Avoyelles Parish All-Parish Team announced; 10 players make 1st Team All-District

Among the several “teams” announced at the end of the season -- all-state, all-district, all-Cenla and all-parish -- the local one is the one many football fans look for. It is a way of recognizing not only those student athletes who were chosen for the “bigger” lists, but those dedicated young men who performed well but were edged out by players in other schools.

In the All-Parish selections, Marksville Coach J.T. Dunbar earned Coach of the Year honors. His Tigers defeated the Bunkie Panthers in the annual Catskin Game to start the season and avenged last year’s decades-long win streak-breaking loss to Avoyelles in Week 7.

It wasn’t as easy a decision as one might think.

Panther Coach Nick Pujol took a team barely old enough to shave that was expected to finish 0-10 or 1-9 Bunkie made it into the Class AA playoffs and ended the year 3-8.

Mustang Coach Andy Boone may have needed Dramamine this season as his team was up and then down all year. Avoyelles scored the upset-of-the-season when they beat the Jena Giants. They lost a non-district game to Menard and two district contests to Marksville and Caldwell to spoil what Boone had hoped would be his team’s first district title this season.

MVPs

The offensive MVP for the year is shared by two talented running backs.

MHS’ Bryce Moseley had 99 carries for 582 yards and five touchdowns. He was a key ingredient in the Tigers’ offensive recipe.

Marquis Alexander was the main horse for the Mustangs this year, racking up 1,355 yards on 161 carries and 37 yards on two receptions. He scored 74 points -- 11 touchdowns and four two-point conversions.

The defensive MVP in the parish is the Tigers’ Gavin Laird. Laird had 81 tackles, including seven for losses, three quarterback sacks and two forced fumbles.

In addition to the familiar offensive and defensive positions, the teams also include “athlete” and “flex” players on the list.

“Athlete” recognizes a player who contributed greatly to the overall success of the team but did not make the list in his position or positions. This year’s All-Parish “athlete” is Bunkie quarterback Graham Rebouche.

Rebouche was the spark plug in a young Panthers’ offensive engine. He passed for 528 yards and four touchdowns, with four interceptions, and ran 75 times for 289 yards and five TDs. His longest completed pass was for 57 yards and his longest run was 59.

“Flex” recognizes those players who play multiple positions and may be on the field most of a game. The two Flex honorees are Brody Knott of Avoyelles High and Marksville’s Trajon Alexander, both seeing time at halfback and linebacker.

While many on the team are seasoned veterans who have played their last high school football game, there are a few youngsters who have only just begun.

The youngest is Carlos Bazert, the Mustangs’ 6-foot, 210-pound 8th grader who added over 500 yards to Avoyelles' ground-pounding offensive production this year. Boone is expecting good -- maybe great -- things from his fullback in the next four seasons.

ALL DISTRICT

Avoyelles Parish high school football teams had 10 members on their All-District 1st Team lists -- one in 3-AA and nine in 3-AAA -- for this season.

Bunkie Magnet’s Mitchell Hukins was tapped as District 3-AA’s best punter this year.

Marksville High had six Tigers in 1st Team positions while three Avoyelles High Mustangs made it on the team.

On offense the first teamers are Avoyelles’ Robert Lewis on the offensive line and Marksville wide receiver Brandon Flores, tight end Collin Riddle, running back Bryce Moseley and offensive lineman Leonard Sampson.

The 1st Team Defense includes Avoyelles defensive back Richard Scott, linebacker Jason Sampson and defensive lineman Jacob Landry and the Tigers’ Gavin Laird on the D-line and Javon Sampson at linebacker.

All three schools had several athletes named to their district’s 2nd Team and Honorable Mention lists.

All three teams finished back-in-the-pack in their six-team districts. The Panthers were third in District 3-AA, which includes powerhouse Many and always-strong Red River high schools.

Avoyelles and Marksville tied for second place in District 3-AAA behind co-champions Jena and Caldwell.