Calais, Jones head list; 9 Bulldogs, 4 BBHS players on 1st team
The Cecilia High School Bulldogs captured nine first-team spots on the District 5-4A All-District football team after going undefeated in league play for the second time in three seasons, including claiming both Offensive and Defensive MVP honors.
Four Breaux Bridge players also earned first-team All-District honors.
Junior Braylon Calais, who played running back, quarterback and receiver on offense for the Bulldogs, was named the District 5-4A Offensive Most Valuable Player after rushing for 275 yards and four touchdowns on 35 carries, catching 13 passes for 74 yards and two TDs and completing six of nine pass attempts for 64 yards with two touchdowns in district play. He accounted for 564 all-purpose yards after factoring in two kick returns for 72 yards and a TD and 43 yards on one punt return.
For the season, including playoffs, the 6-foot-2, 195-pound Calais rushed for 1,108 yards and 20 touchdowns on 170 carries; caught 32 passes for 498 yards and six TDs; and returned eight kickoffs for 404 yards and two touchdowns. He was named the firstteam all-purpose Athlete on the All-District team.
“Calais is Calais,” Cecilia coach Cody Champagne said. “He’s the (recruit) that everybody wants, the four-star that everybody wants. But also he’s a very humble kid who works hard. He’s a very talented kid who works hard. He has the grades and everything. He’s done everything we’ve asked of him — played receiver, played quarterback, played running back, kickoffs. He’s a great kid and obviously a special player.”
Senior Braylon Jones, a 6-foot- tall, 205-pound senior linebacker, finished district play with 19 solo tackles, nine assists, three tackles for loss and one sack with two pass break-ups in a Defensive MVP season.
Jones led the Dawgs with 109 total tackles including 72 solo stops (tied for first on the team), 37 assists (first), three sacks (tied for first), 13 tackles for loss (tied for first) with a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, a QB hurry, two pass break-ups and a blocked kick.
“Three-year starter, two years in the Dome,” Champagne said of Jones. “He’s been one of the leaders on the team. He’s going to be a steal for whatever school he goes to or whoever wants him. I think he’s going to be second or third on our leaderboard for career tackles, and also defensive points too, so he’s going to be one of our top players to ever come through here.”
Joining Calais on the offensive first team were Cecilia quarterback Collin Dore, receiver Jermaine Davis and offensive linemen James Deluna and Jabarik Sebille.
Dore (5-6, 175) completed 42 of 55 passes (76 percent) for 534 yards and nine touchdowns and rushed for 266 yards and four TDs on 20 carries (13.3 yards per run) in district action.
On the year, Dore was 101-for-148 for 1,405 yards and 15 TDs passing, carried 65 times for 405 yards and 10 touchdowns and returned a kickoff 11 yards.
Davis (5-7, 165) caught 10 passes for 180 yards (18.0 yards per reception) with four touchdowns and rushed three times for 21 yards (7.0 per carry) with a TD in district. Through the playoffs, he caught 42 passes for 698 and 10 touchdowns and rushed 16 times for 187 yards and three TDs. He also returned eight kicks for 404 yards and two TDs.
Deluna was a 5-9, 220-pound sophomore and Sebille a 5-10, 245-pound senior.
Breaux Bridge had three players on the first-team offense — running back Baylon Champagne, receiver Isaiah LeBlanc and lineman Luke Landry.
Champagne, a 5-foot-9, 204-pound senior, rushed 73 times for 302 yards and two touchdowns in district, averaging 4.1 yards a carry. He also had three catches for 17 yards and was a starting linebacker for the Tigers as well.
“With Baylon you think of the short yardage (runs), and the flow of the game and just that pounding and pounding and pounding both on him and on linebackers,” BBHS coach Tyler Pierce said. “He also played linebacker, so that’s a huge spark plug that we’ll be missing.”
LeBlanc, a 6-3, 180-pound receiver who has signed to play football at Nicholls State, finished district with 10 catches for 139 yards (13.9 yards per catch) and ran six times for 21 yards.
“Isaiah, when I think of the perimeter, whether it was at free safety or receiver, is going to be a weapon that will be sorely missed,” Pierce said. “He’s got a good frame, a high IQ, a hard effort guy.”
Landry is a 5-10, 235-pound senior.
“Luke Landry has been our most consistent guy up front as far as his nastiness and the way he goes about things,” Pierce said. “He’ll be a key guy that’s missed.”
Cecilia defenders joining Jones on the first team included defensive linemen Conner Helaire and Kennan Batiste and defensive back Derrick Ross.
Helaire (6-2, 195), a senior, had 23 solo tackles, eight assists and seven tackles for loss with one sack in district play. For the season including the postseason he had 94 total tackles (72 solo, 22 assists) with three sacks, 13 tackles for loss, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and a quarterback hurry.
Sebille, a 6-foot-, 215-pound junior, had nine tackles with seven assists and two tackles for loss in district play with one sack, three hurries and a forced fumble. Through 13 games he had 38 total stops (20 solo, 18 assists), two sacks, five tackles for loss, one forced fumble, two fumble recoveries and six hurries.
Ross, a 6-2, 185-pound junior, had seven tackles and two assists with one tackle for loss in district play. Through 13 games, Ross had 51 total tackles (40 solo, 11 assists), two tackles for loss, an interception and three pass break-ups.
Breaux Bridge junior linebacker Nelson Borel (6-1, 185) also earned first-team honors. Borel had 14 tackles, four assists, three tackles for loss and two sacks in district with two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.
Nine Opelousas players were named to the first team, including six on offense. Livonia and Beau Chene were each represented by four first-team players, three on defense and one on offense for each squad.
Cecilia second-team honorees included running back Deondre Briscoe, receivers Jayden Lewis and Malik Joseph, offensive linemen Ethan Journet and Davion Charles, defensive lineman Jace Knott, linebacker Colton Faulk, defensive backs Chase Narcisse and Nathan Thorton and punter Collin Dore.
Knott missed three district games with injury, or likely would have been a first-team pick, Champagne said.
“Most of those guys were seniors and contributed for four years for our school,” the coach said of the All-District picks. “We’ve got some juniors in there too who are carrying on our tradition.”
Breaux Bridge players earning secondteam honors included running back Shawnee Lee, offensive lineman Christian Joseph and kicker Myles Renard.
“Christian Joseph playing both D-line and coming over to the Oline and playing both ways, the true iron-man football, will hurt (missing him next year), because he played a lot of snaps on the defensive line,” Pierce said. “Shawnee Lewis was another one who has been Mr. Versatility. He’s been running back, he’s been at safety, he’s been at linebacker. He’s kind of been all over the place. His athleticism and his IQ are going to be tough to replace.
“Myles Renard just with the consistency. When we needed him to do a kickoff, he puts it where we need it to be, which is huge. When you don’t know where it’s going on the kickoff, you just get a sick feeling.”
Honorable mentions for Cecilia included Franky Frank and Aiden
(Chris
Landry.
Their coach said the two were first-team All-District selections the previous year but dealt with injuries and missed time, with each only playing one district game.
