Vote: Who should be Louisiana high school Athlete of the Week? (12/9/2024)

Here is our list of top performers of last week; cast your vote(s) of those most deserving of this week's honor

AOTW

Who was the top high school athlete in all of Louisiana high school sports last week?

Each week, High School On SI scours the Pelican state and corrals the top performers across all high school sports from the last week.

Congratulations to last week's winner: Cohen Charles of Iowa football.

Voting closes at 11:59 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 15. The winner will be announced in the following week's poll. Here are this week's nominees:

Alex Phillips, Sr., South Plaquemine football

Phillips hauled in a 36-yard TD pass to lift the No. 2-seeded Hurricanes to a 20-14 win over Logansport in the Division IV nonselect semifinals, according to Spencer Urquhart of The New Orleans Advocate. Phillips also caught a two-point conversion pass from QB Roderick Parker.

Nathan Barrette, Sr., St. Paul's boys basketball

Barrette scored 14 points, highlighted by an early four-point play, in the Wolves' 58-41 win at home over Destrehan, according to Joseph Halm of The New Orleans Advocate.

Liam Baird, Sr., Northlake Christian boys basketball

The Class 2A Wolverines defeated Class 5A Mandeville, 61-46. Baird led four double-digit scorers with 17 points as Northlake Christian outscored the Skippers 20-6 in the third quarter, according to Dave Woodall of The New Orleans Advocate.

Carter Douglas, Jr., E.D. White football

Douglas ran for 117 yards on 19 carries with two TDs in the No. 3-seeded Cardinals' 41-13 win over Leesville in the Division II select semifinals, according to Shamarr Moses of The Houma Times.

Aiden Monistere, Sr., Parkview Baptist boys cross country

Monistere was the top Louisiana runner at the Nike NXN Cross Nationals in Portland, Oregon, placing 25th out of 199 runners with a time of 15 minutes, 57.2 seconds. 

Kani King Young, Jr., St. James football

The top-seeded Wildcats avenged a loss to Union Parish in the 2023 Division III nonselect title game when Young dashed for a 10-yard score with under a minute remaining in a 43-36 come-from-behind win, according to Chris Singleton of The Baton Rouge Advocate. Young ran for two TDs. 

Luke Vidrine Jr., Ouachita, Christian football

Vidrine's four-yard keeper on fourth down midway through the fourth quarter providing the winning margin for the No. 11-seeded Eagles in a 24-22 road win against No. 2 Ascension Catholic, according to Patrick Wright of The Baton Rouge Advocate. OCS (13-1) advanced to the Division IV select state title game against No. 1 Vermilion Catholic (13-0).

Jonathan Dartez, Sr., Vermilion Catholic football

The Eagles' QB ran for 213 yards on 40 carries with four TDs in a 33-0 win over Kentwood. Dartez has 42 touchdowns on the ground with six 200-yard performances. He also completed 6 of 9 passes for 102 yards and a score. That's not all. Dartez became the state's all-time touchdown leader (173).

Luke Landry, Sr., Catholic New Iberia football

The Panthers upset No. 3 Calvary Baptist, 33-31. Landry threw three TD passes with no inteceptions and has 37 touchdowns vs. only three interceptions for No. 7 Catholic (12-1), which faces No. 1 Dunham (13-0) in the Division III select finals.

Diesel Solari, Sr., Cecilia football

The No. 18-seeded Bulldogs are going back to the Division II nonselect title game after a 55-35 win at No. 6 Plaquemine. Solari accounted for six TDs and 319 yards of offense. 

Dakota Howard, Sr., Parkway girls basketball

Howard scored 22 points in the Panthers' 53-42 win over Woodlawn-BR in the semifinals of the Showdown at the Lake in a matchup of reigning Division I nonselect and select state champions. 

MJ Thibodaux, Fr., Midland girls basketball

The Rebels defeated defending Division IV select champion J.S. Clark at the Showdown at the Lake, 38-31. Thibodaux scored 13 points and drew praise from LBR Basketball for her court vision. 

Jaylon Nichols, Sr., Neville football

The Tigers lost a heartbreaker to Central-BR in the Division I nonselect semifinals. Nichols put an exclamation point on his prep career with 258 yards and two TDs. 

Kimora Celestine, Jr., Iowa girls basketball

Celestine scored 23 points to pace Iowa to a 64-61 win over defending Division II select state champion Lafayette Christian at the Showdown at the Lake. She added 21 points in a win over Oakdale, a 2023-24 runner-up in Division IV nonselect.

Ramiah Augurson, Sr., Wossman girls basketball

LBR Basketball named Augerson the Tournament MVP at the Showdown at the Lake. The Wildcats defeated Lakeview, Parkway, John Curtis Christian and J.S. Clark.

JaDell Demery, Jr., Natchitoches-Central boys basketball

The Chiefs stayed unbeaten (4-0) with a win over Zwolle in a matchup of defending state champions. Demery had 20 points and seven rebounds. 

Carly Meynard, Jr., Holy Savior Menard girls basketball

The Eagles beat Caldwell Parish and lost to Alexandria and Pitkin. Menard scored 31 and 30 points in each of the latter two games with a double-double (11 rebounds) against Pitkin and six blocks vs. Alexandria.

Steven Ranel, Sr., Central-BR football

The No. 4-seeded Wildcats secured a 17-13 win at Division I nonselect top-seeded Neville when Ranel blocked a field goal that sophomore Marvin Joseph returned for a TD in the fourth quarter. Ranel also intercepted a pass.

Jayden Dixon, Jr., Tara boys basketball

Dixon's 19 points sparked Tara to a 72-58 win over Woodlawn-BR. He had a trio of 3-pointers during a third-quarter run that gave the Trojans a commanding lead, according to Charles Salzer of The Baton Rouge Advocate. 

TJ Burch, So., Sterlington football

The No. 6 Panthers routed No. 7 Jena, 48-14, in the Division III nonselect semifinals. Burch scored three TDs, including runs from 32 and 34 yards, according to Jake Martin of The Ouachita Citizen.

Tate McCurry, Sr., Catholic-BR boys basketball

McCurry was named Tournament MVP of the Showdown at the Lake. The Bears defeated Evangel Christian, Washington Marion, Archbishop Hannan and Lake Charles College Prep to stay perfect at 8-0. Hannan and LCCP suffered their first losses to the Bears.

Brilee Dousay, Sr., Oak Hill girls basketball

The Rams defeated Buckeye, 59-47. Dousay scored 17 points with 12 rebounds, four assists and three steals for Oak Hill, which finished as runner-up to J.S. Clark in Division V select last year. 

Emani Young, Sr., Oakdale girls basketball

Young scored 19 points with eight rebounds and four assists in a 55-41 win over Opelousas. Oakdale is off to a 5-3 start with wins over Lafayette Christian and Captain Shreve (9-1). 

Haymann Milton, Jr., Independence boys basketball

Milton scored 32 points to propel the Tigers to an 80-55 win over local rival Amite. Milton is among the top 10 in the state in scoring in all classifications.

Jordan Matthews, Sr., Vandebilt Catholic boys basketball

The Terriers are 3-0 and Matthews has been on fire, dropping 37 points per game with five rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Jacorey Washington, Sr., Sophie B. Wright boys basketball

Washington was named MVP of Wright's Tournament. He scored 16 points in the championship game, a 56-40 win over Northshore, to improve the Warriors' record to 3-1, according to Darrell Williams of The New Orleans Advocate.