West St. John favorite to win District 8-1A

There is only one league which features any teams from the Greater New Orleans area and that is District 8-1A.

With several schools discontinuing football or not playing for district honors in recent years and with Country Day moving up to 2A recently, that leaves just a couple of teams in the area remaining, namely West St. John and St. Martin’s Episcopal. Ecole Classique and Ridgewood are playing football again but will not compete for district honors this season.

While the names and coaches have changed, the song remains the same.

West St. John is the favorite to win the league.

Brandon Walters has his Rams in that position. They played one of the most challenging schedules in the state a year ago, advancing to the 2A quarterfinals and will play a very difficult schedule again this year.

The Rams are equipped to do so in a lower classification, having moved back down to 1A.

Juniors Kylan Duhe and Niko Davis and should be standouts for the Rams at running back while sophomore D’Andre Gaudia should excel at quarterback. Seniors Horace Lewis and Covan Barnes are outstanding defensive linemen and the offensive line is very good.

Varnado gets the nod for second place. Scott Shaffett always has a good squad and this year is no exception. The Wildcats reached the 1A quarterfinals a year ago and there are 14 starters returning.

Offensively, senior quarterback James Williams is very good while Armontee Kemp is an excellent wide receiver and wingback Desmond Harry is quite good. Fullback Jedarrell MaGee is back as well. The offensive line is experienced. Defensively, senior linebackers Darian Vargas and Ardarryl McGowan, along with sophomore defensive lineman Brandon Lee are good players.

8-1A
1) West St. John
2) Varnado
3) Covenant Christian
4) Houma Christian
5) St. Martin’s Episcopal