Team Central Wins The 2024 Gridiron Football Junior High All-American Bowl Game Series

After having success in the first two Gridiron Football Junior High All-American Bowl Games, the third annual middle school showcase event has decided to branch out to not only two, but three different junior high teams across the state of Louisiana. Each team is represented by a different part of the state of Louisiana and every team would get to compete against each other in a three game round robin to decide which area of the state has the best 7th/8th grade talent.

Every team would get the opportunity to play twice in running clock games. Team North Louisiana is the defending champion led by Richwood defensive coordinator James Taylor. Team Central Louisiana is head coached by Ferriday offensive coordinator Devante Scott and finally, Team South Louisiana is led by St. Edmund High School head coach James Shiver, who was also the winning head coach of the 2022 Gridiron Football All-American Bowl Game.

The winner of the three game series would be decided by either win-loss record, head to head, or in case of a tie-breaker, most points scored. With two full days of practice at Lamar Dixon Expo Center in Gonzales, Louisiana, it was time for bragging rights to be decided at Memorial Stadium.

*We are about to begin the 2025 Gridiron Football Season and if you are a player that wants to be apart of the 2025 Gridiron Football Junior High All-American Bowl Game or the 2025 Gridiron Football Senior All-American Bowl Game, you must be at our events to be considered for the game. This will apply especially to Louisiana athletes since we have growing interest from outside the state. We are inviting top performers from our 7v7 tournaments, our elite camps, and finally, our Gridiron Football Media Day. We already have our first 7v7 tournament and two elite camps posted below. To register, you can click any of the pictures below!

Game 1: Team North Defeats Team South 8-0

The first game of the junior high triple header was between Team North and Team South. As first games go, it was tough for any of the offenses to get anything going. In fact, the first big play of the game was a defensive play as Team North’s Javeon Mitchell (Rusheon Middle) intercepted Team South QB Bryce Shropshire (Southern Lab) to give Team North good field position. However, Team South’s defense stepped up with a fumble recovery from James Rutledge (Sacred Heart of Jesus) to give them back the football. Team South’s offense would get a little something going leaning on their running backs Da’Michael Hart (Catholic Pointe Coupee) and Kohen Folse (Ascension Catholic), but in the end, the drive would stall with a turnover on downs play forced by Team North’s Demarion Thompson (Caldwell Junior High). The first half would run out with the game being a scoreless tie.

After a scoreless first half, it did not take long for a team to put some points on the board. Par for the course, it would be Team North’s defense that scored the first points of the day as Dezmain Wilford (Delhi Middle) picks off Bentley Sprunk (Kenner Discovery) and returns it 46 yards for the pick six . Team North would convert on the ensuing two point conversion with a successful run from Zycheus Hooker (Crowville) to make it 8-0 over Team South.

From that point on, the game was controlled by Team North as Team South’s offense only had the ball for five plays including a third turnover forced by Team North, which was a fumble recovered by Kelvin Leonard (Crowville). Team North leaned on its athletic running quarterback Kaiden Manning (Crowville), who carried the ball seven times over their next two drives to grind out an 8-0 victory to give Team North an early 1-0 record on the day thanks to three forced turnovers including the game’s only touchdown. It was a great start to the day for the defending champions.

Game 2: Team South Defeats Team Central 8-2

After falling to Team North to start the day, Team South was looking for some revenge against Team Central. Team Central had a promising opening drive marching down the field on 12 plays, but came away with nothing as defensive lineman Brantley Facundus (Live Oak Junior High) makes a hit in the backfield to force a turnover on downs. Still, Team Central was able get an early 2-0 lead over Team South putting a safety on the scoreboard. Cayden Jones (St. George) got the carry, but immediately was swallowed up by Hunter Poole (Jena) for a four yard loss to give Team Central their first points.

Team Central would not build on the lead with Team South’s defense getting a fourth down stop led by Facundus once again. After going scoreless in their previous game, Team South’s offense finally got going as it was sparked by QB Jordan Culotta (Our Lady of Mercy), who led Coach Shiver’s squad to a 12 play, 64 yard drive that started with a 24 yard completion to TE Michael Jackson Jr. (McKinley Middle) and ended with a two yard touchdown run from Da’Michael Hart (Catholic Pointe Coupee). Hart added a successful two point conversion to give Team South an 8-2 lead. Team Central tried to get a score right before half, but that was squandered when Jaxson Taylor (CSAL) sacked Nate Matchett (Brame Middle School) to end the first 16 minutes of play.

In the second half, Team Central had another nice drive leaning on its bell cow running back Tyler Simpson (Delta Charter), who touched the ball five times on their first offensive possession of the second half, but turned the ball over on downs. Team South followed it up with a 11 play offensive drive from Sacred Heart’s Will Boudreaux and RB Kaiden Monroe, but trying to build on the lead in the red zone, Team Central’s defense came up with a stop giving its offense one final shot to score. Unfortunately, for Team Central, Matchett’s pass fell incomplete and Team South finished the day splitting their two games. Both teams moved the football, but it was Team South that was actually able to put the ball in the end zone to give them a bounce back victory. Although finished for the day, Team South still had a chance to tie for the championship crown as it was going to come down to the third and final game between Team North and Team Central to see who will win the first Gridiron Football Junior High All-American Bowl Game Tournament.

Game 3: Team Central Defeats Team North 16-6

The three game finale featuring the three different areas of the state was going to come down to the third and final game as it was still any team’s race. It did not take long for Team Central to get going as they just gave the football to Tyler Simpson with the talented running back breaking it to the left side for a 28 yard score. Simpson added the cherry on top with a successful two point conversion and just three plays in the game, Team Central took an 8-0 lead.

It looked like Team Central would add to that lead as big Paul Bell (Center Hill) scooped up the fumble where he almost took it all the way back for a score. To stop the bleeding, Team North stepped up with a defensive stop in order to give its offense the ball back. Demarion Thompson (Caldwell Junior High) and Mason Lingefelt (Sterlington) were able to force a turnover on downs as Team South was trying to punch the ball in the end zone. Defense would then lead into offense as Team North hit on the longest play of the day, which was a 86 yard touchdown pass from Kaiden Manning (Crowville) to Javeon Mitchell (Rusheon Middle) to pull within striking range at 8-6. Team South’s defense gets the stop to preserve a two point lead.

After both teams traded possessions, Team Central decided to go to the air for their second touchdown of the game. QB Nate Matchett (Brame Middle) completed a 31 yard scoring strike to his middle school teammate in WR Jayden Minor (Brame Middle) to extend their lead at 8 to 14-6. Matchett would then convert the two point conversion by completing a pass to Raheeim Tolliver (Ferriday Junior High) in order to make it a two possession game at 16-6.

To start the second half of play, Team Central’s defense gets a sack to stall a Team North drive with Jecaryous Norman (Ferriday Junior High) taking Manning down on third down. Late in the game, Team North had an opportunity to score in order to get back in the game with a nice couple of runs from Hooker, but could not put the ball in the end zone as Team North needed to score twice. The key play would be a six yard TFL on Manning forced by Carter Davis (Brame Middle School). The turnover on downs allowed Team Central not only to preserve the 16-6 win over Team South, but put them in the driving seat to win the tournament.

Final Recap:

With all teams having a 1-1 record and having defeated each other, the next tiebreaker is points scored and it was decided that Team Central would win the third annual Gridiron Football Junior High All-American Bowl Game Tournament. The yellow team took on gold after scoring 18 points in their two games. Second place went to Team North for scoring 14 points and third place went to Team South for scoring 8 points.

Team Central joins Team East and Team North as Gridiron Football Junior High All-American Bowl Game Champions. Team Central received medallions for winning the tournament while every player on the three teams received junior high bowl game rings for taking apart in the event. Each team also awarded an offensive and defensive MVP.

For the victorious Team Central, the offensive MVP is none other than running back Tyler Simpson (Delta Charter). Simpson, who finished the series with 24 carries for 112 yards and one touchdown plus a two point conversion, was the bell cow constantly throughout the day and was arguably the whole tournament’s MVP. The defensive MVP for Team Central is Jecaryous Norman (Ferriday Junior High), who finished with 1.5 sacks in the series.

For the second year in a row, the Team North Offensive MVP went to a player from Rusheon Middle School in Bossier. After Arayvis Davenport won the award last year, it went to wide receiver Javeon Mitchell this season with the big play offensively against Team Central that was an 86 yard touchdown catch. He also added 1.5 tackles and an interception on defense as well. When it comes to the Defensive MVP, it had to go to defensive back Dezmain Wilford (Delhi Middle), who scored the only touchdown for Team North’s win over Team South when he had a 46 yard pick six to kickoff the day.

Finally, there was Team South, who also had two worthy candidates for the offensive and defensive MVP. The offensive MVP went to quarterback Jordan Culotta (Our Lady of Mercy), who led Team South’s only touchdown drive of the series against Team Central. While extending plays both throwing and rushing, he also had a nice game defensively with three tackles and a PBU. Defensively, that award went to defensive lineman Jaxson Taylor (CSAL), who was nearly unblockable with 7.5 tackles and a sack.

The Gridiron Football Junior High All-American Bowl Game is getting bigger and better with each passing year and we thank everybody for making it such a memorable event. We are looking forward to making the 2025 Gridiron Football Junior High All-American Bowl Game the best one yet. Throughout the next couple of weeks, stay tuned for our Rising Star article series spotlighting all the sharp young talent that you will be seeing dominate the gridiron on Friday nights very soon!

Thanks To Our Sponsors!

Final Statistics (Through 2 Games Done By Cameron Cerniglia):

Team North:

Passing:

#	PLAYER	C-A	YDS	TD	I	C%
1	Kaiden Manning	2-9	94	1	0	22.2%
2	Fred Edwards	0-1	0	0	0	0%
	2 PASSERS	2-10	94	1	0	20%

Rushing:

#	PLAYER	ATT	YDS	TD	AVG
1	Kaiden Manning	18	107	0	5.94
0	Zycheus Hooker	11	16	0 (Had successful 2 point conversion)	1.45
9	Akhaurien Bell	1	5	0	5.0
10	J’Mari Perkins	2	-1	0	-0.5
4	Javeon Mitchell	2	-8	0	-4.0
	5 Rushers	34	119	0	3.5

Receiving:

#	Player	NO	YDS	TD	AVG
4	Javeon Mitchell	1	86	1	86.0
9	Akhaurien Bell	1	8	0	8.0
	2 Receivers	2	94	1	47.2

Defense:

#	Player	Total Tackles	INT	BrUp	FR
0	Zycheus Hooker	6
77	Tucker Sturdivant	4.5
26	Easton Hill	3.5
9	Akhaurien Bell	2.5
12	Demarion Thompson	2
3	Kelvin Leonard	1.5			1
4	Javeon Mitchell	1.5	1	1
8	Colton Allen	1.5
67	Kamden Crenshaw	1.5
27	J’Corrian Polly	1.5
6	Dezmain Wilford	1	1 (Returned for a 46 yard TD)
7	Quan King	1
66	Tyrone Powell Jr.	1
5	Cam Lance	0.5
74	Mason Lingefelt	0.5
	15 Tacklers	30	2	1	1

Team Central:

Passing:

#	PLAYER	C-A	YDS	TD	I	C%
9	Nate Matchett	8-22	126	1	0	36.3%
2	Raheeim Tolliver	0-1	0	0	0	0%
	2 PASSERS	8-23	126	1	0	34.7%

Rushing:

#	PLAYER	ATT	YARDS	TD	AVG
4	Tyler Simpson	24	112	1 (also had 2 point conversion)	4.66
0	Jecaryous Norman	5	14	0	2.8
20	Dylan Boss	6	11	0	1.8
	3 Rushers	35	137	1	3.9

Receiving:

#	PLAYER	NO.	YDS	TDS	AVG	2 PT CONVERSION
4	Tyler Simpson	7	78	0	11.4
27	Tylan Bailey	2	43	0	21.5
12	Jayden Minor	1	31	1	31.0
2	Raheeim Tolliver					1 catch for a 2 point conversion
	4 Receivers	10	152	1	15.2	1 catch for a 2 point conversion

Defense:

#	PLAYER	TACKLES	SACKS	FR	SAFETY
40	Carter Davis	3.5	0.5
10	Ja’Marion Johnson	3.5
26	Greyston McGinnis	3
63	Hunter Poole	2			1
27	Tylan Bailey	2
21	Justin Miranda	2
74	Peyton Crutchfield	2
52	Slade King	2
23	Ethan LaPrarie	2
0	Jecaryous Norman	1.5	1.5
30	Deonte Woods	1.5
65	Jaylen Coaston	1
6	Sherman Hawkins	1
24	Blake Evans	1
73	Paul Bell	0.5		1
3	Malcolm Alexander	0.5
	16 Tacklers	29	2	1	1

Team South:

Passing:

#	PLAYER	C-A	YDS	TD	INT	C%
7	Jordan Culotta	1-4	24	0	0	25%
9	Will Boudreaux	1-2	15	0	0	50%
8	Bentley Sprunk	1-5	10	0	0	20%
5	Bryce Shropshire	1-3	2	0	0	33.3%
	4 PASSERS	4-14	51	0	0	28.5%

Rushing:

#	PLAYER	ATT	YARDS	TD	AVG
40	Kohen Folse	5	26	0	5.2
6	Kaiden Monroe	8	19	0	2.4
0	Da’Michael Hart	4	16	1 (Also got the 2 point conversion)	4.0
23	Cayden Jones	5	9	0	1.8
7	Jordan Culotta	3	8	0	2.6
30	Landen Carter	1	1	0	1.0
5	Bryce Shropshire	1	-10	0	-10.0
	7 Rushers	27	69	1	2.55

Receiving:

#	PLAYER	NO.	YDS	TDS	AVG
10	Michael Jackson Jr.	1	24	0	24.0
1	Clarence Walls	2	17	0	8.5
0	Da’Michael Hart	1	10	0	10.0
	3 Receivers	4	51	0	12.75

Defense:

#	PLAYER	TACKLES	SACKS	FR	QB Hurry	PBU	SAFETY
90	Jaxson Taylor	7.5	1
30	Landen Carter	6.5
50	Gabriel Williams	5			1
77	Jacques Robichaux	4					1
22	Jonah Leblanc	4
7	Jordan Culotta	3				1
3	Carson Nichols	3
20	Noah Pastorek	2.5
78	Brantley Facundus	2
0	Da’Michael Hart	1
21	Tyius Marioneaux	1
1	Clarence Walls	1				1
2	James Rutledge	0		1
	13 Tacklers	40.5	1	1	1	2	1

Photo Galleries (Click the links for all of the photo galleries from the 2024 Gridiron Football Junior High All-American Bowl Game):

Junior High Photo Gallery #1: Jason Saucier

Junior High Photo Gallery #2: Billy Metcalf

Junior High Jersey Presentation

Team North Roster:

#	Position	Name	School	City	State
0	RB	Zycheus Hooker	Crowville	Winnsboro	LA
1	QB	Kaiden Manning	Crowville	Winnsboro	LA
2	QB	Fred Edwards	Crowville	Winnsboro	LA
3	RB/LB	Kelvin Leonard	Crowville	Winnsboro	LA
4	ATH	Javeon Mitchell	Rusheon Middle	Bossier	LA
5	ATH	Cam Lance	Crowville	Winnsboro	LA
6	WR/DB	Dezmain Wilford	Delhi Middle	Delhi	LA
7	DB	Quan King	Crowville	Winnsboro	LA
8	ATH	Colton Allen	Crowville	Winnsboro	LA
9	ATH	Akhaurien Bell	East Ouachita	Monroe	LA
10	RB	J’Mari Perkins	Delhi Middle	Delhi	LA
11	ATH	Carter Ready	Crowville	Winnsboro	LA
12	RB/LB	Demarion Thompson	Caldwell Junior High	Columbia	LA
20	WR	Jamarquise Richardson	Delhi Middle	Delhi	LA
21	RB	Aydin Harrison	Delhi Middle	Delhi	LA
24	LB	Zane Mercer	Caldwell Junior High	Columbia	LA
26	LB	Easton Hill	Elm Groove Middle	Shreveport	LA
27	WR/DB	J’Corrian Polly	Delhi Middle	Delhi	LA
52	OL/DL	Jaxon Williams	Carroll Junior High	Monroe	LA
65	OL/DL	Mason Carraway	Crowville	Winnsboro	LA
66	OL/DL	Tyrone Powell Jr.	Delhi Middle	Delhi	LA
67	OL/DL	Kamden Crenshaw	East Ouachita	Monroe	LA
68	OL/DL	Nathan Poole	Caldwell Junior High	Columbia	LA
73	OL/DL	Justin Hernandez	Elm Groove Middle	Shreveport	LA
74	OL/DL	Mason Lingefelt	Sterlington Middle School	Sterlington	LA
75	OL/DL	Eli Guzman	Crowville	Crowville	LA
77	OL/DL	Tucker Sturdivant	Sterlington Middle School	Sterlington	LA
78	OL/DL	Brandon Spurlock Jr.	Elm Groove Middle	Shreveport	LA
90	OL/DL	Noah Loyd	Delhi Middle	Delhi	LA
91	OL/DL	Darius Sweat	Rusheon Middle	Bossier	LA

Team Central Roster:

#	Position	Name	School	City	State
0	RB/LB	Jecaryous Norman	Ferriday Junior High	Ferriday	LA
1	RB	Cole Butler	Delta Charter	Ferriday	LA
2	QB	Raheeim Tolliver	Ferriday Junior High	Ferriday	LA
3	RB/LB	Malcolm Alexander	Ferriday Junior High	Ferriday	LA
4	RB	Tyler Simpson	Delta Charter	Ferriday	LA
5	WR	Juelz Harris	Ferriday Junior High	Ferriday	LA
6	WR/DB	Sherman Hawkins	Ferriday Junior High	Ferriday	LA
7	WR	Mi’kael Alexander	Ferriday Junior High	Ferriday	LA
8	RB	Ryder Smith	Delta Charter	Ferriday	LA
9	QB	Nate Matchett	Brame Middle School	Alexandria	LA
10	LB	Ja’Marion Johnson	Brame Middle School	Alexandria	LA
11	LB	Dontavious Lewis	Ferriday Junior High	Ferriday	LA
12	WR	Jayden Minor	Brame Middle School	Alexandria	LA
20	DB	Dylan Boss	Brame Middle School	Alexandria	LA
21	LB	Justin Miranda	Brame Middle School	Alexandria	LA
22	LB	Tayton Fife	Delta Charter	Ferriday	LA
23	DL	Ethan LaPrarie	Pineville Junior High	Pineville	LA
24	DB	Blake Evans	Delta Charter	Ferriday	LA
26	DL	Greyston McGinnis	Brame Middle School	Alexandria	LA
27	WR/DB	Tylan Bailey	Delta Charter	Ferriday	LA
30	DB	Deonte Woods	Ferriday Junior High	Ferriday	LA
40	DL	Carter Davis	Brame Middle School	Alexandria	LA
42	LB	Seth Lymon	GEO Prep	Baton Rouge	LA
52	OL/DL	Slade King	Delta Charter	Ferriday	LA
63	OL/DL	Hunter Poole	Jena	Jena	LA
65	OL/DL	Jaylen Coaston	Brame Middle School	Alexandria	LA
68	OL/DL	Jaxon Ward	Brame Middle School	Alexandria	LA
73	OL/DL	Paul Bell	Center Hill	Olive Branch	MS
74	OL/DL	Peyton Crutchfield	Brame Middle School	Alexandria	LA
75	OL/DL	Jay Carter Barron	Delta Charter	Ferriday	LA
77	OL/DL	Brees Morphis	Jena	Jena	LA
78	OL/DL	Christian Holmes	Pineville Junior High	Pineville	LA

Team South Roster:

#	Position	Name	School	City	State
0	RB	Da’Michael Hart	Catholic Pointe Coupee	New Roads	LA
1	WR	Clarence Walls III	North Iberville	Maringouin	LA
2	DB	James Rutledge	Sacred Heart	Baton Rouge	LA
3	WR	Carson Nichols	U-High	Baton Rouge	LA
4	WR	Levar Knighten	CSAL Middle	Baton Rouge	LA
5	QB	Bryce Shropshire	Southern Lab	Baton Rouge	LA
6	RB	Kaiden Monroe	Sacred Heart	Baton Rouge	LA
7	QB/DB	Jordan Culotta	Our Lady of Mercy	Baton Rouge	LA
8	QB	Bentley Sprunk	Kenner Discovery	Kenner	LA
9	QB/LB	Will Boudreaux	Sacred Heart	Baton Rouge	LA
10	TE/DL	Michael Jackson Jr.	McKinley Middle	Baton Rouge	LA
11	WR	Cooper Terito	St. George	Baton Rouge	LA
20	DL	Noah Pastorek	St. George	Baton Rouge	LA
21	DB	Tyius Marioneaux	Southern Lab	Baton Rouge	LA
22	LB	Jonah LeBlanc	Regina Caeli Academy	Baton Rouge	LA
23	RB	Cayden Jones	St. George	Baton Rouge	LA
30	DL	Landen Carter	North Iberville	Maringouin	LA
40	RB	Kohen Folse	Ascension Catholic	Donaldsonville	LA
42	QB	Nicholas Drago	St. Edmund	Eunice	LA
50	OL/DL	Gabriel Williams	STEAM Academy	Clinton	LA
65	OL	Jace Sprunk	Kenner Discovery	Kenner	LA
73	OL	Weston Mayeux	Holy Family	Port Allen	LA
74	OL	Brody Toney	Bay Waveland Middle	Bay St. Louis	MS
75	OL/DL	Jonathan Barnhill	Muscle Shoals	Muscle Shoals	AL
77	OL/DL	Jacques Robichaux	St. Jude	Baton Rouge	LA
78	OL/DL	Brantley Facundus	Live Oak Junior High	Watson	LA
90	OL/DL	Jaxson Taylor	CSAL	Baton Rouge	LA
91	OL/DL	Mason Graves	St. Jude	Baton Rouge	LA

Junior High Practice Footage:

*If you enjoy our events and what Gridiron Football is doing in order to help promote young athletes, then consider donating to our 501c Non-Profit Organization. Any donation would be greatly appreciated and we encourage everybody just to donate $10 a month in order for us to continue to support the future of football! You can donate by clicking the image below!