Top Performers: West Monroe vs. Woodlawn (Baton Rouge)

A pair of talented, but unfamiliar Class 5A foes squared off before diving into district action. Woodlawn (Baton Rouge), growing along with his star-studded junior class, was eager for a measuring stick against one of the state’s premier programs in West Monroe. But, at least this time out, the north-Louisiana powerhouse had enough pass rush to frustrate the typically high-powered Panthers and enough pivotal plays to flex its muscles in a 27-0 victory. Here were a few of the top performers. <strong>Hayden Federico — 5-10, 175 ATH — West Monroe (2023)</strong> Federico, also a talented baseball player, is one of the Rebels’ duo of athletic quarterbacks and proved a repeated catalyst for the explosive plays that proved the difference. The sophomore hurt the Panthers with his arm, including the fourth-down pass to Noah Norman for the game’s first points; with his legs, including the winding, 60-yard scamper to set up the next touchdown; and also as a receiver, with a couple catches from counterpart Micah Bell. <strong>Mark Fielder — 6-3, 260 DL — Woodlawn (2023)</strong> The senior lineman helped lead the Panthers’ pressure, including racing senior linebacker Deshaun Flowers to the passer for one third-down sack. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="136799" first="Amani" last="Givens"] — 5-9, 195 RB — Woodlawn (2022)</strong> On a night on which the Rebels pinned their ears back and created pass-rush problems for talented Panthers quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="138486" first="Rickie" last="Collins"], his classmate battled impressively for tough yardage on the ground. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="136596" first="Brock" last="Harvey"] — 6-4, 245 DL — West Monroe (2022)</strong> West Monroe’s pressure of Collins came from every direction, but none more so than the big defensive end who finished with three sacks and another couple tackles for loss. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="138478" first="Chauncey" last="Lee"] — 5-10, 205 LB/RB — West Monroe (2022)</strong> Another standout performer of the Rebels’ disruptive front seven. The short, stout linebacker was a dart through gaps and into the backfield to sack Collins twice, including a strip for a forced fumble, and send the quarterback scrambling for his life on another couple hurries. <strong>Joseph London — DL — Woodlawn (2024)</strong> The sophomore defensive tackle played big in the middle of the Panthers’ defensive line, including a pair of tackles for loss, to help make running yards difficult to come by between the tackles most of the night for West Monroe. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="138317" first="Paul" last="Manning"] — 6-2, 185 DB — West Monroe (2023)</strong> The junior defensive back hasn’t gotten as much recruiting attention yet as his senior teammates [player_tooltip player_id="136628" first="Rayshawn" last="Pleasant"] and [player_tooltip player_id="136635" first="Ja’dais" last="Richard"], but Manning is a hell of a playmaker in the Rebels’ secondary. He had one acrobatic, leaping interception against Woodlawn and another couple breakups. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="136628" first="Rayshawn" last="Pleasant"] — 6-0, 180 DB — West Monroe (2022)</strong> The Louisiana Tech commitment is one of the best defensive back prospects in the state. But, for the Rebels this season, Pleasant is back to his youth running back roots to provide West Monroe its quickest and most explosive weapon on offense. The senior had a handful of long runs and provided two of the team’s four touchdowns with some tough runs nearer the goal line. <strong>Jayden Woods — 5-10, 200 LB — Woodlawn (2022)</strong> The senior was a nonstop, Energizer bunny of a spark for not only the defense, but the entire team during the long road trip up, flying around the field for four quarters and then even heading back to Baton Rouge and back to work. <strong>D’arrius Zeigler — DL — West Monroe (2022)</strong> Part of the beauty for West Monroe’s defense or problem for Woodlawn’s offense was that Harvey wasn’t alone. In fact, his counterpart on the opposite end had himself a strong night of his own with a pair of sacks and another tackle for loss.