your Resurrection. May your Spirit never be lacking in us, making us one team, united with you to build communion and fraternity in history. Amen. Pope Leo XIV - June 2026

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to 1955. St. Aloysius won the first title. The league has been the gravitational center of New Orleans football ever since. Eight schools, 55 combined state championships. There are many things about this league that are a reflection of the city itself, but maybe none more so than this fact: Almost half the coaches in the league are alumni of the league. Brice Brown played at Karr, then came back and won six state titles there as head coach. Scott Wattigny coaches Holy Cross, his alma mater. Mark Bonis, a Jesuit alumnus, has run Brother Martin’s program since 2009. So the league is developing men who run the league, and then that league often runs the state. Seven of the Catholic League’s teams ranked in the state’s top 15 last year. What that means is that there are no weeks to coast. It’s almost like playing in the SEC, where every week, every game, every snap can carry ramifications that end up being measuring sticks and deciders of fates. What that adds up to, for the city, is something close to religion — no accident, given who runs half these schools. If you’ve never been here, ask a stranger in New Orleans where they went to high school and watch how fast the answer comes. Even better, ask them where their friend or neighbor or coworker went, and the answer comes just as fast. Which one is the best? This league has been settling that question in the Superdome for almost five decades. Saints owner Gayle Benson sees a version of the same thing happening on Sundays. “The Saints bring our community together and unify,” she said. “The Catholic League does much the same.” She called it “a vital part of New Orleans’ rich tradition” and said she’s looking forward to a season built on what she called “the spirit of teamwork and perseverance” that this city has always run on.

own gifts and talents through discipline, respect, commitment, cooperation and loyalty,” he said, tying the league’s mission to Pope Leo’s recent prayer intention for sports as “an instrument of peace, encounter and dialogue.” Checchio previously spent time as a Catholic chaplain assigned to an NFL team — “an enjoyable assignment,” in his words — and now he says he’s just glad to watch the local version up close, starting this fall. OK. We’re caught up. So, last year, Edna Karr didn’t lose. They won 27 straight, including a 49-14 titlegame beatdown of fellow Catholic League power St. Augustine, in the Superdome, for a second consecutive state championship. It was the eighth in program history and the sixth under Brown. That wasn’t even the craziest part. Did you see the signing day photos? Twenty-five guys. One of the biggest classes you’ll ever see. Not just here. Anywhere. Richard Anderson was the headliner — five stars, ranked the No. 1 defensive tackle in America. You’ll see him on Saturdays up the road at LSU. After a late scramble, he signed with the Tigers in December, graduated a semester early, and enrolled in Baton Rouge before spring ball. Fifty-three tackles, 10 sacks, 22 hurries, Class 5A Outstanding Defensive Player as a senior. He was the anchor of a defense that forced five turnovers in the title game by itself, and there’s a real argument he ends up being one of the best defensive players this state has ever produced. But it’s a little early for all of that.

He didn’t travel to Baton Rouge alone — four-star safety Aiden Hall, a top-five national safety, signed with LSU too. Quarterback John “Hollywood” Johnson III started three years, ran every game of the 27-game streak, and flipped late to West Virginia in December. Running back Tre Garrison set a Prep Classic carries record in the championship game and signed with Oregon State. Wide receiver Floyd Jones, linebacker Kylon Jones, defensive end Cornell Williams III — all three signed with Southern, where new head coach Marshall Faulk’s staff includes Curtis Johnson, the former Tulane head coach and Saints position coach. Wide receiver Anthony Thomas signed with Grambling. A signing class that size would gut most programs for a couple of years. But, remember, this is the Catholic League — the place that sends guys who only need one name to the NFL. If you want to make a bet on one of them right now, Easton is the safest pick. In some circles, he’s already a one-name guy. For everyone else, we’re talking about Easton Royal, the Brother Martin receiver, who is the No. 1 receiver in the country. He’s currently committed to Texas — though LSU and Florida haven’t gone away, and this recruitment is going to be one of the loudest storylines in the state. Royal owns Louisiana’s state record in the 100-meter dash at 10.17 seconds. People who track recruiting for a living have started comparing him to Ja’Marr, which is a good standard to chase.

There’s a new face on the faith side of it this year. Archbishop James Checchio now oversees the Catholic schools that make up most of this league. He’s picked up fast on something locals already know: These games are about more than the scoreboard. “It is about our strong Catholic schools helping our young people recognize their

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Karr has also reloaded fast. Defensive end Juelz Batiste has already committed to Ole Miss. Zyion Wesley, considered the best offensive lineman in the area, has already committed to Mississippi State. Running back Jermond Macklin picked up a Florida State offer shortly after he impressed in the team’s spring game. St. Augustine, coming off its own trip to the title game, has a receiver room that half the SEC would like to raid. Miguel Whitley committed to Ole Miss. Ray’Quan Williams committed to Tulane. And that’s before you get to the rest of the league. John Curtis defensive back Prentice Mackyeon put up 47 tackles and six interceptions and committed to Arkansas State. Holy Cross corner Savoy Guidry broke up 15 passes and committed to Stanford. Jesuit’s Griffin Vorhaben is a 6'6", 305-pound tackle committed to Cornell, and the Blue Jays also have a state champion hurdler, Ja’ir Burks, lining up at receiver. Rummel has two backs — Jaden Terrance, who committed to Tulane as a ‘super back,’ and Coryn Hawkins, who looks like he could go places. Nearly every school in this league has a Power Four prospect walking its hallways right now, today. This league is steeped in history, but it’s also willing to change. The big story this year is that Chalmette landed back in the league — and “landed back” is the right phrase, because this isn’t new territory for the Owls. 18

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They were in this league for years, going back to 1970, when the old LIALO folded and Chalmette came aboard. Warren Easton, after two seasons here, is moving out to a district built around Jefferson Parish. What’s funny is that Chalmette actually fought the placement; they appealed it more than once, hoping to land in a North Shore district instead. You can’t blame them; it’s tough here. The LHSAA said no, and now this St. Bernard Parish public school is walking straight into the toughest district in the state, ready or not — and there’s something almost poetic about that, because this league was never really about the word Catholic in its name. Karr isn’t Catholic. Warren Easton wasn’t. Chalmette isn’t. It’s about a standard, not a denomination. Now the Owls get seven Friday nights a year to see where they actually stand against it.

dominant defense in the same offseason is tough…which is exactly why the rest of the league likes where it’s standing. St. Augustine is back off a title-game run with arguably the best receiver room in the city. Brother Martin has the No. 1 receiver in the country and a quarterback, Hudson Fields, who threw for 2,500 yards last season. John Curtis is still John Curtis; 28 state titles do most of the talking there. Holy Cross and Jesuit have both taken real steps forward. And Chalmette shows up with nothing to lose and old ground to reclaim.

Imagine the alternative reality, though. The first LHSAA realignment draft last November actually had Karr leaving this league entirely. That idea died fast. A Catholic League without the two-time defending state champion in it would’ve been something completely different, and, thankfully, everyone involved realized the mistake quickly.

Roth told someone last year that there are no weeks off in this league. That’s going to apply again — maybe more than ever. Last year, this league proved it could be great from top to bottom, all at once, in the same season. This year decides who actually inherits the throne. Given how much talent is still walking through these hallways, 2026 might be the most wide-open version of this league in years.

So now Karr is chasing a three-peat this fall with a 27-game win streak on the line, and almost nobody who built that streak is still on campus. Brown has cleared this particular hurdle before, but replacing a threeyear starting quarterback and a historically

And that’s one of the things that makes this league so New Orleans. There’s always hope here, in everything we do, even when things look tough. That’s where every team in the Catholic League stands right now, as they get ready to write a new story.

the championship by Nick Underhill Here’s a number to sit with for a second: 47 Forty-seven years ago, in 1979, there were still door-to-door encyclopedia salesmen. The hot product that year was this new thing Sony put out called the Walkman. Michael had just put out “Off the Wall,” which was great, but not quite a thriller.

hink about that. In the time between St. Augustine’s state championship appearances, a kid could be born, grow up, have kids of their own and still maybe not span that gap. Or, put another way, someone who was a senior that year would be eligible for Social Security benefits.

That’s the drought Robert Valdez inherited when he took the St. Augustine job in December 2023. And there’s pressure that comes with that. St. Aug is one of the signature programs here. It’s known nationally, thanks to guys like Tyrann Mathieu and Leonard Fournette. And that means droughts like that can’t happen. It finally ended at the end of last year, for better or worse, on a Saturday afternoon in the Caesars Superdome against the one

program in the city that could make it end the hard way. Edna Karr beat St. Augustine 49-14 on Dec. 13, 2025, for the LHSAA Division I Select state title. It was Karr’s eighth championship, sixth under head coach Brice Brown, and second in a row. For St. Augustine, it was a return to a stage the program hadn’t stood on since 1979 — and Karr made sure the reunion wasn’t gentle. The rivalry got deeper that day. This isn’t news, but you might have to hit rewind on your Walkman to really get it. In 1979, Otis Washington coached St. Augustine to a 16-7 win over New Iberia for a Class 4A title. It was the Purple Knights’ third championship in a stretch that ran from 1971 to 1979. Those were good times in the Seventh Ward. Gas was under a dollar a gal-

Staff Photo by Marvin Price, St. Augustine

lon. Nobody could have guessed it would be the program’s last trip to a title game for two generations. St. Augustine wandered for years. Coaches came and went. The Catholic League got harder every year around them: John Curtis, Rummel, Brother Martin, Karr — all of them stacking talent and titles. When Valdez arrived after the close of the season, the program had gone 4-8 the that year, was winless in Catholic League play, and lost in the second round of the playoffs to John Curtis. But Valdez was the right guy to fix this. He had done this before. At St. James, he inherited a program that hadn’t won a title in 40 years and delivered one in 2019, going 15-0 and blowing out Jennings 51-14 in the Class 3A final. “I am ready to embrace that,” Valdez said when he took the St. Augustine job, referring directly to the 1979 drought. “Down the river, I embraced that as well. It’s hard enough to win a football game. To win a playoff game is hard. To win a state championship, all the pieces have to be in place.” We almost left this part out because it feels too … storybook, too cliché, but it’s important to know because it scales down the challenge for a guy like Valdez. See, he was born in the Dominican Republic and arrived W W W. R O U S E S . C O M

in the U.S. as a non-English speaking eight-year-old. He’s had success ever since. He played offensive tackle at O. Perry Walker, then at Southern University. His first head coaching job was at McKinley in Baton Rouge, followed by seven years at West St. John. He had a stop at Scotlandville, followed by St. James. Then he served two years as an offensive line coach at Grambling State under Hue Jackson. And then St. Augustine, and the 1979 ghost he said he was ready to embrace. Which, yes, he did embrace. But now it’s about beating it. St. Augustine’s run wasn’t a fluke. The Purple Knights swept John Curtis, a 28-time state champion, in a season where Curtis’s only losses came against Karr and St. Augustine. By the time they arrived at the title game, they were 12-1 and No. 3.

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The problem was that Karr was a juggernaut last season. Now, Karr is chasing a three-peat with almost none of the roster that just beat St. Augustine still on campus — Johnson, Garrison, Sanders and Richard Anderson are all off in college now, along with most of a 25The Times

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man signing class that scattered from LSU to Grambling. Brice Brown has done this before, rebuilding a champion out of a champion’s leftovers, but this is as steep a version of that climb as he’s faced. St. Augustine, meanwhile, doesn’t have to rebuild belief anymore. The Purple Knights return this season with a receiver room that’s already drawing SEC attention — Miguel Whitley (with LSU, Ohio State, Texas, Texas A&M offers) and Rayquan Williams (Auburn, Ole Miss, Florida State) are both back, along with punt returner Derrick Bennett. Which sets up the obvious next question, the one that’s going to hang over both campuses all fall: What happens the next time these two get on a field together? History says Karr has answers even a 47-year drought and a full building couldn’t shake loose; St. Augustine has finally proven it belongs in the conversation instead of standing outside it. Somewhere between those two facts is where this rivalry lives now — no longer a David-and-Goliath story, just two of the best programs in the state, sizing each other up once more.

ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT St. Augustine football greats Tyrann Mathieu ’10 and Leonard Fournette III ’14 were just named to the inaugural class of the school’s Purple Knight Wall of Honor.

NOLA

The bands & the fans Every Mardi Gras, before Bacchus rolls, some of the city’s best high school marching bands gather in the Rouses parking lot at Tchoupitoulas and Napoleon. What begins as bands warming up has become its own Mardi Gras tradition. Over the years, bands including St. Augustine, Edna Karr, L.B. Landry, Carver and others have turned the parking lot and surrounding streets into a stage of their own.

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St. Augustine Purple Knights vs Holy Cross Tigers ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT Two perennial playoff teams in the historic Catholic League, St. Augustine and Holy Cross have a history of play going back to 1967, when St. Augustine became the first Historically Black high school admitted to the Louisiana High School Athletics Association. The Purple Knights quickly became a football powerhouse, reaching their first state title game in 1971 and winning three championships before the end of the decade. The teams compete annually in District 9-5A in a game that carries implications for the perennial Division I Select playoff schools. In 2020, St. Aug knocked off Holy Cross twice in six days — once in the regular season and again in the first round of the playoffs. In 2026, Holy Cross will play Jesuit and St. Augustine back-to-back, marking a key twoweek stretch for prep football in the metro area. MEDAL 2025 Winner: St. Augustine, 32-24 BULLHORN 2026: October 9 at Tad Gormley Stadium

Edna Karr Cougars vs L.B. Landry Buccaneers (formerly Landry-Walker) ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT Edna Karr has remained a national football powerhouse at the high school level for more than a decade, but the Cougars are still the new kids on the block in Algiers. L.B. Landry High School’s West Bank roots go back to 1938 (though it was only designated a high school in 1942), while Karr opened its doors in 1964 as a junior high school. In 1990 Karr became a senior high school, paving the way for “The Battle of Algiers” to become a West Bank tradition. The rivalry ran regularly for three decades, with Karr becoming an established athletics contender. Former NFL Pro Bowler Patrick Surtain Sr. led the Cougars to their first state championship in 1993. When it comes to The Battle of Algiers, the Cougars have been largely dominant there, too. After L.B. Landry merged with O. Perry Walker High School in 2013 (becoming Landry-Walker), the Buccaneers got a boost on the field. In 2014, they defeated Karr 27-7. One of the series’ highlights came two years later when both schools captured state titles, bringing two trophies back to the West Bank. After Landry-Walker reverted back to L.B. Landry and Karr moved up to the Catholic League in the early 2020s, The Battle for Algiers ended its run as an annual matchup. The teams continue to schedule each other as non-district opponents, most recently playing a regular season game in 2023. Karr came out on top 33-0.

Jesuit Blue Jays vs Holy Cross Tigers ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT Once in the 1940s, 34,000 fans packed Tad Gormley Stadium to watch Jesuit and Holy Cross — a number that still says everything about what “The Rivalry” means to the city. Dating back to the 1920s, Jesuit vs Holy Cross is one of the longest-running high school rivalries in the region, with the Jesuit Blue Jays coming out victorious in 63 of 107 contests. Holy Cross has won a pair of state titles, while Jesuit’s trophy case is loaded up with eight championships. Jesuit’s 2025 win put the Blue Jays back in the win column after back-to-back Tiger wins. Though the Tigers trail the all-time series, Holy Cross won the big game, defeating Jesuit in the 1963 state championship. Since 2006, the winning team has taken home The Golden Football traveling trophy. Today, the game is filled with pageantry and tradition: the Krewe of Rivalry marching band parade, tailgates, Legend of the Game honorary captains and more. It’s the first date circled on the schedule for thousands of New Orleanians every year. MEDAL 2025 Winner: Jesuit, 20-12 BULLHORN 2026: October 2 at Tad Gormley Stadium

Jesuit Blue Jays vs Brother Martin Crusaders ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT St. Aloysius High School and Cor Jesu High School merged to form Brother Martin High School in 1969. They’ve been squaring off with Jesuit ever since; Brother Martin leads the all-time series 32-28. Jesuit held a five-game advantage into the 2010s, but the Crusaders have dominated in recent years. The back-and-forth battle between the Blue Jays and Crusaders is hot on the heels of “The Rivalry” among the area’s top prep matchups. A triple-overtime thriller in 2021 drew more than 15,000 fans to Tad Gormley Stadium just weeks after Hurricane Ida. The Crusaders won that game, but the Blue Jays got their revenge in the playoffs weeks later. Brother Martin head coach Mark Bonis, a Jesuit alumnus, led the Crusaders to a last-second victory in the most recent meeting. Easton Royal, the top-ranked 2027 prep receiver in the nation, hauled in a pair of touchdowns in the win. MEDAL 2025 Winner: Brother Martin, 31-29 BULLHORN 2026: September 25 at Tad Gormley Stadium

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South Lafourche Tarpons vs Central Lafourche Trojans ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT The Central Lafourche Trojans’ first state title game was in 1968. Nearly two decades later, future LSU and NFL quarterback Tommy Hodson was slinging the rock for the Trojans. Between those two chapters, about 25 miles south in Cut Off, South Lafourche High School was making a name for itself, winning their first state championship in 1971. Six years later, future Saints Hall of Fame quarterback Bobby Hebert and national champion LSU coach Ed Orgeron won the school’s second — and most recent — title. For all the years in between and all the years after, the Tarpons and Trojans were battling on the bayou. Hebert and Orgeron are both known nationally for their Cajun accents. Imagine that across two full rosters — now that is real Louisiana high school football. Central Lafourche has won six of the last 10 meetings, despite only having a winning record in two of those seasons. During that stretch, the Trojans rattled off four straight victories from 2016 to 2019. Neither side has won the rivalry in consecutive seasons since. The Trojans came close, though, last season. In front of a packed crowd, the Tarpons did just enough to come away with a one-point victory, thanks in part to multiple rushing touchdowns from running back Landin “Meathead” Dardar. MEDAL 2025 Winner: South Lafourche, 42-41 BULLHORN 2026: September 18 at Central Lafourche (Trojan Stadium)

I won the first USFL championship game and MVP in 1983 with the Michigan Panthers. But it does not compare to winning the 1977 high school state championship at South Lafouche. Winning with that group of guys still gives me frissons. (goose bumps ) — Bobby Hebert 2 2 R O U S E S FA L L 20 26

Bobby & Coach O Before Bobby Hebert became the Cajun Cannon and Ed Orgeron became Coach O, they were cousins, friends and teammates at South Lafourche High School. In 1977, Hebert was the Tarpons’ quarterback while Orgeron played on both sides of the ball as South Lafourche made its run to the Class 4A state championship. Nearly 50 years later, they still remember the people, the plays and even what was being yelled on the field. COACH O: Playing for South Lafourche was an honor. Didn’t you think so? It was a big deal to play for Coach Ralph Peré. BOBBY: If you played for the Tarpons, you were expected to win District. Then it was, what can you do in the playoffs? Can you get past the Catholic League? COACH O: Senior year was your first turn at quarterback. One thing about you — and I mention this to all of my quarterbacks — you did everything with a smile, but you could chew a guy’s ass out if he wasn’t blocking right. Everyone respected you. BOBBY: When I was in ninth grade, I was 5-foot-8, 115 pounds. Then all of a sudden I’m like 6-foot-2, 190 in three years. Bébé, you were a man at 15 years old. You were starting on varsity for three years. You were the only 10th grader who played on varsity. COACH O: I played offense and defense. I never got off the field.

Then came the 1977 Class 4A state championship against Bonnabel. BOBBY: State championship, it’s fourthand-17... COACH O: You threw it to Daryll Reynolds. Daryll tipped it, it hit a defender from Bonnabel, and Scott Bouzigard, he’s on his knees in the end zone and he catches the ball. HE CATCHES THE BALL. BOBBY: We’re tied 20-20. COACH O: Here comes Keith “Big Foot” Crosby. I played right tackle; he came in as the tight end. Now look, this guy took a pirogue to school. His foot was as wide as it was long! I loved this guy. Well, Big Foot, he’s hooting and hollering, “Woooooh! We’re gonna win the game.” I said, “Big Foot, step down!” He said, “Woooooh!” I said, “Big Foot, step down!” And again, he said, “Woooooh, we’re gonna win the game!” He didn’t step down. Steve Deery steps over my leg and blocks the extra point. The ball rolls over the crossbar, and we win the game.

the rituals

Holy Cross: The Victory Bell

Photos courtesy Holy Cross

ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT When former Holy Cross football player Nick “Salt” Saltaformaggio returned to his alma mater to become head football coach, he talked about what had drawn him back. He named the things that meant Holy Cross to him: the Lady of Lourdes Grotto; the Victory Bell; the traditions; and the people.

The bell is one of the school’s oldest traditions, and it isn’t rung for ordinary victories. Ringing it is reserved for extraordinary school achievements, including state championships Scott Wattigny replaced fellow Holy Cross graduate Nick Saltaformaggio, who left to take over at Franklinton — a program he'd go on to lead to the brink of a title, falling just short in a 35-32 loss to Cecilia in the 2025 Division II Non-Select championship. Wattigny has been the football coach at Holy Cross since 2023, bringing him back to his alma mater after previous head coaching stops at Hannan and Catholic-New Iberia. He is a 2005 Holy Cross graduate.

JAMBALAYA GIRL

ANOTHER OLD RIVALRY

According to Crescent City Sports, Louisiana’s oldest high school football rivalry between schools still in existence is Warren Easton-Jesuit, which dates to 1901, when Warren Easton was still known as Boys High. For decades, their annual matchup was one of the biggest events on the New Orleans high school sports calendar. The series eventually went on a long hiatus before being renewed in 2015.

Kristen Preau’s connection to the Holy Cross-Jesuit rivalry goes back long before Jambalaya Girl. Her brother, Kevin Preau, was quarterback and team captain for the Holy Cross Tigers. In 1999, his senior year, Holy Cross trailed Jesuit at halftime before staging an unforgettable comeback to win 20-17 in overtime. After the game, Kristen joined her brother and his teammates back on campus, where they were hoisted up to ring the Holy Cross victory bell. “That’s why long before I was known as ‘Jambalaya Girl,’ I was proudly known as ‘Kevin Preau’s little sister,’” Kristen says. Today, Kristen cooks for the Holy Cross-Jesuit rivalry game at Tad Gormley every year. The matchup between Holy Cross High School and Jesuit High School is Louisiana’s oldest continuously played annual high school football rivalry, dating back to 1922, and ranks among the oldest in the United States. Kristen introduced her rice mix, based on her father’s recipe, in 2010. For the first few years, you could find her in Rouses nearly every weekend, cooking jambalaya and introducing customers to her product. Today, Jambalaya Girl is one of our best-selling mixes.

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Barbe Buccaneers vs Sulphur Golden Tornado ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT Despite being a national baseball powerhouse, Barbe High School has never managed to secure a football state title. The same cannot be said of Sulphur, who took home multiple championships in the 1940s and another in 1965. Still, it’s the Barbe Buccaneers who lead this all-time series, played annually since the school opened in 1971. The Bucs have dominated the modern era of the rivalry. Entering the 2010s, the all-time record was tight, with Barbe holding a slight lead. The Buccaneers then won nine of the next 10 matchups, with the Tors eking out a onepoint victory in 2018. After hurricane damage forced Barbe to cancel its 2020 season, the rivalry’s 50th matchup was played in 2021. Perhaps the hiatus was a reset button for the Golden Tornado, as Sulphur snuck out close wins in the next two games (though Barbe has taken the past three). While the Buccaneers built a hefty lead in the series, the game against Sulphur remains one the entire community circles each fall, as two of Calcasieu Parish’s biggest schools face off in highly competitive battles nearly every year. Six of the last 10 meetings have been decided by seven points or less. MEDAL 2025 Winner: Barbe, 55-10 BULLHORN 2026: October 2 at Sulphur (Matt Walker Memorial Stadium)

Sulphur: The Homecoming Parade ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT Every year, students create class floats for the Golden Tors’ Homecoming

parade through Sulphur. Football players, students and community groups join the procession while crowds line the route to catch beads and candy.

The parade is part of a full Friday built around football: a pep rally at Calvin Agee Field; the parade through town; then back to Agee Field for the Homecoming coronation and the game.

Photos courtesy Sulphur High School

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Photos courtesy Orange Beach High School

Orange Beach: The Beach Pep Rally

ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT Orange Beach High School didn’t have a varsity football program until 2020. In its second season, the Makos went 9-2 and made the state playoffs. They’ve had to build their football traditions quickly, too. Orange Beach City Schools kick off the school year with the Makos on Main Parade down Main Street and celebrates Homecoming with a community pep rally on the beach.

Archbishop Hannan: The Hawk Walk ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT First comes the tailgate. Then Hannan’s spirit groups lead the football team

through the crowd on the Hawk Walk and into the stadium, known as “the Cage.” Then they play football. If the Hawks win, the night isn’t over. Players and fans head for the Victory Bell, traditionally rung by the team captains. On Senior Night in 2020, the honor went instead to senior Andrew Gallagher, who had just recovered the fumble that sealed Hannan’s playoff victory. His teammates carried him toward the bell. Gallagher was 5'7", 125 pounds, and had played baseball all four years — until his friends convinced him to join the football team for his senior season. Photos courtesy Archbishop Hannan

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the marching band by David W. Brown On Friday nights across the Gulf Coast, metal halide lights beam down upon freshly mown and marked football fields. As the hour ticks near, giddy spectators gather in stands, pom-poms and hot dogs in hand, to watch feats of athleticism, artistry, spectacle and skill.

Before they can do that, however, they must first watch half a football game.

he real star of Friday nights is your local high school marching band. The unsung heroes of the gridiron provide a sweeping soundtrack as the game unfolds, and keep seats packed week after week, regardless of whether a team is 8-0 or 0-8. During halftime, snare drums rat-a-tat-tat as a hundred musicians or more cross the green with perfect precision. Up and down the field they march, in full regalia, channeling their inner John Philip Sousa and William P. Foster on tubas, trumpets, clarinets and drums. “On Friday nights, people look forward to us,” said Andrew Moran, the band direc-

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tor of the famed St. Paul’s Marching Wolves in Covington, Louisiana. “They want to see the band moving around and marching. We want everyone to have a fun time. It should feel like a party on the field.”

“They just have to want to participate and feel included, and be a part of something that’s bigger than themselves.” Moran would know. He’s led St. Paul’s Marching Wolves for 18 years now.

The first kickoff of the high school football season typically occurs in September. It seems early but, by then, the band has been rehearsing for months, not including band camps and clinics where young musicians hone their skills for the year ahead.

Every high school marching band has its own story. St. Paul’s is an all-boys school whose performance lineage draws from the theatrical tradition of marching bands at Historically Black Colleges and Universities. The man responsible for the Marching Wolves style was Roy Mouton, a Southern University graduate, who joined St. Paul’s as band director in 1969. He was, at the time,

A good band student, said Moran, is the one who cares. “It’s not always the best player, and it doesn’t have to be,” he told me.

Photos courtesy St. Paul’s Marching Wolves

St. Paul’s Wolves vs Covington Lions

Drill can be a relentless grind. Students first learn marching fundamentals: things like step size and how to change directions. Even something as deceptively simple as stopping during a march takes practice. This leads to smaller, choreographed formations, which students rehearse without playing the accompanying music. On the field during rehearsals, you aren’t necessarily cognizant of your place in the overall visual of the show. You’re often more concerned with step counts and field markers, and maintaining interval, distance and alignment. The music and the marching are eventually brought together. And after repeated rehearsals and some fine-tuning, a show is born.

ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT In 1903, the University of Michigan brought a five-gallon water jug to the field for its road contest against the University of Minnesota. When Minnesota fans rushed onto the field, the game was called off at a 6-6 tie. No one from Michigan’s sideline remembered to grab the jug. In 1909, the “Little Brown Jug” became the traveling trophy each time the teams played against each other. It’s the oldest trophy game in FBS college football, making it fitting that the Battle for the Little Brown Jug also represents the oldest high school football rivalry in St. Tammany Parish. All-boys private school St. Paul’s opened in 1911; Covington High School opened as a public institution just two years later. In 1935, the Wolves and Lions met on the gridiron for the first time. The schools played annually in a game that generated buzz across the North Shore, though the game was discontinued in 1974 to prevent further vandalism between the highly competitive schools. In 2001, the game resumed as a district matchup, and the schools have battled for their own Little Brown Jug ever since. Though the Lions hold the series lead by more than 10 wins, St. Paul’s holds a commanding lead in the rivalry since its return. The Wolves have won three straight, including two to close out the regular season. The 2024 win propelled St. Paul’s to an outright district title, avoiding a three-way tie with Covington and Mandeville. This season, the Wolves will take the threemile bus ride to face the Lions in another regular season finale. MEDAL 2025 Winner: St. Paul’s, 31-14 BULLHORN 2026: November 6 at Covington (Jack Salter Stadium)

Meanwhile, at St. Paul’s, the songs you hear throughout a game — whether played to give some added juice to the players on the field, celebrate a goal or antagonize the other team — are chosen by the students.

the first and only Black faculty member at St. Paul’s (which was then a Catholic boarding school). Mouton modernized the school’s music program by applying the performance vocabulary of the celebrated Southern University Human Jukebox Marching Band. Seventy years later, that standard of excellence continues to require a certain seriousness and commitment on the part of students. A high school musician’s path to the halftime show begins with learning the music, but that is only half of a marching band’s job. The other half is called drill, and consists of countless hours spent on the football field, practicing formations and movements.

“I try not to do anything that a student can do,” said Moran. “I let them take ownership. I’ve trained my drum majors — especially my senior drum major — to really run the show. They have a list of songs they can pull from, and once we leave the music hall, it’s their show.” In addition to obvious life skills, it gives band members a sense of ownership of the program. Their passion drives the program forward. “Sometimes I’ll ask them to play a certain song,” said Moran. “And sometimes they’re like, okay, and play it for me. But other times they don’t!” It’s no coincidence that the band vernacular brims with words like drill, major, formation, corps and sergeant. American marching bands have military origins. They even wear uniforms that are often suspiciously similar to those worn by soldiers of old. Historically, military bands were morale-boosting entities, serving

W W W. R O U S E S . C O M 2 7

for the music: “If it’s not making them move their butts, then we’re not doing it right.” Every year, the crowd’s reaction to the Marching Wolves suggests they are very good at doing it right.

similar roles for the army that they do for high school football teams today. But they also had critical, practical utilities. Before the arrival of radio communications during World War I, military musicians were vital for directing troops spread across long distances, and maintaining marching cadence and cohesion.

Today, marching band performances are a kind of precision theater, as exciting and breathtaking as the football games surrounding them. And such performances, on fields under Friday night lights, make high school bands the living mediums by which the past, present and future of schools are forever in communion.

Though fife and drum are no longer played when the 82nd Airborne rolls onto a battlefield, some things haven’t changed; music remains at the heart of military life today. “Reveille” still wakes soldiers in the morning; “Retreat” ends their day; “Taps” signals lights out. Most of boot camp consists of learning drill. They’re called drill sergeants, and they teach the same sorts of movements and formations as you see on Friday nights (though with significantly more shouting and pushups).

Coaches and teachers change, but every school has certain songs that are played every year. The standards give alumni a sense of connection with the band while simultaneously helping a school retain its character. And because bands are made up of first-time freshmen all the way to hardened seniors, a common playlist means that, at the start of every school year, three-quarters of the band already know the songs. On day one, they’re ready to go.

The first marching band to perform at a football game is believed to have been the University of Notre Dame Band of the Fighting Irish, in 1887. However, such bands didn’t really proliferate until the early 20th century, when many military musicians returning home from the First World War took jobs as music teachers in public schools. In the ensuing decades, the marching bands of Historically Black Colleges and Universities profoundly influenced marching bands of every stripe. William P. Foster, who became band director of the Marching 100 at Florida A&M University in 1946, took the foundation of military-style drills and revolutionized the art by placing a greater emphasis on technically demanding, elaborate visual performances. Other HBCUs followed his lead and, by the 1970s, marching bands at every level, including high schools, had adopted the style (which happened to look sensational on televised football games).

2 8 R O U S E S FA L L 20 26

This also nurtures a spirit of mentorship between older students and younger students. “We rely on the older guys to teach the young guys, and that interaction between a senior and a ninth grader is really special,” Moran explained. “I ask my students to keep me updated throughout the year, and I’m always hearing the younger students say of the older ones: ‘I can’t wait to be that person.’” In the Gulf South, of course, high school marching bands have more to do than just play football halftime shows. Marching in Mardi Gras parades is another spirited tradition. My introduction to St. Paul’s Marching Wolves was at the Endymion parade, where the young men in blue and gold uniforms with their distinctive white hats elevated crowds from Orleans Avenue all the way to the Superdome. “When we get onto the parade route, I tell the boys, if you’re not tired at the end of this parade, you did it wrong,” said Moran. As

Moran told me the Clown’s Prayer helps guide his band, and others, in what they do. “Never let me forget that my total effort is to cheer people, make them happy and forget at least momentarily all the unpleasantness in their lives,” he recited, before adding: “Whether it’s halftime or a parade, we’re hoping you’ll enjoy us, and you’ll forget everything that’s going on for that two minutes or five minutes or 15 minutes that we’re in front of you performing.” ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT The Marching Wolves are reigning class 1T state champions, having earned the 2025 state championship in Class 1T.

“

There's something incredible about a Friday night under the lights during high school. Whether you're on the field playing, a trainer, a parent watching from the stands, a band member, a costumed mascot in the student section, or part of the dance/drill team, it's pure magic. My fondest memories of high school include the girls who dressed up every Friday night and performed the Holy Cross fight song with me. Those memories last a lifetime, and those friendships are forever. (And now I'm crying.)

”

— Brandi Theard, Rouses Voice Talent (yes, that's me on the commercials!)

Mandeville Skippers vs Covington Lions

The Gulf Coast is teeming with celebrated high school bands whose music and performances transcend football.

ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT The only other team besides St. Paul’s to hand the Covington Lions a district loss in the 2024 regular season, the Mandeville Skippers doubled up by winning the 2025 showdown 26-9.

ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT The Ocean Springs High School Blue-Grey Pride Marching Band is the cornerstone of one of the most accomplished high school bands in Mississippi, with multiple grand championship titles. At nearly 300 members, the Blue-Grey Pride is also one of the largest marching bands in the Gulf South; they are invited regularly to perform in clinics, conventions and conferences around the country.

But the past two seasons don’t tell the full story of this North Shore matchup. The Skippers have won four of the five meetings in the 2020s. In the 2010s, the regular season series was split 5-5, but it was Mandeville who found two 31-0 wins over Covington in back-to-back games in 2012 — the regular season finale and the first round of the playoffs.

ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT The Central Lafourche High School Trojan Lancers routinely take the trophy at marching band competitions, most recently winning back-to-back champion titles at the largest high school competition in the state, held by the Louisiana Music Educators Association. Central Lafourche, in turn, hosts its own annual marching band festival, the Fête de Musique, in which the best bands in Louisiana and Mississippi compete before an audience of thousands of people.

And that is exactly what separates the Lions and Skippers’ rivalry from the Battle for the Little Brown Jug: playoff stakes. Though all three schools compete in the same regular season district, St. Paul’s participates in the Select playoff bracket as a private school. Covington and Mandeville represent two of St. Tammany’s most consistent playoff teams, directly influencing one another’s playoff rankings with an annual head-to-head matchup.

ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT In Alabama, there’s the Daphne High School band, The Sound of the Eastern Shore, whose more than 200 musicians keep a tradition alive that began in 1989. All music students at Daphne High participate in the awardwinning marching band, and they may also participate in jazz bands, concert bands, percussion ensembles and color guards, among other things. They can also study for the prestigious International Baccalaureate music program.

“

As ridiculous as it sounds, one of my favorite high school memories is marching miles of Mardi Gras parades in 80-degree heat, in full uniform, strapped to a large bass drum. I played percussion at Ellender Memorial High in Houma, spending football season on marimba and earning the prestigious title of 'Pit Momma' as Front Ensemble Captain. I loved band enough to return and teach band camp for a couple years, but marching bass during Mardi Gras will always be a highlight. My left shoulder disagrees. — Kacie Galtier, Designer, Illustrator, Photographer

The game has generally taken place in the final week of the regular season. Winning could mean the difference between hosting a home playoff game, taking a long bus ride to face a top seed or missing the postseason entirely. This year, the game will take place as a mid-season district clash. Greg Salter will take the Lions away from their home stadium, Jack Salter Stadium — named in honor of his grandfather and longtime Covington coach — to face the Skippers on the road. MEDAL 2025 Winner: Mandeville, 26-9 BULLHORN 2026: October 9 at Mandeville (Sidney Theriot Stadium)

”

“

Marching band taught me the importance of teamwork. Everyone has to work together toward the same goal. If someone is off step or misses their mark, it seems like the whole team is off. — Landon Lottinger, Category Manager

”

W W W. R O U S E S . C O M 2 9

OCTOBER OCTOBER PRESEASON PRESEASON

10/6 10/6

ATOKLAHOMA AT OKLAHOMACITY CITY

7:00PM PM 7:00

10/8 10/8

ATMIAMI AT MIAMI

6:30PM PM 6:30

10/14 10/14

ATDALLAS DALLAS AT

7:00PM PM 7:00

10/16 10/16

VSWASHINGTON WASHINGTON VS

7:00PM PM 7:00

10/21 10/21

VSINDIANA VS INDIANA

10/23 10/23

12/23 12/23

VSOKLAHOMA VS OKLAHOMACITY CITY

12/26 12/26

ATBROOKLYN AT BROOKLYN

12/28 12/28

ATTORONTO TORONTO AT

12/30 12/30 12/31 12/31

REGULARSEASON SEASON REGULAR 7:00PM PM 7:00

ATUTAH AT UTAH

10/24 10/24

ATDENVER DENVER AT

10/28 10/28

VSDENVER DENVER VS

10/29 10/29

VSSACRAMENTO SACRAMENTO VS

10/31 10/31

VS ATLANTA VS ATLANTA

11/2 11/2

6:00PM PM 6:00

3/12 3/12

VSTORONTO TORONTO VS

7:00PM PM 7:00

3/13 3/13

ATDALLAS DALLAS AT

7:00PM PM 7:00

3/16 3/16

VS MINNESOTA VS MINNESOTA

7:00PM PM 7:00

3/18 3/18 3/19 3/19

VS CHARLOTTE VS CHARLOTTE

7:00PM PM 7:00 7:00PM PM 7:00

3/21 3/21 3/23 3/23

AT BOSTON AT BOSTON

3/26 3/26 3/28 3/28 3/31 3/31

AT DALLAS AT DALLAS

VSDALLAS VS DALLAS

7:00PM PM 7:00

VSPORTLAND PORTLAND VS

7:00PM PM 7:00

1/8 1/8

VSORLANDO ORLANDO VS

7:00PM PM 7:00

1/10 1/10

ATMIAMI MIAMI AT

5:00PM PM 5:00

6:00PM PM 6:00

1/14 1/14

AT SAN ANTONIO AT SAN ANTONIO

1:00PM PM 1:00

1/17 1/17 1/20 1/20

VS SAN ANTONIO VS SAN ANTONIO

9:30AM AM 9:30 7:00 PM 7:00 PM

1/22 1/22 1/25 1/25

VS DALLAS VS DALLAS

1/27 1/27 1/28 1/28 1/30 1/30

AT HOUSTON AT HOUSTON

VSMINNESOTA MINNESOTA VS

7:00PM PM 7:00

11/8 11/8

ATLA LACLIPPERS CLIPPERS AT

8:00PM PM 8:00

11/9 11/9

ATGOLDEN GOLDENSTATE STATE AT

9:00PM PM 9:00

11/11 11/11

VS BROOKLYN VS BROOKLYN

7:00PM PM 7:00

11/13 11/13 11/14 11/14

VS MEMPHIS VS MEMPHIS

7:00PM PM 7:00 6:00 PM 6:00 PM

11/16 11/16 11/18 11/18

VS GOLDEN STATE VS GOLDEN STATE

11/20 11/20 11/21 11/21 11/23 11/23 11/27 11/27 11/29 11/29 11/30 11/30

AT OKLAHOMA CITY AT OKLAHOMA CITY

12/2 12/2

ATDETROIT DETROIT AT VSL.A. L.A.LAKERS LAKERS VS

1/6 1/6

11/6 11/6

AT SACRAMENTO AT SACRAMENTO

6:00PM PM 6:00

1/4 1/4

7:00PM PM 7:00

AT PORTLAND AT PORTLAND

ATCHARLOTTE CHARLOTTE AT

8:30PM PM 8:30

VSUTAH VS UTAH

AT LA CLIPPERS AT LA CLIPPERS

7:00PM PM 7:00

3/10 3/10

8:00PM PM 8:00

11/4 11/4

VS PHOENIX VS PHOENIX

3/8 3/8

6:30PM PM 6:30

6:00PM PM 6:00

7:00PM PM 7:00

AT SAN ANTONIO AT SAN ANTONIO

5:00PM PM 5:00

ATMINNESOTA AT MINNESOTA

1/2 1/2

ATMEMPHIS AT MEMPHIS

VS DETROIT VS DETROIT

ATMEMPHIS AT MEMPHIS

VSMIAMI VS MIAMI

NOVEMBER NOVEMBER

VS DENVER VS DENVER

3/6 3/6

JANUARY JANUARY

7:00PM PM 7:00

7:00PM PM 7:00 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00PM PM 7:00 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 8:30 PM 8:30 PM 5:00 PM 5:00 PM 9:00 PM 9:00 PM

DECEMBER DECEMBER

VS OKLAHOMA CITY VS OKLAHOMA CITY

VS CLEVELAND VS CLEVELAND

VS PHILADELPHIA VS PHILADELPHIA AT CLEVELAND AT CLEVELAND

7:00PM PM 7:00 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 6:30 PM 6:30 PM

FEBRUARY FEBRUARY 2/1 2/1

ATPHILADELPHIA AT PHILADELPHIA

6:00PM PM 6:00

2/2 2/2

ATORLANDO AT ORLANDO

6:00PM PM 6:00

2/4 2/4

ATWASHINGTON WASHINGTON AT

6:00PM PM 6:00

2/6 2/6

ATCHICAGO CHICAGO AT

7:00PM PM 7:00

2/8 2/8

ATINDIANA INDIANA AT

6:00PM PM 6:00

2/10 2/10

AT ATLANTA AT ATLANTA

6:00PM PM 6:00

2/12 2/12 2/14 2/14

VS HOUSTON VS HOUSTON

7:00PM PM 7:00 1:00 PM 1:00 PM

2/16 2/16 2/17 2/17

AT PORTLAND AT PORTLAND

2/25 2/25 2/27 2/27

VS PHOENIX VS PHOENIX

VS LA CLIPPERS VS LA CLIPPERS

AT GOLDEN STATE AT GOLDEN STATE

AT PHOENIX AT PHOENIX

9:00PM PM 9:00 9:00PM PM 9:00 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 8:00 PM 8:00 PM

VSL.A. VS L.A.LAKERS LAKERS

7:00PM PM 7:00

ATSACRAMENTO AT SACRAMENTO

8:00PM PM 8:00

12/14 12/14

ATL.A. L.A.LAKERS LAKERS AT

9:00PM PM 9:00

12/16 12/16

VSNEW NEWYORK YORK VS

7:00PM PM 7:00

12/18 12/18

VSSACRAMENTO SACRAMENTO VS

7:00PM PM 7:00

3/1 3/1

VSUTAH VS UTAH

7:00PM PM 7:00

12/20 12/20

VS SAN ANTONIO VS SAN ANTONIO

6:00PM PM 6:00

3/3 3/3

ATHOUSTON AT HOUSTON

7:30PM PM 7:30

3/5 3/5

VSMILWAUKEE MILWAUKEE VS

7:00PM PM 7:00

12/13 12/13

12/21 12/21

VS MEMPHIS VS MEMPHIS

7:00PM PM 7:00

MARCH MARCH

VS HOUSTON VS HOUSTON

AT NEW YORK AT NEW YORK

VS BOSTON VS BOSTON AT MILWAUKEE AT MILWAUKEE

APRIL APRIL

7:00PM PM 7:00

2:00PM PM 2:00 6:30 PM 6:30 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 6:00 PM 6:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM

4/3 4/3

ATOKLAHOMA AT OKLAHOMACITY CITY

4:00PM PM 4:00

4/5 4/5

VSWASHINGTON VS WASHINGTON

7:00PM PM 7:00

4/6 4/6

ATDENVER DENVER AT

8:00PM PM 8:00

4/8 4/8

ATUTAH UTAH AT

8:00PM PM 8:00

4/11 4/11

VSCHICAGO CHICAGO VS

5:00PM PM 5:00

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the coaches Every town has a coach everybody knows. Sometimes you know him because he won 300 games, sometimes because the stadium has his name on it. In Louisiana, names like Jim Hightower, Lewis Cook, Don Shows, Red Franklin and Hank Tierney are part of high school football history. Mississippi and Alabama have their own lists. The numbers tell you which coaches won, but the stories tell you why people still talk about them.

Picayune Maroon Tide vs Pearl River Central Blue Devils If you’re looking for a legit high school football program in the state of Mississippi, look no further than Picayune. The Maroon Tide are winners of seven state championships and 18 district titles. The Tide has found similar success against Pearl River Central. Picayune has won 27 of the 34 matchups against the Blue Devils since the matchup started in 1991, including a 3-0 playoff record. Across the series, Picayune averages 37 points per game, while Pearl River Central averages 14. All of that is what makes last season’s game even more special. Five of Pearl River Central’s seven wins came in the first five meetings of the series. Their next win came 20 years later. Picayune then rattled off eight straight blowout wins. That streak was snapped in a 2025 family affair. Blue Devils quarterback Titus Feaster led an offensive attack that helped Pearl River Central jump out to a 21-point lead. They held on for a 28-21 win behind Feaster’s four touchdowns. One of those scores was a pass to Titus’ brother, John Jr. Their dad, John Sr., watched from the sidelines; he’s the Blue Devils’ head coach. The win in 2025 paves the way for Pearl River Central to do something it has not accomplished since 1995: Beat Picayune in back-to-back seasons. The district matchup may have even more on the line as the regular season finale.

Dodd Lee

MEDAL 2025 Winner: Pearl River Central, 28-21 BULLHORN 2026: November 6 at Pearl River Central (Hendrix Stadium)

Dodd Lee once coached against his son-in-law on Friday night, then brought his grandchildren doughnuts Saturday morning. Lee was Picayune’s head coach. His son-in-law, Seth Smith, had coached under him before moving on, and in 2012 Smith was defensive coordinator at Pearl River Central when the two schools met. They didn’t talk much during game week. But Lee had a Saturday morning tradition with his grandkids, and football wasn’t going to interfere with it. Asked whether he would still deliver the doughnuts after the game, Lee said yes, “win or lose.” By then, Lee had been coaching for quite a long time. He spent 24 seasons as Picayune’s head coach, going 222-74 and leading the Maroon Tide to state championships in 2011 and 2013. Twenty-four of his former players went into coaching themselves. One was Cody Stogner, who played for Lee and then returned to spend 13 seasons on his staff. When Lee retired after the 2019 season, Stogner succeeded him as head coach. Eventually, the grandkids who got those Saturday doughnuts helped convince Lee it was time to quit. After 39 years in coaching, his oldest grandson was about to play varsity football, and others were reaching junior high. Lee wanted to watch. And he did. In 2024, two of those grandsons, Titan and Trac Smith, played on Poplarville’s first state championship team. They won the title 11 years to the day after Lee’s Picayune team won its 2013 state title.

Lindy Callahan Lindy Callahan stopped coaching football in 1965, but Gulfport still plays on Lindy Callahan Field. That should give you some idea of the mark he left. During the early 1960s, his Gulfport Commodores compiled a record of 54-5-4 across five seasons (three state championships, 35 W W W. R O U S E S . C O M 3 7

consecutive conference wins). They won 42 consecutive Big Eight Conference games, and his 1963 team went 10-0-1 while allowing just 32 points all season. But Callahan didn’t really leave Gulfport sports when he left the sideline. He became the school’s full-time athletic director and stayed at Gulfport for nearly four decades. He served as president of the Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA), Mississippi Association of Coaches, and Mississippi Athletic Directors, and helped establish the Mississippi-Alabama All-Star Game. People came to call him the “Father of Mississippi High School Athletics.” He was inducted into numerous halls of fame, including the National Federation of High Schools Hall of Fame. The MHSAA named its scholar-athlete program for him, and Gulfport put his name on the football field at Milner Stadium. Callahan died in April 2025 at age 97. Eight months later, Gulfport played Tupelo for the Class 7A state championship. Tupelo took a 20-14 lead with 27 seconds left. Gulfport answered and, as time expired, Parker Nettles found Mylan Stubbs for a 33-yard touchdown. The extra point made it 21-20. It was Gulfport’s first championship of the MHSAA playoff era. More than 60 years after Callahan’s winning teams, Gulfport was a state champion again.

Biloxi Indians vs Gulfport Admirals ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT In this marquee Harrison County matchup, Biloxi has been fielding football teams since 1899. Gulfport’s inaugural season came in 1908. Many locals believe the Biloxi Indians’ matchup with the Gulfport Admirals is Mississippi’s oldest high school football rivalry, playing its first game during the 1908 season. Biloxi took home the victory 24-6. The teams did not meet again until the 1920 season. From 1921 to 1925, they played twice per year before switching to an annual battle in 1926. Ultimately, the players took “doing battle” too far. One game in the late 1950s ended with a benches-clearing brawl that forced the series to be discontinued until 1968. Even through numerous devastating storms, the rivalry has not missed a single season since restarting. The Admirals, despite losing the first game, hold a commanding 64-35-4 lead in the series. Of the 103 games played, all but 19 have been district matchups, and only one has taken place in the playoffs. While Gulfport knocked Biloxi out of that tournament in 1990, the Admirals did not win their first state title until 2025. They went 12-2 last season, with their losses combining for a margin of four points. The Indians have a pair of state championships as well, though they will be celebrating the 99th and 100th anniversary of those wins in 2026. But whatever postseason success, or lack of it, these two teams endure, nothing matters more than who wins when the Indians and Admirals take the field. MEDAL 2025 Winner: Gulfport, 35-0 BULLHORN 2026: October 23 at Biloxi (Biloxi High School Stadium)

3 8 R O U S E S FA L L 20 26

Hugh “Laurin” Pepper Hugh “Laurin” Pepper could have made a career out of either football or baseball. Instead, he became a high school football coach. Pepper was an All-American running back at Mississippi Southern (now Southern Miss), where his career average of 8.2 yards per carry is still the school record. He also pitched for the baseball team. In 1954, he threw the first no-hitter in school history and finished the season 10-0. He went on to play professional baseball in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization. Then he came home to the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Pepper began coaching at D’Iberville in 1962 and took over at Ocean Springs the following year. His first 29 games as the Greyhounds’ coach? He won them all. He stayed for 28 seasons. Pepper won 191 games and 12 Gulf Coast Conference championships at Ocean Springs. His teams had 25 winning seasons and six went undefeated. But former players remembered more than the winning. One recalled that Pepper could get players to do more than they thought they were capable of doing. Another remembered him less as a coach than as a father figure, someone they could go to when they needed him. By the time Pepper retired, he had become so closely identified with Ocean Springs football that the school put his name on the field at Greyhound Stadium. He was inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame, and Ocean Springs still holds the annual Hugh Pepper Golf Classic to raise money for its athletic programs. He came to Ocean Springs after his playing days were over. More than 60 years later, the Greyhounds are still playing on Hugh Pepper Field.

Biloxi Indians vs Ocean Springs Greyhounds ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT Two of the region’s oldest active high schools, Biloxi and Ocean Springs both started their football programs in 1899; the Indians and Greyhounds played against each other that year. Across two schools, that is a lot of football. There are a total of two state championships between the schools to show for

Steve Mask

it. Biloxi won both. Ocean Springs has reached the finals once, but the lack of a state title is likely more bad luck than a representation of the school’s football history. The Greyhounds have had far more winning seasons than losing ones, and they have been regular district contenders in recent years. Between 1899 and 1980, when the matchup became a permanent fixture, the Indians and Greyhounds only played a handful of games. Biloxi dominated early in the series. Ocean Springs has won nine consecutive matchups against the Indians and 19 of 26 games since 2000. In the current ninegame win streak, the Greyhounds have won by an average of 16.4 points. The last time the game was decided by less than 20 points was 2020. The Greyhounds’ dominant run through the 2000s flipped the all-time record in favor of Ocean Springs by three games (2825). MEDAL 2025 Winner: Ocean Springs, 31-6 BULLHORN 2026: September 25 at Biloxi (Biloxi High School Stadium)

Steve Mask won four state championships at St. Paul’s Episcopal in Mobile, but the number he talked about when he retired was 4,300. That’s about how many studentPhoto courtesy Mike Kittrell / AL.com athletes Mask estimated he coached in football and basketball over 46 years. There are plenty of other numbers. Mask spent 29 seasons as a high school head coach at six Alabama programs. He finished 231-120. At St. Paul’s, he went 110-25 in 10 seasons and won Class 5A state championships in 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2020. But those weren’t the numbers Mask dwelled on when he retired after the 2025 season. He knew coaches get measured by wins and championships. He hoped his players measured him differently. What mattered to him was whether they knew he had given them his time, energy and heart. After 46 years, 4,300 kids may be the statistic that matters most. Terry Curtis

Pascagoula Panthers vs Ocean Springs Greyhounds ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT Located about 20 minutes down Highway 90 from one another, Ocean Springs and Pascagoula began facing off on the football field in 1986 as district opponents. The game has been played almost every year since, with the results being a tale of two halves. Pascagoula historically has had a similar trajectory to the Greyhounds. They’ve made two state title games, winning one in 1987. Beyond that trophy, the Panthers have only a few district titles to show for more than a century of football, but have historically been a winning program. The difference between Pascagoula and Ocean Springs is when each team went on its signature run. Through the first 20 games of the series, the Panthers held a 16-4 lead. That dominant stretch aligned with more than half of Pascagoula’s district championships. Since 2005, Ocean Springs has won 13 of the 18 matchups, bringing the series total to 21-17 in favor of the Panthers. The only scheduling gap in the series came in 2023 and 2024. The Greyhounds and Panthers resumed the rivalry as a nondistrict game in 2025, with Ocean Springs picking up its win streak right where it left off. MEDAL 2025 Winner: Ocean Springs, 21-14 BULLHORN 2026: September 11 at Ocean Springs (Greyhound Stadium)

Terry Curtis decided what he wanted to do with his life in eighth grade. He wanted to be a football coach. His coach was Ed Baker. Baker was tough, but his players still wanted to give him everything they had. Curtis couldn’t quite see how those two things went together. He wanted to figure it out. Curtis grew up in Mobile and graduated from Murphy High School in 1969 before going to Auburn on a baseball scholarship. Years later, football brought him back to Murphy, where he served as head coach for six seasons before taking over at UMS-Wright in 1999. He stayed 26 years. Curtis won eight state championships at UMS-Wright. Four of his championship teams went undefeated. He retired after the 2024 season with a 361-105 career record over 36 seasons as an Alabama head coach. And every fall at UMS-Wright began with something called “the County Fair.” It wasn’t nearly as much fun as it sounds. Players moved through six conditioning stations, one after another, with almost no break. Curtis called it a rite of passage. Generations of UMS-Wright players went through it. More than 50 years after Ed Baker made an eighth-grader wonder how a coach could be so demanding and still have players willing to follow him, Curtis was still talking about him when he retired. He’d spent most of his life figuring out the answer.

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McGill-Toolen Yellow Jackets vs Murphy Panthers

Frank Monica Frank Monica was 26 and an assistant at Lutcher, which had just won the 1975 state championship. Then the head coach left for a college job. Two school board members showed up at Monica’s house and told him they wanted him to take over. There was a problem, as Monica saw it. The championship team had just lost 27 seniors. He said no. They kept after him. Eventually,

ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT If you’ve ever driven through Midtown Mobile and wondered why the cannon on Government Street keeps changing colors, it’s because of one of Alabama’s oldest and most heated high school football rivalries. McGill-Toolen and Murphy High School have been squaring off for 90 years, and they’ve never missed a single season — well, until now. The teams did not schedule the Cannon Bowl for the 2026 season after being reclassified into separate divisions. Mobile mayor Spiro Cheriogotis told the local news that “something will be lost in the city” without the Yellow Jackets and Panthers doing battle. Beyond the longstanding nature of the rivalry, the games themselves bring so much meaning to the annual meeting. Across 94 games, Murphy holds the series lead by only three wins (48-45-1). Even with the tight all-time record, the rivalry has generally been streaky. While Murphy won the first battle in 1935 and seven of the first 10, McGill-Toolen has dominated the series in recent years. The Yellow Jackets have won 11 straight and 17 of the last 20 games. After Murphy dominated the 1990s, McGill-Toolen blocked an extra point in triple overtime to get back in the win column. The next five matchups were split 3-2 in favor of the Yellow Jackets, with the largest margin of victory being three points. The celebratory painting of the cannon — a tradition dating back to 1953 — was put to an end in 2023 amid vandalism concerns. McGill-Toolen was so confident in its chances to take home the victory, though, that the school acquired its very own cannon, allowing the graduating class one more opportunity to paint the cannon orange. The Yellow Jackets dominated that season’s matchup, winning 42-0. MEDAL 2025 Winner: McGill-Toolen, 50-0

he said yes. Three years later, Lutcher won another state championship. It was the first of three titles Monica would win at three different schools. He won at Riverside Academy in 1983, during his only season there, and again at St. Charles Catholic in 2011. At St. Charles, his teams reached 12 state semifinals and six championship games. His philosophy wasn’t complicated: “I coached them hard and loved them hard.” Monica retired in 2021 after more than 50 years in coaching, with a 284-91 record as a high school head football coach. In 2024, he was inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame. Retirement hasn’t completely taken. Monica and his wife, Nancy, have 14 grandchildren, several of whom play sports. He watches their games and still offers corrections afterward. He has admitted that, even when he’s driving, if he sees some kid holding a baseball bat wrong, he wants to stop and fix it. Apparently, after half a century, you don’t just stop being a coach.

Lutcher Bulldogs vs St. James Wildcats ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT Lutcher and St. James’ “Rivals on the River” matchup has put bragging rights on the line in St. James Parish since the 1930s. The intra-parish battle was shelved for nearly 30 years before St. James took home the first win of the revived showdown in 1971. The rivalry was suspended again from 2005 to 2014 due to realignment. The first season the rivalry restarted, the teams met once in the regular season, then once more in the 2015 state championship game. Lutcher won both contests. The most recent Battle for St. James Parish took place in 2021. Current University of Louisiana quarterback D’Wayne “Lunch” Winfield accounted for five touchdowns to get Lutcher back in the win column after four straight losses to the Wildcats. St. James leads the series 23-20-1. BULLHORN 2026: October 16 at Lutcher (Lutcher Bulldogs Stadium)

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Dale Weiner

J.T. Curtis

The first time Dale Weiner applied to be the head football coach at Catholic High, they turned him down. Weiner thought the job made sense. He had grown up in the neighborhood and believed Catholic was where he was supposed to coach. The school thought otherwise.

Six players showed up for J.T. Curtis’s first team meeting. He was 22 years old and had just taken over the football program at John Curtis Christian, the school his father had founded seven years earlier. Curtis eventually found enough players to field a team.

A couple of years later, the job opened again. This time, Catholic hired him. He stayed for 30 seasons.

They went 0-10 and scored two touchdowns all season. That was in 1969.

Weiner took over in 1987 and won 282 games at Catholic, with 18 district championships, 15 trips to the state quarterfinals and eight to the semifinals. In 2015, his next-to-last season, the Bears beat nationally ranked Archbishop Rummel to win the first football state championship in school history.

The next year, John Curtis made the playoffs. In 1975, the Patriots won their first state championship, beating Notre Dame of Crowley 13-12. The program has since won 28 state championships, more than any other Louisiana high school football program.

But another set of numbers says something about the program Weiner built. One hundred forty-three of his players went on to play college football. Seventeen made NFL rosters, including Warrick Dunn and Travis Minor. Weiner also had a reputation for trick plays. People sometimes thought of him as a gambler, but Weiner saw these plays differently. He liked they gave everybody a role and kept football fun. There was always another formation to try, another wrinkle to work on, another way to get a kid involved. Weiner stepped away from coaching after the 2016 season but stayed at Catholic High as a teacher until retiring from the school in 2022. By the end of his 35 seasons as a head coach, he had 317 career victories. In 2025, he was inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame. The school that turned him down the first time now plays on Dale Weiner Field.

Lunch is Ready! D'Wanye "Lunch" Winfield, quarterback for the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns, led Lutcher to the LHSAA State Championship his senior year, the school's ninth state title, finishing with 299 passing yards, three touchdowns and 130 rushing yards on 43 carries. Get our weekly lunch menu at www.rouses.com

In 2023, Curtis recorded his 622nd on-field victory, moving him past the longstanding 621-win mark of Summerville High School, South Carolina coach John McKissick. But there may be a better explanation for what happened between 0-10 and all those championships. Longtime LSU assistant Pete Jenkins once tried to call Curtis the morning after John Curtis had finished an undefeated season by winning another state championship. Curtis wasn’t home. He had left at 6 a.m. to attend a coaching clinic. He had just won a state championship and apparently figured there was still something he didn’t know. More than half a century later, he’s still coaching.

504SportsNest Cullen Connick is a student at Metairie Park Country Day School and the founder of 504SportsNest, where he covers the Saints, Pelicans, LSU and the local sports scene. Through his podcast and social channels, Connick interviews athletes, coaches, media personalities and others connected to sports across the region, giving fans a closer look at the teams and people they follow.

Staff photo by Brad Kemp courtesy The Advocate

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Terrebonne Tigers vs South Terrebonne Gators ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT Founded in 1908, Terrebonne High is the oldest public high school in Terrebonne Parish. South Terrebonne opened its doors in 1961, just 15 miles away. The Tigers and Gators have been battling ever since in this oldest Terrebonne Parish football rivalry. When both teams competed in 5A, the already heated rivalry came with even higher stakes. In 2006, South Terrebonne defeated Terrebonne to complete an undefeated regular season and claim an outright district championship. No longer playing in the same district, this rivalry is maintained purely through the 60-plus-year-old grudge (not trophies) that came with the Gators entering the neighborhood. Speaking of trophies, Terrebonne High has never taken home a state title, despite having the stronger NFL pedigree. You have to wonder if that traces back to the beginning of this rivalry, when the Gators claimed the south side of the local talent pool. The neighborhoods that once stocked the Tigers eventually built South Terrebonne, who won the parish’s only championship in 1991. The Tigers enter 2026 looking to build on a nine-win season, while the Gators aim to improve on a 5-5 regular season record. They will face each other for the first time since 2023 in Week 5. BULLHORN 2026: October 2 at South Terrebonne (South Terrebonne Memorial Stadium)

THIBODAUX TIGERS VS. TERREBONNE TIGERS ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT It’s Tigers vs. Tigers when Thibodaux High and Terrebonne High meet, one of several Bayou rivalries on Thibodaux’s schedule. Thibodaux has already made some noise this season, opening with a 21-20 win over E.D. White. MEDAL 2025 Winner: Thibodaux High, 27-21 BULLHORN 2026: September 25 at Terrebonne High (Tom B. Smith Stadium)

Vandebilt Catholic Terriers vs E.D. White Cardinals ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT About 15 miles and a parish line separate two of the Bayou’s flagship Catholic schools, Vandebilt Catholic (Terrebonne Parish) and E.D. White (Lafourche Parish). Despite being part of the same Roman Catholic diocese, this matchup is far from brotherly on the football field. E.D. White has won the past nine matchups; the last time Vandebilt won the game was the season opener in 2016. The Cardinals avenged the loss by knocking the Terriers out of the playoffs months later. 4 2 R O U S E S FA L L 20 26

The Terriers and Cardinals have been two of the region’s most competitive football teams in the 2020s, routinely appearing in the LHSAA Select playoffs. Despite regular season success, Vandebilt Catholic has not won a state title since 1959 (when the school’s predecessor, St. Francis, took home the hardware). They reached the semi-finals in 2025. E.D. White took home its two trophies in 1968 and 1969, though they reached the state championship in 2021 and 2024. The talent for these runs has been on full display in recent seasons, especially with the Terriers and Cardinals back in the same district in 2024. In 2024 — the first season back as 8-4A foes — E.D. White took home the win 21-14. Three weeks later the Cardinals defeated Vandebilt again in the playoffs 23-18, and beat them yet again in 2025. E.D. White started the season 0-3, but rallied to run the table in district play. By the time the season finale came around, they were met with a 9-0 Vandebilt squad. The Cardinals took a 28-14 lead late in the fourth quarter. The Terriers scored on a Hail Mary with four seconds left, but were unable to convert the onside kick. E.D. White ended Vandebilt’s undefeated run and took the district crown. MEDAL 2025 Winner: E.D. White, 28-21 BULLHORN 2026: October 2 at Vandebilt Catholic (Buddy Marcello Stadium)

Franklinton Demons vs Bogalusa Lumberjacks ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT For years, the battle between Franklinton High School and Bogalusa High School for the Pine Burr Trophy was the premier high school football matchup in Washington Parish. The Demons boast recent success on the field relative to Bogalusa, with a state title in 2010 and multiple secondplace finishes. In the 2010 championship season, future NFL running backs Terrence Magee and Josh Robinson led the Demons to a 60-8 win over the Lumberjacks. Most notably, though, Franklinton possessed the Pine Burr Trophy for 18 consecutive matchups. That streak ended in 2019 when Bogalusa won their first of five in a row. The Lumberjacks have a lengthy football tradition of their own. They reached their first state title game in 1927, winning a pair of championships in 1947 and 1969. But the game that mattered most for locals was the annual matchup against Franklinton. Former Bogalusa head coach Cyril Crutchfield once told Crescent City Sports that he received multiple calls from fans telling him a 1-9 season was acceptable, so long as the win came against Franklinton. Fast forward to 2025, and the Lumberjacks did finish the regular season 1-9. The only problem: the Demons were not on the schedule. The game has been dormant since 2023.

Reginelli's Way by Nick Underhill Tony Reginelli’s name still greets people as they walk into Newman’s athletic complex. Probably always will.

eginelli Way sits beside Michael Lupin Field as the entrance into the Isidore Newman School football complex. What an honor. What a title. But you need to take the two words, make one letter lowercase and add an apostrophe to tell the real story: Reginelli’s way. That’s what this is about. That’s why people know this program. Like any good road, it isn’t about the paved surface. It’s how it got there and where it leads. And even though that road is set in place, Reginelli’s way still carries on. Think about this: For that road and the project tied to it, more than 250 Newman alumni contributed to the project. That means that more than 250 people decided to show they care with their wallets. You can’t fake that kind of influence. And, yes, the Manning family — you already knew they were part of this story — helped lead the project. A guy by the name of Peyton was Reginelli’s most famous player, but the project says more about his career. And what a career it was.

For 26 seasons, Reginelli coached at Newman. He won 203 games during his time there, though he never won a title. That fact probably weighs on Tony. It would on most coaches. But in some ways — many ways — that’s what makes his story so beautiful. Because not having it lets you see clearly how much football and community mean in towns like ours. Because even without a title, you can see the full validation of a great and impactful life, of how Reginelli’s way led to Reginelli Way. People are still following it, too. Tony probably didn’t know it at the time, but he was the perfect person for the perfect place. He grew up in Arkansas in

the Mississippi Delta in a farming family, one of nine children, and the first in his family to finish high school. His journey took him to Tulane in 1953. Tony was going to be a baseball player. He ended up finding football, too, a sport in which he lettered, and he turned into an AllSEC catcher. Lore says the Boston Red Sox wanted him, but it didn’t matter. Like so many other people who intend to just stop by here, New Orleans claimed Tony and turned into his home. Football became his work. Two years at Holy Cross as an assistant, until he followed Ed Tuohy to Newman in 1961. Tony worked as an assistant for seven years before taking over the program in 1968. He finished up with Peyton as his QB in 1993.

Photos courtesy Isidore Newman School

battled that, because he built a program that outlasted any one person or class. And then an exceptional quarterback arrived. And the wins and approach and all that came with it might have given Reginelli national stature, but the way he adjusted might have shown how good he was at coaching. Reginelli had traditionally operated a veer offense. Peyton Manning became the starting quarterback in 1991 and asked whether he would have to run the option. Reginelli knew that wasn’t going to be the best use of this exceptional talent, so he incorporated more five- and seven-step drops and reinvented his program.

During that time, he turned a school into a program and a program into a community. The players came, went and then came back. All the while, the coach remained. His standard still carries weight in the program, and it’s not just because he went 203-63 (becoming one of just five coaches to reach that mark).

Go figure. His old-school toughness came with flexibility. That’s something the best coaches all understand, from the lower ranks all the way up to guys like Bill Belichick and Sean Payton. It’s not about the scheme. It’s not about the Xs and Os. It is, ultimately, about the players.

No, it’s so much more. It’s the wins. But it’s also the environment. He got guys who would never play football to play football. We talk so often about classes and players and what a coach can do with those guys, and how losing this guy or that guy might impact the future. Reginelli never really

The program grew with Manning. The Greenies reached the state semifinals during Manning’s first season as a starter, only the second time Newman had gotten there. The wider effect reached beyond campus, and helped increase the attention on high school football in New Orleans. W W W. R O U S E S . C O M 4 3

Isidore Newman Greenies vs Metairie Park Country Day Cajuns

Manning threw for 7,528 yards during his Newman career. He became an All-American at Tennessee, a five-time NFL MVP and a twotime Super Bowl champion.

used Reginelli as an example of why a coach shouldn’t just be measured by trophies. Stewart won 162 games, reaching six state semifinals while at Newman.

But it wasn’t the 7,528 yards Manning threw while at Newman or the success after he left. The true mark of success is that Manning continued calling and visiting his old coach deep into his NFL career. Even before Super Bowl 50, he was still checking in. Peyton even did a whole story with ESPN about the impact Tony had on his career. Manning always viewed him as a coach.

Reginelli received another answer after Hurricane Katrina. He was hospitalized with a liver infection at Memorial Medical Center when the storm hit. He escaped on an overloaded National Guard truck and was transported to Baton Rouge. His son, Reggie, later told the media that Reginelli struggled afterward and wondered whether he had done enough with his life.

That relationship shows Reginelli’s place in the city. The coaches at the center of New Orleans football rarely measure their influence by the highest level a player reaches. Their work shows up when the player returns, calls and still wants to be coached. Even better when there are 250 of them.

He had.

It’s all right there on Reginelli Way. The honors eventually caught up. The Touchdown Club of New Orleans gave him its Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005. The Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame inducted him in 2013. Three years later, Newman Reginelli’s final game connected the end of opened the Manning Family Athletic Complex one career to the beginning of another, which and placed Reginelli’s name at the entrance. is what makes this a real story, a better story. He coached Peyton Manning. He beat John Newman lost in the playoffs. It was Curtis. He won 203 games. Manning’s final prep appearance and What Tony Reginelli meant to New Orleans Reginelli’s final game as head coach. A championship would have given the story the high school football is visible in the program Disney ending, but he got that anyway, and that kept moving after he left, the coaches and players who carried his lessons forward and you can see it right there: Reginelli Way. the people who made sure his name stayed attached to the field. Funny how these things work, isn’t it. Every trip down Reginelli Way tells the story Nelson Stewart played for Reginelli, returned to Newman and spent 19 seasons again. as the Greenies’ head coach. When Stewart left for Westminster in Georgia in 2025, he

4 4 R O U S E S FA L L 20 26

ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT Peyton, Eli and most recently Arch Manning have lined up under center for the Isidore Newman School Greenies, a college football factory in Uptown New Orleans. Odell Beckham Jr. caught passes there before heading to LSU and eventually the New York Giants alongside Eli Manning. Arch’s Texas Longhorns teammate Will Randle was his tight end in high school, while two of his offensive linemen, Bo and Brett Bordelon, are set to suit up for the LSU Tigers in 2026. While the Greenies boast a Division I pedigree, they’re tied with the Country Day Cajuns in number of state titles: zero. The Greenies have dominated the series since Arch Manning took over the starting job as a 14-year-old freshman in 2019. Newman swept the Cajuns 4-0 behind Manning’s passing, and they’ve maintained the streak since he departed in 2023. The Cajuns’ last win came in 2018, guided by three-star quarterback Justin Ibieta, who later played at Tulane University. That was the Greenies’ only district loss of the season. Country Day finished their district slate 4-0 to Newman’s 3-1; the head-to-head matchup ultimately landed the Cajuns a district championship. In 2026, the Cajuns and Greenies meet in the second-to-last week of the regular season. It’s Country Day’s district finale. They will take the bus ride uptown for what they hope is a shot at the 11-2A lead and an opportunity to narrow the gap in the all-time series against Newman. MEDAL 2025 Winner: Isidore Newman, 42-14 BULLHORN 2026: October 29 at Isidore Newman School (Michael Lupin Field)

St. Thomas More Cougars vs Teurlings Catholic Rebels ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT The St. Thomas More (STM) and Teurlings matchup is Lafayette’s private school counterpart to Acadiana and Carencro. Opened in 1982, St. Thomas More was the new kid on the block compared to the established Teurlings. But on the football field, St. Thomas More is the establishment. Cougars head coach Jim Hightower was inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in 2016 in honor of his long career, both at STM and earlier at Catholic High of Pointe Coupée. But it was not until after being inducted that Hightower rattled off all five of the Cougars’ state championships in a sevenyear span. Under him, St. Thomas More has appeared in 36 consecutive playoffs and won more than 20 district championships. He is the second-winningest high school coach in the state of Louisiana. That success translated to the Cougars’ matchup with Teurlings; St. Thomas More won 10 straight in the matchup. In 2025, however, the Rebels reminded Hightower and St. Thomas More that they have their own football history, which includes nearly 40 playoff appearances. Teurlings picked off current Georgia Tech freshman Cole Bergeron three times on their way to a 38-14 win, snapping the decade-long losing streak. The Rebels went on to finish the regular season undefeated, but the highlight of the season certainly came in the win over the Cougars. Teurlings head coach Michael Courville never beat St. Thomas More as a player for the Rebels; neither had any of his players. For the first time in more than a decade, this rivalry enters 2026 with new life. MEDAL 2025 Winner: Teurlings Catholic, 38-14 BULLHORN 2026: September 4 at St. Thomas More (Cougar Stadium)

Denham Springs Yellow Jackets vs Walker Wildcats ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT Neither Denham Springs nor Walker have won outright state titles, but the Livingston Parish neighbors have been a breeding ground for top-end talent in recent years. Former LSU standout and first-round NFL draft pick Brian Thomas Jr. was an explosive playmaker for the Walker Wildcats. The Wildcats’ athletic receiver helped Walker go 3-1 against Denham Springs in his four high school seasons. (The lone loss came in 2020.) That season, the Yellow Jackets had their own future LSU Tiger, safety Dashawn Spears (born Dashawn McBryde). Like Thomas, Spears capped his high school career 3-1 in the rivalry.

victory that year. Even as the programs face ups and downs, the Yellow Jackets and Wildcats save their best for each other. While Thomas and Spears missed each other by a year in Baton Rouge, their story encapsulates Louisiana high school football: two kids who grew up just a few minutes apart, spent a few years hating each other on Friday nights, then reunited again on Saturdays to pull for the Tigers — just like so many others across the state. The Yellow Jackets and Wildcats will meet twice in 2026, once in a jamboree and then again in the District 5-5A season finale. MEDAL 2025 Winner: Denham Springs, 62-34 BULLHORN 2026: November 6 at Denham Springs High School (Yellow Jacket Stadium)

Acadiana Rams vs Carencro Golden Bears ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT The Wreckin’ Rams of Acadiana are keeping the veer alive — successfully. The Lafayette powerhouse has won six state titles, all in the past 20 years. Those trophies were all captured in the public ranks before Acadiana’s recent move into the Select bracket due to its open enrollment format. In 2023, the Rams became the first public school to appear in a Select state championship game, where they fell to Catholic (Baton Rouge). En route to the Superdome, Acadiana defeated Carencro twice, by a combined total of eight points. The regular season matchup represented the district title game. The Rams and Bears met twice again in 2025, with Acadiana once again sweeping the series and taking home the district championship. The Golden Bears’ most recent win over Acadiana came in 2022, when (you guessed it!) they played twice. Acadiana won the regular season matchup by one point, but Carencro took the victory in the playoffs 27-17. While Acadiana has had recent success, Carencro is a powerhouse in its own right in Southwest Louisiana. Three-time Super Bowl champion and LSU All-American Kevin Faulk led Carencro to its first state championship in 1992. They claimed their second title in 2020 as a 4A school, the same year Acadiana won its most recent 5A title. Carencro briefly returned to 5A, but the Golden Bears are back down to 4A entering 2026. While any future meetings will be early season, nondistrict games, they’re likely to keep the rivalry alive, as only 20 minutes separate two of Lafayette’s top teams. MEDAL 2025 Winner: Acadiana, 21-14 BULLHORN 2026: September 18 at Carencro (The Cro Dome)

The past 10 matchups are split 5-5. The 2020 win in Spears’ freshman season was Denham Springs’ only W W W. R O U S E S . C O M 4 5

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minutes. Stir in the green chiles and cook for 1 minute. Add salt to taste. Turn the heat down to low. Add cream cheese, mayonnaise, sour cream, hot sauce and half the lime juice. Cook, stirring constantly, until the cream cheese is melted, about 2 minutes. Stir in 1 cup of the pepper Jack cheese until melted, then stir in the cooked bacon, reserving some for garnish. Taste and add more lime, if needed. Scatter the remaining pepper Jack cheese on top.

JALAPEÑO-CORN DIP Makes 10 to 12 servings

WHAT YOU WILL NEED : 6 ounces bacon, about 6 to 8 slices 1 tablespoon olive oil, if needed 4 cups frozen sweet corn (no need to thaw) or fresh corn kernels 4 green onions, trimmed and thinly sliced, white and light-green parts separated from dark-green tops 2 to 3 garlic cloves, finely minced 3 jalapeños, seeded if desired, and chopped 1 teaspoon chili powder 1 (4-ounce) can diced mild green chiles, drained Salt to taste 8 ounces cream cheese, cut into pieces ¼ cup mayonnaise ¼ cup sour cream

1 teaspoon hot sauce, plus more to taste Juice of 1 lime, divided 1½ cups (6 ounces) shredded pepper Jack cheese Tortilla or corn chips, for serving HOW TO PREP : Heat broiler with a rack positioned closest to the heat source. Add bacon to a dry, broiler-safe, 10-inch skillet. Cook on the stove over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until bacon starts to crisp, 5 to 7 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer bacon to a paper towel-lined plate.

Place skillet in preheated oven broiler; broil the dip until the top is golden, about 1 to 2 minutes, keeping an eye on it the entire time. Remove from the broiler and cool for a few minutes, then sprinkle with the reserved bacon and dark green onion tops. Serve hot with tortilla chips or corn chips for dipping.

FIESTA CORN DIP Makes 10 to 12 servings

WHAT YOU WILL NEED : 3 (15-ounce) cans whole kernel corn, drained well 1 small red bell pepper, finely diced ¹⁄₃ cup finely chopped pickled jalapeños Add olive oil to the skillet if the skillet is too 4 green onions, thinly sliced dry. Stir in the corn, white and light-green 2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese onions, garlic, jalapeños and chili powder. 1 cup mayonnaise Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, 1 cup sour cream until the vegetables soften and the corn is 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning heated through and begins to brown, 5 to 8 ½ teaspoon garlic powder ½ teaspoon onion powder ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1 teaspoon hot sauce, plus more to taste 1 teaspoon fresh lime juice, plus more to taste Salt, to taste Fritos Scoops or corn chips, for serving HOW TO PREP : Combine the corn, bell pepper, jalapeños, green onions and Cheddar in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, stir together the mayonnaise, sour cream, Cajun seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, hot sauce and lime juice. Add the mayonnaise mixture to the corn mixture and stir until everything is evenly coated. Taste and add salt and additional hot sauce and lime juice, if desired. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour to allow the flavors to come together. Stir before serving cold with Fritos Scoops or corn chips. W W W. R O U S E S . C O M

Hattiesburg Tigers vs Laurel Golden Tornadoes ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT Death, taxes and the Tigers versus Golden Tornadoes. While Biloxi versus Gulfport is the oldest rivalry in Mississippi, Hattiesburg’s annual showdown with Laurel is the longest continuous matchup in the state.

The Hattiesburg Tigers and Laurel Golden Tornadoes squared off against each other for the first time in 1908. After a 14-year hiatus, they met again in 1922 and have played every single year since. Through the Great Depression, World War II and countless hurricanes, Mississippi’s Battle for the Little Brown Jug has not missed a beat. While Louisiana’s Little Brown Jug game between St. Paul’s and Covington aligns with the longstanding Michigan versus Minnesota college tradition, some in Hattiesburg believe two men on a train bet a jug of whiskey on the outcome of the game in Mississippi’s version. If that tale is true, the man betting on Laurel had a decent chance of winning the bet, as the Golden Tornadoes had several strong streaks to take control of the series lead. But by the time the 100th matchup came around, the Tigers had clawed back to within a few games. Since crossing the century mark, Hattiesburg has taken the all-time lead at 53-50-5, winning the last four meetings led by the nation’s topranked 2026 wide receiver, Tristen Keys. Despite the series trend, Hattiesburg has not won a state title since 1924, although they’ve appeared in the finals eight times. They even beat the Tornadoes in the semifinals in 2017. Laurel has won three state titles, all since 1990. While a Mississippi state championship trophy is the goal for the current players, keeping possession of the Little Brown Jug might be even sweeter for the generations of fans and former players across the Pine Belt who have dedicated decades to the rivalry. The game was so important to the community that, for many years, it was played on Thanksgiving. Families planned their festivities around the Battle for the Little Brown Jug. MEDAL 2025 Winner: Hattiesburg 31-18 BULLHORN 2026: September 4 at Hattiesburg (D.I. Patrick Stadium)

5 2 R O U S E S FA L L 20 26

Photos by Romney Caruso

ALMOST CRAWFISH MONICA PASTA Recipe developed by Ann Maloney Serves 8-10

WHAT YOU WILL NEED : 1 cup half-and-half 1 cup heavy whipping cream 1 pound rotini pasta 4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter, or 4 tablespoons olive oil 3 scallions, chopped, plus more for serving 2 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley (optional), plus more for serving 2 large cloves garlic, minced ½ teaspoon white pepper, optional ½ teaspoon Creole/Cajun seasoning ¼ teaspoon dried thyme ¼ teaspoon fine salt 1 pound crawfish tails with fat, thawed and drained if frozen (don't rinse) ¼ cup dry white wine, such as sauvignon blanc, divided 1 tablespoon cornstarch 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce ¾ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese HOW TO PREP : To a medium saucepan over medium heat, add the half-and-half and heavy cream and cook until slightly reduced, about 10 minutes. Allow to simmer with tiny bubbles forming around the edges, but do not boil.

In a large pot over high heat, bring lightly salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to the package directions for al dente, about 7 minutes. In a large, deep-sided skillet over medium to medium-high heat, melt the butter or heat the olive oil. Add the scallions and cook until softened, about 2 minutes. Add the parsley, if using, and the garlic, and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the white pepper (if using), Creole/Cajun seasoning, thyme and salt; stir and cook for another minute. Add crawfish tails and half of the wine, and stir to combine. Cook for about 2 minutes to heat the tails. To the remaining wine add 1 tablespoon of cornstarch; whisk to create a slurry. Add the cornstarch slurry and the Worcestershire sauce to the dairy mixture and whisk until slightly thicker, about 3 minutes. Add the dairy mixture to the skillet and stir to combine with crawfish and vegetables. In a large serving bowl, add the hot pasta, pour the sauce over it and toss until the pasta is well-coated. Sprinkle with Parmesan and toss to combine. Sprinkle with more scallions or parsley when serving, if desired.

SAUSAGE BALLS

COWBOY RANCH DIP

Makes about 36 balls

Makes about 1½ cups

WHAT YOU WILL NEED : 1 pound Rouses fresh Green Onion Pork Sausage, removed from casing 2 cups all-purpose baking mix, such as Bisquick Original Pancake & Baking Mix 2 cups finely shredded sharp Cheddar cheese ¼ cup finely chopped green onions

WHAT YOU WILL NEED : ¾ cup sour cream ½ cup mayonnaise 2 tablespoons buttermilk 2 tablespoons chopped pickled jalapeños 1 tablespoon pickled jalapeño juice 1 teaspoon chili powder ½ teaspoon smoked paprika ½ teaspoon garlic powder ½ teaspoon onion powder ½ teaspoon dried dill ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper Salt, to taste

HOW TO PREP : Preheat the oven to 350°F. Combine the sausage, green onions, baking mix and cheese in a large bowl. Mix with your hands until well combined and no dry baking mix remains. Roll the mixture into 1½-inch balls and place on two parchment paper-lined baking sheets. For best results, refrigerate the sausage balls for at least 1 hour or overnight before baking. Place in preheated oven and bake for 14 to 17 minutes, or until lightly golden and the sausage reaches an internal temperature of 160°F. Let cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes before serving.

HOW TO PREP : Combine all the ingredients except for the salt in a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth. Taste and add salt, if needed. Add more buttermilk, 1 tablespoon at a time, if needed to reach a dipping consistency. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.

“

Friday night football at Hahnville High School gave me some of my favorite high school memories. As an HHS Hi-Stepper, I’ll never forget entering the stadium ahead of the band in our tall white boots and purple-and-gold capes, cheering from the stands, performing at halftime and marching out just as proudly as we came in. There was nothing quite like a Friday night at Hahnville. My love for football was undoubtedly passed down from my dad, who also played for Hahnville. He’s #74 in this photo, alongside my parrain, #50. Once a Tiger, always a Tiger!

”

— Amanda Kennedy, Senior Manager, Brand & Marketing Strategy

W W W. R O U S E S . C O M 5 3

Hahnville Tigers vs Destrehan Wildcats ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT Split geographically by the Mississippi River — Destrehan to the east and Hahnville to the west — the annual matchup of the Hahnville Tigers vs the Destrehan Wildcats is St. Charles Parish’s marquee high school football game. Though the rivalry has seen plenty of tightly contested battles in its 70-plus game history, the Wildcats lead the series by a margin of more than 20 wins — especially in recent seasons. Destrehan has been victorious every season since 2017, when a Wildcats team without current NFL superstar Justin Jefferson (for the first time in four years) came up seven points short. Five-star running back John Emery Jr. was the headliner of the Wildcats’ offense, but even his powerful running couldn’t match four-star standout Pooka Williams. Williams’ 235 yards on the ground lifted the Tigers to a 20-13 win in the Battle on the River; Hahnville carried that momentum all the way to the state championship, where they finished as the Class 5A runner-up. Williams shared the backfield with quarterback Jha’Quan Jackson, who went on to star as a receiver at Tulane before being drafted by the Tennessee Titans in the sixth round of the 2024 NFL draft. Despite recent lopsided results, the intraparish rivalry regularly pits future NFL talent against one another under Friday night lights. MEDAL 2025 Winner: Destrehan, 49-28 BULLHORN 2026: October 16 at Destrehan (Fighting Wildcats Stadium) 5 4 R O U S E S FA L L 20 26

Photos by Romney Caruso

WHITE CHICKEN CHILI Makes 4 to 6 servings

WHAT YOU WILL NEED : 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 large yellow onion, chopped 1 to 2 jalapeños, seeded if desired, and finely chopped 5 garlic cloves, minced 1 teaspoon dried oregano 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1 teaspoon chili powder Pinch of cayenne pepper, plus more to taste ¾ teaspoon salt, plus more to taste Freshly ground black pepper 2 (15-ounce) cans cannellini beans, rinsed and drained, divided 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth 2 (4-ounce) cans diced green chiles, with their liquid 2½ to 3 cups shredded rotisserie chicken meat 1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels Juice of ½ lime, plus lime wedges for serving For Serving Shredded pepper Jack cheese Pickled jalapeño slices

Diced avocado Sour cream Chopped fresh cilantro Crushed corn chips or tortilla strips HOW TO PREP : Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or pot over medium heat. Add the onion and jalapeños and cook, stirring often, until the onion is tender, about 6 minutes. Add the garlic, oregano, cumin, chili powder, cayenne, salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Place 1 can of the beans in a tall container with ½ cup of the chicken broth. Using an immersion blender, blend until smooth. Add the remaining chicken broth, puréed beans, remaining whole beans and diced green chiles with their liquid to the pot. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the chili is slightly thickened and the flavors have come together, about 15 to 20 minutes.

Stir in the shredded chicken and corn, and cook until heated through, about 3 minutes. Add the lime juice to the chili and stir to combine. Taste and add more salt, black pepper or cayenne, if desired. Ladle into bowls and top as desired with pepper Jack cheese, pickled jalapeños, avocado, sour cream, cilantro and crushed corn chips or tortilla strips. Serve with the lime wedges.

THREE-MEAT CHILI Makes 10 to 12 servings

WHAT YOU WILL NEED : 1 pound ground turkey 1 pound lean ground beef 1 pound Rouses fresh Green Onion Pork Sausage, removed from casing 3 celery stalks, diced 2 large yellow onions, diced 1 large green bell pepper, diced 1 (10-ounce) can Ro-Tel Original Diced Tomatoes & Green Chilies, with their liquid 2 (15-ounce) cans tomato sauce 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed 1 (15- to 16-ounce) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed 1 (4-ounce) can diced green chiles, with their liquid 1 (12-ounce) can amber beer 2 cups beef broth ½ cup cola 1 tablespoon brown sugar ¼ cup chili powder 2 tablespoons ground cumin 1 tablespoon smoked paprika

Pinch of cayenne pepper, plus more to taste Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste For Serving Shredded sharp Cheddar cheese Sour cream Chopped white onion Saltine crackers or corn chips HOW TO PREP : Heat a large, heavy pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the turkey, beef and sausage in batches and cook, breaking the meat into crumbles, until browned. Transfer the browned meat to a bowl, leaving enough rendered fat in the pot to cook the vegetables.

“

2000s Taylor was indeed in a cheerocracy — too legit to quit, too loud to ignore, and loving every minute of those Friday night lights. Football season in South Louisiana was always on another level, and it still is. Geaux Terrebonne Tigers!

— Taylor Ford, Human Resources

”

Add the celery, onions and bell pepper to the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 6 to 8 minutes. Return the meat to the pot. Add the Ro-Tel, tomato sauce, black beans, kidney beans, green chiles, beer, beef broth, cola, brown sugar, chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika and cayenne. Stir well to combine. Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat to low. Simmer partially covered for 2½ to 3 hours, stirring occasionally, until the chili is thick and the flavors have come together. Add a little additional beef broth if the chili becomes too thick. Taste and season with salt, black pepper and additional cayenne, if desired. Ladle into bowls and garnish with shredded Cheddar, sour cream and chopped white onion. Serve with saltine crackers or corn chips.

“

I started as a tenor drummer at Abramson Sci Academy during my junior year. By senior year, I had stepped into the role of drum major, and I was proud to lead our band on and off the field.

”

— Jason Stewart, Shelf Edge Coordinator W W W. R O U S E S . C O M 5 5

Feed the Whole Team Cajun Jambalaya ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT Jambalaya might just be the ultimate tailgate food. Ours is Cajun-style and brown — no tomatoes here — and even better with a side of our creamy white beans.

Red Beans ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT Red beans aren’t just for Monday Night Football. Our creamy New Orleans-style red beans are made with diced smoked sausage, and they’re just as good on a Friday as a Monday.

Rouses Fried Chicken ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT Great fried chicken starts with a great recipe. Ours is a Rouse Family Recipe that goes back three generations. The chicken is double-battered and fried fresh throughout the day. Large orders can be placed in our Deli.

Chicken Tenders ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT Our white-meat chicken tenders get the same double-battered treatment, fried until crisp and served with Rouses Sweet & Tangy BBQ Sauce or Ranch Dressing. They’re easy to carry, easy to share and rarely make it all the way to kickoff. Photo by Romney Caruso

BLUE FOODS AS MEDICINE 20 Healthy, Delicious Recipes Featuring Sea Vegetables and Bivalves

20 FREE BLUE FOODS RECIPES + COOK ALONG VIDEOS Created by Registered Dietitians

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Get your FREE Blue Foods Cookbook!

TOUCHING DOWN IN THE PARTY ZONE?

by David W. Brown Southern Boyz Outdoors is every-

where these days. There’s the line

of Louisiana seasonings and dry mixes flying off shelves at your

local Rouses. There’s the Southern

Boyz store located on Highway 190

Photo by Romney Caruso

hunting gear and outdoor cooking

from crossbows to jambalaya pots. People visit from around the country, many making special detours to Baptist specifically to visit the shop.

near Hammond specializing in supplies. And, most famously,

there’s the social media sensation featuring videos about Louisiana hunting, fishing, family and food.

“O

ur goal was always to highlight our state’s outdoor life,” said Kinion Bankston, the founder and face of Southern Boyz Outdoors. “In the first video I ever posted on social media, we put crab traps out in Lake Maurepas, and came back and did a Louisiana crab boil down on the docks on the swamp at my camp.” Bankston was astonished to see people from around the world comment on his videos. “I thought that was pretty cool,” he said. At the time, in 2011, he had a regular Facebook profile, which allows a maximum of 5,000 followers. His daughter suggested he set up an official page, because those accounts can have millions. “I was like, millions of followers?” he said, and laughed at the improbability of such a thing. Today Southern Boyz Outdoors has more than 6 million followers on Facebook alone. Across all platforms, they reach nearly 9 million people. The online growth led Bankston and associates to open a Southern Boyz Outdoors retail outlet in Baptist, Louisiana, a small, unincorporated community between Hammond and Albany. The store offers all the sorts of products that appear on their videos,

From the very start, Bankston featured cooking as prominently as hunting in his videos. “We would go out do a show on catching alligators, and turn around and do videos on cooking them,” he explained. As cooking shows in general grew more popular on TV and social media, Bankston rode that wave of interest, increasing the cooking content of his channels. This, and the thousands of messages he received from viewers, led Southern Boyz Outdoors to branch out into seasonings. “We started out in 2019 with just our allpurpose Cajun seasoning, and then we grew from there,” he said. Finding the right recipe for seasonings takes a ton of effort. “You’re just creating and going and doing and trying to figure out what works best.” In addition to their All Purpose Cajun Creole Seasoning, and a low-sodium variant, Rouses also carries the Southern Boyz Slobber Knocker Cajun Seasoning, which has more of a kick to it. Bankston has been happy to see the local Louisiana cooking he grew up with reach people all over. “We’re introducing jambalaya and pastalaya to people who have never eaten it before,” he said.

Boyz viewers, with good reason. “In three-and-a-half hours, you can cook a 30-gallon jambalaya very, very easily, and feed 300 people who are tailgating. It’s a Louisiana football tradition,” Bankston said. Pastalaya has also become popular in recent years. “It’s cooked almost the same as jambalaya, but offers people something a little different that is still delicious,” he said. (Would-be Cajun cooks who want to make it with training wheels can find Southern Boyz Pastalaya Mix on Rouses shelves.) What Bankston is most proud of is that Southern Boyz Outdoors is family-friendly. “We went to the Rouses in Hattiesburg, Mississippi a few months ago for an event,” he said. “Over 500 people showed up to just shake our hands and say hello and take pictures. And they kept telling me they enjoy our content because they don’t have to worry about cussing or people acting crazy.” The Southern Boyz brand, he explained, is for everyone. “I like to keep it genuine. I like to let the light that’s in me shine through to others.”

Food that can feed large numbers of people is especially popular with Southern W W W. R O U S E S . C O M 5 9

al d e n te or bust

TASTE THE TRADITION.

CELEBRATE THE SEASON. PERFECT

PRE-KICKOFF BREAKFAST

EASY

GRAB & GO SNACK

Catholic Bears vs. University Lab Cubs ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT Unlike many of Louisiana’s intra-parish or crosstown rivalries, Catholic High School and University Lab are not separated by the river or a bridge — the campuses are just a seven-minute drive down the road from one another in Baton Rouge. While the schools have been two of the capital city’s most prominent, longstanding institutions for more than a century, surprisingly, this rivalry has been around for less than a decade. Both the Bears and Cubs are highly competitive in their respective divisions, regularly fielding future professional athletes across multiple sports. With both teams turning into statewide powerhouses, a showdown on the gridiron was finally scheduled in 2017. The game was thought to be the first-ever meeting between the Bears and Cubs in football, but local historians discovered two previous matchups in the early 1920s and in 1934. But the schools did not play each other again for 83 years. The 2017 game was such a major draw for the community that it has become a nearly annual Week 3 non-district showcase of some of the state’s premier talent. The Bears picked up their fifth win of the series in 2025, as Catholic — led by four-star Ohio State signee Blaine Bradford — was able to hold down a Cubs team anchored by the top-ranked recruit in the country, Lamar Brown (now at LSU). MEDAL 2025 Winner: Catholic, 28-14

St. Amant Gators vs East Ascension Spartans ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT St. Amant vs East Ascension is Ascension Parish’s very own version of The Rivalry. In fact, the games’ trophy even reads “The Rivalry” across the front. When St. Amant High School opened its doors in 1978, its student body came straight from East Ascension High School’s attendance zone, so would-be classmates became rivals. The first matchup on the football field in 1979 saw childhood friends, neighbors and relatives pitted against each other. Forget about the district standings; neighborhood bragging rights are on the line here, year in and year out. More than 10,000 fans turn out annually to witness the battle. Both teams participate in spirit contests and tailgates, and boosters raise funds for the schools. East Ascension students wear camouflage to school on Friday to prepare for the “Gator Hunt,” while St. Amant students wear orange to match the Gators’ special jerseys worn only for the game against the Spartans. The winner of the game takes home a massive trophy featuring both teams’ helmets and an outline of Ascension Parish. Despite East Ascension having the noted football pedigree between the two schools, such as former LSU All-American and top NFL draft pick Glenn Dorsey, St. Amant has held its own in the Battle of Burnside. The Gators even took the 6 2 R O U S E S FA L L 20 26

series lead after winning back-to-back games in 2023 and 2024. But it was the Spartans who won a one-point thriller (49-48) in 2025 by stopping a two-point conversion attempt to end the game, tying the series at 23-23. MEDAL 2025 Winner: East Ascension, 49-48 BULLHORN 2026: September 25 at St. Amant (The Pit)

Dutchtown Griffins vs East Ascension Spartans ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT Dutchtown High School opened in 2003, making the Griffins the newest rival of East Ascension’s Spartans. Despite being a relatively young school, Dutchtown has become an NFL pipeline. Running back Dylan Sampson, offensive lineman Lloyd Cushenberry and safeties Landon Collins, Eric Reid and Justin Reid suited up for the Griffins. The 2021 game set the Spartans up to play for the district title. The Griffins found themselves in the same scenario in 2025. LSU freshman offensive lineman Brysten Martinez caught the winning touchdown pass for East Ascension in the 2025 game that ultimately earned the Spartans the 5-5A title. The 2026 game will be played in the final week of the regular season — talk about high stakes. MEDAL 2025 Winner: East Ascension, 30-28 BULLHORN 2026: November 5 at Dutchtown (Griffin Stadium)

Catholic Bears vs Zachary Broncos ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT While the Catholic Bears have been a Louisiana prep athletics staple, the Zachary Broncos have quickly climbed near the top of the totem pole in the Baton Rouge area. Under head coach David Brewerton, a Catholic High alumnus, the Broncos have claimed four state championships since 2015. The Bears won five in that span, though two were forfeited. The matchup has become one of the most anticipated matchups of the regular season. Coach Brewerton arrived at Zachary High ahead of the 2014 season. By 2015, his alma mater was on the schedule as a non-district opponent. Catholic and Zachary met up early in the season for four straight seasons. In the first game of that series, the Broncos came out on top 41-26 in Week 2. Both teams went on to win the state championship in their respective divisions. The series went on hiatus for a few seasons before division realignment placed both schools in the same district. Since becoming a permanent annual fixture in 2022, the matchup has reached rivalry status, often played in the final week of the regular season with a district championship weighing in the balance. Such was the case in 2023, when Catholic’s Jacob Bradford intercepted an overtime pass intended for future LSU teammate Trey’Dez Green to secure a district title for the Bears. MEDAL 2025 Winner: Catholic, 41-7 BULLHORN 2026: October 16 at Zachary (The Bronco Corral)

What’s the Name of Your School by LeBron "LBJ" Joseph Nothing in the Crescent City elicits a more spirited response than the school you rep! And in our city, that “school” is rarely your grammar school, or your college or university, but where you spent your coming of age — high school. In fact, any New Orleanian worth their salt will tell you what school they went to.

ftentimes, people new to New Orleans are fascinated by our fascination with identifying ourselves by our high schools. In past generations, the high school you attended was most often associated with the neighborhood you grew up in. In other words, if you were from the 9th Ward you were probably a Pythian, a Tiger or a Ram. Uptown usually meant you were a Tarpon, a Green Hornet or maybe even a Cavalier. Treme probably made you a Bulldog or a Trojan, Gentilly a Falcon, and if you lived in the 7th Ward, you probably were a Cougar or even a Roneagle. Mid-City continues to give us the Eagles. The West Bank could have made you a Buccaneer, a Charger or a Cougar. The East produced the Commodores and the Olympians! What also flavored our school gumbo was the heathy dose of Catholic schools that dotted our city’s landscape, and there is no shortage of folklore tied to what makes one a Raider, a Crusader, a Purple Knight, a Cougar (lots of Cougars around here!), a Yellow Jacket, a Cub, a Blue Jay, a Lion, a Chipmunk or a Crescent. These mascots defined who we were — and, sometimes, who we still are.

The definitive call-and-response songs about high school identity in New Orleans come to us from Jerome Temple, known popularly as DJ Jubilee. The first of the school releases was “Get Ready, Ready!” in 1997 on Take Fo’ Records. During part of the song, he begins naming mostly legacy Uptown schools that he attended. DJ Jubilee, who also performed as a rapper and dancer, already had local hits like “Stop Pause: “Jubilee All,” but he says school naming on “Get Ready, Ready!” happened organically, as kids from different schools attended the Walter L .Cohen High dances that he DJ’d. While DJ Jubilee’s songs also included the names and instructions for dance moves, like the Beanie Weenie and the Eldon DeLloyd, the school names drove the crowds wild. “Even though there were multiple dances named in the song, when I started naming schools, the song took off,” said DJ Jubilee. He took things a step further the next year by producing a song called “What’s the Name of Your School?” that literally was a shout-out song in tribute to just about every school across the metro area. DJ Jubilee said, “I put all the schools in that song; it had to be over 30-40 schools in that song.” When asked why we have such affection for our high schools, he said: “Because of pride, man. For some reason, coming up during the ’80s and working at the schools in the ’90’s, your school was your pride.” Oftentimes, that pride was related to great athletics or a great band, but either way, that pride carried the student body. In what is possibly the most wholesome part of this story, while DJ Jubilee still performs regularly and those songs still elicit that pride, what Jerome Temple has also been doing for over 32 years is working with special needs students at West Jefferson

Photo courtesy DJ Jubilee

High School. Yes, he’s still making an impact on kids in school. What has changed over the generations, according to Temple, is that the way schools are governed is different these days. Now, where students live doesn’t necessarily determine where they go to school, and that has impacted the pride once shown. “We grew up in the neighborhood together, we went to the same middle school, the same high school…we did all that together. Once they broke that fabric, it’s hard to get that back.” What hasn’t changed is that if you’re asked ‘What’s The Name of Your School?’ we still mean your high school, and it still means something to many of us!

“

I was a cheerleader for the Assumption High School Mustangs for exactly one year when I realized I probably wasn't cut out to be a cheerleader. I had cheered throughout middle school at St. Philomena and even served as captain during my 8th grade year. Then I went to Assumption High School, where my 8th grade class of 7 students, yes, you read that right, suddenly became a freshman class of more than 500. Being a cheerleader helped me meet new people from around the parish and made the transition to a much larger school a little easier. However, the 30-minute drive from Labadieville to Napoleonville for practices and games also played a part in my decision to end my cheerleading career after just one year. — Taryn Clement, E-Commerce Director

”

W W W. R O U S E S . C O M 6 3

Hammond Tornadoes vs Ponchatoula Green Wave ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT Though the all-time record between the Tornadoes and Green Wave is unknown, the history of the Cypress Bowl spans nearly a century. The schools have many similarities. Both have weather-themed nicknames. They are located within a 10-mile radius. The football programs each have one state title. And they both hate each other. The game is typically played as the season finale, for which both teams take a short bus ride to Southeastern Louisiana University’s Strawberry Stadium. The neutral site was formerly Hammond High’s home field; the 7,400-seat venue offers adequate space for generations of Tangipahoa Parish residents to attend the area’s most storied high school football rivalry. Robert Alford, who intercepted Tom Brady for an 82-yard touchdown in Super Bowl LI, once starred in the matchup for the Tornadoes. Around the same time as Alford’s memorable NFL moment, the Green Wave had its own trio of bigtime players participating in the rivalry: quarterback TJ Finley went on to sign with LSU; Jacoby Mathews was a five-star safety who started his college career at Texas A&M; and running back Tyjae Spears starred in Tulane’s last-second Cotton Bowl upset against USC before heading to the NFL. The next crop of talent from Tangipahoa will square off in another season finale district clash, where Ponchatoula will look for its first win in the series since 2022. Meanwhile, Hammond will look to tilt the recent series further in its favor; the past 10 matchups were split 5-5. MEDAL 2025 Winner: Hammond, 35-28 BULLHORN 2026: November 6 at Strawberry Stadium

in memorium Mike Detillier No one would have loved this issue more.

Mike Detillier, “The Football

Guy,” was a fullback and linebacker at Central

Lafourche High School who went on to become one of

the most trusted voices in

football. In 1983, he launched

Photo courtesy The Times-Picayune/NOLA

Mike Detillier’s NFL Draft Report, which grew into a must-read guide for coaches, scouts and diehard fans alike. He later became a regular

on WWL Radio, working with a lineup of legends that included Buddy D, Hokie Gajan, Jim Henderson and Bobby Hebert. He also appeared

on HTV’s Sports on the Bayou. Detillier died of cancer on Sept. 6.

“Mike was a good friend and was like a brother to me,” said Hebert, who worked alongside Detillier at WWL and on Sports on the

Bayou for several years. “It’s heartbreaking. This really hurts.” Martin Folse, owner and operator of HTV, remembered Detillier as “kind, generous, thoughtful and insightful.”

“He was thorough to the max. He was passionate, and he enjoyed what he did,” Folse said. “We are going to miss him tremen-

dously, not just because of his talent, but because of his great storytelling and his ability to make people feel good.”

Over the years, Mike joined us for countless WWL broadcasts from

our stores and contributed to our Rouses Magazine Super Bowl issue. But it was his knowledge of the game that truly set him apart. From high school and college football to the Saints and the NFL, Mike had an incredible ability to remember the players, the plays and

the stories behind them — and he never tired of sharing them. That's why we’re dedicating this issue to his memory.

“

Sophomore year at Central Lafourche, I was a clarinetist competing in a marching band festival at Northshore High School when a torrential downpour hit. There we were — nearly 300 of us between the band, color guard and dance team, in white uniforms, staring at a whole lot of mud. But we were way too competitive to back out, so we marched anyway! Let’s just say those uniforms didn’t stay white for long. Football players aren’t the only ones who get down and dirty. Band is a sport, too! — Heather L. Stewart, Category Manager

”

6 4 R O U S E S FA L L 20 26

“When the band steps into Tad Gormley Stadium and you hear that ‘Purple’ playing, there’s just something it does to you,” the former St. Aug star once said. “The crowd going crazy and just to know the ‘Purple Nation’ is in the building.”

the stadium by Juan Nogueira Tad Gormley is New Orleans’ high school football stadium.

Built during the Depression as part

of an enormous New Deal transformation of City Park, what was then

called City Park Stadium opened in 1937. A photograph from 1935 shows workers pouring concrete

by hand for what would become a

26,500-seat stadium with 16 ramps.

yan Manale knows Tad Gormley from nearly every angle. He played there at Rummel, returned as a Rummel coach, spent nearly a decade coaching at De La Salle and today is the head football coach at Jesuit. As a proud Rummel graduate, I won't hold that last part against him.

“When I walk the halls at Jesuit, I feel like I’m in a museum,” Manale said. “The walls speak to so much tradition and history. Tad Gormley feels the same way.” Tad Gormley has never really belonged to one school. For generations, it has been common ground for New Orleans high school football. Jesuit has its own stadium on campus, but its varsity team still plays home games at Tad Gormley. And that tradition goes back almost as far as the stadium itself.

Three years after the stadium opened, a reported 34,345 people packed it to watch Jesuit play Holy Cross. There weren’t actually 34,345 seats. Temporary bleachers were erected at the open end of the horseshoe, the crowd overflowed the permanent and temporary stands, and more than 1,000 additional fans were reportedly turned away. Rummel played plenty of games at Tad Gormley when I was in high school, although I was considerably more concerned with who was in the stands than what was happening on the field, probably while I was, regrettably, wearing cargo shorts and a shell necklace. My longtime friend and fellow Raider Casey Preskitt was the lead singer of the high school band Ewshafa, a name intended to mean the opposite of “fa sho” because, according to the band and its fans, they weren’t very good. Fortunately, Preskitt was much better at football. He quarterbacked Rummel’s backto-back divisional championship teams. But his biggest Tad Gormley memory isn’t of playing there. “It was being there as a kid, hearing the announcer and the sound coming out of the stadium before you even reached the gates,” he said. “It was like a cave of noise. Because the stadium is shaped like a bowl, it felt more alive than anywhere else.”

Fournette is hardly the only future NFL star who came through the place. Marshall Faulk, Tyrann Mathieu, Ja’Marr Chase, Odell Beckham Jr. and Reggie Wayne all played there, too. On September 16, 1964, that bowl was filled with a very different kind of screaming. Some 12,000 fans packed the stadium to see the Beatles. About 200 reportedly collapsed during the excitement, while around 100 broke through a barricade and rushed toward the stage. It took 225 police officers about 20 minutes to restore order. Before taking the stage, the Beatles had a particularly New Orleans request: They wanted to meet Fats Domino. He came to the stadium and visited with them backstage. After all that, the Beatles played for about half an hour. For all the famous names that have passed through Tad Gormley, its history belongs just as much to the generations of New Orleans kids who grew up going there, including me.

ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT This season, players and fans will notice a few upgrades at Tad Gormley. The stadium, owned and operated by City Park, has a newly installed synthetic turf field that was previously used at the New Orleans Saints practice facility, along with a brand-new sound system. Nearly 30 high school football games will be played there over the next few months, adding another season to the stadium’s long Friday night history.

Leonard Fournette remembers a different Tad Gormley sound: St. Aug’s legendary Marching 100. W W W. R O U S E S . C O M 6 5