The small Tangipahoa Parish town of Amite City, Louisiana, has just over 4,000 residents, but it features two of the best players in the state. Defensive tackle Ishmael Sopsher is the nation’s number one defensive tackle and wide receiver Devonta Lee is the nation’s sixth best athlete in the country according to 247-sports.
Sopsher and Lee have the Amite Warriors on the verge of winning their fifth state title in school history. After a season opening loss to Metairie Park Country Day, Amite has crushed the rest of its opponents heading into its semifinal matchup versus Ferriday.
Sopsher is the known as the “Humble Beast” a soft-spoken kid away from the football, but a dominant player on the field and on the camp circuit.
His head coach Zephania Powell says the four-year starter’s best quality is that he’s about the team.
“He’s not an ‘I’ kind of guy, doesn’t brag and he’s all about work,” said Powell. “He’s also tough, hasn’t a missed a game in over four years and he’s played through some injuries.”
Every Power 5 college in the country would want Sopsher on their roster, but he will wait until the national signing date in February, before signing with a school.
Lee is also waiting until signing day in February before publicly announcing his school of choice.
🏈 @LHSAA Class 2A semi-finals 🏈
Ferriday High School 🆚 @Amitefootball
📍 Ferriday High School
📅 November 30th
🕘 7pm CST
📺 YurLA channel 1004
💻 https://t.co/UUjHWOfdyA pic.twitter.com/MIoG39pJzE— YurView Louisiana (@YurViewLA) November 28, 2018
The two will also play in the Under Armour All-American game in Orlando on January 3rd.
Lee is also a four-year starter for the Warriors and Coach Powell says his elusive and physical wide out has taken ownership of the team.
“He’s really turned into a team leader, first one in and last one to leave,” said Powell. “It’s also not unusual to see or hear about Lee working out late at night.”
Powell also calls Lee a very giving person, who had family impacted in Florida by Hurricane Michael. Lee took a time out to make sure his family and others in the Florida panhandle had supplies and other goods to get through the recovery.
The main recruiting battle for this dynamic duo is between Alabama and LSU. The top ranked Crimson Tide’s roster already features two players from this area, cornerback Shyheim Carter, who has two interceptions on the season. He played at nearby Kentwood. And former Amite standout DeVonta Smith caught the winning touchdown pass in the overtime win over Georgia in the national championship game. Smith, now a sophomore, has five touchdown catches this season.
Lee and Sopsher know they have big decisions to make, but their main priority is to bring home a state championship to Amite for the first time since 2004.
The talent is certainly there to get the job done. Quarterback Amani Gilmore is committed to Kentucky, there’s also wide receiver Kyle Maxwell, who is committed to Louisiana Tech and defensive back Daran Branch is the next national recruit. The junior with a super long wingspan has scholarship offers from several SEC schools.
Powell says he has a group of humble kids, who don’t practice any harder, just because a college coach might be watching- and trust me, there have been plenty of college coaches to watch Amite practices in this tiny town.
Don’t miss the Louisiana playoff game between Amite and Ferriday on Friday, November 30th at 7:00pm streaming live on YurView.com!
