10 Mandeville vs. Jesuit scrimmage eye-catchers

Louisiana's high school football season is — at least unofficially — off to the races.   The state won't actually kick off its regular season until Sept. 5, a late start because of the way Labor Day weekend falls on the calendar.   But a slew of high-profile matchups between talented teams have interest, attention and highlight reels already piquing with this weekend's scrimmages and next weekend's jamborees.   Jesuit crossed Lake Pontchartrain to visit Mandeville in a Friday evening matchup of competitive teams from two of the state's most competitive Class 5A districts.   Here's a look at 10 players who stood out from the Blue Jays and Skippers' tune-up.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=256oKu_IN-0 </div></figure>   [player_tooltip player_id='710077' first='Nate' last='Sheppard'] — 5-11, 185 RB — Mandeville (2025)   A few hours after announcing his college commitment to Duke, the Skippers' star put on display his burst, power and speed that have made him one of the most productive and highly sought-after prospects in Louisiana's loaded running back class. Sheppard's biggest highlights came on three plays on which he got to the outside for long dashes to the end zone. The first, lowering his shoulder and bulldozing a defender, was called back on a penalty elsewhere on the play, while the next too stood for the difference in the final score. Those biggest gains came to the right side where senior Brooks Lang and junior Dominic Rossetti appeared to play most of the reps for an upperclassman group alongside senior left tackle [player_tooltip player_id='1644742' first='Reagan' last='Touchstone'], junior guard Nick Averett and senior center Blaise Blackwell.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ogr6tJ4aE78 </div></figure>     [player_tooltip player_id='1214140' first='Michael' last='White'] — 6-0, 175 WR/DB — Mandeville (2025)   Another senior and three-phase playmaker, White's highlight of the night came on a well-timed, leaping interception of a deep shot downfield on which he tracked the ball in full stride and finished strong to snatch what could've been a long completion. He broke up at least one other pass on a well-read break on a slant, was among the Skippers to record receptions on offense and lined up alongside Sheppard for kick-return reps.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uBpW2yAz8s </div></figure>     [player_tooltip player_id='423247' first='Dylan' last='Henry'] — 5-11, 155 DB — Mandeville (2027)   The young defensive back appears poised for a big role in the Skippers' secondary this fall and looked the part, covering a lot of ground and helping highlight a largely strong showing by the group of tackling in space — particularly considering the circumstances of a preseason scrimmage against a physical opponent.   [player_tooltip player_id='1603261' first='Ben' last='Hendricks'] — 5-10, 170 QB — Mandeville (2026)   The Skippers' junior quarterback flashed his quickness as a complement to Sheppard in the rushing attack with several plays that looked likely to be gashing, big-gaining runs in a real game, but were whistled early Friday to protect the quarterbacks. He also used his legs to buy enough time on a rollout play for a long touchdown pass to fellow junior Collins Schwing, while getting most of his completions out quickly to his athletes on the perimeter.   [player_tooltip player_id='1336886' first='Darrick' last='LeBeouf'] — 6-1, 180 DB — Jesuit (2025)   The senior cornerback was solid all night covering his side of the field and provided the Blue Jays' most exciting defensive moment with an interception he returned winding all the way to the end zone before penalty flags brought the play back.   [player_tooltip player_id='1345265' first='Will' last='Berry'] — 6-4, 240 DL — Jesuit (2026)   The newly ranked 2026 prospect stood out quickly from his tall, long build in pregame to his active play up front in both run-fitting and pass-rushing situations.   Zachary Friloux — 5-8, 145 WR/ATH — Jesuit (2026)   One of a couple smaller, but effective offensive weapons on this list for the Blue Jays, the junior was the team's most consistent receiver with each of the quarterbacks to rotate during the scrimmage. Friloux was a reliable pass-catcher on quick hits to the flats on each side of the field and also hauled in a deep vertical route over his shoulder for Jesuit's biggest offensive gain of the night.   Marques Zenon — 6-1, 220 DL — Mandeville (2026)   Similarly to Berry on the Blue Jays' defensive line, Zenon stood out from an eye-test perspective during pregame and then backed up that first impression with his activity his the trenches where the Skippers managed to contain the rushing attack much of the evening until late and apply a little pressure to Jesuit's young quarterbacks.   Luke Cannizzaro — 6-0, 215 LB — Jesuit (2025)   The stout senior linebacker was another of the Blue Jays' most active and disruptive players in the box with multiple tackles.   Michael Cerruti — RB — Jesuit (2028)   The Blue Jays' quick young running back put the team on the board as the offense took to tempo behind seniors Ethan Shankle, Sam Macaluso, Christopher Bourg and Luke Cunningham and sophomore Ashton Moulliet. Cerruti capped the drive with its final few runs, including the biggest gain and eventual goal-line touchdown.

Louisiana's high school football season is — at least unofficially — off to the races.