Allstate Sugar Bowl announces Manning Award Futures for Week Three

Four Nola Area QBs Spotlighted by the Sugar Bowl

NEW ORLEANS – The Allstate Sugar Bowl has announced this week’s Manning Award Futures – four local high school quarterbacks who turned in outstanding performances on the football field this past weekend. The recognition is entitled “Futures” as these high school stars are potential future candidates for the Manning Award, which recognizes the top collegiate quarterback in the nation on an annual basis. It was created by the Allstate Sugar Bowl in 2004 to honor the college football accomplishments of Archie, Peyton and Eli Manning.

The Sugar Bowl has had the opportunity to recognize 67 quarterbacks from 38 different high schools since the honor’s inception in 2020.

Manning Award Futures – High School QBs of the Week, 9/19/23:

Gavin Bester, East Jefferson (7-15, 243 total yards, 3 TDs)
Bester connected on a 36-yard TD pass and ran for two scores, including a 27-yarder, to led East Jefferson to a 32-0 victory over Haynes on Thursday.

Eli Friend, Newman (21-of-30, 379 total yards, 5 TDs)
Friend, who ran for a pair of touchdowns to get the Greenies rolling, passed for 290 yards and ran for 89 more as he led Newman to a 37-27 win on the road at Benton.

John Johnson, Edna Karr (9-of-17, 201 yards, 7 total TDs)
Johnson, a sophomore who threw for six touchdowns and added another on the ground, led the Cougars to scores on their first five possessions in a 48-14 win over Warren Easton at Tad Gormley Stadium.

Darnell O’Quinn, John Ehret (140 total yards, 3 TDs)
O’Quinn threw TDs of 11 yards and 28 yards and ran for a 26-yard score as he led the Patriots to scores on all four of their first-half possessions in a 42-0 victory over Booker T. Washington on Thursday at Hoss Memtsas Stadium.

The Allstate Sugar Bowl has established itself as one of the premier college football bowl games, having hosted 28 national champions, 103 Hall of Fame players, 52 Hall of Fame coaches and 21 Heisman Trophy winners in its 89-year history. The 90th Allstate Sugar Bowl Football Classic, which will double as a College Football Playoff Semifinal, is scheduled to be played on January 1, 2024. In addition to football, the Sugar Bowl Committee annually invests over $1 million into the community through the hosting and sponsorship of sporting events, awards, scholarships and clinics. Through these efforts, the organization supports and honors thousands of student-athletes each year, while injecting nearly $2.4 billion into the local economy in the last decade. For more information, visit www.AllstateSugarBowl.org.