Ben Powell named head football coach at Haynes Academy

Haynes Academy has a new head football coach who is accustomed to meeting challenges head on.

Ben Powell departs Cohen College Prep to become the head coach of the Yellow Jackets.

Powell succeeds Paul Longo at Haynes, who spent the past five seasons on the job. Longo posted a 21-30-1 mark. Longo will remain at Haynes as a teacher.

Powell did a fine job as the head coach at Cohen over the last four years (2016-19). He employed the Single Wing offense to make the Green Hornets respectable again.

In his first season in 2016, Powell’s Green Hornets went 0-9 using the widely utilized spread attack.

By the next season, Powell switched to the Single Wing to adapt to the lack of numbers as well as to the talent on his roster as Powell led a very impressive renaissance of the Cohen program.

Cohen endured a 52-game losing streak covering six seasons before finally getting a win, beating St. Martin’s in 2017 and the Green Hornets went on to win four of their last six games, finishing 4-5.

In 2018, Cohen made the state playoffs in 3A, going 6-5, falling to traditional power Sterlington in the opening round. The Panthers went on to play in the state title game. It was the first playoff appearances for the Green Hornets since 2009.

In 2019, Cohen fell to 1-8 to complete his stay at 11-27.

Powell previously served as an assistant coach at East St. John, Vandebilt Catholic and University High. Powell, who is originally from Texas, also coached in the Houston area prior to coming to Louisiana.

“The biggest thing is that Haynes is a school of excellence,” Powell said. “The academic reputation is great. It is one of the best schools in the state. It’s not just academics. We have so many kids who excel at lots of things. Our kids excel in so many areas. There is a culture of excellence, of high performers. If you can build something across the entire spectrum of the school, it will be a great job. Everyone is really committed to building great programs in all phases. It is a very exciting environment.”

Powell accepted a huge challenge at Cohen and he accepts another challenge at Haynes.

“The challenges of Cohen and Haynes are totally different,” Powell said. “At Cohen, we had not won a game in five years when I arrived. There had been spotty success but there was no real, sustained success in the past. There were good kids who worked hard. We had to build a culture to compete. At Haynes, it is all about building the roster size, to get kids exciting about coming out for football. Being a Magnet school, football is not a first priority for many of those who attend the school. De La Salle and Kenner Discovery have great numbers. That is the real challenge in 3A competition.”

Having a pair of former head coaches that still at Haynes will be a benefit.

“I’m really excited about the kids coming back, who have started for a couple of years,” Powell said. “It is not as though we have a young team with a bunch of kids who have never played. We just have to build on what has been done. I’m excited about working with athletic director Kenny Kendrick. Coach Longo is still teaching in the building as well. They have both been awesome and as former coaches, they are two great, awesome resources. They have been in the school and in Jefferson Parish for a long time and they are very excited.”

Haynes went 5-4-1 under Longo a year ago after going 1-9 and 0-10 the two previous seasons. The Yellow Jackets made the Division III playoffs in 2015 and 2016.