Friday Night Lights - Week 13

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WRAPPING UP AN AMAZING 2019 SEASON THE TIMES • NOVEMBER 25, 2019 • WEEK 13 FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS

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PUBLISHER

Brian Rushing

EDITORIAL

TABLE OF

CONTENTS EDITOR’S NOTE WOW, WHAT A RIDE! This will be our final Friday Night Lights Magazine for the fall — a 13-week ride that’s been memorable and fun for our staff and the entire team at Rushing Media.

Before I dive deeper into this Editor’s Note, I’d like to thank a few people for their work in making this magazine possible.

I’d like to thank our Ownership team and the Rushing family for allowing us to see this vision to light. I’d like to thank our sales staff for busting tail to sell this idea to clients, and I’d like to thank the folks in the business community for supporting our idea and allowing us to bring a spotlight to these kids every week throughout the season.

I’d like to thank our amazing photography team for giving us the best pictures each week. You guys and gals are a huge part of why this magazine has been a success.

I’d also like to thank our Graphics Department for taking our art and editorial content and making it come to life.

We, of course, would like to thank our readers for consuming the product and supporting it, as well.

But I’d also like to thank our local players and coaches for their time and hospitality throughout the season.

We’ve never had a problem getting anything we needed from coaches this year. If we needed an interview, we got one. If we needed access to practice, we got it. If we needed a photo opp, it was granted.

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FAREWELL TO 2019

Bonnie Rushing Editorial Director Casey Gisclair Managing Editor Mary Ditch Managing Editor Drew Miller Associate Editor

CREATIVE

Amber Duplantis Senior Designer Nicholas Boutte Graphic Designer

Saying goodbye to the amazing season

UNIVERSITY PUSHES PAST VANDEBILT

COVER PHOTOGRAPHY Leo Bourg

Terriers dug early hole, never climbed out

TERRIERS HANDLED ADVERSITY ALL YEAR VCHS’s season defined by overcoming low points

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THE TOP 5 GAMES OF 2019

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THE BEST OF THE BEST

A look back at the year’s memorable moments Giving honors to the Top players this fall

5 TO WATCH IN 2020 Our area has several promising returnees

ROUND 2 CHAOS Playoff drama ran wild around Louisiana

UNDER THE LIGHTS See some of our best photos of the year

Your hospitality allows us to do our job to the best of our ability and it’s much appreciated.

We also want to thank the players. The stories of your blood, sweat and tears are why we had the content to fill our pages.

Your dedication to your craft is marked and impressive. You’ve earned great wins, suffered tough defeats and have had an amazing 2019 season.

And it’s been a pleasure — an absolute joy.

There won’t be a paper edition of Friday Night Lights until next fall.

But until then, keep following us on Facebook and on HoumaTimes.com.

The season is over, but our commitment to local sports is not.

Until next time!

NOVEMBER 25, 2019 • WEEK 13

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PHOTOGRAPHY

Wendy Bergeron Leo Bourg Casey Gisclair Drew Miller Jared Shanklin

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MAN, WHAT A YEAR

BY CASEY GISCLAIR

casey@rushing-media.com

The Friday night lights shut down locally for the final time in 2019 this past weekend when University Lab came to Vandebilt Catholic and punched its ticket forward in an impressive win.

There will be no local Superdome team in 2019, which means, obviously, there will be no local state champion.

But goodness, that doesn’t take the shine off of what was an absolutely, positively amazing year of local high school football.

The 2019 season was epic and fun for everyone on our staff — a time when we were able to showcase local talent and cover games that we will be talking about for a long, long time.

There were victories and defeats, but we stop short of saying there were winners and losers, because the truth is that EVERYONE brave enough to endure the summer, the offseason workouts, the conditioning and the 10game season is a winner in my book. All of the young men who took that field this season — even if they never played a single snap

amazing talents of so many others — guys who may not even play at the next level, but who still emptied their tanks on the field every Friday night.

My personal favorite was Elijah Barnett.

Elijah is an undersized defensive lineman for the South Lafourche football team, but that kid just flat out made plays.

If the ball was one the left side of the field and Elijah was on the right, he’d sprint across the field like a madman to try and find a way to cause chaos.

I don’t know if Elijah will play at the next level.

Colleges may think he’s too small or whatever other metrics they use.

But that kid was a flat-out ballplayer and it was a joy to watch him this season — and several others were just as memorable, as well.

What also struck me about the 2019 season was just how close and unpredictable the games were.

A lot of high school seasons are filled with blowouts and noncompetitive games because there’s a clear hierarchy of haves and have nots. But this year was different.

There was a ton of parity

of football in a game — accomplished something that shows character, determination and grit, and for that, we applaud you all.

The 2019 season was historic locally, because it was the first one with artificial turf in Terrebonne Parish.

There were no mud bowls, nor any rain games.

Of course, we did see Terrebonne play a game in a near-tropical storm.

We’ll rememeber that one for a while.

And also of course, the one year we have field turf was the one year where we, pretty much had a dry fall with limited rain.

It figures.

Jokes aside, we were so impressed this season by the depth of talent in the Houma-Thibodaux area and some of the amazing feats of athleticism that were on full display at every, single game we covered.

Everyone locally, of course, knows about Blue Chip prospects like Ja’Khi Douglas and Maason Smith — two guys who are going to go off to the next level and make their mark when the time comes.

But we were also honored to cover the FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS

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and there were so many close finishes.

We will talk about the best games of the year a little later in this magazine, but that Thibodaux versus Central Lafourche game comes to mind right out of the gate as a shootout that wasn’t decided until the final seconds.

Heck, Vandebilt’s playoff win with Hannan was the same way, as were several others throughout the year.

But like all good things, this year must come to an end, so we sadly say goodbye until next time.

To the seniors, it was our pleasure to cover your games and showcase your talents. In the preseason, we challenged you all to go out with a bang and you did not disappoint.

To the underclassmen, now is the time to work toward 2020.

Get bigger, get faster, get stronger and come back better than ever.

Next year is your time to shine, and we’ll be there again to watch it all unfold.

But it’s up to you guys to put in the work now so that 2020 can be as awesome as 2019 was.

The bar is set high, yes.

But we know you all can clear it. •

UNIVERSITY ENDS VANDEBILT’S SEASON

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PHOTOS BY: LEO BOURG

BY CASEY GISCLAIR

casey@rushing-media.com

The 2019 high school football season is over in the Houma-Thibodaux area.

University Lab came to Houma on Friday night and showed why they’re one of the top teams in the state, using dominant defense and quick-strike offense to roll to a 35-14 win over Vandebilt.

With the win, University will take on De La Salle in the Semifinals.

For Vandebilt, the loss ends their season with a 7-5 record.

University coach Andy Martin said he was proud of the way his team played on the road against a

tough, worthwhile foe.

“We took care of business,” Martin said.

“We knew coming in that they were going to be hungry and prepared to fight and compete to try and defend their home field. We needed a good start and we got one.

Once we got ahead, our defense did an excellent job keeping them out of rhythm and controlling the game.”

The Terriers fought like heck on Friday night, but University just had a few too many athletes.

Lab scored first — a short touchdown run by quarterback Tanner Lawson to go up 7-0.

Then, the turnover bug bit Vandebilt hard later in

the half. First, the Terriers fumbled, which again gave the ball to the Cubs with a short field.

They capitalized in two plays on a pass from Lawson to Austin Ausberry to go up 14-0 at the end of the first quarter.

Terriers coach Lance Ledet said many times throughout the season that Vandebilt has had a turnover bugaboo. He’s also said that the team has had problems with slow starts. Both things bit them on Friday.

“If I had the answer for it, I’d bottle it and sell it and we’d make some money,” Ledet said with a laugh earlier this season when asked about slow starts. “That’s been a

The spirit, the will to win, and the will to excel are the things that endure. These qualities are so much more important than the events that occur. -Vince Lombardi

985.655.2200 FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS

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problem for us. We’ve had a hard time getting out of the gates clicking at the level that we want to be playing.”

Behind the 8-ball on the scoreboard, Vandebilt just never had a chance to catch back up.

Vandebilt was without starting quarterback Gavin Daigle, who missed the game after being injured in the team’s openinground win at Hannan.

And the team lacked rhythm throughout the first half, which allowed the Cubs to get to the big lead.

University had something to do with the struggles, too, though.

Cubs’ defensive lineman Jacquelin Roy is an LSU

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commitment and he took up tons of space at the line of scrimmage.

With Roy eating blockers, the team’s linebackers and safeties flew to the football to make plays to keep Vandebilt in check.

“We were just excellent defensively,” Martin said.

“I’m so proud of those kids. We knew they were without their quarterback, so we weren’t exactly sure what their offense was going to look like.

But we won at the line of scrimmage and I thought we tackled well. I thought we did a really good job of limiting them and tackling them at first contact.”

In the second quarter, University added another touchdown to its lead — again off a turnover — an interception by Micah Davey.

That set up Derrick Graham on a touchdown run to go up 21-0 early in the second quarter.

But then Vandebilt settled in.

The Terriers held Lab several times in the second quarter to send the game to halftime with the same 21-0 score.

In the third quarter, University put the game away on a short touchdown run by Lawson

which put the Cubs up 280.

After that score, Vandebilt got points on a touchdown drive when quarterback Jean Luc Lapeyre hit Collin Robicheaux for a touchdown to cut the deficit to 28-7 — the score coming early in the fourth quarter.

University added a fourth-quarter score of their own to go up 357, but Vandebilt scored with just a few seconds on the clock to send the game to its final margin — a touchdown run from Caleb Calhoun to end the game.

Ledet said multiple times in the back-end of the season that he was proud of his team for fighting. Vandebilt started slow, but ended with a bang, playing their best football at the end of the season.

Ledet said he thought his team continually got better, which sparked a late-season turnaround.

“The kids kept working and made improvements,” Ledet said recently. “We couldn’t be prouder of them for continuing to fight and continuing to work hard and doing everything we’ve asked them to do.”• FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS

good luck to all teams!

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VANDEBILT OVERCAME ADVERSITY ALL SEASON

BY CASEY GISCLAIR

casey@rushing-media.com

Vandebilt played a second-round playoff game on Friday without its starting quarterback.

That’s tough.

But aside from a few hiccups early in the game, the Terriers handled that situation in stride.

Why? Because adversity is

nothing new to this team.

From the first snap of the season to the last, Vandebilt has been through a lot — adjusting to a first-year head coach and several challenges throughout the year.

Coach Lance Ledet said multiple times this year that the fight in his team made him proud.

Never was that fight more apparent than on Friday FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS

when the Terriers scored a late-game, last-second touchdown for pride in the final seconds of the game.

“The credit goes to the kids,” Ledet said. “They’ve stayed committed and they’ve stuck it out. It took us a little while to get going, but the kids were focused and committed and we’re so proud of how hard they’ve worked to keep s going forward.”

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Vandebilt’s ability to handle adversity started all the way back to last season.

The Andrew Robison situation dominated the team’s season, and coach Jeremy Atwell ended up being relieved of his duties after 2018.

Ledet was hired, but still had obligations to Brother Martin.

The Terriers bypassed spring

PHOTO BY: LEO BOURG

football, opting instead to add extra practices to the front-end of their end-ofsummer camp.

Did the team benefit from the extra work?

We’ll never know.

It rained on the Terriers just about every chance the team had to get on the field.

“We’re going to be the best basketball team in the state of Louisiana,” Ledet said with a laugh earlier this season — a joke he made to illustrate how many days the Terriers were rained out of practice and forced inside.

The disadvantage Vandebilt had is its infrastructure.

The Terriers are one of the few local teams not blessed with a turf field.

When it rains during the week, natural grass practice fields water log.

Teams with turf fields can get on the turf and get work.

The Terriers couldn’t.

Ledet said the team lost hours and hours of time.

“It’s frustrating,” Ledet said earlier this season.

“I love the grass field on Friday nights. But the advantage of the turf is from Monday-to-Thursday.

You’re able to do so much more as long as there’s no lightning. That’s where those teams get an edge and an advantage.”

Vandebilt started its season slow.

They started 1-3 and were non-competitive in losses against Westgate and Dutchtown.

In the team’s next two games, they won, but

WISHING ALL OF OUR

struggled at times. They beat Welsh, despite multiple turnovers, then followed the same script in a win against South Lafourche.

But the team then started to find its stride.

In the back-end of district play, Vandebilt started to play its best ball — picking up steam.

They walloped Ellender 29-0, then overcame a slow first half to beat South Terrebonne 31-9.

That set the stage for a showdown district game with Assumption — a game that Vandebilt forced overtime, then could have won if not for a late-game pass interference call that the officials did not flag.

But it went for naught, which set up the Terriers to earn the No. 11 seed, and a date with Hannan.

They won that game, then earned the home tilt with University Lab. In the Hannan game, quarterback Gavin Daigle went down with an injury — an ailment that would sideline him for the rest of his season. But the team battled back, rallied late and secured the win.

Against University, it was too much for the team to overcome and the Terriers lost to the formidable foe.

But they played a strong second half and finished the game with a bang — the short touchdown.

That’s just the way it’s been all season for Vandebilt — competing through tension and learning to find comfort in uncomfortable positions.• FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS

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TOP 5 GAMES OF 2019

BY CASEY GISCLAIR

casey@rushing-media.com

5 Games of the Year for 2019.

This football season was great on many fronts, and you’ll get to read about all of those throughout the pages of this magazine.

But for me, personally, I enjoyed it because, heck, every, single Friday night, I got a free cardiac exam.

Local fans can attest to the high drama and stressfulness of several games — back and forth affairs that weren’t decided often until the final snap was played.

So we decided to look back and crown the best of the best.

And we asked your help, too.

Below were our Top

No. 5 - Assumption 26, Vandebilt 20 (in overtime) This would have maybe been No. 1 on the list had the local team won. But either way, Assumption’s battle with Vandebilt was memorable because it was such a high-stakes game.

This was, in essence, the district championship game in the local Class 4A district. The Mustangs got punched in the mouth early and often by a Vandebilt defense that was opportunistic and fierce, forcing several turnovers throughout the game.

Vandebilt trailed late, but scored to force overtime.

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In overtime, the Mustangs scored, but the Terriers had a chance to match, but a late-game fourth down pass controversially fell incomplete after what looked like pass interference in the end zone. Both teams would be OK. Both won playoff games.

actually had a big lead throughout most of the game, but Destrehan battled back and made it a close contest late. But the Tigers weren’t going to be denied again. They found the extra gear they needed at the end and secured a huge win to power their season.

No. 4 - Terrebonne 30, Destrehan 22 Terrebonne did just about everything in 2018 — except beat Destrehan.

In 2019, they climbed that hill and beat their River Parish rivals. The Tigers released all of their 2018 frustration in this game, using dominant defense to control Destrehan for most of the game. Terrebonne

No. 3 - South Lafourche 13, South Terrebonne 10 As sports journalists, we often use the term ‘lastsecond’ finish, but rarely does a game actually truly come down to the final seconds. In Week 7 in Galliano, it did, and South Lafourche got their first win of the season.

The Tarpons were winless and seeking answers

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after being demobilized by a tough non-district schedule and also a 18-3 loss at Vandebilt. The Tarpons made subtle tweaks to their offense in Week 7, and marched down the field for a touchdown in their first drive of the game. That score held up until late in the game. Down 3, South Terrebonne was driving looking to secure the win.

But the Tarpons’ defense made a late-game stop, and South Terrebonne ran out of time with the ball at the 4-yard-line — securing a wild finish and a Tarpons win.

No. 2 - Thibodaux 36, Central Lafourche 33 What’s better than cross-parish rivals locking horns when both are

undefeated? Not much.

What’s better than a rivalry game decided with a late-game touchdown in the final minute? Maybe nothing. Emotions were high in the middle stages of the season when Thibodaux beat Central Lafourche — a barnburner for the ages. Trojans’ halfback Deon Jenkins put forth a Herculean effort in defeat, getting the ball virtually every, single play of the second half to power the Trojans’ offense. It was almost enough. Jenkins scored late in the game to put his team ahead 3328. But Luke Alleman had an answer. The Tigers’ 2-minute offense took the ball with zero margin for error and put it into the end zone for a lategame score and 2-point

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conversion to secure the win. Tigers coach Chris Dugas called it one of the best games of his entire coaching career.

We agree, coach.

No. 1 - Houma Christian 34, Delcambre 28 Some things are bigger than sports. Some things transcend championship trophies, win/loss records, playoff positioning and all of the things that us nerds like to fawn over.

Houma Christian’s Week 10 win over Delcambre was all of that and more.

The Warriors had a rough season.

They lacked numbers, and the players that they did have were young.

The Warriors lost their first 9 games of the season and were non-competitive in a lot

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of those games, having moved up to Class 2A in 2019 — a giant leap from 1A. The Warriors announced before Week 10 began that they were going to opt out of their playoff bid (all Division III teams make the playoffs) because they knew they couldn’t be competitive against their foe. That meant their Week 10 game with Delcambre would be their final game of the season. And they rallied and won it.

The Warriors’ victory is a story of perseverance, diligence and teamwork.

It meant nothing in district standings, nor for postseason play. But it meant everything about teamwork and unity, and that’s what high school sports are all about. •

HANDING OUT SOME HARDWARE IN 2019

BY CASEY GISCLAIR

casey@rushing-media.com

It’s a tradition.

Every, single season since I’ve been a sports writer here in town, I’ve handed out postseason awards.

Some years, they’re handed out kind of quietly. Others, we made certificates with trophies with my face on them (anyone remember the Casey Awards?).

OK, so we’re not doing that again this year, but we are going to recognize the amazing work of the young men who have competed in 2019.

Some of these awards, we got your input via online polls.

Others, we’re going to just wing it.

Congratulations to all of the local winners.

TOP QUARTERBACK OF THE YEAR:

Winner: Thibodaux quarterback Luke Alleman Alleman is electric. He’s

one of those guys that can make something special happen at any time. There were a lot of top local challengers for this award, but none are the true, prototypical quarterback like Alleman is. He wins the honor for that reason and likely heads into 2020 as the front-runner to be the local MVP (if he didn’t win it this year; stay tuned).

He couldn’t fit other category, deserved to be Ask opposing They’d agree.

into any but he honored. coaches.

HOUMA-THIBODAUX PLAYMAKER OF THE YEAR:

UNSUNG HERO AWARD:

Winner: South Lafourche defensive lineman Elijah Barnett I may be biased because as the radio voice for South Lafourche athletics, I had a chance to see Barnett play 10 times this fall. But this kid just is a relentless competitor with a motor to be admired. If the score is 0-0, he’s going full blast.

If the score is 50-0 in his favor, he’s going full blast.

If the score is 0-50 in the other team’s favor, it’s the same. Barnett’s motor on the Tarpons’ defensive line was truly admirable.

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SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE YEAR:

Winner: Terrebonne standout Ja’Khi Douglas Ja’khi Douglas battled injuries throughout the season, but man, that kid remained electric throughout the year — even while playing in pain. The thing with Douglas is he’s never out of a play. There may be five defenders circling in looking to get him to the turf when he breaks out of the pile and makes something special happen. Douglas makes the impossible happen over and over again, and the fact that he did it while playing through pain and injury is even more impressive. Good luck at the next level, kid!

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Winner: Thibodaux kicker Peyton Domingue Domangue has a big leg and is one of the best local kickers and punters both. Specialists don’t often get any love, but we had to throw those guys a bone. Congratulations to Peyton. You’ve had an awesome season, young man!

STEADY HANDS PASS CATCHER OF THE YEAR:

Winner: South Terrebonne receiver Peyton Parr Did you realize that Parr actually set the South Terrebonne school record

for receptions in a season?

The Gators moved this kid from defense to offense in 2019, and I think it’s safe to say that was a good decision. That kid could flat-out go. He was an amazing playmaker for the Gators in 2019.

HOUMA-THIBODAUX COACH OF THE YEAR:

won a playoff game and here we are — crowning Ledet as our coach of the year. I will say this.

This one was awfully hard for me to pick because Coach Dugas did do an absolutely outstanding job this fall. That man called the offense and defense for his team in a brutal district and the Tigers did well. But the Terriers’ progression from start-to-finish earns the title for Coach Ledet in a close competition.

online voters are 100 percent right — Jake Pitre is an absolutely amazing player, and he’s a terrific kid. The season he’s had at South Lafourche this fall is amazing and the number of interceptions and big plays he made for his team are absolutely amazing — numbers we may not see in this area again for a long, long time. We we couldn’t leave Chandler Rhodes in the cold, either. Chandler has had an amazing season and a remarkable career. That guy is just a flat-out football player.

Like the online poll, this one was too close to call. I love both kids. They both deserve the title.

HOUMA-THIBODAUX DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Online Winner: Vandebilt Catholic Coach Lance Ledet Casey’s Pick: Vandebilt Catholic Coach Lance Ledet This one shocks me. If you would have told me in October that someone other than Thibodaux coach Chris Dugas would have been my local Coach of the Year, I’d have laughed and questioned the logic. But in the final month of the season, the Terriers progressed, challenged Assumption,

HOUMA-THIBODAUX PLAYER OF THE YEAR:

Online Winner: South Lafourche defensive back Jake Pitre Casey’s Vote: Pitre and VCHS linebacker Chandler Rhodes Both Jake and Chandler win Defensive Player of the Year in 2019. Our

Casey’s Vote: Central Lafourche halfback Deon Jenkins Again, we will hand out two. Daigle was amazing this season — the heart and soul of a Vandebilt team that made significant strides throughout the season, then made some noise in the playoffs.

The kid is tough as nails and made plays with both his arm and legs throughout the season — a huge reason why Vandebilt got where they did. But Jenkins deserves some love, too. Jenkins’ workload this season was incredible and his final stats for the year were incredible. The kid was easily a 1,000-yard rusher, and he accounted for more than 20 touchdowns.

Jenkins’ run slowed a little in the late stages of the season as the competition got better, but what that kid did in the first month and a half of 2019 is not going to be forgotten anytime soon. •

Online Winner: Vandebilt quarterback Gavin Daigle

HAVE A GREAT SEASON

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5 TO WATCH FOR IN 2020

BY CASEY GISCLAIR

lower his shoulder and may the chips fall where they may. I don’t know what the Gators’ offense will look like next fall, but I think their Wing T will continue to evolve.

casey@rushing-media.com

The thing that stinks the most about the ending of a season is that it’s the final time we get a chance to see outgoing seniors play on our local fields.

You get attached to those young men over the course of their careers.

You follow them on social media, you see the ins and outs of what’s going on in their lives and you really get to know a lot about their lives — while also sometimes even making friends with their parents or relatives.

But the good thing about the departures are that there’s always a new batch of players ready to come in and take their place.

So let’s take a lot at some of the best of the best who are coming back and who will make a name for themselves next fall.

Please note — this isn’t intended to be a recruiting ranking list or anything.

These are just young men I, myself, will be following in the next year.

1. South Terrebonne quarterback Christian Arceneaux - It’s so weird for me to be sitting here talking about the big, tall, pocket-passing South Terrebonne quarterback.

But that’s where we are right now, as Arceneaux took the job in the backend of 2019 and never let it go. In fact, he actually set some passing records at the traditionally runheavy program.

The future for Arceneaux is bright. He’s big, tall, has a powerful arm and has pretty good mechanics.

But he’s also a competitor.

If he needs to pick up a few yards, he’s not going to slide. He’s going to FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS

2.

Terrebonne defensive lineman Maason Smith - Maason (yes, two A’s) is literally one of the best players in the entire country, so to have any list without him for 2020 locally feels like it’d be invalid. Maason amazes me because sure, he’s huge — a monster amongst men. But he also moves like a man far smaller than his size.

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The young man attacks opposing offenses and finds ways to make plays — even while opponents avoid him like the plague.

He’s going to have a big, big year in 2020, and I think Terrebonne is going to get creative in how they use him. Will we see packages where he’s a lead blocker on offense?

I’d surely think so. Will we see him do some creative things defensively? I’d think so. Will we see some of the most famous coaches in the sport coming to Houma to check in on him? That’s a certainty.

3. South Lafourche fullback Derin Doucet Derin Doucet is a tough kid. Heck, he has a lot of skins on his wall already in his athletic career — even while still being just a sophomore. As a baseball player, Derin was a starting player at the varsity level as a freshman, and he played in a home playoff game. As a sophomore in football, he was the starting fullback for a triple option offense — arguably the most important position on the field in that offense. Derin got better as the season went on and made a huge impact. He’s a big part of why South Lafourche fans are excited about next season — and rightfully so.

4. Ellender athlete Tyshaun Hester - Look, I admittedly never got a chance to see Hester play in 2019 with my own eyes. He got injured and was lost for the season before I had a chance to see him play. But several people I trust say this kid is a big-time player, and I can’t wait to see what he

does as a senior next fall.

Hester was Mr. Everything for Ellender while healthy. He played some quarterback, halfback, receiver, defensive back — it all. He excelled in all of those roles, and was easily the team’s top playmaker.

When he went out, the team was never the same. With him back, the Patriots will be explosive and competitive.

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Thibodaux quarterback Luke Alleman - This was was easy for me. Alleman is worth the price of admission every, single Friday night. The dude is just a competitor. He makes plays with his arm and his legs and does whatever he has to do to help Thibodaux win.

Some of his playmakers are graduating, but the cupboard will not be bare.

And heck, even if it is, I know that the Tigers will have chances to win and compete as long as this kid is under center. He’s one terrific football player.

And from what I can tell, he seems to be a really good kid, too. • FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS

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NOVEMBER 25, 2019

WILD, CRAZY NIGHT IN

LOUISIANA STATE PLAYOFFS

BY CASEY GISCLAIR

casey@rushing-media.com

Friday night was a wild and crazy night in Louisiana.

There were several upsets around the state — including a No. 1 seed bowing out in one of the 9 brackets.

Locally, it was bleak with Vandebilt, Assumption and Hahnville all losing.

The only teams part of local districts to still remain in postseason are St. James and Destrehan.

A WILD NIGHT IN DIVISION I All year long, the talk in Division I has been about how John Curtis would meet Rummel for the State Title.

Heck, both teams almost lost on Friday night in their first playoff games.

Curtis beat Jesuit 34-

27 in a nail biter — a rematch from the team’s previous meeting earlier this season.

Curtis controlled the early phases of the game, rolling to a 34-17 lead in the second half.

But Jesuit battled back, scoring 10 unanswered to make the game close late.

The Blue Jays even had a chance to tie in the final seconds, but they couldn’t score, throwing a lategame interception to seal the win for John Curtis.

“What a football game,” John Curtis coach J.T. Curtis said after the game. “I thought they made great adjustments and played good football.

We made a play at the end, but those kids did a nice job competing and staying with the game.”

The big surprise of the night came at Joe Yenni Stadium where Rummel beat St. Aug 35-34. The Raiders trailed 34-28 late, but pushed down the field and scored a late-game FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS

touchdown. With the win, Rummel will take on Brother Martin.

John Curtis will face Catholic of Baton Rouge.

CLASS 5A/DIVISION I SCHEDULE DIVISION I No. 1 Rummel vs.

No. 4 Brother Martin No. 2 Catholic (BR) vs.

No. 3 John Curtis CLASS 5A No. 1 Acadiana vs.

No. 8 Airline No. 5 Zachary vs.

No. 20 Ruston No. 19 Mandeville vs.

No. 11 Haughton No. 7 Destrehan vs.

No. 2 West Monroe

ROAD TEAMS SLAUGHTER DREAMS IN DIVISION IV 18 NOVEMBER 25, 2019

Something happened in Division IV on Friday night that we may literally never see again.

There were four games between the 1-8 seeds in the bracket.

In those matchups, literally all of the road teams won, which means that the No. 1, No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 teams in the state are now out in that bracket — the only bracket in the state with so much turnover.

The big upset came with Country Day securing a 21-19 win over No. 1 Vermilion Catholic.

Vemilion Catholic entered the game 10-1 with quality wins.

But that didn’t matter against a hungry Country Day team that made plays throughout the game to secure the upset win.

Country Day will now take on No. 5 Ouachita Christian, which beat No. 4 Calvary Baptist 49-47 on Friday night.

On the bottom end

of the bracket, there were more upsets. No. 6 Southern Lab beat No. 3 Ascension Catholic 26-14.

No. 7 Catholic (PC) beat No. 2 Opelousas Catholic 13-0.

CLASS 2A, CLASS 1A, DIVISION III and DIVISION IV SCHEDULE CLASS 2A No. 1 Ferriday vs.

No. 8 Kinder No. 5 Amite vs.

No. 20 Loreauville No. 19 Capitol vs.

No. 6 Kentwood No 7 Pine vs.

No. 2 Many CLASS 1A No. 1 West St. John vs.

No. 8 Logansport No. 12 Homer vs.

No. 4 Oak Grove No. 3 White Castle vs.

No. 6 East Iberville No. 10 Basile vs.

No. 2 Oberlin DIVISION III No. 1 Lafayette Christian vs.

No. 5 Dunham No. 3 St. Charles vs.

No. 7 Catholic (NI) DIVISION IV No. 8 Metairie Park Country Day vs.

No. 5 Ouachita Christian No. 6 Southern Lab vs.

No. 7 Catholic (PC)

CINDERELLA LIVES IN CLASS 3A

stories in play.

No. 30 Baker kept their season alive, scoring a 1813 victory over Iota.

Also alive in the Class 3A bracket are No. 23 Jennings (beat No. 7 Church Point) and No. 24 Brusly (beat No. 8 Marksville).

St. James is the lead dog in the Class 3A bracket.

They finished the season undefeated with a perfect 10-0 record.

They’ve since cruised past playoff competition, including a 41-8 win over Green Oaks on Friday.

St. James has one of the best defenses in Louisiana.

They’ve allowed 41 points in their previous 8 games.

On Friday night, they got ahead early and cruised late, keeping Green Oaks out of balance with their dominant front 7.

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CLASS 4A and CLASS 3A SCHEDULE CLASS 4A No. 1 Lakeshore vs.

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No. 6 Breaux Bridge No. 2 Neville vs.

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CLASS 3A No. 1 St. James vs.

No. 24 Brusly No. 12 Union Parish vs.

No. 4 Madison Prep No. 30 Baker vs.

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