In coach Robert Valdez first game as a Purple Knight, he proved why he is a championship caliber coach. Coach Valdez won the the LHSAA State Title in 2019 with a perfect 15-0 season. He followed that up with multiple quarterfinal and semifinal appearances before taking a job as an assistant coach with Grambling State University. However; with all this, I believe that he may have an uphill battle at St Augustine. It has been 20+ years since this talented school has won a state title and it has been since 2022 that they have won a district game. It is crazy that a school that has produced NFL and college greats like Leonard Fournette and Tyrann “The Honey Badger” Mathieu has not won a title in 20+ years. If the coach is allowed to run the team in the way he knows how, this team could surprise a few teams this season and make a run in the playoffs (they definitely have the talent to do so).
Now what I saw and heard from fans last night was how disciplined this 2024 team was and the excitement that hiring a championship caliber coach like Valdez is for the program. The loss of 5 star Defensive Lineman Jahkeem Stewart, was hard news this week for Purple Knight fans, but did not seem to matter against cross city 4A foe McDonagh 35.
Warren Roberts Jr., class of 2025 Linebacker and Tulane commit; Juelz Baptiste, class of 2025 Offensive Tackle and Tulane commit; Miguel Whitley, class of 2027 Wide Receiver; Vashaun Coulon, class of 2026 Quarterback; Darren Coates, Jr, class of 2028 Defensive End; all had a big night last night.
Coach Frank Daggs has been extremely successful during his tenure at McDonogh 35. Last season, winning 4A District 11 title and making the LHSAA Quarterfinals only to loose the second year in a row to LCA. Frank has been a consistent winner on and off the field with his players. He has helped a great number of them get into college and go onto great things in life.
While McDonogh 35 did not win Saturday night, there were a few bright spots of the evening. The first is that they never gave up. They continued to attack the Purple knights on every play. The next thing that jumps out is that they played St Aug. the first week last year and lost 71-13 then went on the to the quarterfinals.
Some of the standouts from last night were Jakai Anderson, class of 2026 wide receiver and LSU commit; Carlos Taylor, class of 2026 running back; Eldon Anderson, class of 2025 Quarterback; Lyndon Vallery, class of 2025 Defensive Line; all were some of the big playmakers for the Roneagles.
Enjoy the photos taken by Gridiron Football CEO, Andy Bryson.
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