11 observations from Week 2 of Louisiana high school football

Louisiana LookBack: Neville upends No. 1 Calvary Baptist in hastily arranged game due to hurricane

Neville quarterback Parker Robinson helped the Tigers defeat No. 1 Calvary Baptist on Sept. 13, 2024. / Jill Pickett, Shreveport-Bossier City Advocate

Hurricane Francine affected the Week 2 schedule with games canceled, moved to Saturday and even to Sunday in a few instances, such as Destrehan's 31-0 win over Bonnabel, a nice bounce-back victory for the Wildcats after their 33-game regular season winning streak was halted in Week 1 by Catholic-Baton Rouge.

1. Tigers Flying High

Westgate, which was expected for days to take a direct hit from the eye of the storm, canceled its game in Shreveport against Calvary Baptist, which was No. 1 in the Overall Top 25 rankings. The Cavaliers quickly scheduled a game with No. 9 Neville, which was open after Westgate cancelled, and the game turned out to be a doozy, with the visiting Tigers scoring the winning TD in the fourth quarter of a 42-38 win.

Neville quarterback Parker Robinson threw a 38-yard touchdown pass to Jamarion Roberson with 4:40 remaining, and the Tigers' defense got a stop. 

Robinson completed 11-of-14 passes for 148 yards. The Tigers, with 48 carries for 263 yards, out-rushed CBA (24-99). Jaylon Nichols ran for 149 yards and two TDs on 18 carries and Tardashi Lemons added 105 yards on 18 attempts, according to Roy Lang of The Shreveport Advocate.

Calvary Baptist QB Abram Wardell completed 21-of-28 passes for 376 yards. Kolby Thomas caught six passes for 242 yards, and Kaleb Tucker had eight receptions for 114 yards.

Wardell has completed 44-of-57 passes through two games for 793 yards, 13 TDs and no interceptions. Thomas, a Louisiana Tech commit, has 14 catches for 380 yards and eight TDs. putting him on pace for 40 TDs in the regular season.

2. Raiders Rising

Archbishop Rummel, which began the season on the bubble of the Top 25, has two wins over ranked opponents. The Raiders defeated No. 18 Lafayette Christian, 42-35, in the Caesars Superdome in Week 1 followed by a 13-7 win on Saturday over No. 4 University Lab.

The Raiders came into Saturday's game ranked 24th. Senior quarterback Generald Buggage completed 9-of-15 passes for 144 yards and a TD and rushed for 49 yards on three carries, according to Grant Chachere of Crescent City Sports. Rummel out-gained the Cubs 328-135, as Norman Taylor rushed for 93 yards on 24 carries with a score. 

The game was initially scheduled in Baton Rouge before the parties agreed to move it to Joe Yenni Stadium in Metairie Saturday. Ultimately, the game was played at U-High on Saturday.

3. Erath, New Iberia On Upswing

In the Lafayette area, Erath and New Iberia are 2-0 after combining for a handful of victories in 2023. The Bobcats, who were hit hard by injuries in last year's 2-8 season, have wins over Loreauville and Class 4A North Vermilion. 

On Saturday, Erath topped North Vermilion by a 21-15 margin despite being out-gained, 295-175. The Patriots ran 77 plays compared to the Bobcats' 44, won the rushing battle (146 yards to 52) and had 19 first downs to Erath's seven, but Mason Hebert ran for two TDs, and Jack Landry (16-of-23, 123 yards passing, 7-27 rushing) threw the game-winning TD pass to Coty Broussard.

New Iberia handled Franklin on Saturday, 42-6. The Yellow Jackets, who were originally scheduled to face Central Lafourche, got 201 yards rushing on 23 carries with a TD from senior Shanga Charles. QB Kaiden McGlasson completed 6-of-10 passes for 67 yards and three TDs. Synjaya Hamilton caught three passes for 38 yards and two TDs.

The Yellow Jackets, who face winless Comeaux this week, will be favored to be 3-0 entering the District 3-5A opener vs. longtime league favorite Acadiana.

4. Knights’ Lucky Seven

The St. Augustine of old has resurfaced in Gentilly where first-year head coach Robert Valdez has the Purple Knights 2-0 after a four-win season in 2023. 

St. Aug and Cecilia had their Week 2 games vs. East St. John and St. Amant canceled, respectively, which led to the Purple Knights traveling to St. Martin Parish to face the Division II non-select runner-up Bulldogs on Saturday night.

St. Aug scored on its first seven possessions, according to Jerit Roser of Louisiana vs. All Y'all, en route to a 58-34 win. QB Vashaun Coulon threw TDs for four different receivers. Sophomore Ray'Quan Williams ran a kick back for a TD after Cecilia climbed within 11 (45-34) in the third quarter.

The Purple Knights have scored well over 100 points in wins over McDonogh 35 and Cecilia. The buzz started building after a relatively easy jamboree win over a strong Class 4A Archbishop Shaw team.

5. Rebels’ Roadblock

West Monroe, which began the season ranked in some Class 5A top 10 polls, blew out an above-average Huntington team in Week 1, 40-7.

The Rebels ran into an explosive Pulaski Academy team in Little Rock (Ark.) in Week 2, losing 67-47 after the Bruins (3-0) scored the final 15 points. Pulaski, which is coached by former McCall HS legend Anthony Lucas, took advantage of onside kicks to score 21 straight points in the second half.

Tailback Ranaldrick Myles ran for four TDs for the Rebels, who travel to North DeSoto (1-1) and Catholic-Baton Rouge (2-0) for their next two games.

6. Cougars Pounce

Class 3A John F. Kennedy continues to assert itself as a program on the rise in the New Orleans metro area. The Cougars took down Class 5A Warren Easton, which was coming off a 34-point win over L.B. Landry, to improve to 2-0.

The Cougars had lost five straight games to Warren Easton, according to Mike Strom of Geaux Preps, before taking a 36-26 win at Pan American Stadium on Friday. QB Amyne Darensbourg accounted for 273 yards. James Evans caught five passes for 199 yards and threw an 87-yard TD to Kingston Jones. 

Kennedy went 10-2 in 2023. Its only regular season loss was to this week's opponent, St. Amant (0-1), which will be hungry for a win after losing to C.E. Byrd in Week 1.

7. Bunkie’s Blowouts 

We all know about the Division III select frontrunners such as Calvary Baptist, Lafayette Christian, Notre Dame and Dunham, but look out for the Bunkie Panthers.

Bunkie (2-0) has blowout wins over St. Mary's and St. Louis Catholic, two programs that are off to rare 0-2 starts. QB Dillon Compton, who totaled 365 yards of offense with five TDs against the Saints, also accounted for five TDs in Week 1. 

Last year, the sixth-seeded Panthers were upset by No. 11 Episcopal in the second round of the playoffs.

8. Skippers Survive 

Mandeville and Madison Prep linked up in one of the most entertaining games. The Skippers, who are ranked in the Top 25, led 31-0, but quarterback Tylan Johnson led a second-half Madison Prep comeback in a shootout that ended with Mandeville winning, 52-43.

Duke commit Nate Sheppard ran for 164 yards on 31 carries with five TDs for Mandeville, which was out-gained 470-386, according to Jason Russell of The New Orleans Advocate. Johnson completed 21-of-33 passes for 409 yards and four TDs.

9. North By Northwest 

Northwest has a good chance of equaling or surpassing last year's success. The Raiders, who overcame a slow start to reach the 2023 Division II non-select semifinals, are 2-0 after hammering Rayne, 50-14. QB Jayden Chavis completed 11-of-12 passes for 244 yards and five TDs.

Junior tailback Ke'Von Johnson, a transfer from St. Edmund's in Eunice, ran for over 200 yards for the second straight week.

10. Built Ford Tough

How to describe Leesville tailback Xavier Ford? Workhorse doesn't seem adequate after the senior rushed for 400 yards on 31 carries and six TDs in a win over Tioga. 

In Week 1, Ford rushed for 298 yards and six TDs on 39 carries in a loss to Sam Houston. Ford, who has 798 yards rushing and is averaging 10 yards per carry, ran for over 2,000 yards each of the past two years with 64 TDs.

11. Hornets Buzzing

Catholic-Pointe Coupee, in its second year under one of the state's brightest young coaches in Jacob Carruth, is 2-0 and looking like a valid threat to challenge the top dogs of Division IV select (featuring Southern Lab, Riverside Academy, Vermilion Catholic, Ouachita Christian, St. Martin's Episcopal, etc.).

The Hornets blew out Crowley, 54-12. Parker Jewell ran for 202 yards on 18 carries and two TDs and caught two passes for 59 yards and a score. Jude Morrison was 10-of-15 passing for 231 yards and five TDs. Brooks Capps and Luke Vosberg combined to catch eight passes for 172 yards and four TDs.

As the coach briefly at Class 1A basketball power North Central, Carruth was able to get the hoops players to come out for football, which helped the Hurricanes snap a record years-long losing streak.

- Mike Coppage | @SBLive_LA