The first weekend of state football championship games has arrived in Louisiana with some terrific matchups, and you can watch them all on YurView Lousiana and Cox Sports Television.
On Friday night there are two games, both starting at 7 PM. At Yulman Stadium on Tulane’s campus, the top two teams in Division One square off as Catholic High faces Rummel in a rematch of last year’s tightly contested semi-final matchup won by the Bears 13-10.
Archbishop Rummel vs. Catholic High (LHSAA Division I Championship)
In last year’s game at Memorial Stadium in Baton Rouge, Cole Cazenave hit a 36-yard field goal with seven seconds left to help Catholic reach the state title game for a second consecutive year.
Catholic ended up losing in last year’s title game to John Curtis 49-7. But the Bears avenged that loss by blanking the Patriots 14-0 in the semifinals last week.
Catholic has several standout players on defense led by defensive linemen Connor Finucane who is committed to Army and he’ll play both ways. In the defensive secondary, Beau Bacas leads the group. He had a big game last year against Rummel with an interception and a blocked punt.
Catholic High’s offense has been tough to stop. 21 different players have either thrown or scored a touchdown. Quarterback Jackson Thomas has thrown 23 TD passes and completed 73% of his passes.
Josh Parker leads the rushing attack with 13 touchdowns and 1,090 yards on the ground. Jalen Toaston is the leading receiver with 34 catches for 654 yards and eight touchdowns.
This high-octane Catholic offense will go up against one of the best defenses in the state. The Raiders gave up just 39 points during the regular season.
Safety Donovan Kaufman is a Vanderbilt commitment, fellow safety Quinton Cage is one of the team’s vocal leaders. Cornerback Gavin Holmes is a three‑star prospect and Malik Woodery leads the team in interceptions with six.
On offense, Rummel is led by one of the top wide receivers in the state. Koy Moore is committed to LSU and had a huge game against the Bears last season, 14 catches for 110 yards and a touchdown. This year, Moore has 45 catches for 551 yards, while Ivory Wilright IV has 31 catches for 572 yards.
The quarterback is Kyle Wickersham, who is the son of former LSU quarterback Jeff Wickersham. Kyle has become more of a passer as the season has gone along and enters the game with 1,595 passing yards, 17 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
Logan Diggs leads the ground attack with 879 yards and seven touchdowns.
Watch Rummel vs. Catholic – Friday, Dec. 6th at 7:00pm CT on Cox Sports TV (Cox Ch. 1037 in Louisiana. Other regions check local listings).
De LaSalle vs. St. Thomas More (LHSAA Division II Championship)
At the same time on Yurview Louisiana (Cox Ch. 4), De La Salle and St. Thomas More will face off for the Division II state title game. The Cougars are looking for their second state championship in history and they have one of the best aerial attacks in the South.
Quarterback Caleb Holstein (Harvard commit) has thrown for 3,535 yards and 38 touchdowns. His favorite receiver is Jack Bech, who is one of the top junior wideouts in Louisiana. Bech has snagged 81 passes for 1,482 yards and 17 touchdowns.
Junior free safety Joshua Stevenson leads the team in tackles. He’s the younger brother of Andrew Stevenson, who plays for the World Series champion Washington Nationals. But Joshua is making a name for himself, as he has 119 tackles and two interceptions.
De La Salle is making its third state championship appearance. They lost their previous two trips, in 1961 they fell in the 3A title game to Istrouma 20-7. And then two years ago, the Cavaliers lost to another Baton Rouge school. University High beat De La Salle 45-19 to end the Cavs perfect season.
De La Salle brings a 9-2 record into its contest against STM. They have an explosive running back by the name of Montrell Johnson.
On the other side of the ball, defensive end Ja’Marian Peterson is a three-star prospect who has avoided the injury bug to have a special season.
Watch De LaSalle vs. St. Thomas More – Friday, Dec. 6th at 7:00 pm CT on YurView LA (Cox Channel 4).
St. Charles vs. Lafayette Christian (LHSAA Division III Championship)
The third game of the weekend is Saturday, Dec. 7th at 6 PM (Cox Sports TV) at Cajun Field on the campus of University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Lafayette Christian is seeking its third straight championship and they are hosting St. Charles Catholic. The Comets are looking for their first state title since 2011.
After playing last year in Division II, St. Charles Catholic is the third-seed in the Division III bracket. They needed double overtime to beat Catholic High of New Iberia 43-42 to reach the title game. A missed extra point was the difference.
On offense, St. Charles Catholic is led by Quarterback Justin Dumas and a couple of tough running backs, Kennan Gauff and Phillip Tran. The Comets have five seniors on the offensive line led by Nicholls commitment Evan Roussel.
Leading the defense is Tulane commitment Mason Narcisse. Eli Ory is also on the defensive line and he has a remarkable 27 tackles for a loss and eight sacks. Sammy Joyce and Kamren Campbell each have three interceptions.
The Comets are led by legendary head coach Frank Monica, who is in 50th season of coaching.
Meanwhile, Lafayette Christian has a first-year head coach in Jacarde Carter. He was the defensive coordinator for the Knights two previous championship teams on the Division IV level.
L-C-A has a great defense this year and they have one of the top defensive backs in the country in Sage Ryan. The other playmaker on defense is Bryan Green who has six interceptions. And along the defensive line, Fitzgerald West is a massive run stuffer and already a big-time prospect as a sophomore.
U-L Lafayette commitment Errol Rogers runs the offense at quarterback. Ryan also plays offense and he’s their leading receiver, while Ethan Laing has made some huge catches during the season.
Running back Logan Gabriel is explosive and coming off an All-State season last year. He missed four games with a hamstring injury but is now healthy.
Watch St. Charles vs. Lafayette Christian – Saturday, Dec. 7th at 6:00 pm CT on Cox Sports TV (Cox Ch. 1037 in Louisiana. Other regions check local listings).
