Bulldogs’ Jones earns honorable mention on football team
Iowa High School debuted its football program in the 1950s and for the past five decades, fans in the tiny Calcasieu Parish town may have wondered why.
The Yellow Jackets’ first playoff appearance didn’t arrive until 2000. Twenty-five years later, Iowa arrived in the Caesars Superdome with a shot at its first football state championship.
Just like the prior 13 games of the 2025 season, head coach Tommy Johns and the Yellow Jackets delivered.
Likely an underdog to many in New Orleans, Iowa emerged from a see-saw game against No. 1 — and fellow undefeated — North DeSoto with a 50-43 victory in the LHSAA Non-Select Division II title game.
The win was the first in three postseason tries against the Griffins since 2022 and punctuated the momentum the Yellow Jackets have gained under Johns, who is 75-27 in nine years at Iowa and 56-10 in last five seasons – the past four have reached at least the quarterfinals.
The long-awaited crown that capped a 14-0 campaign earned Johns the Louisiana Sports Writers Association’s Class 4A Coach of the Year which was released today.
Cecilia saw two of its players earn All-State honors with running back/receiver/ quarterback Braylon Calais named to the first team as a return specialist and linebacker Braylon Jones
(Robby
receiving an honorable mention to the team selected by a statewide panel of sportswriters and radio and TV journalists.
Although the Yellow Jackets’ victory ruined the Hollywood finish for Luke Delafield, North DeSoto’s senior quarterback, the Northwestern State signee and his magnificent career won’t leave for Natchitoches empty handed.
After a season that included 2,419 passing yards, 38 total touchdowns (31 passing) and a No. 1 ranking for the Griffins at the end of the regular season, the 6-foot-1, 175-pound senior was named Class 4A’s Outstanding Offensive Player.
Delafield, one of the most experienced quarterbacks in state history, started every game over four years and finished with a 46-8 record. He earned the quarterback honor on the 2025 Shreveport- Bossier City Advocate’s All-318 preps Football Team.
A few hours after Iowa and North DeSoto battled in New Orleans, St. Charles Catholic (13-1) escaped the building with one of the most improbable state title wins in recent memory.
At the center of the Comets’ 23-21 victory against Archbishop Shaw in the Division II select state championship game was linebacker Brooks Monica.
The 5-foot-11, 190-pound senior earned District 9-4A Defensive MVP honors after a season that included 142 tackles (9.5 for loss; two sacks) and one interception.
Monica has been named Class 4A’s Outstanding Defensive Player.
Calais, a 6-foot-2, 196-pound junior, returned eight kickoffs for 404 yards and two touchdowns on the season. He also rushed for 1,108 yards and 20 touchdowns on 170 carries and caught 32 passes for 498 yards and six TDs to earn first-team All-District 5-4A honors as an allaround athlete and was the district’s Offensive MVP. Calais also played defense for the Bulldogs, who reached the quarterfinals of the Division II Non-Select playoffs.
Jones, a 6-foot, 205-pound senior, earned District 5-4A Defensive MVP honors after leading 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 breakups and a blocked kick on the season.
Braylon Calais
Braylon Jones
