Playoff Top Performers: Parkview Baptist vs. St. Michael

A pair of Baton Rouge-based parochial schools presented one of the most intriguing matchups of the first weekend of Louisiana’s high school playoffs. No. 8 Parkview Baptist, a perennial power for decades under former coaches Kenny Guillot and Jay Mayet, finished an up-and-down regular season with its second-lowest seed in the Division II bracket since the LHSAA split its postseason in 2013. Meanwhile a much-improved St. Michael, still seeking its first playoff victory in school history, earned its second-highest seed in that span at No. 9. The teams battled through a low-scoring slug fest into the fourth quarter, but the home-standing Eagles finally closed out the Warriors, 21-7. Here are three top performers from each team. &nbsp; <strong>PARKVIEW BAPTIST</strong> <strong>Jeremiah Deverteuil (2022)</strong> <strong>5-10, 200 RB</strong> The senior running back provides a physical presence in the ground game each week for the Eagles and did so once again in the playoff opener, including a 27-yard run through attempted arm tackles to help spark the go-ahead drive in the third quarter. Deverteuil then followed up with a big catch on a fake punt to help keep the chains moving. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="138428" first="Micah" last="Johnson"] (2023)</strong> <strong>6-2, 215 TE/ATH</strong> The junior standout continued playing versatile and major roles for Parkview Baptist to start the postseason. Johnson broke into the lineup as a talented pass-catcher as a freshman, but has been a defensive leader this fall as a junior as well and scored his team’s first touchdown with a first-quarter run near the goal line. <strong>Gus Tuttle (2022)</strong> <strong>5-10, 205 RB</strong> The Eagles continued their trickery in the third quarter with a fumblerooski play right after the fake punt, and the senior full back was the player called upon to scoop the football and dash the other direction to push his team ahead, 14-7, following the extra point. &nbsp; <strong>ST. MICHAEL </strong> <strong>Damon Blocker (2024)</strong> <strong>5-11, 175 QB</strong> The young quarterback made a few key plays to keep his Warriors battling in a low-scoring battle in which big plays were difficult to come by. Blocker’s ability to extend plays and drives with his legs was critical, including the final drive before halftime to help draw back even at 7-7. With the final minute ticking in the second quarter, Blocker tucked the ball and ran for a long gain to the 10-yard line, got out of bounds to stop the clock with a few seconds remaining, then hit senior tight end James Balart for the touchdown on the next play. <strong>LeDamion Dixon (2022)</strong> <strong>6-0, 280 DL</strong> The big defensive lineman helped lead the Warriors’ physical charge up front to hold the Parkview Baptist offense to just one score until late in the third quarter and to only a 14-7 lead until the final minutes, including a big fourth-down tackle for loss among the group’s many stands on pivotal downs. <strong>Nick Johnson (2022)</strong> <strong>5-9, 175 RB</strong> Another senior leader, Johnson helped establish a physical tone on both sides of the ball as St. Michael’s primary offensive weapon on the ground and an aggressive, hard-hitting linebacker on defense.