Louisiana’s top first-round playoff performances: large schools
In this article:
Louisiana’s high school football playoffs kicked off this weekend with some great performances around the state. As always, Prep Redzone Louisiana has gathered more than 40 of the top stat lines from around the state. One adjustment to note: Because…
Access all of Prep Redzone
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingLouisiana’s high school football playoffs kicked off this weekend with some great performances around the state.
As always, Prep Redzone Louisiana has gathered more than 40 of the top stat lines from around the state.
One adjustment to note: Because of the shift from five classifications (Class 1A, 2A, 3A, 4A and 5A) in the regular season to eight divisions (Division IV, III, II and I on both the “Select” and “Non-Select” sides) in the postseason, we’ve adjusted our “small schools” list to include both Division III’s and IV’s and our “large schools” list to include both Division I’s and II’s.
Travis Adams Travis Adams 5'9" | 165 lbs | RB Tioga | 2025 LA | 5-9, 165 RB | Tioga (2025)
The junior helped lead the No. 10 Indians’ 48-14 defeat of No. 23 L.W. Higgins in the Division-I bracket with his 29 carries for 257 yards and five touchdowns.
Cashmire Batiste Cashmire Batiste 5'9" | 175 lbs | RB Carencro | 2024 State LA | 5-8, 165 RB | Carencro (2024)
The senior helped lead his No. 9 Bears past No. 24 Pineville, 57-7, in the opening round of the Division-I Select playoffs with his 242 yards and four touchdowns on 13 carries.
Patrick Berrigan | 5-8, 170 RB | Jesuit (2024)
Berrigan rushed for 184 yards and two touchdowns to help pace the No. 16 Blue Jays past No. 17 C.E. Byrd, 23-2, in the Division-I Select playoffs.
Steven Blanco Steven Blanco 5'10" | 190 lbs | RB St. Martinville | 2024 State LA | 5-10, 190 RB | St. Martinville (2024)
The Louisiana (Lafayette) commit racked up 306 yards and four touchdowns on offense and recorded 10 tackles on defense to help highlight his No. 26 Tigers’ 46-40 upset of No. 7 Leesville in the first round of the Division-II Non-Select playoffs.
Damon Blocker Damon Blocker 5'11" | 175 lbs | QB St. Michael | 2024 LA | 6-0, 190 RB/ATH | Central (Baton Rouge) (2024)
The No. 18 Wildcats rode their senior for 227 yards and three touchdowns on 30 carries in a rainy night on the road to upset No. 15 East St. John, 43-15, in the first round of the Division-I Non-Select bracket.
Edis Chavez | 5-9, 155 K/P | John Ehret (2024)
The Patriots’ kicker made 47- and 42-yard field goals and four extra-points, plus booted seven touchbacks on kickoffs, to help lead No. 14 John Ehret past No. 19 Riverdale, 41-7, in the Division-I Select bracket.
Ethan Couvillion Ethan Couvillion 6'2" | 220 lbs | QB Chalmette | 2024 State LA | 6-2, 220 QB | Chalmette (2024)
Couvillion continued his historic senior season for the Owls with a school-record 324 yards and three touchdowns on 23-for-39 passing to help lead No. 10 Chalmette back past No. 23 Ponchatoula, 35-28, in the Division-I Non-Select playoffs.
D’Shaun Ford D’Shaun Ford 5'11" | 210 lbs | RB Opelousas | 2025 State LA | 5-11, 210 RB | Opelousas (2025)
The star junior running back needed just 10 carries to rack up 224 yards and three touchdowns in a 57-6 rout by No. 12 Opelousas of No. 21 Rayne in the Division-II Non-Select bracket.
Jackson Fugate | 6-2, 215 LB | Northshore (2024)
Fugate blocked a game-deciding field goal attempt by No. 8 West Monroe with 20 seconds left to help his No. 25 Panthers preserve a 9-7 victory and advance in the Division-I Non-Select bracket by handing the Rebels their first opening-round loss in 29 years.
Tavias Gordon Tavias Gordon 5'10" | 185 lbs | RB Westgate | 2025 State LA | 5-10, 185 RB | Westgate (2025)
The Tigers’ junior running back carried 22 times for 158 yards to help lead the No. 16 seed past No. 17 Terrebonne, 27-10, in the Division-I Non-Select playoffs.
Kelby Hypolite | 5-10, 180 QB | Breaux Bridge (2024)
The No. 19 Tigers helped lead another Lafayette area upset with his rushing performance of 157 yards and four touchdowns on 24 carries in a 35-19 defeat of No. 14 Eunice in Division-II Non-Select.
Joshua Jackson Joshua Jackson 6'3" | 180 lbs | WR St. Augustine | 2024 State LA | 6-3, 180 WR | St. Augustine (2024)
The Purple Knights’ senior receiver hauled in touchdown passes of 32, 65 and 4 yards for a total of 101 yards in No. 11 St. Augustine’s 43-6 upset of No. 11 McKinley in the Division-I Select playoffs.
Jacobi Jefferson Jacobi Jefferson 5'9" | 175 lbs | ATH Salmen | 2024 State LA | 5-9, 175 RB | Salmen (2024)
The senior running back carried his strong season right into the playoffs with 23 carries for 189 yards and two touchdowns to help the No. 11 Spartans to a 20-17 defeat of No. 22 West Ouachita in the Division-I Non-Select playoffs for their first playoff win since 2017.
Jaylin Johnson Jaylin Johnson 6'2" | 165 lbs | ATH Alexandria | 2024 State LA | 6-2, 165 DB/WR | Alexandria (2024)
The No. 13 Trojans’ versatile athlete, a multi-sport and multi-phase standout, helped blow open the team’s 58-9 defeat of No. 20 Bonnabel in the Division-I Select bracket with his first-quarter blocked punt, which he then scooped and scored.
Kaden Mackey Kaden Mackey 5'11" | 180 lbs | DB Dutchtown | 2024 LA | 5-11, 180 DB | Dutchtown (2024)
Mackey came up huge on both sides of the ball for the No. 7 Griffins to help lead their 42-0 defeat of No. 26 South Lafourche with an interception and a rushing touchdown in the shutout win.
Jaidyn Martin | 5-10, 170 RB | Archbishop Rummel (2024)
The No. 18 Raiders made the long trip to No. 15 Northwood (Shreveport) to open the Division-I Select playoffs and came away with a 34-14 upset victory behind Martin’s 213 yards and three scores on the ground.
Justin Montgomery | RB | Abbeville (2026)
The No. 13 Wildcats held off No. 20 Pearl River, 34-20, in the first round of the Division-II Non-Select playoffs behind Montgomery’s 22 carries for 157 yards and two scores.
Kyree Paul Kyree Paul 5'10" | 175 lbs | ATH Istrouma | 2025 State LA | 5-9, 160 ATH | Istrouma (2025)
The junior rolled to 275 yards and three touchdowns on 30 carries to help lead the No. 17 Indians past No. 16 Northside, 38-16, in the Division-II Select bracket.
Ja’Vain Reese | 5-7, 205 RB/LB | Northwest (2024)
The senior carried 28 times for 171 yards and three touchdowns in the No. 11 Raiders’ 42-20 upset of No. 11 Franklin Parish in the Division-II Non-Select bracket.
Gabriel Reliford Gabriel Reliford 6'2" | 270 lbs | DL Evangel Christian | 2024 State LA | 6-2, 250 DL | Evangel Christian (2024)
The Texas A&M commit recorded four sacks in his No. 12 Eagles’ 49-0 defeat of No. 21 Belaire in the Division-II Select bracket for the only first-round win by a Shreveport school.
Keidrick Richardson Keidrick Richardson 5'11" | 220 lbs | LB De La Salle | 2024 State LA | 5-11, 220 LB | De La Salle (2024)
“Paw Paw” provided his No. 15 Cavaliers another of the state’s top defensive performances of the first round with his 17 tackles in a 42-0 win to help shut out No. 18 Buckeye and limit it to just 22 rushing yards.
Nate Sheppard Nate Sheppard 5'11" | 185 lbs | RB Mandeville | 2025 State LA | 5-10, 180 RB | Mandeville (2025)
The junior running back led his No. 21 Skippers to a 50-36 upset of No. 12 Sam Houston in the Division-I Non-Select bracket with his 334 yards and three touchdowns on 35 carries.
Jhostin Solorzano | 5-8, 150 K | Livingston Collegiate (2024)
The kicker’s 25-yard field goal in overtime proved the game-winner in the No. 9 Wolfpack’s 11-8 survival of No. 24 Booker T. Washington (Shreveport) in the Division-II Select playoffs.
Layne Swanson | 5-8, 160 DB | St. Amant (2024)
Swanson returned an interception for a touchdown as a big play in his 5 Gators’ 31-3 defeat of No. 28 Ouachita Parish in the Division-I Non-Select bracket.
Jaeden Voisin | 6-2, 240 RB/LB | Belle Chasse (2024)
The Southeastern Louisiana commit rushed 17 times for 140 yards and three touchdowns and completed two passes for 136 yards in the No. 14 Cardinals’ 43-16 defeat of No. 19 Parkway in the Division-I Non-Select playoffs.
Luke Wisham Luke Wisham 6'2" | 170 lbs | ATH Zachary | 2024 State LA | 6-2, 170 DB/WR | Zachary (2024)
The Louisiana (Lafayette) commitment helped the No. 6 Broncos snatch a couple takeaways in their 51-14 defeat of No. 27 Barbe in the Division-I Non-Select bracket with his interception and forced fumble.
ReJohn Zeno | 5-10, 170 RB | Jennings (2025)
Zeno rolled to 257 yards and three touchdowns on 27 carries to lead his No. 10 Bulldogs past No. 23 Kaplan, 34-6, in the Division-II Non-Select playoffs.