Thursday Night Lights: Madison Prep serves notice as prime contender to repeat as champion

Louisiana Prep Football results from Thursday, Sept. 9

If anyone in Class 3A has designs on dethroning defending state champion Madison Prep, those teams will have to step up their games in a huge way.

A year ago, Madison Prep demolished Union Parish 50-0 in the 3A state championship contest in Natchitoches.

Many thought there would be a drop-off for the Chargers in 2021 with a ton of key players from the 2020 team graduation.

Think again.

The Chargers are off to a fantastic start in 2021 with a pair of victories over state football powers.

Thursday night featured a thrilling 20-16 victory for Madison Prep over Division IV power Southern Lab.

Madison Prep came into the game ranked fifth in the state in the Louisiana Sportswriters Class 3A Top 10 rankings while Southern Lab was fourth in the Class 1A rankings.

Louisiana Ragin’ Cajun commit Zeon Chriss passed for 257 yards a pair of touchdowns and rushed for 105 yards and a third score and the Charger defense held off the Kittens near the goal line late to preserve the win.

In week one, Madison Prep shocked two-time defending Division II state champion St. Thomas More 38-35 in Lafayette as freshman kicker Calvin Spears calmly connected on a 26-yard field goal with six seconds left to secure a huge win.

Louisiana Ragin’ Cajun commit Zeon Chriss passed for 221 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 88 yards and two scores against the Cougars. David Jones had a pair of interceptions to key the defensive performance.

“We had to replace 23 seniors from last year and we are playing a lot of young guys and sometimes, they get caught up in difficult situations,” Madison Prep coach Landry Williams said. “To be 2-0 against quality opposition is great for our program. We are growing up in a hurry. It’s big for us. To win close games against quality opponents like St. Thomas More and Southern Lab builds character.”

Williams cited the performance of four key contributors thus far.

“David Jones has been outstanding in the secondary and at running back and wide receiver,” Williams said. “He has been outstanding and is showing a lot of maturity as a junior. He had two interceptions on defense and picked up two first downs. Defensive lineman Quincy Wiggins has been superb as well and he is getting the attention he deserves as a dominant player. Zeon and offensive lineman Ronald Harris are the only four-year starters for us and have been superb.”

The Kittens won three consecutive Division IV state titles on the field before being stripped of those titles. Southern Lab reached the Division IV semifinals a year ago, falling to eventual state champion Calvary Baptist.

It would be no surprise to see Madison Prep and Southern Lab playing in the Caesars Superdome in December.

Most certainly, St. James, Union Parish, Sterlington and Lake Charles College Prep, Church Point and Jennings figure to be prime contenders for 3A honors.

Of course, defending champion Calvary Baptist is the favorite to repeat in Division IV while Ouachita Christian, Vermilion Catholic, Cedar Creek, Ascension Catholic and Riverside will be in the mix.

Madison Prep (2-0) will host Parkview Baptist next Friday while Southern Lab (0-1) will play at McKinley next Thursday evening.

“It doesn’t get any easier for us,” Williams said. “Parkview Baptist is always a quality program and a state championship program and West Feliciana is after that and they are really tough. We hope to keep our guys playing at a high level to be up for the challenge.”

It will take a lot to knock off either of the teams who played Thursday night in Baton Rouge.

The Chargers have charged to the top of the Division IV power rankings in a big way with two big victories.

Louisiana Prep Football Results from Thursday, Sept. 9

Centerville 20, Ascension Christian 12

Delta Charter 42, Delhi 0

Evadale (TX) 42, Merryville 30

Iota 32, St. Louis Catholic 30

LaSalle 34, Sicily Island 8

Madison Prep 20, Southern Lab 16

McKinley 12, Capitol 6

Natchitoches Central 41, Peabody 14

Pine Prairie 62, Elton 26

Richwood 30, Madison 20

Rosepine 47, South Beauregard 0

Sam Houston 42, LaGrange 13

Scotlandville 39, East Ascension 20

Vermilion Catholic 21, Opelousas Catholic 6