Ceasar, Manuel top 2013 AP-Unit

With the reclassification and the splits in the playoffs, it was a really interesting year in Evangeline Parish football. We saw three teams: Basile, Sacred Heart and Ville Platte High; make it to the playoffs in their respective divisions. Pine Prairie and Mamou competed in tough leagues, but did not make the playoffs.
Ville Platte High and Pine Prairie competed in District 5-3A. The district was very tough and one of the teams lost in the Class 3A championship.
Sacred Heart battled in District 5-1A. That class sent nearly every team to the playoffs. The Trojans won their first playoff game since 2004, when they crushed the Lafayette Christian Knights. The Trojans fell in the second round to Ouachita Christian.
Basile came up with an amazing 10-0 regular season record and made it to the quarter-finals again this year.
Mamou battled in District 5-2A and came up short of their goal of making it to the Class 2A playoffs. Their district did have the state champion in Class 2A, Kinder.
Starting things off, Basile Head Coach Tony Bertrand earned Coach of the Year in Evangeline Parish. Bertrand, who lost a talented senior class in 2012, showed that coaching a good solid program is the key to success, rather than coaching individual players. Bertrand has earned the COY multiple times throughout his tenure as the Basile skipper.
Starting with offense, Kendrick Ceasar is selected as the Offensive Most Valuable Player. The junior played multiple roles for the Bearcats. On offense, he ran the ball from his tailback spot and returned kickoffs and punts. Ceasar ran for nearly 1,600 yards and scored 28 touchdowns overall.
Joining Ceasar at the running back slot is Ville Platte’s Jermarcus Jones. The senior tailback ran for 1,066 yards and had 1,553 all-purpose yards. Jones scored 12 touchdowns for the Bulldogs. Pine Prairie’s Douglas Fontenot earned a spot at running back. He was one of the league leaders in carries and led the Panthers in rushing yards. Isaiah Thomas earns the quarterback spot. He threw for over 1,400 yards and also rushed for 232 yards. In the air, he completed almost 50 percent of his passes, averaging over 12 yards per completion. The Grambling committed athlete will be a big shot in the arm for the Tigers.
The receiving core begins with Kendall Ardoin. The Tulane commitment had 321 yards receiving in 2013, despite battling an injury. He was a huge part of the Bulldogs’ offense in their air attack and in their rushing attack. He scored three touchdowns in the air. Fellow Bulldog senior Jaquine Anderson led the Bulldogs in receiving with 500 yards. He also scored three times for VPHS. The senior will be hard to replace for the Bulldogs. Ellis Parrott earns the spot at third receiver. Parrott was all over the field for the Sacred Heart Trojans. He also carried the ball several times out of the SHHS backfield.
The offensive line has five of the toughest and best blockers in the parish. Ville Platte High senior Nigel Chatman represents the Bulldogs, along with a pair of Bearcats and a pair of Trojans. Basile’s duo of Logan Cormier and Jude Johnson opened holes and pass blocked for the quarterbacks. Cormier, a senior, will be hard to replace. The Sacred Heart duo of Bevan Dupre and Garrett Manuel did a great job at SHHS. Manuel will graduate in May and leave some big shoes to fill. Dupre, a junior, will be back next season to guide the SHHS platoon in the trenches.
Wesley Fontenot is selected as the offensive athlete. The first-year quarterback threw and ran for over 500 yards in his first and only year as a starting quarterback.
The AP defense begins with the Most Valuable Player on Defense. Senior SHHS linebacker Grant Manuel had one of the best years for any SHHS linebacker in a very long time. Manuel gobbled up 119 tackles in 2013. He also recovered three fumbles and forced two of them. He picked off a pair of passes and ran one back for a score.
Joining Manuel at the linebacker spot is Ville Platte High’s Dayton Jackson. The junior picked up over 64 tackles and three sacks, along with an interception. Basile’s Josh Bertrand joins the team at linebacker. The senior had 61 tackles and four sacks for the Cats. He also picked off a pair of passes. Sacred Heart’s junior linebacker Jonathan Fontenot is named to the other linebacker spot on the unit.
The defensive line starts with Basile duo Chazz Swift and Ty Walker. Swift, a senior, was lights out all year long. He was the MVP of District 4-1A on defense and is one of the best defensive players in the parish and in Class 1A. Swift collected 66 tackles and helped the team with five sacks. Walker was a phenom like no other. The sophomore led Basile in almost every defensive category. He collected 53 solo tackles and 55 assists. He led Basile with 11 sacks.
James Wilson earned a spot on the first team in District 5-3A and was an easy choice for the AP team. He had 47 tackles and six sacks. The junior will be a force for VPHS again next season. Hayden Estilette earns the fourth DL spot. The senior played a strong season for the Trojans and will be missed next season.
Basile duo Kendrick Ceasar and Mason Deshotel lead the defensive back group. The unit will be hard to doubt as the two talented players collected for six interceptions and 51 tackles. Deshotel, a senior, will leave a gaping vacancy in the Basile secondary.
Mamou’s Seth Cartina, a senior, and Pine Prairie’s Dylan Doucet, a sophomore, earn the other two defensive back spots. Doucet had 33 solo tackles and 56 assists for the Panthers, along with five interceptions. No stats were reported for Cartina from Mamou High School.
The place kicker for the team is Basile’s Mark Ledoux. The junior had a 92 percent success rate in kicking this season.
Earning Honorable Mentions from each school: Basile - Blaise Hebert and Mark Ivory, Mamou - Daniel Matthews and Dylan Holland, Pine Prairie - JP Vidrine and Colton Chaddrick, Sacred Heart - Mikey Laughlin and Philip Vidrine, Ville Platte High - Kaylan Anderson and Darrien Anderson.
Thanks and congratulations Evangeline Parish Football Players for a great season.