Tom Dodge
St. Edmund captured its first district football championshipsince 2014 as the Blue Jays went 7-0 in District 4-1A and finished 10-2 overall.
Second-year St. Edmund head coach Andy Hargroder was named District Coach of the Year.
Blue Jay quarterback Brad Miller was selected was named Offensive MVP, while St. Ed’s Peyton Marcantel and Basile’s Andre Reed shared Defensive MVP honors.
With the district title to their credit, 23 Blue Jays players were named to the list including six first team selections.
St. Edmund junior quarterback Miller gained 1,107 yards rushing on 173 carries with 23 touchwowns
Miller also completed 17-of-55 passes for 443 yards and six touchdowns.
Blue Jay sophomore Marcantel had 10 catches for 346 yards with four touchdowns.
St. Edmund junior offensive lineman Drew Zaunbrecher was also named to the first team.
Joining Marcantel on the first team are wide receivers Derrick Finley from Elton and Basile’s Jaylen Thomas.
Along with Zaunbrecher on the offensive line are Elton’s Logan Lejeune, Walter Whithers from Hamilton Christian, Basile’s Gage Johnson and Kris Rodrigez from Merryville.
First team running backs are Basile’s Reed, Desmond McCain from Merryville and Elton’s Darnell Robinson.
Basile’e Jacob Guillory was named first team kicker, while Elton’s Keshawn Lyons was selected as the district’s top athlete.
St. Edmund sophomore running back Luke Doucet (228 carries for 1,606 yards, 15 TD) was the only Blue Jay named to the district’s offensive second team.
Colin Chatman from Oberlin an Hamilton Christian’s Deonte Wheeler were also selected as second team running backs.
Second team wide receivers are Jose Del Rosal from Grand Lake, South Cameron’s Brayden Richard and Elton’s Kervondrick Scott.
Second team offensive linemen are Ethan John from Elton, Grand Lake’s Bryce Fontenot, Basile’s Cameron Berxas, Merryville’s Hunter Benoit and Trooper Peloquin from Oberlin.
Elton’s Keshawn Lyons was named second team quarterback.
St. Edmund defensive back Marcantel recorded 76 tackles, three sacks, 12 tackles for loss and an interception this season to earn Co-Defensive MVP honors.
Basile’s Reed finished with 105 tackles as the Bearcat linebacker also shared Co-Defensive MVP honors.
First team defensive linemen included Hamilton Christian’s Withers, Lejeune from Elton, Basile’s Darren Chaumont and Laronzo Gradney from Oberlin.
St. Edmund’s Austin Miller (74 tackles, three sacks, 10 tackles for loss) was named first team linebacker along with Reed and Elton’s Lyons.
St. Edmund’s Brad Miller (53 tackles, two interceptions and eight pass break-ups) and Marcantel (76 tackles, seven sacks, 12 tackles for loss and one interception) were selected as first team defensive backs along with Oberlin’s James Kirkland and Elton’s Jeremy Leonard.
Grand Lake’s Garrett Veddar was selected as first team punter, while Oberlin’s Izzy Drehemisis was named top kick returner.
Blue Jay defensive lineman junior Murphy Richard and junior linebacker Brock Bieber earned second team defense all-district honors.
Joining Richard on the second-team defensive line were McKenzie Carrier from Oberlin, Basile’s Jacob McGee and Slade Collins from Merryville.
Kalib Flennigan from Merryville, Oberlin’s Devin Wilson and Logan David from Basile were named second-team linebackers.
Second team defensive backs included Collin Chatman from Oberlin, South Csmeron’s Caleb Little, Derrick Finley from Elton and Hamilton Christian’s Zion Stewart.
Elton’s Lyons was named both second team punter and kick returner.
St. Edmund’s honorable mention selections included Preston Cormier, Dawson Ardoin, Remi Guillory, Chris Berzas Kayden Fontenot, Hunter Brown, Noah Clause, Tanner Cormier, Carter Andrus and Josh Smith.
St. Edmund advanced to the Division IV quarterfinals with a 22-7 win over St. Frederick before falling to state finalist Ascension Catholic, 21-0.
Basile (9-4, 6-1), Elton (7-4, 4-3), Oberlin (7-5, 4-3) Merryville (6-6, 4-3) and Grand Lake (2-8, 1-6) all earned berths in the Class 1-A playoffs.
Hamilton Christian (2-7, 2-5) and South Cameron (0-9, 0-7) did not make the playoffs.