Louisiana All-Prep Classic Teams | Large Schools Offense
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The LHSAA’s Prep Classic state championship event provided nine title games’ worth of dozens of memorable performances to wind down Louisiana’s high school football season. Prep Redzone will recognize the best — including several record-setting efforts — during the next…
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Continue ReadingThe LHSAA’s Prep Classic state championship event provided nine title games’ worth of dozens of memorable performances to wind down Louisiana’s high school football season.
Prep Redzone will recognize the best — including several record-setting efforts — during the next couple days with its first Louisiana All-Prep Classic Teams.
A Small Schools Team representing the Class 1A, Class 2A, Division IV and Division III levels and a Large Schools Team representing the Class 3A, Class 4A, Class 5A, Division II and Division I levels will each feature 40 players: 20 on offense (12 by position, one flex and seven honorable mentions) and 20 on defense and special teams (14 by position and six honorable mentions).
Small Schools: Offense | Defense
Large Schools: Offense | Defense
PREP REDZONE
LOUISIANA ALL-PREP CLASSIC TEAM
LARGE SCHOOLS OFFENSE
OFFENSIVE LINEMEN (5)
OL: Quinn Collins — 6-0, 240 OL — Carencro (2022)
The Bears’ success this storybook season all the way through an emphatic dethroning of four-time state champion Edna Karr started with their talent in the trenches. And the junior guard may have been the best offensive lineman for a Carencro squad that capped its title run with 418 yards of offense against the Cougars, including 268 on the ground.
OL: John Martin John Martin 6'3" | 335 lbs | OL De La Salle | 2021 State LA Jr. — 6-5, 360 OL — De La Salle (2021)
The Cavaliers were one of just two teams to rush for more than 300 yards in the nine state championship games. The trio of senior running backs Montrell Johnson Montrell Johnson 5'11" | 200 lbs | RB De La Salle | 2021 State LA and Byron Phillips and junior quarterback Cole Milford averaged nearly six yards per carry to finish with 312 yards on 53 attempts. And the work of the offensive line up front, led by 2021 prospect John Martin John Martin 6'3" | 335 lbs | OL De La Salle | 2021 State LA Jr., can’t be overlooked. The big, versatile senior spent time at at least three different positions and served up pancake blocks from each.
OL: Emery Jones — 6-5, 300 OL — Catholic (2022)
The Bears gained an average of 7.1 yards per play for one of the more efficient offensive performances of the week and scored 35 against a C.E. Byrd team that had allowed just 34 combined in its previous four games. The highly touted junior protected the blindside for freshman quarterback Daniel Beale, who completed 11 of 17 pass attempts for 220 yards in a game in which Jones and company didn’t allow a single sack.
OL: Ethan Guerin — 6-0, 200 OL — St. Thomas More (2021)
The senior center excelled in the middle of a Cougars’ offensive line that allowed quarterback Walker Howard and company to rack up 423 yards on just 39 plays for an explosive 10.8 yards per play. That average was a yard and a half more than the next-most effective offense of the 18 participating in Natchitoches and one of only two to average 8.0 or more yards per play. Guerin got the ball smoothly to Howard all night in a contest in which a fumbled snap disrupted De La Salle’s potential game-tying or -winning drive late and more than held his own in protection against a Cavaliers’ defense that had allowed just 5.7 points per game in its nine prior contests.
OL: Justin Babineaux — 6-0, 213 OL — Acadiana (2021)
More than three years ago, a 150-pound freshman Babineaux joined the Wreckin’ Rams’ program and began working his way into playing time all over the offensive line as a journey and a starting role at center as a senior. Babineaux overcame a broken foot in Acadiana’s playoff opener and a knee injury in the second quarter against Alexandria to continue setting the tone for an offensive line that helped claim a second straight state championship with 328 yards on 59 plays, an average of 5.6 yards per play.
TIGHT END (1)
TE: Ryan Perry — 6-1, 205 TE — Carencro (2022)
The talented junior tight end helped the Bears’ offensive line block for 418 yards of total offense, including 268 on the ground, and led the 150-yard passing game with 65 yards on two catches. Perry caught a 45-yard pass to start the game’s first scoring drive in the second quarter, then a 20-yard touchdown in the third quarter to stretch a one-point lead to seven — and then nine on a subsequent two-point conversion as Carencro began to take a stranglehold on the championship game.
WIDE RECEIVERS (3)
WR: Jack Bech Jack Bech 6'3" | 215 lbs | WR St. Thomas More | 2021 State LA — 6-3, 215 WR — St. Thomas More (2021)
The LSU signee gained 232 receiving yards to surpass the previous records for Division II, Class 4A and Class 3A state championship games and come within one yard of the all-time record of 233 in a Class 1A game in 1995. The Cougars’ Most Outstanding Player’s 10 receptions are among the most in a Louisiana state title game and his two touchdowns helped lift the Cougars past De La Salle, 35-28, for a second straight state championship.
WR: Aaron Anderson — 5-10, 185 WR — Edna Karr (2022)
The Cougars took a lead into halftime and remained within one point until the final minutes of the third quarter thanks in no small part to their star receivers making exceptional plays — including 35- and 31-yard touchdown catches by Anderson — in and over tight Carencro coverage. The recent LSU commitment caught seven passes for 172 yards — the most in each category by any player in the week’s five public school matchups and No. 4 in each category among all nine games. And he added a 17-yard touchdown run in the third quarter to become one of four players on the week with two receiving touchdowns and one of three skill players with three or more touchdowns. Anderson was named his team’s Most Outstanding Player for the game.
WR: Tre’ Benson — 5-8, 172 WR — Catholic (2022)
The Bears had managed just one 59-yard scoring drive, with their other two losing a combined 18 yards on first and second downs before ending in third-down interceptions, when they began their fourth possession early in the second quarter. Catholic’s freshman quarterback hit Benson in stride for an eventual 78-yard catch-and-run that seemed to spark the offense into another gear. The junior finished with four catches for 140 yards and the score to lead a balanced championship run to its conclusion and earn Most Outstanding Player honors.
RUNNING BACKS (2)
RB: Montrell Johnson Montrell Johnson 5'11" | 200 lbs | RB De La Salle | 2021 State LA — 6-1, 205 RB — De La Salle (2021)
The senior standout rushed 29 times for 182 yards — the second-most by any player on the week — and all four of his team’s touchdowns to keep the Cavaliers’ offense and the clock moving and their high-powered St. Thomas More counterparts on the sideline. That approach kept De La Salle within one score late. Johnson also caught a pair of passes for 15 yards as part of his Most Outstanding Player performance.
RB: Kendrell Williams Kendrell Williams 6'0" | 190 lbs | RB Carencro | 2021 State LA — 6-0, 205 RB — Carencro (2021)
The Louisiana (Lafayette) commitment earned his team’s Most Outstanding Player recognition for his 139-yard evening against Edna Karr. He rushed 22 times for an average of 6.3 yards per carry, including a 40-yard dash to the end zone in the final seconds of the third quarter to stretch a three-point lead to nine on Carencro’s way to ending the Cougars’ four-title run.
QUARTERBACK (1)
QB: Walker Howard — 6-2, 185 QB — St. Thomas More (2022)
If not for Bech’s record night, his best friend made a pretty strong case of his own for a Most Outstanding Player honors The LSU commitment completed 18 of 26 passes for 381 yards and four touchdowns. Howard’s passing yardage was second on the week only to the record-setting 464 by Calvary Baptist star Landry Lyddy, also the week’s only other quarterback with four passing touchdowns. Howard rushed five times for another 17 yards to evade pressure from De La Salle when plays broke down.
FLEX/ATHLETE (1)
FLEX: Zeon Chriss — 6-2, 205 QB — Madison Prep (2022)
The junior helped lead Madison Prep to conversions of its first seven third downs, then follow its first failed attempt with a fourth-down conversion en route to another touchdown. The Chargers settled into a rhythm and never let up in the 50-0 rout of Union Parish, and their quarterback’s deservingly Most Outstanding Player performance was a huge part of that success. Chriss completed nine of his 16 passes for 202 yards and three touchdowns and rushed 20 times for 121 yards and another score.
Honorable Mentions:
Judd Barton Judd Barton 6'1" | 165 lbs | QB Alexandria Senior High | 2021 State LA — 6-2, 185 QB — Alexandria (2021)
Josh Billedeaux — 6-0, 280 OL — St. Thomas More (2021)
Tavion Faulk — 6-1, 180 ATH — Carencro (2021)
Caden Jones — 6-6, 240 — De La Salle (2023)
Jarvis Newton — 5-10, 170 RB — Alexandria (2022)
Traylon Prejean — 5-8, 190 RB — Carencro (2021)
Tyvin Zeno — 5-10, 182 RB — Acadiana (2021)