Louisiana Football Magazine 2026 Class 3A Football Preview (Written by Lee Brecheen)

District 5

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DeQuincy Tigers

Head Coach: Tate Woodard(4^th year)

2025 Record: 4-7

2025 Playoffs: 1^st Round lost to Vinton HS

2026 Non District Games: Week 1 Grand Lake HS(Home), Week 2 Lake Arthur HS(Away), Week 3 Westlake HS(Home), Elton HS(Away), Week 5 Welsh HS(Home).

Team Outlook: We graduated some very large classes of players for us these last 2 years 2024(14 players) and 2025 (16) players, and in 2026 we will only have 6 seniors on the team,” said coach Woodard. “We have some talent but will need to stay healthy and develop depth as a team early on in the season.”

The Tigers will have new facilities by Thanksgiving for locker rooms, gym, and coaches' office, which will give this program some of the best new facilities in the area. After talking to coach Tate Woodard, the staff and players are really excited about that for the upcoming season.

Interesting note about the 2025 season: DeQuincy Football played Vinton High School in Week 10 and turned around and played Vinton High School again in the playoffs the following week in the 1st round of the playoffs.

The program will have a new Quarterback in Slay Gardner 6'3" 185 pounds, a talented young player with tons of talent to be great for a long time with the program. More players to watch this season are DB/WR Landon Joyce 6'0" 165 pounds, All-District in 2024, WR/DB Jeremy Gatlin Jr. 6'3" 170 pounds, 2nd-year starter, team's No. 1 Wide Receiver coming back, OL/DL Hunter Folse 6'2" 280 pounds, 3-year starter, OL/DL Jayden Fontenot 5'10" 180 pounds, DE Conner Snell 6'1" 170 pounds, and HB/LB Grant Rainwater 6'0" 175 pounds, 2nd-year starter, played in 6 games as a Quarterback in 2025, one of the toughest kids on the team.

Special Teams will be a strong point for the program. Kicker will be Chris Contreas 6'2" 215 pounds, and LS/Center will be Gage Schultz 6'2" 190 pounds. The Punting job was open after Spring and going into the Summer.

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East Beauregard Trojans

Head Coach:Ronnie Simmons(8^th year)

2025 Record:2-7

2026 Non District Games: Week 1 Merryville HS (Home), Week 2 Northwood/Lena (Away), Week 3 Many HS (Away), Week 4 Lakeside (Home), Week 5 Beau Chene HS(Home), Week 8 Pine Prairie HS(Home).

Team Outlook: “Optimistic about the players we have coming back and the 2026 season,” said coach Simmons.” “This will be our 3^rd year in Class 2A and I feel like we are adjusting better, bringing back a lot of experience which will help us in 2026.”

Head Coach Ronnie Simmons stays busy. He is not only the Head Varsity Football coach but also the Junior High and Varsity Basketball assistant coach when not coaching Football.

The Trojans will return a few key leaders back in 2026: OLB/Safety Drew Fontenot 5'9" 170 pounds, 4-year starter and sometimes RB, Quarterback Carter Causey 5'11" 165 pounds, 3-year starter, OG Evan King 6'1" 190 pounds, 3-year starter, LB/RB/QB/WR Peyton Furlow 6'0" 185 pounds, OG Lathyn Stephens 5'8" 185 pounds, RB/LB Cooper Hildreth 5'9" 185 pounds, OT/DT Clayton Cooley 6'1" 225 pounds, and DB Austin Selgrath 6'2" 170 pounds.

More players to watch will be DB Tucker Meeks 5'7" 150 pounds, TE/DE Jasper Lewis 6'0" 175 pounds, TE/WR Tripp Quebedeaux 5'10" 165 pounds, Center Shyden Jeter 6'1" 280 pounds, OL Gabe West 5'8" 180 pounds, and OL/DL Riley Lenhart 6'1" 240 pounds, new starter.

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Pickering Red Devils

Head Coach:John Daugherty(3^rd Year)

2025 Record:5-5

2025 Playoffs: Did not play for District but will play for District in 2026

2026 Non District Games: Week 1 Pine Prairie HS(Home), Week 2 Montgomery(Away), Week 3 Delcambre HS(Home), Week 4 Merryville HS(Away), Week 5 Acadiana Christian HS(Home).

Team Outlook: “Still trying to build the program,” said coach Daugherty. “We have had some success the last 2 years.” “We did not play for District the last 2 years, 2024 and 2025, but we are ready to take that next step in 2026.” “We know we can be successful, we just have to go out there and prove it.” “We have a unique Defense where we start 5 Linebackers at the same time which allows us to fit our personnel overall.” “You will also see a total of 5 8^th graders playing a lot for us for depth in 2026.”

The Offense returns starting Quarterback Taylon Osorio 6'1" 185 pounds, senior, had 15 Touchdowns and over 1,000 yards of total Offense in 2025. Osorio has a chance to have an even better year in 2026 going into just his 2nd year as the starter. Another key player back is 2-way starter Caleb Falls WR/DB with 15 catches for 200 yards as a WR in 2025, and on Defense had 5 Interceptions with 3 of those scoring pick 6's.

More players to watch in 2026 are TE/LB Braxton Baker 6'2" 175 pounds, 3-year starter, leader, MLB/RB Hunter Noel 6'0" 185 pounds, 4-year starter, leader, WR/TE Hunter Kirby 6'2" 175 pounds, WR/DB Joseph Buxton 6'3" 165 pounds, WR/DB Brayan Dedios 5'10" 160 pounds, OT Ivan Raygoza 5'10" 235 pounds, Center Chaise Platt 5'11" 225 pounds, OL/MLB Cameron Gibson 5'10" 185 pounds, OL/DL Avery Chestnutt 6'0" 215 pounds, OG/LB Niko Lopez 5'11" 180 pounds, DT/OL Ayden Louvier 5'10" 285 pounds, HB/DT Jenyison Newton, and rotating in RB/LB Carson Smith 5'9" 150 pounds.

Special Teams: The starting Kicker and Punter will be Brayan Dedios, and the starting Long Snapper will be Ivan Raygoza.

Rosepine Eagles

Head Coach:Davis Weldon(2^nd year)

2025 Record:1-9

2026  Non District Games: Week 1 Montgomery HS(Home), Week 2 Grand Lake (Away), Week 3 Basile HS(Away), Week 4 Oberlin(Home), Week 5 Delhi (Away), Week 7 Plain Dealing(Home).

Team Outlook: “In my 25 years of coaching this will be one of the hardest working teams I’ve had," said coach Weldon. “These kids take self pride in what they're doing.” “I am blown away by how hard they work every day. This will be our breakout year in 2026.” “We will have a new Offense more of a Multiple-I with some Spread and the Tight End’s will be heavily involved in the Offense.”

The Quarterback job will go to either Jaden Hooper, who played some WR in 2025, or newcomer Creek Smith 6'0" 195 pounds. Both of these kids are really athletic as dual types, and both have good arms. Hooper can still play WR when not at QB. More skill players to watch are Austin Lounsberry 6'2" 178 pounds, really polished WR, FB Brayden Bergeron 6'1" 205 pounds, converted from Linebacker, leader, RB Brynnum Chaney 6'1" 185 pounds, a 4-year starter with close to 3,000 career yards in his career, 2nd leading tackler on Defense in 2025 with 5 interceptions, WR Jaedon Sandoval 5'7" 160 pounds, 4.5 speed in the forty, RB Dax Wagster brings power and speed, WR A.J. Hogg 5'9" 155 pounds, 4.5 speed in the forty, and TE/OLB Luke Moss 6'1" 195 pounds, athletic player. The Offensive Line will be led by SR Tug Haymon 6'4" 280 pounds, tough leader, 4-year starter, OL/OC Caleb Brister 5'11" 240 pounds, OL Brent Borget 6'1" 268 pounds, big-time player, OL/DL Jayden Grubbs 5'6" 220 pounds, strongest player on the team, and Allen Ross 5'10" 205 pounds will be competing for a starting position. If Sr Center Ryker Blackmon 5'10" 225 pounds and Sr RB Barrett Coody 5'11" 225 pounds come back after missing Spring for Baseball, if they come back in the Fall this team will be one of the best Offenses in the District.

The Defense will be led by Defensive Tackle All-District Wyatt Colletti 6'0" 225 pounds, tough kid, DE Levi Kennedy 6'2" 215 pounds, 2nd-year starter, CB Griffin Carter 6'1" 165 pounds, OLB Carson Broussard 5'9" 175 pounds, Safety Collin Cline 5'10" 165 pounds, 2nd-year starter, Safety Dax Wagster 5'6" 165 pounds, 3-year starter, leader, and DT Jayden Grubbs.

Special Teams: Kickers will be Carson Broussard and Caden Hooper. Punter will be Brynnum Chaney, and Long Snapper Brent Borget.

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Vinton Lions

| Kortlin Kyle

| Photo by: Chris Jowers

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Head Coach:Tyler Lavergne(4^th year)

2025 Record:9-3

2025 Playoffs:1^st Round beat DeQuincy HS and 2^nd Round lost to Jonesboro Hodge HS.

Signees Colleges:RB/Athlete Jaiden Briggs(McNeese State), and OL Logan Granger(Louisiana Christian)

2026 Non District Games: Week 1 Oberlin HS(Away), Week 2 Elton HS(Home), Week 3 Washington Marion HS(Home), Week 4 Grand Lake HS(Away), Week 5 Lagrange HS(Away), Week 6 Oakdale HS(Away).

Team Outlook: “Tougher pre-District games on our schedule in 2026,” said coach Lavergne. “The early non-District schedule will get us playoff ready early on and see what we are made of early on.” “We will count on our experience, we having coming back to be a strong point for another good season in 2026.”

The Offense will return a key player and one of the best players on the team, Quarterback Michael Lange 5'10" 190 pounds, a very good Athlete and will play some Defensive Back at times too.

More key players back to watch are leader, 4-year starter TE/DE Kason Hillery 6'0" 205 pounds, WR/DB Harrington Rideaux 5'9" 160 pounds, RB/LB Mika Roper (ran for over 600 yards with 6 Touchdowns in 2025), FS/WR Jacob Eddison 5'8" 160 pounds, 3-year starter with 4.5 speed, CB/WR Dallin Jones 5'10" 175 pounds, 3-year starter, All-District Defensive Back in 2025 with 10 tackles for loss, OC/DT Uriah Patin 5'9" 175 pounds, MLB/OG Kourtlin Kyle 5'10" 200 pounds, leader, 3-year starter, RB/LB Traylen Carrier 5'10" 185 pounds, RB Jaydin Smith 6'0" 185 pounds, OL/DL Andrew Bertrand 6'0" 220 pounds, OL/DL Hayden Golden 6'3" 195 pounds, OL/DE Cason Cormier 6'4" 200 pounds, OLB Cobe Durio 5'8" 185 pounds, and WR/DB Ethan Perez 6'2" 175 pounds.

Special Teams: Jacob Eddison will be the Punter and Kicker. Long Snapper will be Kourtlin Kyle, who does a great job at that position.

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