Louisiana Football Magazine 2026 Class 1A Football Preview (Written by Lee Brecheen)

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District 9

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Catholic Pointe Coupee Green Hornets

Head Coach:Matt Moreau(1^st year)

2025 Record:9-3

2025 Playoffs:1st Round beat Westminster Christian Lafayette,and 2^nd Round lost to Ascension Catholic HS 50-42.

2026 Non District Games: Week 1 Marksville HS (Home), Week 2 Vermillion Catholic HS (Away), Week 3 Episcopal HS (Away), Week 4 Many HS(Home), Week 5 Catholic New Iberia HS (Away),and Week 9 Riverside HS (Away)

Team Outlook: “We’re very excited about the future of Catholic High Pointe Coupee football and the challenges that come with the 2026 season," said coach Moreau. “We also had an entirely new staff come in over the Summer, so there’s been a real sense of urgency to get everyone on the same page quickly.” “We open with a tough schedule and quality opponents every week, but our guys are embracing the work.” “We’re excited about where we’re headed and focused on building on the proud tradition of Catholic High football here in Pointe Coupee Parish.”

The program will have a new starting Quarterback for the 1st time in 3 years. QB Gunner Lejeune 6'0" 172 pounds will be the new QB and has the talent to lead this team in 2026 to the playoffs.

More key players to watch will be WR/CB Edwin Williams 6'1" 170 pounds, 2nd-year starter, WR DaMichael Hart 5'9" 165 pounds, 2nd-year starter, LB/FB Michael Battiste 6'1" 215 pounds, 2nd-year starter, DE/FB Eli Henry 6'0" 220 pounds, 2nd-year starter, SS Hayes Langlois 6'0" 170 pounds, 4.6 speed in the forty, 2nd-year starter, RB/SS Myka Nipple 5'11" 198 pounds, 4-year starter, leader, All-District, 4.5 speed in the forty, OG/OC/FB Grahm Roy 5'9" 210 pounds, leader, 3-year starter, OL Owen LaCour 5'11" 210 pounds, 3-year starter, FB Carter Devillier 5'10" 198 pounds, 3-year starter, and new starter Athlete/RB/DB Darwin Royal 5'8" 180 pounds.

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Central Private Redhawks

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| Photo provided by

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| Photo by Lee Brecheen (Louisiana Football Magazine)

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Head Coach:Cole Holden(4^th year)

2025 Record:4-6

2026 Non District Games: Week 1 St.Thomas Aquinas HS(Away), Week 2 Ascension Christian HS(Away), Week 3 St.John HS(Home),Week 4 Centreville Academy Mississippi(Away), Week 5 Highland Baptist HS(Home), Week 6 Ben Franklin HS(Home).

Team Outlook: “Excited about the 2026 season,” said coach Holden. “We have a mix of talent with a ton of experience in key positions coming back on both sides of the football field.” “ I am also excited that the numbers of players are up to 40 plus kids and that will help us moving forward.”

The new starting Quarterback will be Zach Browning 5'11" 165 pounds, a 3-year starter in the program at several skill spots, now the QB. Browning has legit 4.6 speed in the forty, is a really good Athlete, and is polished as a player to lead this team in 2026.

The program also returns 2-way starter TE/DE/LB Brody Gibson 6'3" 210 pounds, a 4-year starter, also a really good Athlete as a blocker and WR, and tough on Defense along with being a great leader.

More key players to watch will be RB Eli McCumsey 5'9" 170 pounds, a 2nd Team All-District player in 2025 who will get a ton of carries, tough kid, ran for 800 yards on 110 carries with 8 touchdowns, WR/DB Brooks Fogle 6'1" 170 pounds, WR/DB Madden Guidry 5'10" 160 pounds, 4.6 speed in the forty, WR Sebastian Loupe 6'1" 168 pounds, playmaker on Offense, had a great 2025 season, RB/LB Oliver Shoaf 6'0" 180 pounds, 4.6 speed with power, OL/DL Wyatt Neal 6'1" 255 pounds, leader, OL/DL Easton Sullivan 6'0" 230 pounds, OL/DL Beaux Dutsch 5'11" 185 pounds, CB Cade Phillips 6'0" 160 pounds, CB Ben Browning 5'10" 155 pounds, SS Christian Sumner 5'10" 155 pounds, OG/OC Jacob Russell 5'11" 220 pounds, and RB/LB Drew Martel 5'11" 192 pounds.

Special Teams: Brody Gibson will return as the starting Punter.

The new starting Quarterback will be Zach Browning 5'11" 165 pounds, a 3-year starter in the program at several skill spots, now the QB. Browning has legit 4.6 speed in the forty, is a really good Athlete, and is polished as a player to lead this team in 2026.

The program also returns 2-way starter TE/DE/LB Brody Gibson 6'3" 210 pounds, a 4-year starter, also a really good Athlete as a blocker and WR, and tough on Defense along with being a great leader.

More key players to watch will be RB Eli McCumsey 5'9" 170 pounds, a 2nd Team All-District player in 2025 who will get a ton of carries, tough kid, ran for 800 yards on 110 carries with 8 touchdowns, WR/DB Brooks Fogle 6'1" 170 pounds, WR/DB Madden Guidry 5'10" 160 pounds, 4.6 speed in the forty, WR Sebastian Loupe 6'1" 168 pounds, playmaker on Offense, had a great 2025 season, RB/LB Oliver Shoaf 6'0" 180 pounds, 4.6 speed with power, OL/DL Wyatt Neal 6'1" 255 pounds, leader, OL/DL Easton Sullivan 6'0" 230 pounds, OL/DL Beaux Dutsch 5'11" 185 pounds, CB Cade Phillips 6'0" 160 pounds, CB Ben Browning 5'10" 155 pounds, SS Christian Sumner 5'10" 155 pounds, OG/OC Jacob Russell 5'11" 220 pounds, and RB/LB Drew Martel 5'11" 192 pounds.

Special Teams: Brody Gibson will return as the starting Punter.

East Feliciana Tigers

| Markus Cannon Jr

| Photo provided by Markus Cannon Jr

Head Coach:Darius Matthews(7^th year)

2025 Record:9-4

2025 Playoffs: 1^st Round beat Delcambre HS, 2^nd Round beat Ferriday HS, and 3^rd Round lost to Mangham HS.

Signees Colleges: DE/LB/Athlete Kayden Wilson(Southern U)

2026 Non District Games: Week 1 Lake Charles Prep HS (Away), Week 2 St. Helena Central HS (Away), Week 3 Slaughter Charter (Home), Week 4 Baker HS (Away), Week 5 Parkview Baptist HS(Home), Week 7 Mentoreship (Away).

Team Outlook: “Effort, hard work, dedication is what I'm seeing from these kids all off season," said coach Matthews. “This is one of the most dedicated groups I have seen since I’ve been at East Feliciana High School.” “These kids are working really hard to get the next step to the Superdome to compete for a Title in 2026.” “I think moving down to Class 1A will give us a great shot to play for a title in the end.”

This is a program I think will benefit from going from Class 2A to Class 1A because they have some big-time Linemen in the program to set them apart once the playoffs start up, with a really good group of skill players also.

Here are some of the top Linemen to watch: OT/DL Britson Galmon 6'4" 260 pounds, 3-year starter, OL/DL Gregory Davis 6'1" 270 pounds, OL/DL Derigez Parker 6'5" 305 pounds, TE/DE Jayvon Jackson 6'2" 210 pounds, 3-year starter, OL/DL Patrick Miller 6'4" 250 pounds, OC/OG/DE Carl Harrell III 5'11" 215 pounds, DT Leon Armstead 5'10" 225 pounds, DT A'drus Collins 6'1" 215 pounds, and two players competing at Center, David Goss 5'10" 260 pounds and Keith Coleman 5'11" 265 pounds.

The skill talent is second to none in Class 1A and will be led by Quarterback/Safety Marcus Cannon Jr. 5'11" 215 pounds, a 3-year starter, leader, and big-time Athlete.

More key skill players to watch are RB/LB Makyle Cannon 6'2" 220 pounds, 3-year starter, talented, RB/LB Tony Ringo Jr. 5'8" 178 pounds, 3-year starter, RB/LB/DE Matthew King 5'11" 190 pounds, 3-year starter, MLB/RB Alanthony Gibbs 6'1" 225 pounds, 3-year starter, leader, LB/TE Aiden Johnson 6'1" 185 pounds, WR/CB Keshawn Toney 5'11" 185 pounds, 4.5 in the forty, 3-year starter, rotating in at FS Kameron Wilson 6'1" 175 pounds, and WR/DB Blake Branch 5'9" 165 pounds, 4.5 speed in the forty, playmaker.

Special Teams: Aiden Johnson 6'1" 185 pounds and Tony Ringo Jr. will both handle the Kicking and Punting spots.

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False River Gators

Head Coach:Darren Gremillion(1^st year)

2026 JV Schedule: Week 1 Central Private HS(Home), Week 2 East Feliciana HS(Away), Week 3 Catholic Pointe Coupee HS (Home), Week 4 North Iberville HS (Not Decided), Week 5 Kentwood HS (Away), Week 6 Livonia HS(Home), Week 7 Highland Baptist HS(Away), and Week 9 Slaughter Charter HS(Away)

Team Outlook: “This will be my 2^nd time to be a part of a rebuild for Football,” said coach Gremillion. “I was the Head Coach football for The Louisiana School for the Deaf from 1997 to 2007 and again from 2010-2015. We will play a JV Schedule in 2026 and 2027. 2028 hopefully will play for District is the goal. We already have 17 players in the program, hopefully 20 by the time school starts.” “I would like to thank my Athletic Director Anthony Hurst and Head Baseball Coach Doyle Magee for helping me start the rebuild with football and the players prior to me getting the job.” “We are a school K thru 12^th grade with about 350 students and hope to grow that a lot in the next 2 years.” “The Football team will only have 2 seniors on the roster in 2026.”

Three key players the program will start off helping the rebuild are CB/WR/TE Benson Jewell 6'0" 170 pounds, who made All-State in 2025 in Baseball at the Class C level for False River High School. There's also OT/DE Ty Collins, in his 1st year playing football, already a senior leader, and OG/DE Garrett Bellelo 5'6" 175 pounds. 

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Kentwood Kangaroos

Head Coach:Cornelius Blount(3^rd year)

2025 Record:7-5

2025 Playoffs: 1^st Round beat Vermillion Catholic HS, and 2^nd Round lost to Ascension Episcopal HS

Team Outlook: “We have 18 experienced seniors returning in 2026,” said coach Blount. “Our motto as a program in 2026 is State Championship or Bust.” “The players and coaches have worked hard off season and in the Spring against West St. John High School reminded me of some of the old Kentwood teams so I am excited about the upcoming year.”

Like coach said above, 18 experienced seniors are coming back, which is a big group for any Class 1A school. You will see a good bit of the players play both sides of the football, which has worked for over 40 years as a program.

The program will be led at Quarterback by a new starter who lettered at the position in 2025 before an injury, Kaleb Magee 5'10" 155 pounds, who has a cannon arm. Then you have QB/CB/WR Ahmade Bickham, who can play QB if needed but is mostly now a WR/CB, big-time playmaker, for his 4th year as a starter.

More players to keep an eye on in 2026 are MLB/FB Jayden Cohn 5'10" 180 pounds, 4.6 speed in the forty, 4-year starter, RB/WR Jamarrious Campbell 5'8" 165 pounds, 4-year starter, big-time playmaker, WR/OLB Chance Briggs 6'2" 190 pounds, 4.6 speed in the forty, 4-year starter, leader, OLB/DE/TE Richard Otis Jr. 6'3" 221 pounds, 4-year starter, leader, with 4.6 speed, CB/SS/OLB/TE Chance Knighten 5'10" 170 pounds, 4-year starter, playmaker, DE/DT Adrian Burton 6'0" 210 pounds, 3-year starter, DE/TE/OLB/OT Ivan Williams 6'3" 225 pounds, 4-year starter, 4.7 speed in the forty, DE/FB Kendell Zanders 5'10" 205 pounds, 3-year starter, RB/OLB Terell Smith 5'8" 160 pounds, 3-year starter, has close to 150 tackles the last 2 years combined and missed most of the 2025 season with an injury, WR Stefon Miller 6'2" 170 pounds, 4.5 speed, LB Michael Thompson 5'8" 165 pounds, 4.6 speed, DB Jonathan Bagnet 5'10" 165 pounds, Center Shamri Carter 6'0" 250 pounds, 3-year starter, OL J. Wilson 6'1" 290 pounds, OL Keithian Robinson 5'9" 230 pounds, and rotating in or starting at CB, Ricky Briggs 5'7" 155 pounds, senior, been in the program 4 years with a lot of experience.

Special Teams will be strong in the return game, led by Jamarrious Campbell, who has great hands and can flat out make things happen in space.

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Varnado Wildcats

Head Coach:Vonta Owens(2^nd year)

2025 Record:2-9

2025 Playoffs:1^st Round loss to Logansport HS

2026 Non District Games: Week 1 Pine HS(Home), Week 2 Independence HS(Away), Week 3 Bogalusa HS(Away), Week 4 Abramson HS(Home), Week 5 Ben Franklin HS(Away), Week 8 St. Martins HS(Away)

Team Outlook: “Our Motto is 2026: Work like a Champion,” said coach Owens.” “If we are in the weight room or on the field, give it everything you got.” “Our outcome and goal is to get there.” “2026 Offense will go to more of a Gun-T with some spread formations still.” “ We were more of a Power Gap Offense in 2025.” 

The Offense will return starting Quarterback Joshua Fox 6'1" 178 pounds, a really good Athlete who gives high effort and should have his best season in 2026. One of the best players on the team, if not the best player, will be RB/Safety Barry Thomas, who returns at 5'9" 175 pounds with legit 4.55 speed in the forty and is a big-time playmaker for the program as a 3-year starter.

More players to watch will be OLB Elijah Thomas 5'10" 185 pounds, Safety/CB/LB/QB Jyrihn Piggot 5'10" 170 pounds, great hands as a WR and tough kid on Defense, RB/LB Antonio Thompson 5'8" 205 pounds, OT Chaston Whittine 6'1" 230 pounds, DT/OT Preston Downs 5'11" 365 pounds, RB/LB Tik McGowan 5'9" 175 pounds, WR Taydyn Benne 6'0" 165 pounds, talented playmaker, CB Derwin Peters 5'8" 145 pounds, Safety Rashad Sam 5'9" 155 pounds, SS/RB Joshua Patterson 5'9" 170 pounds, tough leader, OG/DT Damarion Crain 5'9" 185 pounds, OG/DT Jokorian Peters 5'8" 180 pounds, CB Fred Weary 5'10" 165 pounds, CB/WR Byron Johnson 5'8" 165 pounds, Center Jordan Naquin 5'8" 185 pounds, TE/DE/OLB Treavor Smith 6'1" 185 pounds, and rotating in at Safety Cameron Bonner 5'8" 160 pounds.

Special Teams: Punter/Kicker will be all-everything Jyrihn Piggot, who plays 8 positions for the team.

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