By LEE BRECHEEN, Louisiana Football Magazine
Where did you go to high school back in the day?
Brotherton: Lee, I went to Northwestern State University. I graduated in 2005 in education. I actually coached summer baseball while I was in college as a student.
How is the season going so far for Parkway?
Brotherton: Good start for us. We are in the middle of district play right now. Kind of what we hoped for as a team being 6-1 on the season. We are very healthy as a team could be at this point in the season which is always good thing. Our outlook is still bright moving forward as a program for this year. We have three important games left in Natchitoches Central, Airline and Benton. All great programs left to play.
Talk about your leaders on the team.
Brotherton: Our most vocal leader on offense is QB Ashton Martin, in our senior class of 2023. Ashton gets our guys going every day as a leader. He’s a natural leader for the program. On defense I would have to say Barrett Newman, a senior linebacker and a three-year starter for this program. He means so much to this defense and is one of our team captains.
Talk about your young kicker who is ranked by many as the No. 1 kicker in the U.S. right now — Aeron Burrell.
Brotherton: I don’t know if there’s ever been a kicker like him in my coaching career or in my entire life watching football. He’s a special kid and player. We can pin teams back on the 20, having to go 80 yards because 99 percent of his kickoffs so far this year have been touchbacks and the one that wasn’t, we had a penalty on our team so that did not count – and it went in the end zone. Once we cross midfield on offense he can come in and score points for us, which is amazing to have as a weapon for our program.
Talk about your staff and the job they are doing this year.
Brotherton: We have a really young staff. Our staff brings a lot of energy. They study the game, and know the game. We have two coaches who will be head coaches very soon and that’s what you want in your program, guys who can move on and be successful. The offensive coordinator is Matthew Sewell, who is 31 years old, and our defensive coordinator is Dillon Jackson, who is also only 31 years old. Both are brilliant young coaches and our whole staff is very talented.
What about your tough schedule week in and week out?
Brotherton: First let’s talk about our district (1-5A). We have eight teams, and six of those teams have a senior quarterback who have started since their sophomore season. So our district is senior-heavy at the quarterback spot, which is always a challenge. Makes it tough week-in and week-out for our coaches. Then in the area we have teams like Northwood and Huntington, both talented and both well-coached programs that are also really good, and they both have senior QB’s too.
How do you feel about the state championship games being all under one roof again in the Superdome in New Orleans?
Brotherton: I think it’s pretty cool. It will be a fun experience to have eight games in one spot. We can spend time in New Orleans with friends, coaches, and I’m excited about that.
What are your thoughts on Shreveport/Bossier now having a college football team soon at Centenary in Shreveport?
Brotherton: We have a former Parkway alum there now, QB Keondre Wudtee, who I tried to hire here at Parkway but I’m so happy for him to get a shot in college coaching and further his career as a coach. Having a college program in our area, led by head coach Byron Dawson (former Evangel coach) is huge. The coaches at Centenary have come by our school several times already to recruit and it is big for Bossier and Shreveport.
What are your thoughts about the fans of your program — what do they mean to you?
Brotherton: South Bossier is awesome when it comes to fans and support. The student section, our band and cheerleaders — it’s so big here and most appreciated by me here at Parkway. I also want to mention we are good in all sports here. Girls’ basketball playing for and almost winning the state championship, our baseball team won a (district) championship and our track and field teams have won championships at Parkway.
Speaking of girls’ basketball, I have to ask you about one of the top high school athletes in any sport in the USA, Parkway basketball star Mikaylah Williams, an LSU commit.
Brotherton: Mikaylah is awesome. She also owns the school record — people might not know this — in the discus in track and has our school record in softball in home runs. She is a 4.0 GPA student, and her brother Caleb is a young freshman quarterback who you will be hearing about soon in our program. Awesome talent and awesome family.
Do you like where the game of high school football is right now?
Brotherton: I love how the game is evolving. I love the direction it is going. I love the formation. Some coaches like the old school of football but I love where we are in football, when it comes to airing out the ball, the tempo and again the formations being used now in high school football.
Tell us about your family.
Brotherton: It all starts with my wife Stacey. She has been with me through thick and thin. She puts up with me with coaching and this life we live in football. I have an 8-year-old girl in Blair, and a 6-year-old boy named Broox. Broox, this year, is on the sidelines with me for games. He knows the players’ names. He even goes out with the team captains for the coin toss, which is pretty neat, I think.
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Contact Lee at lbrecheen@aol.com
