Top Performers: Denham Springs vs. East Ascension spring game

A pair of Baton Rouge area Class 5A programs crossed district lines to close their spring practice schedules head-to-head. Denham Springs, from District 4-5A, made the short trip south from Livingston Parish to visit East Ascension, of District 5-5A, on its new turf field in Gonzales, La., in Ascension Parish. Each team entered this offseason with a few shoes to fill from 2022 graduates, but talented and experienced rising senior classes already in place with their 2023 groups. And many of those veterans led the way in Saturday’s spring game. <strong>Anthony Coleman III — 6-0, 200 LB — East Ascension (2023)</strong> [player_tooltip player_id="276221" first="Joshua" last="Berfect"] is the Spartans’ best-known playmaker in the box after an all-district junior campaign. A few of his teammates showed flashes of potential for their own breakouts, including a fellow rising senior linebacker. Coleman lived in the Denham Springs backfield early in the first quarter and forced the Yellow Jackets to shift more attention his way and slow his disruptive pass-rushing to begin moving the ball. <strong>Porter Gibson — 6-3, 260 DL/OL — Denham Springs (2023)</strong> The big rising senior has eaten and overpowered blocks the past couple years as a starting nose tackle and was one of the most impactful players on the field on the other side of the ball Saturday as he handled duties at right tackle and sured up that side of the line opposite standout left tackle [player_tooltip player_id="138409" first="Tyler" last="Kimble"]. Gibson bulldozed the defenders across from him to help set up big plays by the skill players listed below and left his coaches with some discussions to have during the next few months of how to best utilize their versatile front-line player. <strong>Jaylon Lee — 6-0, 200 QB — East Ascension (2023)</strong> Graduating multisport standout Troy Dunn leaves big shoes to fill at quarterback for the Spartans. Multiple potential successors made plays with both their arms and legs, including Lee who connected with fellow rising seniors Walter Samuel and [player_tooltip player_id="138453" first="Zhavier" last="Jupiter"] for scores for two of East Ascension’s biggest offensive plays. Keep an eye on both Lee and Chris Carcisse this fall as they continue pushing one another for reps. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="138470" first="Raydarian" last="McKneely"] — 5-9, 165 RB — Denham Springs (2023)</strong> East Ascension did a good job bottling the Yellow Jackets’ rushing attack up for stretches, including early in the live half of action. But the Denham Springs offensive line, McKneely and, in spots, running mate [player_tooltip player_id="142564" first="Cam’Ron" last="Kelly"] gradually took control. A touchdown drive was the highlight, as they put the ball in McKneely’s hands play after play, challenged the Spartans physically and ultimately marched their way to the end zone. McKneely showed a good mix of his toughness and ability to shed tacklers, his burst and quickness through a hole for a 20-yard dash into the red zone and his patience to follow his blockers on the 4-yard score to cap the possession. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="138487" first="Reese" last="Mooney"] — 6-2, 185 QB — Denham Springs (2023)</strong> One of the most heavily recruited members of Louisiana’s rare 2023 quarterback class connected with one of his top targets, fellow rising senior [player_tooltip player_id="188946" first="Micah" last="Harrison"], on one of the first plays of the live varsity half of action for one of the morning’s highlights. Mooney gave a nice play-fake, spun and rolled to the left, planted and launched a dime to a streaking Harrison for the 70-yard score. A few of Mooney’s other most memorable passes came on another rollout to tight end [player_tooltip player_id="138430" first="Andrew" last="Goodwin"] and a strike over the middle to receiver Lionell Dawson. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="275583" first="Hayden" last="Rushing"] — 6-2, 210 LB — Denham Springs (2023)</strong> Rushing has quietly started gaining momentum recruiting momentum during the past month and now holds offers from Buffalo, Northwestern State and Grambling State. And it’s not difficult to see what college coaches have liked. The Yellow Jackets’ outside linebacker is quick in his reads and on his feet — whether breaking into the backfield, containing the edge or dropping out to cover the flats — and strong and explosive when he arrives. <strong>Walter Samuel — 6-0, 200 RB — East Ascension (2023)</strong> Samuel has blown up a bit recently on the recruiting trail with offers now from South Alabama, ULM, Tulane, Northwestern State, Nicholls State, Incarnate Word, Alcorn State, Louisiana Tech and Southern Miss and some interest from Mississippi State. He was half of East Ascension’s duo of lead backs last fall and looks primed for an even bigger senior campaign. Samuel broke a couple of nice runs and hauled in one of the aforementioned long touchdown passes from Lee.