Championship Top Performers: Southern Lab vs. Ouachita Christian

Southern Lab returned to the Caesars Superdome for the first time since 2016, but wasted no time looking right at home. The Kittens’ senior leaders helped their team score the first 12 points and hold off Ouachita Christian’s second-half comeback pushes for a 38-14 victory that easily marked the largest in any of this season’s nine championship games. Here were several of the top performers. <strong>SOUTHERN LAB</strong> <strong>Shawn Bates (2022)</strong> <strong>5-11, 170 RB</strong> The senior running back ended his high school career with a solid showing as the Kittens’ lead weapon out of the backfield alongside quarterback Angelo "A.J." Izzard. Bates carried nine tied for 84 yards — an impressive 9.3 yards per attempt — including a 9-yard touchdown to help spark Southern Lab’s pull-away run in the third quarter and a 39-yard scamper for the day’s third-longest play overall. He also caught one pass for 12 yards. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="136482" first="Herman" last="Brister"] III (2022)</strong> <strong>6-3, 200 ATH</strong> The senior, who entered the weekend committed to Navy, was all over the field for the Kittens. Brister was Izzard’s favorite target early with five catches for 63 yards, including a 27-yarder on which he showed his speed for a nice run after the reception. He also played tight coverage on defense, including a couple well-timed breakups downfield, and brought timely pressure off the edge with a sack and another hurry. Brister announced Sunday a decommitment from the Midshipmen with a couple Power Five programs appearing to take a little more notice to make a late push. <strong>Shane Forman (2022)</strong> <strong>6-1, 200 LB</strong> Yet another senior to put some great play on tape in his final outing for Southern Lab, the linebacker showed an intriguing combination of speed, quickness, physicality and instincts at which at least a few FCS schools may need to strongly consider taking a closer look. Forman was disruptive in the box for four quarters with highlights that included a fourth-down play on which he exploded to beat the ball-carrier to the outside and secure the strong tackle for loss and a late diving interception to help deflate Ouachita Christian comeback hopes. <strong>Angelo Izzard (2022)</strong> <strong>5-10, 160 QB</strong> The well-deserved Outstanding Player winner gave Ouachita Christian absolute fits from the moment he took his team’s first snap. Izzard completed 21 of 31 passes for 340 yards and two touchdowns and was able to evade the Eagles’ pressure for another 63 yards and three scores rushing. <strong>Darren Morris (2022)</strong> <strong>6-1 WR</strong> The speedy pass-catcher quickly became Izzard’s favorite weapon as the Kittens hit their stride. Morris hauled in nine receptions for 179 yards and two touchdowns. He provided the contest’s two most explosive plays, a 42-yard score and another 45-yard catch, on offense and added an interception on the other side of the ball. &nbsp; <strong>OUACHITA CHRISTIAN</strong> <strong>Thomas Culp (2022)</strong> <strong>5-9, 170 ATH</strong> The Eagles’ Outstanding Player winner caught seven passes for a team-high 74 yards, including a 26-yarder and a 22-yard touchdown. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="138293" first="Landon" last="Graves"] (2023)</strong> <strong>5-11, 170 ATH</strong> Friday was far from the junior standout’s most successful outing in his first year taking the reins from former quarterback Hunter Herring. The Southern Lab defense got after Graves and kept him off-balance for much of the afternoon, but he kept battling through a particularly poor start to eventually complete 14 of his 30 passes, including a 22-yard touchdown, and rushed 12 times for a team-high 55 yards. <strong>Noah Lovelady (2024)</strong> <strong>6-0, 185 ATH</strong> The hard-hitting young athlete was one of the few Eagles’ defensive players to be able to occasionally chase down and contain Izzard. And Lovelady did so with a physical exclamation point when he got there, including a couple behind the line of scrimmage. <strong>Chad Strickland (2023)</strong> <strong>5-6, 150 ATH</strong> Yards on the ground were tough to come by for the running back, who was able to gain just 1 yard on five tries. But, like his quarterback, Strickland was able to find a way to still make an impact with three catches for 67 yards, including a team-long 30-yarder, and six kickoff returns for 97 yards.