Vote: Who should be SBLive's Louisiana High School Athlete of the Week? (11/27/2023)
Here are the candidates for SBLive’s Louisiana High School Athlete of the Week for Nov. 20-26. Read through the nominees and cast your vote. Voting will conclude Sunday at 11:59 p.m. If you would like to nominate an athlete, please email athleteoftheweek@scorebooklive.com or tag us on Twitter.
Editor’s Note: Our Athlete of the Week feature and corresponding poll is intended to be fun, and we do not set limits on how many times a fan can vote during the competition. However, we do not allow votes that are generated by script, macro or other automated means. Athletes who receive votes generated by script, macro or other automated means will be disqualified.
Ju'Juan Johnson, Lafayette Christian football
The senior LSU commit led the third-seeded Knights to a 57-21 win over No. 11 McDonogh 35 in the Divsion II select quarterfinals, throwing for 165 yards and three TDs and rushing for 149 yards and three TDs on 14 carries. He topped former Evangel Christian QB Brock Berlin's state career all-time total yardage mark with a 3-yard run in the second half.
Johnson has thrown for 3,058 yards with 38 TDs for the 10-2 Knights and has rushed for 1,240 yards on 135 carries with 21 scores.
Bradford Cain, Teurlings Catholic football
Cain, a senior receiver, caught five passes from quarterback Preston Welch for 100 yards and two TDs in the seventh-seeded Rebels' 42-28 upset of No. 2 E.D. White in the Division II select semifinals. Cain leads the 9-3 Rebels with 694 yards on 38 catches with nine TDs.
D'Shaun Ford, Opelousas football
The junior tailback rushed for 168 yards on 29 carries with two scores, including a 9-yard run on a fake punt from his team's own 9-yard line in the second half. The 12th-seeded Tigers went on to score on that drive and upset defending Division II non-select state champion No. 4 Lutcher on the road, 26-10.
Ja'Vain Reese, Northwest football
The senior tailback rushed for 176 yards on 26 carries with five TDs and three two-point conversions in the 22nd-seeded Raiders' 46-44 win at No. 3 Assumption in the Division II non-select quarterfinals. Reese has rushed for 1,813 yards on the year with 32 TDs for the 10-3 Raiders.
Jonah Gauthier, Acadiana football
Gauthier carried 19 times for 218 yards and three TDs as the eighth-seeded Rams ousted top-seeded Holy Cross, 28-10, in the Division I select quarterfinals in Hammond. Gauthier has rushed for 695 yards on 89 carries with eight TDs for the 10-2 Rams.
Seth Gale, University Lab football
Gale caught two TD passes and scored two special teams touchdowns in the fourth-seeed Cubs' 45-13 defeat of No. 21 Lake Charles College Prep in the Division III select quarterfinals. Gale returned a punt 51 yards for a score and returned a kick 87 yards to paydirt.
Daniel Beale, Catholic-Baton Rouge football
Beale, a senior University of Louisiana commit, completed 21-of-27 passes for 223 yards and three TDs and ran for two scores as the third-seeded Bears knocked off sixth-seeded John Curtis Christian, 38-35, in the Division I select quarterfinals.
Carter Hanberry, Dutchtown football
The two-way star was at it again in the Division I non-select quarterfinals, rushing for 92 yards and three TDs and recording three tackles with a pass break up in the seventh-seeded Griffins' 21-20 win over No. 18 Central-Baton Rouge.
Kameron Thomas, Zachary football
Thomas rushed for 243 yards on 27 carries with a TD as the sixth-seeded Broncos upset undefeated No. 3 Destrehan, 35-14, in the Division I non-select quarterfinals.
Nate Sheppard, Mandeville football
The 21st-seeded Skippers recorded their third straight upset by toppling No. 4 Airline, 56-50, in the Division I non-select quarterfinals. Sheppard, a junior, ran for 258 yards and four TDs, and caught three passes for 35 yards and two scores.
Brent Gordon, Cecilia football
The junior totaled 100 yards on six touches, highlighted by a 35-yard TD run, in the second-seeded Bulldogs' 38-14 win over No. 10 Jennings in the Division II non-select quarterfinals. He also collected 15 tackles to help shut out Jennings in the second half.
James Simon, Calvary Baptist football
The junior tailback rushed for a season-high 326 yards on 22 carries with four TDs in the second-seeded Cavaliers' 49-28 win over 10th-seeded Parkview Baptist in the Division III select quarterfinals.
Miles Eble, Episcopal School of Acadiana boys basketball
The 6-foot-4 senior forward was named to the Ascension Episcopal All-Tournament team by averaging 15 points, eight rebounds and two assists. The Falcons won the tourney by beating the hosts in the championship game and are off to an 8-1 start.
Journee Johnson, Vandebilt Catholic girls basketball
Johnson scored 20 points as the Lady Terriers beat reigning Division I select champion Lafayette High, 51-41. Vandebilt Catholic is 4-0 on the season and No. 1 in the Division II select power ratings.
Gabby Guillory, Westlake girls basketball
Guillory scored 19 points to lead the Lady Rams past Southside, 51-46. Westlake is 3-0 and No. 1 in the Division III non-select power ratings.
Kaliyah Samuels, Lafayette Christian girls basketball
The sophomore scored 25 points to pace the Lady Knights to a 59-33 win over Albany. Lafayette Christian is 4-0 on the year and the reigning Division II select state champions.
Kay'len Alexander, Southside girls basketball
The Lady Sharks downed Lake Arthur, 46-19, with Alexander scoring 12 points. Southside is 3-1 on the year.
Andi Turner, Fairview girls basketball
The seventh-grader knocked down seven 3-pointers with a game-high 25 points in a 63-54 loss to Lafayette High. Fairview is 11-2 and third in the Division V non-select power ratings.
Madison Suire, Hathaway girls basketball
Suire dropped in 21 points with 11 assists in a 56-40 win over Class 5A Carencro. She was named Most Outstanding Player of last season's championship game victory over Fairview, which was the Lady Hornets' first state title.
Dylen Vital, Lake Charles College Prep football
The freshman QB passed for 170 yards and a TD in the 21st-seeded Trailblazers' Division III select quarterfinal loss at University Lab. Vital helped his team upset No. 5 Catholic-New Iberia and No. 12 Pope John Paul in the first two rounds of the playoffs.
