Check out the 2024 GF POTW (Week 4) Edition Show hosted by Jace Lejeune and Alex Allison below!
Gridiron Football Player of the Week: Southern Lab High School (Baton Rouge, LA) 2026 QB Jerry Bottley IV: 13,606 votes
This week’s battle wasn’t as close (or as high vote-getting) as last week, but we still saw some very impressive levels of support for the top finishers, including this week’s winner, Jerry Bottley IV from Southern Lab. It’s a deserving win for both Bottley and this entire Kittens team, as they have been a juggernaut throughout the beginning of the season. This dominant run continued into their last game against Delhi, where Bottley led Southern Lab to a 54-6 victory off the back of an electric performance through the air, where he went 15/18 for 360 yards and 5 TDs through the air with only 1 INT. He added a few carries for 55 yards on the ground to account for 415 total yards in this game. He had more passing TDs (5) than he did incompletions (3), a level of passing performance very rarely seen at the high school level, and one absolutely deserving of the Player of the Week award.
2. Archbishop Shaw 2025 RB Jasper Parker: 10,930 votes
In a week filled with elite running back performances, this is the one that finished with the most votes, and deservedly so. In a game that was anticipated to be close against a great program in LCA, Michigan commit Jasper Parker completely blew the doors off of LCA in a 31-8 victory for Archbishop Shaw. He broke the Shaw school record for rushing yards in a single game with 35 rushes, 326 yards, and 2 TDs. Doing that against anyone is difficult, but it’s nearly impossible against an opponent as formidable as LCA. Parker was the workhorse, moving the sticks time after time and leaving no doubt in one of the more surprising blowouts of the week.
3. Plaquemine 2025 RB Tyrese Mosby: 10,040 votes
Another week, another great finish for a Plaquemine player. It’s been a good start to the season for the Green Devils, this time with their running back turning heads with his performance. Tyrese Mosby was fantastic in their 41-18 blowout win over rival Brusly. Mosby had 24 carries for 310 yards and 5 TDs, running all over a team that has no love lost for Plaquemine. Great performances in big rivalry games don’t get forgotten easily, and this sensational performance on the ground is no exception.
4. Walker 2025 RB Cayden Jones: 4,654 votes
Walker High School RB Cayden Jones posted yet another great RB stat line this week, as he logged 19 carries for a whopping 332 yards and 4 TDs in Walker’s 36-18 win over Live Oak. Having either efficiency or volume is impressive, but Cayden Jones’ combination of both (over 17 yards per carry!) is nothing short of spectacular. The Wildcats have been off to a great start this season, and Cayden Jones has been a large reason why.
5. Teurlings 2025 RB Doug Viltz: 4,303 votes
Teurlings Catholic High School RB Doug Viltz had a huge performance in one of the biggest games of the week in the state of Louisiana against Westgate. He totaled 22 carries for 220 yards and 4 TDs – impressive numbers made even more impressive by the elite opponent he was going up against. This is a big win for Teurlings, one of the best teams in the state, and they will look to continue riding their premier back to success throughout the rest of the season.
DITR: Doug E Viltz, RB, Teurlings Catholic | Gridiron Football (gridironfootballusa.com)
6. Central Private 2025 LB/WR Clayton Kimball: 2,979 votes
There are only so many different ways to score touchdowns, so you will always catch people’s eyes if you can find paydirt in three different ways in just one half of football. This is exactly what Central Private LB/WR Clayton Kimball did last Friday in the Redhawks’ 48-26 victory over J.S. Clark. Kimball had 10 tackles, a forced fumble, a 25 yard receiving touchdown, a 35 yard fumble return for a touchdown, and a 25 yard pick six. He then got injured and missed the 2nd half of the game. Here’s hoping that he can come back in full force next week, because when he’s on the field, it makes an already great Central Private team that much more deadly.
7. Mandeville 2025 RB Nate Sheppard: 2,106 votes
Mandeville High School RB Nate Sheppard put up one of the most statistically gaudy games we have seen all season in Mandeville’s 56-14 win over Slidell last week. He had 367 all-purpose yards and an absolutely insane 7 touchdowns. To our knowledge, that’s the first 7 touchdown performance of the season in the state of Louisiana, and it might be the only one all season.
8. Oberlin 2025 Seth Lyons: 2,075 votes
Oberlin High School QB Seth Lyons was completely unstoppable last week, posting a stat line that would have been impressive against air in Oberlin’s 56-28 win over East Beauregard. He was 10/10 for 319 passing yards and 5 TDs, and he added 5 rushes for 35 yards and another TD on the ground. Most people can’t do that in practice, and Lyons did it in an actual game against another high school football team.
9. Vermillion Catholic 2025 QB Jonathon Dartez: 964 votes
Vermillion Catholic High School QB Jonathon Dartez has now made back to back appearances on the list, after having back to back stellar performances. This week he led his Eagles to a 41-34 victory over Erath, powered by an elite day both through the air and on the ground. He was 10/17 for 202 passing yards and 3 passing TDs, and coupled that with 32 carries, 168 rushing yards, and 3 rushing TDs. This gave him a total of 370 yards and 6 TDs on the day, and all 6 of them were needed in the close victory.
DITR: Jonathan Dartez, QB, Vermilion Catholic | Gridiron Football (gridironfootballusa.com)
10. Parkview Baptist 2026 K/P Gavin Higgins: 738 votes
This was a great week for special teams in Louisiana High School Football. We had a 58 yard field goal made and some great plays by others later on this list, but most noteworthy was the game changing performance by Parkview Baptist High School K/P Gavin Higgins in the Eagles’ 26-24 win over St. Martinville. Higgins made the difference in the game, going 4/4 with his field goals (distances of 39, 39, 32, and 23 yards), 2/2 in his PATs, 6/6 in kickoff touchbacks, and hitting 2 of his 3 punts inside the 20 yard line with an average distance of 49 yards. Kickers with that level of consistency and effectiveness at the high school level are practically unheard of.
11. Franklinton 2025 RB Sy Austin: 700 votes
Franklinton High School RB Sy Austin had the most efficient RB performance of the week, which is saying a lot given all of the stiff competition that has already been outlined. In the Demons’ 61-13 win over Fontainebleau, Austin was completely unstoppable. He only carried the ball 10 times, but ran the ball for 209 yards and 4 TDs in just those 10 carries. That’s an astonishing 20.9 yards per carry, and a touchdown 40% of the times that he touched the ball. He was simply unstoppable.
12. West St. John 2025 Safety Joradae Grows: 430 votes
West St. John High School safety Joradae Grows had an all-time effort game in the Rams’ 60-0 victory over Houma Christian last week. He dominated as a box safety with 8 tackles and 3 sacks, a number usually reserved for only the most elite defensive ends. He showed his chops in coverage with an interception during the game. He was electric with a ball in his hands with a kick return TD. On top of all of that, he also blocked a punt. He was absolutely everywhere on the field.
13. Loyola Prep 2025 CB Carter Ward: 283 votes
Loyola College Prep CB Carter Ward was an absolute ball hawk in the Flyers’ last game, a 50-0 win over Southwood. Ward had only 2 tackles, but that was because he was too busy getting to the ball before the offensive players could. Ward caught 3 interceptions with 78 total return yards, and added a forced fumble and a fumble recovery on top of it. That’s four total turnovers for Carter, a number more than good enough to qualify as a player of the week.
Honorable Mentions (No Particular Order):
- North DeSoto 2026 RB Kenny Thomas: 26 carries, 190 yards, 3 TDs in a 38-21 win over Northwood
- Central Lafourche 2026 RB Robert Day: 16 carries, 154 yards, 4 TDs in a 36-21 win over Thibodaux
- Cecilia 2026 LB Braylon Jones: 9 Tackles (6 solo) in a 27-0 loss to Central
- St Louis Catholic 2026 LB Matthew Hebert: 8 tackles, 2 INTs, 1 sack fumble in a 29-22 win over Washington-Marion
- Oak Grove 2025 QB Jackson Bradley: 11/17 for 166 passing yards and 5 TDs in a 49-0 win over Rayville
- Hahnville 2025 RB Calvin Smith Jr.: 18 carries, 198 rushing yards, 5 TDs; 2 Rec, 42 Rec yards in a 51-32 win over Terrebonne
- Washington-Marion 2026 QB/K/P Monte Pop Farmer: 305 Passing yards, 2 TDs; 1 Rec 15 Rec Yards, 1 TD; 3 Punts 42.7 yard average in a 22-28 loss to St. Louis Catholic
- Thomas Jefferson 2025 RB Bryce Wilkerson: 21 carries, 274 yards, 3 TDs, one of 95 yards, in a 34-13 win over Sarah Reed
- Jesuit 2025 RB/LB James Roniger: 8 carries, 25 yards, TD; 9 tackles, one INT in a 17-5 win over Brother Martin
- Vandebilt Catholic 2025 RB Jaylon Coleman: 7 carries, 192 yards, 3 TDs in a 45-8 win over Morgan City
- Kenner Discovery 2025 QB Gemar Hodges: 9 carries, 98 yards, 3 TDs; 9/11 with 147 passing yards and 1 TD in a 33-24 win over Patrick Taylor
- LCA 2026 LB Jaimason Marzell: 18 total tackles in a 31-8 loss to Archbishop Shaw
- Fredericksburg 2025 DE Tristan King: 3 sacks, 3 TFL, 2 tackles, 1 assisted in a 23-13 win over Uvalde
- Opelousas 2025 WR Korey Fontenot: 7 Rec, 147 yards, 1 TD in a 40-45 loss to Alexandria Senior High
- Ouachita Christian 2025 RB Makin Lenard: 18 carries, 200 yards, 2 TDs in a 49-0 win over Madison
- Denham Springs 2025 QB Jerry Horne: 16/25 289 passing yards and 2 TDs in a 20-17 win over East Ascension
- St. Edmund 2025 WR (1) Blake Moran (@blakemoran_07) / X: 136 receiving yards and 2 TDs in the 1st half in a 47-8 win over North Central
- St. Paul’s 2025 K/P Drew Talley: 53 yard field goal good in 25-22 win over JFK
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