Top Performers: Catholic High vs. Lafayette Christian

A pair of Louisiana’s powerhouse programs, among the state’s most successful programs in recent years and again two of its championship favorites, met October for the first time in their history. And, even despite a lopsided final score, both teams’ stocks in pursuit of their next rings appeared to only rise. Catholic High of Baton Rouge continued its eye-catchingly dominant run with a 38-17 victory to push its season-long margin of victories to 165-60 against one of Louisiana’s most challenging schedules. But Lafayette Christian, a smaller school in the Class 2A and Division III levels, hung with the Bears closer than most despite the three-classification difference. Here were a few of the top performers. &nbsp; <strong>CATHOLIC HIGH</strong> <strong>Lloyd Benson III (2022)</strong> <strong>5-10, 170 WR</strong> The senior wide receiver didn’t rack up huge numbers, with four catches for 47 yards. But the Bears went to him each time on short, quick screen passes to keep LCA’s defense mindful of the perimeter threat. And Benson showed the extent of that threat on one such toss, on which he beat a defender to the sideline, stiff-armed a would-be tackler and out-ran another two all the way to the end zone. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="221012" first="LANDON" last="CARTER"] (2023)</strong> <strong>6-0, 160 K</strong> His specialist counterpart, punter [player_tooltip player_id="137116" first="Kylan" last="Dupre"], has earned recognition this season for his prowess, and Carter deserves his, too. He easily drilled a 46-yard field goal through the uprights in Lafayette with plenty of extra distance. <strong>Arthur Perkins (2022)</strong> <strong>6-0, 170 DB</strong> The hard-nosed "Black Hat Defense" isn’t loaded with high-profile recruits, but has consistently flexed its muscles as an impressively stingy unit as a whole with a long list of individuals standing out on any given week. This time out, the senior defensive was among those leaders with a pair of interceptions, one to help Catholic start pulling farther away in the third quarter and the other to shut down LCA’s final drive. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="138438" first="Shelton" last="Sampson"] Jr. (2023)</strong> <strong>6-4, 185 WR</strong> The heavily recruited junior receiver was delayed by injury to start the season, but appeared to be hitting his stride by the time Catholic visited Lafayette Christian. Sophomore quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="139258" first="Daniel" last="Beale"] connected with Sampson for a 54-yard strike just seconds into the game to take an immediate lead and again later in the quarter on a highlight-reel jump-ball touchdown from 16 yards out. Sampson finished with four catches for 103 yards and two scores. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="127864" first="Corey" last="Singleton"] Jr. (2022)</strong> <strong>5-10, 205 RB</strong> The Army commitment somehow only finished with 74 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 16 carries. But his consistently frustrating and tackle-breaking runs behind [player_tooltip player_id="136547" first="Emery" last="Jones"] and a strong offensive line showing seemed to play an even larger impact in wearing the Knights down. &nbsp; <strong>LAFAYETTE CHRISTIAN</strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="136494" first="Darian" last="Riggs"] (2022)</strong> <strong>5-10, 170 ATH</strong> The Knights had trouble sustaining much against the persistent pressure of Catholic, but their senior managed a couple of their bigger plays with a long 28-yard catch and run over the middle and through the defense and a late 8-yard touchdown. <strong>Alonzo Ryes (2023)</strong> <strong>5-10, 165 WR</strong> The junior speedster has been one of the newer faces stepping into a more prominent role this season after the graduation of some key 2021 playmakers. He led LCA with five catches for 110 yards, including the early 58-yard strike to answer Catholic’s first touchdown and send a message that the home team wouldn’t go away without a fight. <strong>Sam Taylor (2024)</strong> The sophomore is expected to develop into a key contributor at linebacker during the course of his high school career, but appears to be making a most of an earlier opportunity available to him as a punter. Taylor averaged 48 yards on his kicks against Catholic, including a booming 61-yarder. <strong>Devin Walton (2022)</strong> <strong>5-9, 150 DB</strong> The under-the-radar defensive back made his share of timely plays for Lafayette Christian’s impressive defense in 2020 and had another against Catholic as he dove into the pile for a fumble recovery in the first quarter that set up a go-ahead field goal. <strong>Brayden Zeigler (2022)</strong> <strong>6-0, 220 LB</strong> Speaking of "under the radar," Zeigler rarely gets as much notoriety as some of his and Walton’s highly recruited teammates on defense, but makes as many plays as almost anyone on the field just about every time out. He flies around the field sideline to sideline and into the backfield, including a sack and another couple tackles for loss against the Bears.