Championship Top Performers: Westgate vs. Warren Easton

The rare opportunity the Class 4A state championship presented Warren Easton and Westgate ultimately wound down to an epic goal-line battle to decide the talented teams’ defensive war. No. 3 Easton had pulled back within one point just a few minutes earlier, but watched a potential game-tying kick wobble left and low. So when the Eagles swiped an interception with three minutes remaining for one final possession and scratched and clawed their way to a first-and-goal at the 1-yard line, coach Jerry Phillips and company viewed the situation as endzone-or-best. The No. 5 Tigers came up with four straight stops, though, to regain possession and run the clock out on their first title in their first-even championship appearance. Here were a few of the top performers. <strong>WESTGATE</strong> <strong>Henry Binion (2022)</strong> <strong>LB</strong> The senior linebacker flew around the box and into the backfield for the Tigers to help limit the previously dominant Warren Easton to a more manageable 188 yards rushing and 246 total yards. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="136525" first="Jordan" last="Doucet"] (2022)</strong> <strong>5-9, 150 ATH</strong> The versatile senior standout finished his high school with 12 completions in 26 passes for 285 yards and two touchdowns passing, as well as a couple key scrambles and draws to help further frustrate a strong Eagles defensive showing overall. The athletic threat the natural wide receiver posed this season after taking the reins of the offense made a major impact on Westgate’s run overall and once again in the title game. <strong>Tayshaun Fuselier (2023)</strong> <strong>DB</strong> Warren Easton tried to test the junior cornerback deep downfield on more than a couple occasions. And one play after another, Fuselier managed to prove himself the top man on that island with a touchdown-saving breakup. Drastically limiting those shots was crucial in slowing down the Eagles’ offense, which had been dominant throughout the postseason. <strong>Dedrick Latulas (2023)</strong> <strong>5-8, 150 ATH</strong> The junior speedster was a perfect compliment to the big-bodied [player_tooltip player_id="129057" first="Danny" last="Lewis"] Jr. with four receptions for 90 yards and the Tigers’ second-half score. Latulas is a shifty little handful with which to keep up cutting all over the field and made two acrobatic one-handed grabs downfield in tight coverage, including the long, leaping touchdown on which he managed to keep his balance upon the landing and immediate contact to make the final 10 yards to the end zone. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="129057" first="Danny" last="Lewis"] Jr. (2022)</strong> <strong>6-5, 225 TE</strong> The Cincinnati commitment was an absolute monster for the Eagles to try to match up against. He found the soft spot over the middle of a zone in the first half, then took off for a 73-yard touchdown that showed enough speed for the long run-after-catch as well as the strength and balance to stiff-arm away a faster defender and avoid a couple attempted tackles along the sideline. And then Doucet started feeding him on jump-balls for which smaller defensive backs had no answer. His six catches for 179 yards and a touchdown marked one of the best performances by a tight end in a state championship game in more than a decade. And, in addition, he took the field on the final stand and helped secure a pair of tackles for loss to preserve the victory. &nbsp; <strong>WARREN EASTON</strong> <strong>Jay Gordon (2022)</strong> <strong>5-10, 200 RB</strong> The thunder of a thunder-and-lightning duo to lead a deep Easton backfield overall. Gordon finished with 19 carries for 47 physical yards, including his team’s game-tying touchdown in the first half among his many short-yardage opportunities. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="136655" first="Richard" last="King"] Jr. (2022)</strong> <strong>5-10, 160 DB</strong> The free safety doesn’t garner the recruiting headlines that his fellow defensive backfield mates Ronald "Champ" Lewis and [player_tooltip player_id="139491" first="Wallace" last="Foster"] IV do. But King stepped up repeatedly Friday with big pass breakups, plus a blocked field goal. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="138358" first="Jirrea" last="Johnson"] (2023)</strong> <strong>5-11, 210 LB</strong> The junior standout has made a name for himself for three years now with his hard-hitting tackles, and he provided a few of those type of tackles, including at least one big tackle for loss. But Johnson also showed some good reads and plays in space against Westgate’s RPO game, including one third down he nearly intercepted but had to settle for the breakup. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="136633" first="Ronald" last="Lewis"] III (2022)</strong> <strong>6-2, 157 DB</strong> The Texas commitment had his ups and downs at times against the difficult matchups that Westgate presented. But Lewis helped deflect a couple deep passes and made one leaping, stretching, acrobatic interception. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="139626" first="Fred" last="Robertson"] (2024)</strong> <strong>5-9, 180 RB</strong> The lightning to Gordon’s thunder led all players with 80 yards on 12 carries and showed an impressive gear in space on a couple of those touches. Robertson has the early look of an intriguing prospect in the coming years with straight-line speed, quick feet and pass-catching ability that make him a versatile weapon. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="139491" first="Wallace" last="Foster"] IV (2024)</strong> <strong>5-11, 160 DB</strong> One of Louisiana’s most highly regarded underclassman was his typical stingy self at cornerback and, even as just a sophomore, made some key plays in all three phases with two catches for 18 yards, including a third-down conversion, and eight punts for 292 yards, including a 50-yarder down inside the 20.