Three Up, Three Down in Louisiana High School Football After Week 1

The Louisiana high school football season is off and running with a Week 1 that featured an incredible slate of games. Listed below are three programs that are trending up and three that are trending down, beginning with Lafayette High, which is determined to have a say in a crowded District 3-5A that includes eight teams.

Acadiana, Southside, St. Thomas More and Barbe are penciled in as the frontrunners in 3-5A, but Sam Houston has some firepower with five-star offensive lineman Albert Simien and quarterback Brody Anderson, a transfer from Westlake High.

Sulphur hired David Feaster, a proven winner at every stop, as its head coach. The Tornadoes and Sam Houston both won their season openers. Here are the details on Lafayette High and two other programs that stood out in Week 1.

Three Up

Lafayette High

The Mighty Lions benefited more from Comeaux High's closure than any other school. Running backs Jaden Celstine and Jaiden Portalis, who both suited up last year for Comeaux, combined for 30 carries and 311 yards in a 39-23 win at Live Oak. Celestine, a senior, rushed for 224 yards and four touchdowns behind a line led by Evan Dulaney and Jamari Perkins. (6-foot-2, 315 pounds).

Over on the popular Louisiana Sportsline message board, the Mighty Lions didn't get much respect from preseason prognosticators, but coach Stephen Hearen has done a fine job blending in a large number of transfers with a roster that returned dual-threat senior quarterback Richmond Saunier (6-foot-3, 205 pounds), a Dartmouth commit who picked the Ivy League over offers from Sun Belt schools.

The LIons have been impressive since the preseason scrimmage against Class 2A top 10-ranked Catholic New Iberia, which struggled to move the ball, and Cecilia, which it defeated by two touchdowns in the jamboree. The Class 4A Bulldogs are only a couple of years removed from a state title and have one of the nation's premier players in four-star LSU commit Braylon Calais.

"Lafayette High best suited my game, for real," said Celestine, who could have transferred to any of several area schools. "Their run style and the offense that they do. It was the best choice for me."

Lafayette High will be favored the next two weeks against Class 2A Franklin and Class 3A Erath ahead of tough road games against Barbe and St. Thomas More to open district play. The Lions could be the underdog against the Buccaneers and Cougars, but they're projected to enter the playoffs with at least six wins and hope to steal a seventh and maybe even more along the way.

"Our offensive line got some new additions from the Comeaux closing," Saunier said. "Jaden is a big part of our offense this year. Having a Division I high-caliber guy is definitely something we can rely on for consistent production."

Lafayette Mighty Lions footbal — Lafayette High celebrates a score against Cecilia | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Brother Martin

The Catholic League showed up and showed out in Week 1. Jesuit took down Madison Prep, a top five team in Class 4A; Rummel rallied from a double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter to beat Class 3A No. 1 University Lab without one of its 1,000-yard rushers, and Brother Martin sprinted to a 21-0 lead at Southside before going on to win 38-19.

Everyone knows about five-star receiver Easton Royal, who caught five passes for 122 yards and two touchdowns, but the Crusaders also ran the ball well. Jeremiah Burton (5 carries, 43 yards) and quarterback Justin Morgan (9-52) paced the ground attack, while Brother Martin held the Sharks to 99 yards rushing on 37 carries outside of an 85-yard TD run by Kollen Francois and a 72-yard keeper from QB Parker Dies.

The Crusaders, who also intercepted three passes, should be 3-0 heading into the district opener against Jesuit in Week 4. Brother Martin plays its first three games on the road with St. Paul's and old district rival Warren Easton up next.

Acadiana

The general consensus was that Central-BR, which was ranked in the Class 5A top 10, held a decisive edge entering last week's game against Acadiana, which was breaking in a new quarterback in Cohen DiBetta and playing without his older brother, explosive receiver Collin DiBetta (injury).

The Wreckin' Rams also entered the road game with an inexperienced defense, but Acadiana ran the ball all over the Wildcats, even without starting halfback Syrian Joseph. Holden Sam rushed for 235 yards on 12 carries despite missing most of the second half (cramps), while Franklin transfer DaShun Lightfoot carried the load with 225 yards and four TDs on 26 carries. That's 460 yards rushing from two running backs who averaged 12.1 yards per carry.

Three Down

Carencro

Lafayette Christian was expected to lean on its defense after running back Caiden Bellard transferred to University Lab, and the Knights were stingy against the Carencro offense, but LCA also ran the ball with authority. Kyzer White, who was battling Ty Hills for the quarterback job in the preseason, carried 17 times for 95 yards and two touchdowns. Kaleb Simon, the leading tackler the past two years, added 64 yards and a score.

In all, the Knights ran for over 250 yards, while Hills and White combined to complete 12 passes for 129 yards. Meanwhile, Simon and the LCA defense limited Carencro to 26 yards rushing on 20 carries and 50 yards passing.

The Bears, who are missing some pieces with lineman Mister Finney (injury) out and two receivers not playing, host Northside this week, and then the schedule really gets interesting with Acadiana, West Feliciana, Westgate and the district opener against Opelousas, which seems poised to make noise in its second year under coach Harry Coleman (48-0 win over Pineville in Week 1).

After the Opelousas game, the district schedule eases up for Carencro until the Week 10 showdown agaisnt Cecilia.

Catholic-BR

The Bears are expected to contend for the Division I Select crown, and one respected prep football analyst pegged Catholic as his top team in the state in the preseason, but there has to be concern after giving up 61 points to Carrollton (Georgia).

Yes, Carrollton could contend for the mythical national championship, but the top team in Louisiana shouldn't give up nearly 700 yards and over nine yards per play to anybody.

If that's the case, it's not a good sign for Louisiana high school football.

The Bears are expected to get their first win this week against Class 2A No. 1-ranked Dunham, but that's not a sure thing with the Tigers coming off a 56-15 win over Class 5A Parkway, which reached the 2025 Division I Non-Select quarterfinals (lost 28-22 to state champion Ouachita Parish).

Could Dunham quarterback Elijah Haven find a way to shock the Baton Rouge football community with a win this week?

Evangel Christian

The Eagles entered the season ranked 20th or better by Rivals and Louisiana High School On SI, but they dropped the season opener 42-32 against West Monroe and very well may be 0-2 after facing Neville this week.

As it turns out, LSU quarterback commit Peyton Houston doesn't have a ton of help with a roster that lacks depth. The good news is that the Eagles will still be favored to win District 1-5A, with two of the tougher league games against Byrd and Airline on the back stretch.

The Eagles have an interesting game in Week 7 against Cornerstone Christian (Texas), which lost to High School On SI's top-ranked team, IMG Academy, 59-10. Before its trip to Shreveport to take on Evangel, Cornerstone Christian will also challenge Lake Travis, which went 14-1 last year and lost to state champion North Shore in the Class 6A Division I semifinals.

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