By Lori Lyons
Written for the LSWA
Sterlington coach Jason Thompson said his team was heading to the Mercedes-Benz Superdome with nothing to lose in the Class 2A state final game against No. 2 seed Madison Prep.
Then the fourth-seeded Panthers won it all.
Sterlington, the No. 4 seed, claimed a 28-27 victory over Madison Prep in the Class 2A state final to give Thompson and his team the school’s first state title. The Panthers managed to knock off No. 1 seed Many and defending champion Kinder on the way to the title.
The last time Sterlington had been to the Superdome was 2002, more than a decade before the school set sights on Thompson, who was voted the Louisiana Sports Writers Association’s Class 2A Coach of the Year.
Madison Prep reached the finals undefeated thanks in part to the play of running back Tyrese Walker, the Class 2A Outstanding Offensive Player.
Walker, a 5-foot-10, 195-pound junior, rushed for 226 yards and three touchdowns in the the title game. He finished the season with 2,462 yards and 40 touchdowns on 245 carries. That included more than 900 yards in five playoff games.
Sean Badeaux of Menard was voted the Outstanding Defensive Player. The 6-0, 220-pound senior finished the season with 143 tackles, one fumble recovery and two caused fumbles.The standout player recorded 22 tackles against Avoyelles and 21 against Many. A big part of Sterlington’s success this season is owed to the play of quarterback Carson Clowers. The 5-10, 145-pound junior passed for 1,263 yards and 15 touchdowns with two interceptions. He also rushed for 491 yards and eight touchdowns.
The All-State wide receivers are JeDan Jacob of Loreauville, Tank Davis of Calvary Baptist and Brian Savoie of Madison Prep.
Taylor Johnson of Kinder and A.J. Carter of Many are the running backs.
The offensive line consists of Kinder’s Colby Oliver, Springfield’s Maverick May, Madison Prep’s E’Darrius Anderson, Country Day’s Avery Jenkins and Glenn Bernard of Division III state champion Riverside Academy.
Andrew Rodrigue of St. Charles Catholic is the place kicker. Garrick Gray of Welsh is the athlete.
On the defensive line are Caleb Sampson of Northlake Christian, O’Cyrus Torrence of St. Helena, Troy James of Madison Prep and Bryan Jones of Madison Prep.
The linebackers are Patrick Burleigh of Notre Dame, Kendrick Smith of South Plaquemines, Dawson Snell of Menard and Badeaux.
The secondary consists of defensive backs Demetrius Brown of St. Helena, Samaj Colvin of Sterlington, Isaiah Smith of Many and West St. John’s Jamal Walters.
Will Hetzinger of St. Thomas Aquinas is the punter and Lloyd Nash of St. Charles Catholic is the kick returner.
CLASS 2A ALL-STATE FOOTBALL CHART
FOR A.M. NEWSPAPER RELEASE ON DEC. 25
NO BROADCAST OR INTERNET RELEASE UNTIL 12:01 A.M. ON DEC. 25
OFFENSE
Pos. Player School Ht. Wt. Cl.
WR JeDan Jacob Loreauville 5-11 170 Sr.
WR Tank Davis Calvary Baptist 6-0 170 Jr.
WR Brian Savoie Madison Prep 5-10 175 Sr.
OL Colby Oliver Kinder 6-3 260 Sr.
OL Maverick May Springfield 6-2 265 Sr.
OL Glenn Bernard Riverside Academy 6-2 300 Sr.
OL E’Darrius Anderson Madison Prep 6-3 330 Sr.
OL Avery Jenkins Country Day 5-10 255 Sr.
QB Carson Clowers Sterlington 5-10 145 Jr.
RB Taylor Johnson Kinder 5-9 185 Sr.
RB A.J. Carter Many 6-0 220 Jr.
RB Tyrese Walker Madison Prep 5-10 195 Jr.
PK Andrew Rodrigue St. Charles Catholic 5-10 155 Sr.
ATH Garrick Gray Welsh 5-11 190 Sr.
DEFENSE
Pos. Player School Ht. Wt. Cl.
DL Caleb Sampson Northlake Christian 6-4 285 Sr.
DL O’Cyrus Torrence St. Helena 6-5 350 So.
DL Troy James Madison Prep 6-3 285 Sr.
DL Bryan Jones Madison Prep 6-5 265 Sr.
LB Patrick Burleigh Notre Dame 5-10 210 Sr.
LB Kendrick Smith South Plaquemines 6-2 220 Sr.
LB Dawson Snell Sterlington 5-10 195 Jr.
LB Sean Badeaux Menard 6-0 220 Sr.
DB Demetrius Brown St. Helena 5-10 180 Jr.
DB Samaj Colvin Sterlington 6-1 200 Sr.
DB Isaiah Smith Many 6-1 185 Sr.
DB Jamal Walters West St. John 5-11 175 Sr.
P Will Hetzinger St. Thomas Aquinas 6-4 185 Jr.
KR Lloyd Nash St. Charles Catholic 5-11 160 Jr.
OUTSTANDING OFFENSIVE PLAYER: TYRESE WALKER, MADISON PREP
OUTSTANDING DEFENSIVE PLAYER: SEAN BADEAUX, MENARD
COACH OF THE YEAR: JASON THOMPSON, STERLINGTON
HONORABLE MENTION: Nick Morman, Northlake Christian; Anthony Chappetta, Pope John Paul II; Miles Lapeyre, Newman; Kobe Porche, Newman; Christian Kerut, Country Day; Chandler Wynne, Country Day; Dontay Hargrove, Pickering; Austin Talley, Pickering; Spencer Gardner, Opelousas Catholic; Drake Carroll, Menard; Bryson Broussard, Loreauville; Jordan Cordova, Kinder; Kyle Jones, Calvary Baptist; Stephen Russel, Catholic-NI; Robert McDonald, St. Charles Catholic; Zach Hayes, Welsh; Ricky Travis, St. Helena; Jordan Loving, Riverside Academy; Cade Hart, Calvary Baptist; Tony St. Julien, Vinton; Trey Hargrave, Lake Arthur; Devontae Douglas, Sterlington; Tyler Muse, Sterlington; Jeremy Gibson, Riverside Academy; Kidric Gray, West St. John; Landon Baronne, Menard; Kordavion Washington, Calvary Baptist; James Kelly, Ouachita Christian; Will Smith DeQuincy; Troy Hurst, St. Helena; Drew Sanger, South Plaquemines; Tymon Sanders, North Caddo; Grant Fitzhugh, Ouachita Christian; Tony Huey, Dunham; Covan Barnes, West St. John; Will Bordelon, Menard; Terrance Holmes, Oakdale; Mike Williams, Dunham; Aaron Hurst, St. Helena; Delvin Taylor, St. Helena; Jake Gitter, Country Day; Cade Spikes, Ouachita Christian; Harrison Heckathorn, Riverside Academy; Jared Hymel, Riverside Academy; Trey Catoire, Riverside Academy; Dellary Oubre, St. Charles Catholic; Edwin Kleinpeter, Madison Prep; Darion Miller, Many; Tasmine Walker, Madison Prep; Kirk Groome, Newman, Donnell Wallace, Madison Prep.