Vote: Who Should be Louisiana High School Athlete of the Week? - Sept. 29, 2025

Here are the candidates for Louisiana High School on SI"s Athlete of the Week; read through the nominations and make your pick!

AOTW

Who was the top 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 past week.

Voting closes at 11:59 p.m. PT Sunday, October 5. The winner will be announced in the following week's poll.

Congrats to last week's winner: Quincy Adams of Terrebonne football!

THIS WEEK'S CANDIDATES

Kristian Aubrey, Soph., Acadiana Renaissance football

The Eagles from Youngsville are an up-and-coming program that will be competing for district and postseason honors in the near future under coach Travis Blaize. ARCA blasted Morris Jeff 52-0 behind Aubrey's 10 carries, 88 yards and three touchdowns.

Kevin Jones, Sr., Avoyelles football

The Mustangs got into the win column with a 46-14 thrashing of undefeated Buckeye. Jones rushed for 152 yards on 15 carries on offense, while registering three tackles and an interception on defense. Avoyelles has played a tough schedule which has garnered a No. 9 power rating in Division III nonselect.

Gary Burney, Jr., Parkway football

Burney hauled in three of quarterback Kaleb Williams' five touchdown passes in a 69-40 District 1-5A win over Natchitoches-Central, according to Lee Hiller of The Shreveport Bossier Advocate. Burney finished with 10 receptions for 172 yards for Parkway (4-0), No. 6 in the Division I nonselect power ratings.

Kaiden Shine, Sr., Minden football

The name Shine has been a prominent fixture in Minden Crimson Tide football lore, dating back to Artha Shine who played at Louisiana Tech. Kaiden Shine helped Minden even its record at 2-2 by rushing for 101 yards and two touchdowns in a 51-6 win over Woodlawn-SH, according to Lee Hiller of The Shreveport Bossier Advocate.

Carson Gurzi / SCOTT CLAUSE / USATODAY Network / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Carson Gurzi, Soph., Carencro football

The top sophomore quarterback in Louisiana made the most of seven completions in a 63-42 win over Barbe in a District 3-5A shootout, tossing three touchdowns (all to Chantz Babineaux) with 241 yards. He added 34 yards rushing on six attempts and has thrown eight TD passes with only one interception this year.

E.J. Hanney, Sr., Sam Houston football

The running back gained 208 yards on 26 carries with a pair of touchdowns and tacked on three receptions for 32 yards in a 34-14 District 3-5A win over Sulphur. The Broncos evened their record at 2-2.

J'vien Adams, Sr., Iowa football

The Yellow Jackets, 4-0 and No. 4 in the Division II nonselect power ratings, have established themselves as the premier program at the moment in Southwest Louisiana. Adams rushed for 158 yards on 22 carries with a touchdown in a 35-20 non-district win over Wossman in Monroe.

Damien Thomas / Mike Coppage

Damien Thomas, Sr., Westminster Christian football

Both of Thomas' catches went for touchdowns in a crucial District 5-1A opener at undefeated Catholic of Pointe Coupee. The senior caught two passes from quarterback Stephen George for 113 yards in a 41-28 win. WCA is 4-0 and No. 6 in the Division IV select power ratings heading into another stout league test vs. undefeated Sacred Heart.

McKylin Carrier, Jr., St. Louis Catholic football

Carrier scored two touchdowns while rushing for 112 yards on 18 carries in a 46-26 win over Washington-Marion in a Lake Charles city clash.

DeAndree Franklin, Sr., Archbishop Shaw football

The reigning Division II select state champion Eagles evened their record at 2-2 by downing undefeated Class 2A No. 1 Lafayette Christian 31-13. Franklin toted the ball 21 times for 93 yards and three touchdowns. Shaw is No. 6 in the power ratings.

Tripp Quebedeaux, Soph., East Beauregard football

Both of Quebedeaux's catches were touchdown grabs, and the Trojans needed both in securing a 36-25 win over Oberlin, per the Lake Charles American Press. Carter Causey and Dakota Strother each hooked up with Quebedeaux for six points. The two passes were the only completions for East Beauregard.

Brody Loudermilk, Jr., Lakeshore football

The Titans (4-0 and No. 2 in the Division II nonselect power ratings) took down Northlake Christian 28-8 in a non-district tilt. Loudermilk ran for 193 yards, highlighted by a 50-yard quarterback draw on fourth down, according to Jason Russell of The New Orleans Advocate. He has eight rushing scores on the season and entered the game 10th among St. Tammany Parish rushers, according to Joseph Halm of The New Orleans Advocate.

Brice Duhon, Sr., Notre Dame football

The Pioneers pulled off a comeback for the ages, rallying from a 28-0 deficit to tie the game with seconds left and win in overtime 35-34. Duhon caught six passes for 91 yards with two touchdowns, according to Kevin Foote of The Acadiana Advocate. He also crossed the goal-line on a two-point conversion run. Notre Dame (3-1) is No. 1 in the Division III select power ratings.

Cole Mirante, Jr., Merryville football

Listed as a defensive tackle and running back, Mirante propelled Merryville to its first win by going for 151 yards on 29 carries with a touchdown in a 30-28 win over Pickering in a Southwest Louisiana small-school matchup.

Ja'Kyrin Woodard, Jr., Welsh football

Welsh has a rich football history, which makes Woodard's record-setting performance against South Beauregard even more special. The junior dashed for a new single-game mark of 302 yards rushing on 25 carries with four touchdowns in a 54-13 rout. The Greyhounds will be looking to surprise some of their powerful foes in District 6-2A.

Jahlil Charles / Mike Coppage

Jahlil Charles, Sr., Erath football

Charles and Aiden Bourque have been like clockwork rushing the football for the undefeated Bobcats of coach Eric LeBlanc. Charles stepped off 142 yards on 12 carries with two touchdowns in a 24-14 win over Vermilion Catholic in a parish rivalry game. Erath, No. 6 in the Division III nonselect power ratings, is looking to get past the second round for the first time since the 1960s.

Richard Montgomery, Sr., Dunham football

Montgomery was the favorite target of five-star QB Elijah Haven in the Tigers' 42-7 non-district win against Ascension Catholic in a matchup of Baton Rouge area small school powers. The senior caught three touchdowns, according to Gridiron Football, to improve Dunham to 3-1 (No. 5 in the Division III select power ratings).

Brayden Marks / Mike Coppage

Brayden Marks, Jr., Beau Chene football

The Gators from St. Landry Parish look to continue improving under alum Buck Harris. Beau Chene bounced Berchmans Academy 58-14 in non-district action behind Marks' perfect 5-for-5 passing for 147 yards and three touchdowns.

Prentice Mackyeon, Jr., John Curtis Christian football

Whenever John Curtis and Archbishop Rummel square off, it promises to be good. The Patriots clawed their way to a 21-19 win over the Raiders to stay perfect at 3-0 (had open date in Week 3). Mackyeon, a 6-foot-2, 190-pound defensive back, totaled 11 solo tackles with an interception, a sack and three passes broken up.

Nathan Zaunbrecher, Sr., St. Edmund football

With the number of skill players that graduated from last year's team, it seemed implausible that St. Edmund would again find the recipe for a near flawless passing game. Coach James Shiver has done it again as the Blue Jays are 4-0 after a 56-6 rout of undefeated North Central. Zaunbrecher, who is averaging more than 30 yards per completion, was 5-of-9 for 135 yards and three touchdowns. He hasn't thrown an interception this season for the Blue Jays, who are No. 1 in the Division IV select power ratings.

Cody Corales, Sr. St. Paul's football

The 5-foot-11, 190-pound running back ran for over 200 yards in a 28-21 win over John F. Kennedy, The Wolves (3-1) and Corales found repeated traction running behind mammoth sophomore offensive lineman Andrew Shofstahl, the state's No. 8 player (Prep Redzone). Corales, who has an offer from Southeastern Louisiana, came into the game averaging over 100 yards (9.5 ypc).

Sacred Heart Defense

Undaunted by a speed and size disadvantage, the Trojans shutout an Opelousas Catholic team led by a QB averaging over four touchdown passes per game with two stud 6-foot-4 receivers. Sacred Heart, which is 4-0, is No. 11 in the Division IV select power ratings entering another game this week against a bigger, athletic opponent in Westminster Christian (Op.).

Xander LaBauve / Mike Coppge

Xander LaBauve, Sr., Catholic New Iberia football

LaBauve's performance in the best game of the week, which turned out to be a stinging loss for the Panthers, shouldn't be overlooked. LaBauve completed 8 of 13 passes for 106 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions in the 35-34 overtime loss. He helped the Panthers (3-1), the reigning state champs in Division III select, to a 28-0 halftime lead and rushed for 27 yards and three touchdowns on 18 carries vs. a Notre Dame run defense that held Southside's star fullback under 20 yards. We could see these teams square off again deep in the playoffs.

Christian Ponti, Sr., West Monroe football

Coach DeMichael Dizer already has a signature win four weeks into his first season. Ponti a senior strongman and weight room aficionado, ran for two touchdowns as the Rebels downed undefeated Catholic Baton Rouge 27-24, according to Jake Martin of The Ouachita Citizen

Khloe Duncan, Sr., Northlake Christian volleyball

Duncan dominated in a sweep of Covington, according to Mike Pervel of The New Orleans Advocate, finishing with 13 kills, five aces, four blocks and four digs. A two-time defending state champion, Northlake Christian handed Covington its first loss.

About Our Athlete of the Week voting: High School on SI voting polls are meant to be a fun, lighthearted way for fans to show support for their favorite athletes and teams. Our goal is to celebrate all of the players featured, regardless of the vote totals. Sometimes one athlete will receive a very large number of votes — even thousands — and that’s okay! The polls are open to everyone and are simply a way to build excitement and community around high school sports. Unless we specifically announceotherwise, there are no prizes or official awardsfor winning. The real purpose is to highlight the great performances of every athlete included in the poll.

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