H.L. BOURGEOIS BRAVES
2024 record: 5-6
Head coach: Sterling Washington
High Point of 2024: The Playoffs: Bourgeois came out of nowhere last season and punched a ticket to the Division I Non-Select State Playoffs, playing really good football throughout the course of the season to punch a ticket in a brutally tough Division I. That was a huge accomplishment for Coach Washington and his staff, which did an outstanding job.
Low Point of 2024: The Opener and the Finale: H.L. Bourgeois bookended their 2024 season with heartbreaking and frustrating losses, falling to Ascension Catholic in the opener, losing on the last play of the game and then also falling to an East St. John team in Week 10 that they had no business losing to. If they get those two games, the Braves are 7-3 and instead of facing Hahnville in the playoffs, they might be at home with a much better draw.
Key Returnees: Quarterback Logan Renfro, athlete Kadar Mitchell, receiver Charles Lodrigue, linemen Brandon Hester and Naiem Hasan and many others.
Breakout player: Receivers Terrell Nixon and Tahj Mosely – Two basketball players who are solid athletes, I think both guys are going to have ample opportunities to make plays in 2025 – in large part because Kadar Mitchell might be the most dominant player in the area, so teams will be putting 2 and 3 sets of eyeballs on him to try and slow him down.
Key to 2025: Health – One through twenty, H.L. Bourgeois can line up, match up and look as pretty as any team getting off the bus. But if we get to Week 7 and they have 3-4 starters out and 3-4 others dinged, can they rise to the challenge and hang with the River Parish powers and the likes of Terrebonne? That becomes iffy. The Braves have to stay healthy. That’s paramount for them in 2025.
Casey’s Call: I saw the Braves in the spring and my takeaway was that it was going to be a very long season for H.L. Bourgeois. I no longer feel that way. I think the Braves are going to have talented players and are capable of making a push. The key will be a strong start. With Ascension Catholic, Assumption, Central Catholic and Patterson in the first 4 weeks, you have to make some headway early. If you start off 2-2 or heaven forbid 1-3 or 0-4, you’re digging a hole way too deep to get out of with a brutal district lurking.
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