In a few short days, the 2024 Louisiana high school football season will be in the rearview mirror, and we’ll be reduced to making posts like “90 days until fall camp!”
With that in mind, let’s take a moment to savor what’s been a terrific season with comeback stories such as the trio of Central-BR players who were sidelined by an accident just prior to Week One and have now returned to lead the Wildcats to their first Superdome Classic appearance. More on that game, which will be played Saturday, later….
Here are our predictions for Day 1 of the LHSAA Prep Classic. All games to be played at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.
Thursday, December 11 – 12 PM
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OCS wasn’t supposed to be here. This was the northeast Louisiana powerhouse’s down year, at least in terms of seeding. Oh well, when you have an offensive mastermind like coach Steven Fitzhugh and a gutsy quarterback like Luke Vidrine, who called his own number on fourth down to score the winning TD in the semifinals at No. 2 Ascension Catholic, it’s not a shocker to see the Eagles upset undefeated No. 3 Covenant Christian and the Bulldogs.
Vidrine, a junior, has passed for nearly 2,300 yards with 25 TDs and five interceptions. He only has 141 yards but has rushed for seven scores. Makin Lenard (180-1,444 yards, 24 TDs) is the primary running option. Cameron Volion (29-650, nine TDs) and Patrick Turpin (39-642, nine TDs) are the leading receivers.
Defensively, Cooper Russell (6-5, 205, Sr.) has over 100 tackles. Volion and Turpin are tied for the team lead with three interceptions apiece. OCS, which only lost to Oak Grove, has picked off 18 passes.
Vermilion Catholic dresses out approximately half the number of players as the Eagles, who list nearly 60 on the roster.
If you reside in the Lafayette area, you’ve undoubtedly seen Jonathan Dartez’s name mentioned. The senior quarterback has rushed for 2,508 yards on a workmanlike 301 carries with 42 TDs. He can throw it, too (1,600 yards, 22 TDs, two INT). Luke McLain has added another 500 yards rushing.
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Receivers Allen McLain and Hudson Hebert have combined for approximately 1,000 yards and 14 TDs. Jyrin Bessard, Ross Dartez, Matthew Mollere and William Simon have all caught TD passes.
Both teams have tremendous coaching staffs. Vermilion Catholic has a young former large school head coach as its defensive coordinator in Brett Blakey (North Vermilion).
PICK: Vermilion Catholic. This just seems like its year. Let’s not forget, the Eagles lost to the OCS Eagles in the 2022 title game. The “Bayou-based Eagles” are hungry. VC”s offensive line has met every challenge this year with Dartez regularly running for 200 yards. He went for nearly 400 yards in a win at Riverside Academy.
Thursday, Dec. 11 – 3:30 PM
This is a rematch from 15 years ago won by the Tornado in a battle of natural disasters. The Hurricanes haven’t been back to the title game since, while Haynesville finished as 2023 runner-up to Oak Grove.
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Ethan Henderson and Donnie Critton ran for two scores apiece last week in Haynesville’s blowout of No. 12 General Trass, according to Jimmy Watson of The Shreveport Times. QB Isaiah Washington, Yasmin Meadors and Byruss Burns each added a score.
South Plaquemines and Haynesville (David Franklin) are both coached by alums who won state championships as players at their schools. Lyle Fittte’s Hurricanes are led by QB Rod Parker (1,577 yards passing, 17 TDs), RB JyHeim Williams (102-1,049, 13 TDs) and receiver Alex Phillips (53-764, nine TDs). Parker (85 carries,382, 9 TDs) has a nose for the end zone when the Canes are in the red zone.
PICK: South Plaquemines – Two of the state’s most storied prep football programs finally meet again. Before the three were consolidated into South Plaquemines HS, Port Sulphur, Buras and Boothvillle-Venice all faced Haynesville in classic late round matchups.
If the Hurricanes can strike quickly and get a lead, the Tornado could be in trouble playing catchup with the Wing-T offense.
Thurs., Dec. 13 – 7 PM
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A third straight game featuring blue bloods programs from the south and the north? Yes, please.
St. James QB JaJuan Jackson doesn’t have freshman size (6-1, 205) and he hasn’t performed like one, either. The scary thing is the Wildcats will also return RB Kani King-Young and versatile WR/KR Jakias Villaneuva next year. Young scored the game-winner last week to avenge a 2023 loss to Union Parish
Sterlington has won eight of its last nine with the sole loss coming to Union Parish. The Panthers produced two 100-yard rushers last week in Hagen Herring and Gaven Evans. Both have topped the 1,000-yard mark on the season. St. James knocked Sterlington, which has an excellent kicker in Aidan Parker, out of the playoffs in the 2023 semifinals.
PICK: St. James – Villaneuva and King-Young are underrated 2026 prospects who can take it the distance anytime. King-Young (5-9, 190) is getting rave reviews from those getting their first glimpse of the RB. Our crystal ball has Villaneuva returning a punt for the winning TD.
RUSTON, La. (KNOE) – Louisiana Tech University’s College of Education and Human Sciences announced it has established a new Center for Literacy and Learning designed to expand evidence-based reading support for children and professional development for educators across North Louisiana.
The university’s Department of Curriculum, Instruction, and Leadership said the launch of the Center for Literacy and Learning at Louisiana Tech, also known as L3, will provide diagnostic assessments, tutoring and workshop opportunities, combining academic research with hands-on clinical practice.
“As literacy rates and reading achievement continue to present challenges across Louisiana and the nation, the Center for Literacy and Learning is rooted in supporting evidence-based instruction, applied research, and community partnerships,” said Dr. Dustin Whitlock, interim department head of Curriculum, Instruction, and Leadership.
Officials said planning for the center began more than a decade ago as faculty sought to expand literacy services for local schools and the surrounding community, but the effort faced delays due to space and funding challenges.
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University leaders said momentum increased after faculty partnered with the Louisiana Department of Education and literacy experts nationwide to create a professional learning course for Louisiana K-3 educators. The course, “The Science and Art of Teaching Reading,” focuses on structured literacy practices aligned with Science of Reading research. Louisiana Tech said funding connected to the course and the state education department helped make the center possible.
Megan Hunt, a teacher at A.E. Phillips Laboratory School, was selected to lead the center. Whitlock said Hunt brings a strong background in foundational literacy instruction and is working toward becoming a certified UFLI coach.
“Mrs. Hunt’s skill and expertise allow her to support both students and educators through high-quality literacy instruction and professional learning,” Whitlock said.
Hunt said the center is aimed at building long-term support for literacy instruction through collaboration with districts, families and community partners.
“Literacy affects all aspects of life and is ultimately how people access opportunity and how communities grow stronger,” Hunt said. “When children become proficient readers, it represents more than just academic progress; it changes the trajectory of their lives.”
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Local school leaders also praised the partnership. Michelle Thrower, K-2 facilitator for Lincoln Parish Schools, said professional development and resources connected to Louisiana Tech have supported literacy growth in the district.
“Our collaboration with Louisiana Tech has been a cornerstone of our success in elevating literacy proficiency across Lincoln Parish Schools,” Thrower said, citing DIBELS growth tied to the UFLI Foundations curriculum in K-2.
Louisiana Tech said the center will operate through three main components:
The Literacy Clinic
The Literacy Institute
The Literacy Resource Center.
The center is expected to provide individualized assessments, targeted intervention services, literacy workshops and educator professional development.
Officials said the components will be developed in phases over the next few years.
For more information, Louisiana Tech said the public can contact Dr. Dustin Whitlock at whitlock@latech.edu.
The U.S. Department of Energy announced Tuesday that Louisiana was one of the few states chosen for a $134 million rare earth element initiative in a move that would give the U.S. more independence from China, Reuters reports.
ElementUSA has been awarded about $67 million for a rare earth refining facility projected to cost $850 million in St. John the Baptist Parish to ramp up its production of core material for military vehicles, naval ships and aircrafts.
Louisiana’s rare earth element initiatives are aimed at relocating the critical American minerals supply chain for electric vehicles, renewable energy and national defense. The minerals include bauxite residue, which is a waste product from aluminium production. The plant is expected to produce roughly 150-1,000 metric tons of rare earths annually.
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Oklahoma was also chosen to receive grant money for a refining facility in Tulsa.
A Department of Homeland Security watchdog report revealed that staff members at an ICE detention center in Louisiana used a prohibited chokehold to “gain control” of a person being held there and stabbed another in the hand with a pen when an officer could not close the door to a housing unit.
The newly released findings about Winn Correctional Center in central Louisiana follow the DHS inspector general’s review of video of the use-of-force incidents as part of an unannounced facility inspection. The report, which was published on the DHS website, also noted that the officer who stabbed the detainee with a pen was disciplined.
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Staff members failed to maintain safe and sanitary conditions, the report says, noting leaking vents and ceilings with insulation falling through. Staff members used napkins and Styrofoam containers to collect the water from the leaks, according to the report.
Scrutiny of conditions inside ICE detention centers that house more than 60,000 detainees has been growing.
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Earlier Wednesday, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin defended his agency’s detention standards on Capitol Hill amid complaints about ICE’s Delaney Hall detention facility in Newark, New Jersey. That center has been the site of frequent protests.
Rep. Tim Kennedy, D-N.Y., accused Mullin of leaving detainees without food or medical care.
Mullin rejected the claims. “You can say all you want, but don’t accuse me of something that’s not accurate,” he said.
The inspector general made nine recommendations, ranging from environmental health and safety standards to proper handling of use-of-force incidents and maintaining food service standards.
ICE is working to address all of the issues, including by providing additional staff training, a spokesperson for the agency said.
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“These minor infractions included failing to provide detainees exercise equipment, record keeping errors and leaking vents. Another infraction included providing a shared computer for legal research that would allow other detainees to see other detainees’ case information,” the spokesperson said.
A spokesperson for DHS said the report shows that the facility complies with detention standards.
“ICE has higher detention standards than most U.S. prisons that hold actual U.S. citizens,” the spokesperson said.
Winn Correctional is one of the largest ICE detention centers in the country, housing more than 1,500 men. It opened in 1990, and ICE took it over from the state in 2019.
The report was produced after an unannounced inspection by the DHS inspector general, whose office recently got an infusion of $20 million and plans to boost its inspections from four to six per year to potentially as many as 40 to 60.
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ICE lists 70% of the 1,500 detainees at Winn as having “No ICE threat level,” meaning they do not have violent criminal histories.
Winn is an hour north of Alexandria, which is one of four hubs for ICE deportation flights around the country.
