Whether it’s at quarterback, running back or wide receiver, Reece Turner is going to get the job done for the Mustangs of Assumption High School.
Turner is arguably the best player on a talented Assumption team. For the season, he has over 1,400 rushing yards on 170 carries and 26 touchdowns on the ground. Turner also has over 800 yards through the air with nine touchdowns and two interceptions.
Whenever you watch Turner play, you can see his high IQ in the game and that he is not afraid of contact. However, the thing that stands out about Reece’s game is his elite speed. Turner ran a 4.53 in the 40-yard dash in June and could be even faster now.
Turner does speed training at Traction Sports Performance. He also does a lot of speed training at school as one of the defensive coaches, Shyheem Thompson, runs a lot of speed and agility drills at school as well.
“He was pretty quick in high school and he knows a lot about running and being explosive,” Turner said.
Assumption High School is located in Napoleonville, Louisiana. Napoleonville is located in Assumption Parish, which is one of the River Parishes located. In the River Parishes, there are some great football programs such as Destrehan, Lutcher and St. Charles Catholic. Unfortunately, Assumption hasn’t gotten the publicity it deserves.
“We don’t have it easy at Assumption and we don’t have the publicity that all these other schools do so we’re constantly working,” Turner said.
Although Assumption’s football program has had success in the past, the Mustangs missed the playoffs in both 2021 and 2022. However, the Mustangs completely turned it around as they are currently 8-2 and won the 4A-7 district title. Assumption is also the No.3 Seed in the LHSAA Division II Non-Select Playoffs.
The biggest win of the season for Assumption came against Lutcher, who are the defending Division II Non-Select state champions. The Mustangs defeated the Bulldogs 14-10 as Turner was responsible for both of Assumption’s touchdowns, including the game-winning touchdown pass.
“It woke up a lot of people,” Turner said. “A lot of people thought that we were not going to be too great this year, but we’ve shown them that we are a team that you really need to watch out for.”
With the amount of attention his team is getting, Turner is aware that he and his teammates can’t lose their ultimate focus of bringing a state championship to Assumption High School.
“I remind myself and my teammates to keep having that underdog mentality,” Turner said. “We were always the underdog so that’s what drove us to become the team we are now.”
Outside of football, Turner is quite the outdoorsman for a guy at his age, but that’s not unusual in Assumption Parish.
“Me and my friends like to hunt ducks and fish because it gives us something to do around here,” Turner said.
The biggest fish that Turner has ever caught was a five-foot alligator gar.
Although his high school playing career is coming to an end very soon, Turner hopes he has inspired people.
“I just want to make an example and show that if you do what you need to do on the field and in the classroom, you can be successful,” Turner said. “I also want to show that you don’t have to leave Assumption to continue playing at the next level.
