St. Martinville places 3 on first-team All-District

Seven Tigers named to 5-3A Football Second Team

The St. Martinville Senior High football team placed three players on the District 5-3A All-District first team with seven players earning second-team honors and six others receiving honorable mentions.

SMSH quarterback Khyrie Francisco was named to the first team Offense as an allaround athlete after completing 125 of 218 pass attempts (57 percent) for 1,652 yards and 10 touchdowns on the season and rushing for 404 yards and seven TDs on 136 carries.

Senior Kohen Clues was named to the firstteam Defense as a linebacker after making 44 solo tackles with 56 assists, two sacks, two forced fumbles and eight tackles for loss.

Senior Payton Nelson was named to the firstteam Defense as a flex player after making 42 total tackles and seven tackles for loss on the year.

“I was proud of those guys for the work they put in,” SMSH coach Garrett Kreamer said. “Khyrie Francisco had a good year. He was kind of a dual-threat for us. He was able to run it and throw it. He was our leader on offense and also played some linebacker at the end of the year.

“Kohen Clues did the same thing, played on both sides of the ball. He was our guy in the middle, playing Mike linebacker and making a bunch of calls on defense. He led the team in tackles. He also played a big role on offense at running back for us. He was a big, bruising running back for us.

“Payton Nelson at our outside linebacker position, we blitzed him off of the edge a lot and he caused a lot of problems for a lot of offenses. He was very effective in what he did for us. He brought a lot of energy and he was a guy that could get after the quarterback.”

Clues also was a second- team selection at running back and was joined on the secondteam offense by sophomore Jamion James and senior Kervin Fontenette at wide receiver along with placekicker Logan Bienvenu, a junior.

Named to the secondteam defense for SMSH were junior defensive lineman Ja’Tyran Boudreaux, senior linebacker Zyrian Johnson and senior punter Colton Bonin.

“I’m really proud of them for all the work they put in too,” Kreamer said of the secondteam selections. “Jamion James was our most explosive wide receiver. We always counted on him to get some big plays in the passing game. KJ Fontenette was a vocal leader and one of the team captains. He was very solid at receiver and also played a lot of defense as well at free safety.

“Ja’Tyran Boudreaux played offensive line for us and also defensive line, so he had to play both ways. He did a good job of doing that all year long, very tough in the trenches. Logan Bienvenu was very solid all year and I’m very proud of him for what he’s done. He’s got another year so we’re very excited about that. Colton Bonin was a second-team punter selection and honorable mention DB He was another good one. A very good athlete and a very tough kid. He was athletic enough to be our punter and play in the secondary. Zyrian Johnson got hurt midway through the year but with his play early on, coaches knew of him and had seen him on film so he was able to get on there as a second- team linebacker.” Joining Bonin as honorable mentions from SMSH were Ky’Lun Skipper, Kristian Batiste, Ja’Korey Blanchard, Sam Coleman and Christian Cleary.

“Sam Coleman was our leader on the offensive line, very tough and physical,” Kreamer said. “He has a motor. He’s just one of those kids that cares so much and loves the program.

“Christian Cleary also played both was for us. He played defensive line at defensive end and played some reps on the offensive line when needed. Ky’Lun Skipper was a corner for us and played a little bit of receiver early in the year for us. He was a guy that we counted on to lock down the other team’s best receivers. Ja’Korey Blanchard played a big role at wide receiver and defensive end. It was his first year playing football here. He did a good job picking it up and learning the game and going out and playing as good as he did. Kristian Batiste kind of settled in as a corner for us and made some big plays on defense and special teams for us.”