PRZLA takeaways from Louisiana's preseason football scrimmages

High school football season is ramping up around Louisiana with preseason scrimmages all over the state this past weekend and jamborees slated for this upcoming weekend.   Trips to a pair of matchups between title-hopeful teams were loaded with notable takeaways across the board, and a few other performances elsewhere have also quickly hit the radar.   Here's a look at takeaways on nine teams as the action begins to gain steam.     St. Augustine   The Purple Knights may have enjoyed one of the state's more impressive scrimmage showings headlined by an explosive passing attack headlined by senior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1348424' first='Vashaun' last='Coulon'] and junior receivers [player_tooltip player_id='1323402' first='Miguel' last='Whitley'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1356127' first='Ray'Quan' last='Williams'], but seeing a slew of players involved — including sophomore receiver [player_tooltip player_id='1851150' first='Lucas' last='Jefferson'], who will join the updated 2028 rankings list. Whitley put on as much of a show as anyone Wednesday with his ability to rack up yards after the catch both by shaking past defenders or shoving them aside. And his partner in crime on the other side of the formation, Williams, let a couple balls get away from him, but was able to consistently get by defenders for separation deep and redeemed himself with the 45-yard touchdown during the live quarter to help punctuate St. Augustine's big night.   The trip out to Destrehan included some intriguing takeaways on both sides of the ball for the Purple Knights, whose defense also slowed down the Wildcats the vast majority of the night. Junior cornerback [player_tooltip player_id='1614560' first='Payton' last='Thomas'] was an definite eye-catcher with his fast, physical play in the secondary, including a couple jarring stops and a quick-reflex interception of a ricocheting ball of the receiver in front of him. Meanwhile the quickness of sophomore edge rusher [player_tooltip player_id='1618856' first='Darren' last='Coates Jr.'] was on display throughout the evening has he zipped past blockers and into the backfield on more than a couple occasions.     Destrehan   Two-way lineman [player_tooltip player_id='212339' first='Braylon' last='Montero'] has Destrehan's trench standout most heavily featured on Prep Redzone Louisiana the past couple years, including his ranking in the 2026 class and commitment this summer to Arkansas-Monticello. And the Boll Weevils' pledge appeared to generate some solid push on a couple plays from his defensive tackle spot. The Collins brothers, senior Earl III and sophomore Jordan, meanwhile were a couple of the Wildcats' biggest eye-catchers on offense for their efforts holding down the tackle spots with their similar 6-foot-3, 310-pound frames. Earl Collins III, the Wildcats' right tackle, reported Nicholls State and Louisiana Christian offers this offseason, and [player_tooltip player_id='1845258' first='Jordan' last='Collins'] appears to have the potential to be a top offensive line in Louisiana's 2028 class with his athleticism and mobility at his size. Already earning left-tackle duty, Jordan comes from a basketball background, packs a strong broad jump and appears to possess the all-around athletic profile to have a high ceiling at the position as he continues to develop his technique and have things slow down for him a bit with more varsity experience.     Madison Prep   The Chargers, a Class 3A and Division-II Select program, managed to hold their own against reigning Division-I Select champion Central (Baton Rouge), a Class 5A team, and win their scrimmage's live quarter, 6-0. Most notably, Madison Prep possesses huge lines that were able to dictate large portions of the night on both sides of the ball, including a bull-dozing offensive front of juniors De'Andra Knox and Aydin Denet, seniors Darnell Smith and Carnell Smith and underclassman Michael Robertson that paved the way for junior running backs [player_tooltip player_id='1782517' first='J'on' last='Profit'], [player_tooltip player_id='1815384' first='Harlem' last='Turner'] and company for consistent big gains in the ground game.   The arrival of sophomore quarterback Dylan Reed, a transfer from Archbishop Shaw, also changes the dynamic of the Chargers' offense by freeing up junior star [player_tooltip player_id='739753' first='Landon' last='Johnson'] to take some snaps at the position, but also move all over the field as a more versatile weapon — including leaping to haul in a deep pass over a defender and then continuing into the end zone for the lone score by either team in the live quarter of action to wrap up the scrimmage.     Central (Baton Rouge)   The reigning champs endured somewhat of a feast-or-famine rollercoaster of momentum during their matchup against Madison Prep. The Wildcats roared with a few explosive plays on both sides of the ball, including a pair of deep shots by quarterback JaCori Platt to fellow junior Brody Diel and senior [player_tooltip player_id='710977' first='Keithon' last='Womack'], but also struggled to contain the run for stretches and couldn't find the end zone in the live quarter that capped the night. All in all, the performance was a sign of both the intriguing potential this year's Central team possesses, but also some of the early kinks of inconsistency necessary to work out sooner than later. Notably, the team is still awaiting the return of Houston-committed defensive lineman Scott Smith Jr. and the eligibility clearance of linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='401111' first='JaMichael' last='Garrett'] and quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='934573' first='Max' last='Gassiott'], all of whom should represent nice boosts. The defensive duo in particular should go a long way in shoring up some of the Wildcats' issues Wednesday on that side of the ball — though not all was bad there, either, as junior safeties [player_tooltip player_id='1356113' first='Marvin' last='Joseph'] Jr. and [player_tooltip player_id='942208' first='Mason' last='Moore'], senior linebacker Jake Jarreau and junior linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='513986' first='Lane' last='Billings'] were among players who had big plays during the evening.     Evangel Christian   The Eagles appeared to pick up right where they'd spent most of last season as one of the state's most explosive offenses. Junior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='261907' first='Peyton' last='Houston'] completed 18 of his 25 passes (72%) for 468 yards and eight touchdowns against a stout Sterlington returning a ton of key pieces from its Division-III Non-Select title team. As impressive and the totals were, so was the efficiency of nearly 3/4 of his passes being completed, eight scores to just one interception, nearly 19 yards per attempt and a touchdown nearly ever three throws. The speedy duo of Louisiana Tech commit [player_tooltip player_id='740992' first='Johnny' last='Casey Jr.'] and fellow senior Demarkus Evans lead the way with 167 yards and 156 yards, respectively, and three scores each.     Abbeville   Down south, another potentially ascending team was putting up a few eye-popping numbers of its own. Junior quarterback Dazavien Maze led Abbeville past Comeaux with 14-for-24 (58.3%) passing for 327 yards, three touchdowns and one interception — all three scores to different targets. Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='1804134' first='Jacolby' last='Campbell'], who will debut this week in the top tier of Prep Redzone Louisiana's 2028 rankings, led the receiving corps with eight catches for 193 yards and a touchdown, and senior [player_tooltip player_id='1737483' first='Cameron' last='Samuels'] and sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='1851025' first='Andrew' last='Payton'] III joined him over the century mark with stat lines of five catches for 110 yards for Samuels, four catches for 106 yards for Payton and a touchdown a piece.     Edna Karr   The already-stacked Cougars continue to add notable weapons to their offense heading into the upcoming season, as Fresno State commitment Xavier Owens, who moved this summer from California, was not only on the field Thursday, but seemingly living in the end zone. The long, lean target, a highly ranked prospect by Prep Redzone California, scored a touchdown in every period of the scrimmage at East St. John, <a href="https://x.com/JaredPJoseph/status/1958724735212429786">according to WGNO's Jared Paul Joseph</a>. Add Owens, Destrehan transfer [player_tooltip player_id='1581312' first='Greg' last='Wilfred'] and further anticipated help to a receiving corps already with some solid pieces in the place, and question marks about how well the position group will replace three 2025 Division-I signees start to quickly disappear.     Ruston   Another notable new name for Louisiana fans to commit to memory is Ruston sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='1845257' first='Dalen' last='Powell'], who was already slated for a top-10 debut in this week's 2028 Prep Redzone Louisiana rankings update and only further supported that early confidence in his potential with a big scrimmage performance vs. C.E. Byrd. The explosive young athlete needed just six touches to rack up 150 yards, including one long touchdown run and another long run that helped set up a score.     Brother Martin   The Crusaders' junior wide receiver [player_tooltip player_id='723579' first='Easton' last='Royal'] continued to show why he's so highly touted and sought after on the recruiting trail with three touchdown catches and a kick return for a score in Brother Martin's trip to the north shore to face a solid Covington squad. Royal is the headliner from a recruiting standpoint, but the offense has a chance to be deep with junior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='734706' first='Hudson' last='Fields'] enjoying a slew of weapons at his disposal both in the passing game and alongside him in the backfield.

High school football season is ramping up around Louisiana with preseason scrimmages all over the state this past weekend and jamborees slated for this upcoming weekend.