Breaux Bridge – Junior Dakowen Celestine is looking to bring some pop to the Breaux Bridge High football team’s offense this year as he makes the transition from receiver to quarterback for the Tigers. “It’s exciting because I can showcase that I can also tote the rock and run the ball,” said Celestine, who goes by the nickname “Pop.” “I can also throw. I can also do anything. I’m a dynamic player.”
His coach used the same term when describing the junior signal- caller.
“For him it’s just being a dynamic playmaker,” Coach Tyler Pierce said. “He can fly. He has a tremendous work ethic.”
Celestine practiced at quarterback last season in case he was needed, but with Caynon Ardoin and Isaiah LeBlanc ahead of him at the position, Celestine didn’t get playing time there, Pierce said.
Ardoin headed an offense that featured power runner Baylon Champagne, with LeBlanc, now at Nicholls State, and Celestine at receiver.
“(Celestine is) just a junior so we have another year with him as QB,” Pierce said. “It’ll be just keeping things stable and building depth behind him.”
Celestine said he is eager to show fans that the Tigers an improved squad after the team won a combined five games over the past two seasons, two in 2024 and three in 2025.
Last season saw BBHS finish on an up note with two district wins in their last three games.
His goals are “leading the team and showing we’re not just a trash team like they think we are,” he said. “All we’ve got to do is get the young guys to step up and show them it’s not junior high anymore. They’ve got to step up because we don’t have that many people. Numbers are low right here.”
With only seven seniors on the roster heading into this week’s season opener at Opelousas Catholic, Celestine said the eight juniors also must play a leadership role. The team features 10 sophomores and nearly 20 freshmen from a junior high team that saw a lot of success the past couple of seasons.
“The juniors have to step up and become like seniors, lead the team and show the standard,” Celestine said.
He added that the switch from receiver has gone smoothly.
“Now I get to understand what to do on both sides, knowing what the defense does and what the offense does, not just at receiver,” he said. “Knowing that I played receiver, played on the defensive side of the ball, and at quarterback, now I can analyze things and know what to do.”
He added that he is confident in both his passing ability and his run ability. His coach said the offense is geared toward an athletic quarterback.
“With this offense and the reads it’s built off of, Pop is pretty much a running back who can throw, not just manage a game and hand it to Baylon Champagne or throw it to Isaiah (LeBlanc).
Celestine also expects to play safety and possibly some cornerback on defense and possibly some outside linebacker.
“The QB position snaps (in practice), we didn’t have to start from scratch, but his main thing is just getting comfortable within the overall offense,” Pierce said. “He’s one that can make something out of nothing. All he needs is a small crease. He register over 20 miles per hour running.
“Defensively, he just has to react. He’s been playing since he was a freshman. He’s highly recruited on both sides of the ball.”
“My goal is to get first-team All-District on both sides of the ball,” he said. “As a team, I really want us to make the playoffs to get the younger guys to feel it. I want them to engage all the way from freshman to their senior year. I don’t want them to be like how I was.”
