GF Player of the Week (Week 6): 2025 RB Chad Elzy, Ascension Catholic High School (La.)

2023 GF Player of the Week Award Winners:

Week 1: LCA 2024 QB & LSU Commit Ju’Juan Johnson

Week 2: Westwood High School (TX) 2026 WR Kaysn Dial

Week 3: St. Martin’s Episcopal High School 2025 RB Harlem Berry

Week 4: Evangel Christian Academy 2024 WR Parker Fulghum

Week 5: Lafayette High School 2025 QB/ATH Kevon’te Landry

1. Ascension Catholic High School (La.) RB Chad Elzy (2025)

Anytime you mention anything about Ascension Catholic football, all people want to talk about is its star running back Chad Elzy. Elzy is one of the best running backs in the state and is a diamond-in-the-rough type of prospect.

In the Bulldogs’ 62-19 win over St. John, Elzy rushed for a single game program record 348 yards on just 10 carries and scored five touchdowns in the process. As long as Ascension Catholic has Elzy, the sky is the limit.

2. Oak Grove High School (La.) QB Jackson Bradley (2025)

Third-year starting QB Jackson Bradley is making noise once again for Oak Grove as he is doing his usual thing. In a rematch of the 2022 Division IV (Non-Select) Playoffs, Bradley came up big again for the Tigers as they pummeled powerhouse program Haynesville High School. Bradley completed nine of his 14 passes for 233 yards and five touchdowns. On the ground, he had 142 and scored two touchdowns. As long as Bradley is under center, Oak Grove will be favored to win another state title.

3. Westwood High School (Texas) QB Kavian Bryant (2027)

If you’re the starting quarterback as a freshman for a high school football team in the state of Texas, you have to be pretty darn good.

Freshman QB Kavian Bryant has led Westwood High School to a 5-1 record through the first six games of the 2023 season. This season is the program’s best start in since 2015 when the Panthers started the 2015 season 6-0. However, his last start may have put him on notice not only in the state of Texas but across the nation.

Bryant completed 15 of his 19 passes with 302 yards and four touchdowns in Westwood’s 42-28 win over Sheperd. If that is not enough, he also rushed for 129 yards and a touchdown. Bryant has a chance to be one of the top quarterback prospects in the state of Texas. Also, it should be of note that he is from Palestine, Texas, which is the home of future NFL Hall of Fame running back Adrian Peterson.

4. Opelousas Catholic High School (La.) QB Mark Collins (2024)

Although he is known more for his skills on the baseball diamond as a Ragin’ Cajuns baseball commit, that doesn’t stop Mark Collins from being a great player on the gridiron. Collins passed for 416 yards with five touchdown passes and also rushed for 55 and a touchdown in Opelousas Catholic’s 41-6 victory over Westminster Christian. Collins also accounted for all of the Vikings’ touchdowns.

5. Riverside Academy (La.) RB Dedric Lastie (2025)

With district title hopes on the line in a battle against St. Martin’s Episcopal and the No.1 RB in the class of 2025, Harlem Berry, on the other sideline, Riverside was in for a dogfight, or at least everyone but the Rebels. Despite Berry having a good night rushing for 167 yards and two touchdowns, Riverside’s Dedric Lastie was the real star of the show. The 5-3, 130-pound Lastie back played bigger than his size as he ran for 338 yards on just 18 carries and four touchdowns in Riverside’s 55-14 victory over St. Martin’s. Lastie also had rushing touchdowns of 68, 48, nine and 38 yards. 10 of his 18 carries went for 10 yards or more.

6. St. Helena College and Career Academy (La.) ATH Willie Martin (2025)

If there is any person on the football field that has four lungs, it’s St. Helena’s Willie Martin. In his team’s 8-6 victory over Independence, Martin was the difference maker for St. Helena as he rushed for 96 yards and scored the only touchdown for St. Helena.

However, he made his biggest impact on the defensive side of the ball. Martin logged 10 tackles, six tackles for loss and two forced fumbles.

7. South Plaquemines High School (La.) ATH Alex Phillips (2025)

Another two-way player who made an impact in his team’s victory was Alex Phillips of South Plaquemines. In the Hurricanes’ 27-6 victory over Houma Christian, Phillips completed 6 out of 10 passes with 95 yards and a touchdown while rushing 13 times for 188 yards with three touchdowns. Phillips tallied a remarkable 17 total tackles.

8. Destrehan High School (La.) WR Jabari Mack (2026)

Destrehan High School has always had some great players come through the program including Pro Hall of Famer Ed Reed and current All-Pro wide receiver Justin Jefferson. On a team filled with multiple D1 prospects, sophomore wide receiver Jabari Mack has become a major player on this team hoping to repeat as state champions.

Against Central Lafourche, Mack only caught the ball three times, but he recorded 101 yards and two touchdowns in Destrehan’s 51-0 victory over the Trojans. He also had a 45-yard touchdown run as well.

9. University Lab School (La.) WR Seth Gale (2024)

Although he is team is full of talented players, no one means more to this U-High team more than wide receiver Seth Gale. Gale is one of the most underrated wide receivers not only in the Baton Rouge area but in the state as a whole. It seems like whenever he touches the ball, something good is about to happen and last weekend was a good example of that. In his last game, Gale had three receptions for 139 yards and two touchdowns in the Cubs’ 48-26 win over Lawrence County High School (Miss.).

10. St. Edmund High School (La.) RB Ke’von Johnson (2026)

St. Edmund High School has one special player in sophomore running back Ke’von Johnson. Last week in the Blue Jays’ 48-0 victory over North Central High School, Johnson rushed for 264 yards on 13 carries and four touchdowns.

Johnson has rushed for 1,343 yards, 20 touchdowns and is averaging 223.8 yards per game which are all the most in the state of Louisiana.

Honorable Mentions