By LEE BRECHEEN, Louisiana Football Magazine

In my career I have seen some great players come out of Shreveport-Bossier at the linebacker position.

Some of my favorites to cover?

My list begins with Loyola College Prep’s Jon Alston, who was 6-1, 205 with the Flyers and got bigger at Stanford. He did great with an NFL career.  I thought when Roovelroe Swan at Green Oaks High School (6-3, 215) signed with LSU he was destined for greatness. He was one of the best I have ever seen play the position and only an injury in my opinion kept him from becoming an All American and NFL player. I also liked Bubba Alexander (6-3, 210) out of Evangel Christian, and he signed with LSU.

There were some legendary linebackers before my time – two that stand out in anybody’s book are Bo Harris, a great LSU Tiger out of Captain Shreve who was a very good pro in Cincinnati, and Louisiana Sports Hall of Famer Leo Sanford, a Fair Park stud and a star at Louisiana Tech in the early 1950s who was a Pro Bowler with Chicago and helped the New York Giants win the 1958 NFL crown.

Linebacker is a tough position for college coaches to recruit. They are looking for guys who can run 4.6 in the forty as an outside linebacker or if it’s a 4.7 or 4.8, then the kid moves inside at Mike linebacker with height and decent speed and toughness all rolled into  one. The reason this position is tough to recruit because you can’t find many players 6-1 to 6-2 who are 210 to 220  pounds with 4.6 speed playing the position in high school, but there are a few players in the 6-0 to 6-1 200 to 215-pound range running 4.7 or 4.8.

This season, the linebacker position will be as strong as it’s been in years locally.

Here are some of the best players I have actually seen play in full pads who are in the Class of 2026: Ke’adre Garner (6-1, 220), Airline; Keyshawn Williams (6-1,220), Green Oaks; and LB/RB Damari Drake (6-0, 215), Evangel Christian. One thing all these kids have in common they are fast and will play the run and pass at a high level for college.

Drake is also a running back. He has verballed to Grambling, but I think is going to continue to be recruited nationally. Miami was hot on his trail, among others. Williams has the ability to be a starter at the FBS level. Garner can run a 4.52 in the forty and has a nose for the ball that you can’t teach.

There are more local linebackers I love watching that should get a shot at college ball and I hope all of them do,

That list includes Mark Copenhaver (Parkway), Hayden Horton (Loyola),Brady Prine (Parkway), LaMelvin Adger (Captain Shreve), Briggs Savage (Captain Shreve), Braylyn Jackson (Airline),David Weeks (Calvary Baptist) ,Justin Reeves (Calvary Baptist), Beckett Moore (Benton), John Rachal (Southwood), and Woodlawn’s duo of T.J. Winzer and Mel Washington.

Shreveport-Bossier is a hotbed for high scoring offense, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t talented defensive guys around and these senior linebackers are worth the price of admission.

Contact Lee at lbrecheen@aol.com

(Lee Brecheen is the longtime publisher of Louisiana Football Magazine, covering all of the state’s high school teams each year since 1997.  Free content can also be found at the website lafootballmagazine.com. District previews with scouting reports on every team are posted now. Lee hosts a podcast with guests from around the state — The Sports Scouting Report with Lee Brecheen, available on YouTube)

I enjoy a good movie now and then. I’ll sometimes even go to a concert and have been known to enjoy a stage production or two. These events serve as an avenue of entertainment; we need such occasionally to get us out of our rut and offer a measure of change from the daily grind.

For sheer entertainment, though, I’ll take what Mother Nature has to offer any day. Sitting and observing the things that happen naturally in the Great Outdoors offers entertainment that money can’t buy. It’s free; it’s relaxing; it’s exciting and I can’t seem to get enough of sitting and watching nature do what nature does.

One of the most entertaining events I ever witnessed was provided by a bobcat. I was sitting in my deer stand among the hardwoods on a hill one day several years ago enjoying the peace and tranquility the setting offered.

It was obvious I had to have been hunting deer instead of squirrels because the woods seemed to be full of bushy-tails that morning; they never show up in such numbers when I have my shotgun loaded with #6s instead of the 270 deer rifle I was packing that day.

In an instant, everything changed in the woods around me. Squirrels that had been leisurely scurrying around one moment all went on high alert the next. I watched at least half a dozen scoot up trees and start to chatter excitedly. I knew they had seen something I hadn’t detected yet.

Scanning the woods, I saw movement of something brown and identified a bobcat walking slowly out in front of my stand.

I’ve never been one to let such opportunities go by without extending the excitement so I dug through my pack and found a predator call which sounds like a rabbit in distress and when a predator hears it, the natural instinct is to cash in on a quick and easy meal.

Here the bobcat came in response to the call, sneaking up and sitting down beneath my box stand. I enjoyed the show until he looked up, our eyes met and he knew he’d been hoodwinked. If a bobcat can look embarrassed, that one did as he slunk back into the thicket.

Once while deer hunting, I attended another of nature’s productions as I sat on my stand under clear skies and cool temperatures. Two young bucks, identical in size both sporting six-inch spikes, entered my food plot to begin grazing on the grass I’d planted earlier. Our club rules prohibited the taking of spikes so I sat back to enjoy the show when I realized I’d been watching them for over an hour, darkness was approaching and the spikes seemed perfectly content to graze on the oats and clover.

I knew if I climbed down from my stand in full view of the deer, they’d see me and high-tail it into the brush and they’d key on my stand the next time they came to the plot.

Since it was almost dark and I needed to get off the stand and head home, I decided on a tactic that was sure to cause the two young spikes to bolt without identifying me. I pulled out my grunt call and rattle bag and began grunting and rattling horns like mature bucks fighting, expecting the two visitors I’d been watching for an hour to scoot.

Nothing doing. The aggressive sounds I made with the grunt tube and rattle bag only fired them up. Instead of dashing away in fright, they faced each other and I got to watch a serious head-butting, pushing and shoving match. Instead of turning them away, I apparently turned them on.

Such is the entertainment Mother Nature offers every time you head outdoors.

Contact Glynn at glynnharris37@gmail.com

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Quick 2-minute drill on Louisiana Tech football:

• For Tech football fans, Saturday’s game against New Mexico State, 6:30 p.m. kick in Ruston’s Aillet Stadium, should complete enough sample size to give them a fightin’-man’s chance of deciding whether the Dogs have a good chance of winning their swan song (unofficially) in Conference USA — or not. …
• From what we’ve seen of Tech’s veteran defense so far — the Dogs blanked Southeastern, 24-0, and lost to LSU, 23-7 — you’d think the Bulldogs would be in every game from here on out, favored in each one except maybe Liberty and probably Washington State, and should finish no worse than the middle of the pack. Which isn’t terrible. But which most definitely IS …
• … kissing-your-sister territory. Nothing against my sisters, who I love. It’s just that “middle of the pack” and “3 wins in a whole year” and all that is SO yesteryear. Tech fans and anyone with a heart who has watched the past four seasons would rather eat a bowl of horse triggies, whatever that is, than to go through THAT again. So what’s it gonna be, Top Dog or “Thank You For Playing”? 
• College football’s lack of preseason games (a blessing and a curse) makes it hard to tell, especially so this year with Tech, because you figured in July the Dogs would be 1-1 now, which they are, HOWEVER …
• Tech beat Southeastern but Southeastern is an FCS program; Tech lost at LSU, a “good” loss if there is such a thing, a 38-point underdog losing by 16 on the road in that iconic stadium — although not an iconic atmosphere, not Saturday night, thanks to a Tech defense that gave the Tigers all they wanted and the fans nothing they wanted, which is why about 40,000 of them left at halftime. This is how good the defense was in giving up just 23 points:
• LSU had the ball almost 37 minutes;
• Tech punted to end eight straight possessions, forcing the defense, its collective tongue hanging down like a necktie, to trot back out;
• Held the Tigers to three field goals and two touchdowns in five red zone trips, handy considering the time of possession and Tech’s number of punts AND penalty yardage, a brutal 140 yards. Makes you wonder how the defense did it, and whether or not they just might be THAT good. Consider that no Dogs left to follow last year’s defensive coordinator, Jeremiah Johnson, to Coastal Carolina. The Dogs that stay together, bite and fight together, or something like that. Some of us love defense, so Saturday night was like Christmas to me.
• Final LSU thingy: LSU rushed for 128 yards — but 91 of those came on two plays. That leaves 37 yards on 32 carries. Stifling. Tech has numbers up front, all-star linebackers, and vets, speed, and a freakish athlete or two in the secondary…
• True, the Tech offense never made it past Krotz Springs. BUT…
• No turnovers for the second straight game, and,
• Starting center Landon Nelson was sidelined with a bad tummy but Roy Brackins III, a sophomore playing in the shadow of Woodlawn, his Baton Rouge high school, and Jonathan Denis, a first year Dog, played well in his absence against a millions-of-dollars-defensive-line, and,
• Tech converted a fourth-and-1, YES!, which was a nightmare down many times last year when Tech had no short yardage personality or confidence.
• Remember, Tech won just five games last year BUT …
• Lost on a Hail/Hell Mary (to league champ Jacksonville State), missed a chip shot field goal that would have won a game at the buzzer, and screwed up a handoff exchange inside the 5-yard-line to alter the outcome of another game. Tech beat last year’s CUSA runner-up (Western Kentucky) on the road. So …
• Maybe the football gods will decide otherwise this year. Or …
• Maybe Tech will decide otherwise. Maybe everyone’s tired of “almost” this and “Hail Mary” that and “I just got called for another unsportsmanlike penalty so why do the coaches keep playing me because I have GOT to be the most selfish player ever” and all like that. Maybe …
• Tech covers the 10-point spread against New Mexico State. Star QB Diego Pavia, who left with his spectacular name for Vandy, is long gone, but former Fresno State slinger Logan Fife is competent and has a compelling mustache — tip of the hat — that demands double coverage, even when he’s not on the field. It’s some solid facial hair, is what we’re saying. The Aggie linebackers are good too, but …
• Tech’s offense is not going to see a defense better than the one it faced in Tiger Stadium. If it can oil its krotzed springs and get going, just put a few first downs together …
• Maybe this could be a fun team to watch. Maybe a winning team. Maybe a TEAM team. Maybe …
• Tech could kiss the conference and say goodbye, like a champ.

Contact Teddy at teddy@latech.edu

The Shreveport Police Department is currently investigating a major traffic accident that occurred earlier today at the intersection of Bobtail Drive and West 70th Street.

The incident involved two vehicles and resulted in the tragic death of one adult female. Several other individuals sustained minor to moderate injuries and were transported to local hospitals for treatment.

Emergency services responded promptly to the scene, and the intersection was temporarily closed to allow for investigation and cleanup.

At this time, the cause of the accident is under investigation, and no further details are being released pending notification of next of kin and ongoing investigative efforts.

By TONY TAGLAVORE, Journal Sports

Out of the millions of youth athletes throughout the United States, a Haughton Middle School student has made it to the quarterfinals of the Youth Athlete of the Year Award competition.

Eighth-grader Layton Valentine has an opportunity to win $25,000, and appear in Sports Illustrated. The contest is in cooperation with the national magazine, the V Foundation, and 3 Brand, the company founded by NFL quarterback Russell Wilson.

“It’s a great honor to be considered,” Layton told the Shreveport-Bossier Journal. “There are thousands of deserving student-athletes all across the country . . . . Never in a million years would I imagine to be Youth Athlete of the Year.”

Parents and guardians were encouraged to enter their son or daughter. Layton’s father, Matt, found out about the contest while following Wilson on social media.

“I’ve coached youth football for several years, and I got to thinking about what represents a good athlete,” Matt said. “I think Layton is it. You look at his hard work, and the way he supports his teammates . . . . He’s got several qualities people would look for in a good athlete – not just the talent. He’s an intelligent young man. He’s a hard worker.”

Layton has been working hard at football since first grade.

“I love to compete against good players . . . . I’m going to keep quiet while I’m on the (offensive) line, but once you come off, I’m going to flatten you. I’m going to do it for four quarters and not stop.”

While football is the sport Layton is most passionate about, it’s not the only sport he’s played. Layton has participated in basketball, wrestling, and track and field, where he threw the shot put and discus.

“I love athletics because it’s physical. It’s where I fit in. It’s always what I’ve loved to do. I feel like it’s a great use of my time. It’s better than anything else I could be doing. It helps my overall health, and I feel like it’s better for me than playing video games or doing something that doesn’t help me.”

What makes Layton’s accomplishments in athletics and academics – he’s an A & B student – even more impressive is that his mother (Heather) is fighting Stage 4 lung cancer. Layton admits it hasn’t been easy concentrating, while watching his mother go through three separate rounds of chemotherapy.

“It’s been tough, but I think we can persevere through all of it. It will all be fine if we just stick to our faith and keep believing.”

Layton said he thinks about his mom all the time, and is learning a lesson while watching her battle.

“Just keep fighting and things will get better. Keep a smile on your face and good things will come.”

At home, Layton has made things easier for his family.

“Layton keeps the right thing the right thing,” Matt said. “He focuses on how he can help the family through this time. Part of that is doing the things he needs to do, which are staying on top of his studies. When he gets home in the evenings. Doing his homework.”

Layton prays that his mother survives, and in a few years is able to watch him play college football.

“LSU,” Layton said without hesitation when asked for which team he wants to play. “Everyone in our family are all LSU fans. I was born on an LSU game day. I have been an LSU fan ever since.”

The Athlete of the Year Award is based on fan voting, which can translate into money for the contest’s charity partners. To vote, you may visit  athleteoftheyear.org/2025/Layton-3bfb.

Contact Tony at SBJTonyT@gmail.com

JOURNAL SPORTS

Last week’s kickoff to the 2025 high school football season provided a wide range of memories made by veteran players and coaches, newcomers to the game, and high energy and excitement in stadiums and on sidelines everywhere a scoreboard was turned on.

For this fall’s first edition of the Shreveport-Bossier Journal Coaches’ Roundtable, four veteran local coaches shared their reflections on Opening Night. This week, two more local teams, Plain Dealing and Southwood, get to kick off their seasons, hungry for success and happy to have the opportunity.

GARY COOPER, Booker T. Washington: “Over my years of coaching, the big eyes of freshmen and newcomers are always a heck of a sight. They are so excited but yet so nervous. In one moment they want to play, but in the same moment they don’t any parts of what’s going on out there.

“Then you get to watch them over the years grow into pretty good high school football players and you always have that moment to joke about with them.”

STEPHEN DENNIS, Benton (who moved over from Huntington to take over the Tigers this season): “Probably running out of the tunnel to the Benton High School sideline for the first time. To see what seemed like the entire community of Benton there to cheer their athletes on, was a small glimpse of what makes this community truly special!! Add in the band and all the spirit groups and it made for truly an electric atmosphere, one I won’t soon forget!!!”

JUSTIN SCOGIN, Airline:  “My first opening game at Airline was one I can’t forget for all the wrong reasons. Since then, our players and coaches have handled business pretty well in Week 1. It hasn’t been easy but that makes it more satisfying.

“2022 – we were an absolute disaster. Couldn’t line up, couldn’t execute plays and didn’t handle adversity well. 

“2023 – Got down early to a great North DeSoto team, fixed some stuff at halftime, handled adversity well and came out on top.

“2024 – Went four hours on the road, in rough conditions and found a way to kick a field goal to win a tough game against a tough 

“2025 – Played 47 of the 48 minutes like we know how to, and got a great start for this season (last Friday’s 56-27 victory over visiting Barbe).”

“The exciting thing is the progression that the kids and our staff has made to prepare these guys for an opening game. There are a lot of nerves and I think we have gotten better over the years.”

AUSTIN BROWN, Northwood (whose offensive line coach, Cody Malone, was an inspirational presence at Benton Friday night hours after he laid his father to rest): “Coach Malone buried his dad (William Malone) and one of our biggest Falcon friends that day. He still showed up and his OL performed very well (the Falcons ran for 247 yards and 4 touchdowns, and had 189 more passing yards, in a 49-13 win).”

By PATRICK MEEHAN, Centenary Sports Information Director

There’s no shortage of fall sports action involving Centenary student-athletes who aren’t pulling on helmets and shoulder pads, and there has been lots to cheer about lately.

WOMEN’S SOCCER:  A Centenary comeback led by locals earned a 2-2 draw with the Texas College Steers on Tuesday evening in a non-conference contest at Atkins Field.

The Ladies (0-4-1) fell behind 2-0 at halftime but rallied with a pair of second-half goals to earn the tie against the Steers (0-2-1). 

Senior midfielder/forward Lowrey Lain of Haughton scored her first goal of the season in the 58^th minute to get the Ladies on the board and then senior midfielder Aubrey Burkhardt, a Parkway High and Bossier Parish Community College product, tied the match on a free kick in the 75^th minute as she found the net for the second time this season.

Freshman Gracie Rellin, also from Haughton, went the distance in goal for the Ladies and made four saves.

The Ladies continue their season-long homestand, consisting of seven matches, on Sunday with a non-conference contest against LaGrange College at noon.

MEN’S SOCCER: Sophomore defender Dylan Clark buried a late penalty kick on Sunday afternoon to send the Gents to a gritty 1-0 victory over the Lyon College Scots in a non-conference contest at Atkins Field.

The Gents (2-1-1) and Scots (2-1-1) battled to a scoreless draw until Clark was fouled inside the box and rifled his PK attempt past Lyon goalkeeper Gabriel Rangel and into the back of the net in the 85th minute. Centenary rebounded from a 4-1 road loss to the Huntingdon College Hawks in a non-conference contest on Friday afternoon and handed the Scots their first loss of the young season.  

Senior Sam Brocato went the distance in goal for the Gents and made a season-high seven saves while recording his third shutout of the season.

The Gents, now 2-0-1 at home, will head back out on the road for a pair of matches. The Maroon and White will face Hardin-Simmons on Thursday in Abilene, Texas and Howard Payne University on Saturday in Brownwood, Texas. 

VOLLEYBALL: The Ladies, who opened the season with a 3-1 home win over Wiley on Aug. 30, return to action on Friday as they face the host Millsaps College Majors at 2 p.m. in the Millsaps Invitational in Jackson, Miss.

Centenary will also play Lyon College on Friday (4 p.m.) and have two matches on Saturday – versus Huntingdon College at noon and Belhaven at 2 p.m. Saturday’s matches will be played at Belhaven.

CHEER TEAM COMMUNITY SERVICE: The Centenary Cheer team performed for the residents at The Glen Retirement Community in a pep rally style performance last Thursday. 

“We love being invited to visit the residents of The Glen and get a chance to show them some of our game day material,” said Centenary head coach Kaylee King. “Our student-athletes loved getting to meet and talk with the residents as well and share many fond memories, some including their time at Centenary.”

While the team performed, the residents put to good use their own sets of pom poms and megaphones.

“It was such a fun and heartwarming experience getting to perform at The Glen,” said junior Leah Dawson. “Seeing the residents smile and clap along made it so special. I was so excited to showcase our talents with the residents.”

MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY: Freshman Zach Wroten again set the pace for the Gents as they returned to action on Saturday in the UT Tyler Cross Country Opener at Texas Rose Horse Park.

Wroten (19:27.00) had the Gents’ top time for the second meet in a row as he finished the men’s 8K in a time of 33:07.25. Freshman Ian Hunter ran a 34:16.23, junior Herman Pride finished in 36:59.70, and sophomore Evan Halbert came across in  43:09.42. 

Saturday’s meet included 12 teams representing programs from the NJCAA, Division III, Division II, and Division I levels. The Gents are back in action on Friday as they will run in the ULM Cross Country Invitational in Monroe. 

Contact Patrick at pmeehan@centenary.edu

September 10 is not an especially famous date on the calendar, but a closer look at history reveals some unusual and curious milestones that unfolded on this day. From the first recorded use of the guillotine in France to a Cold War-era chicken that crossed the wrong border, September 10 has delivered more than its share of oddities.

One of the most bizarre “firsts” tied to September 10 occurred in 1792 during the French Revolution, when the guillotine claimed its earliest political victim. The machine, introduced as a supposedly humane method of execution, was used to behead Nicolas Jacques Pelletier, a convicted criminal. While guillotines would later become symbols of the bloody Reign of Terror, the date marked the beginning of what was touted as a rational, scientific solution to capital punishment. Though macabre, it set the tone for the strange legacy of September 10 as a date linked to the unusual and the grim.

The 19th century added more unusual events to the September 10 timeline. In 1846, American inventor Elias Howe received a patent for the sewing machine, a device that would revolutionize clothing manufacturing and the lives of households worldwide. While not as shocking as the guillotine, the invention’s link to the date highlights a recurring pattern of September 10 delivering transformative—sometimes strange—moments in history.

Fast forward to the early 20th century, and September 10 saw a development that brought both awe and unease. In 1939, just days after the outbreak of World War II in Europe, Canada declared war on Germany. What was unique about the declaration was its timing: Canada became the first nation in the Americas to formally join the conflict, acting independently from Britain for the first time in its history. The decision underscored the shifting dynamics of empire and independence, a move that surprised observers at the time.

But perhaps the quirkiest story linked to the date took place in 1956, in the throes of Cold War tension. On September 10 of that year, a chicken made international headlines when it wandered across the heavily guarded border between East and West Germany. The incident sparked a standoff between border guards, each side refusing to cross into the other’s territory to retrieve the unfortunate bird. Ultimately, the chicken’s fate went unrecorded, but newspapers of the day reported the “feathered fugitive” as an unlikely symbol of the absurdities of the divided world.

In the world of science, September 10 brought another unusual milestone. In 2008, the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) powered up the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) for the first time. The collider, built to smash particles together at nearly the speed of light, immediately sparked wild speculation and conspiracy theories. Some worried it would create a black hole that might swallow the Earth. While those fears proved unfounded, the date went down in history as one that sparked both genuine scientific achievement and some of the strangest doomsday rumors of the 21st century.

Taken together, these events reveal September 10 as a date that repeatedly straddles the line between the transformative and the strange. From the debut of the guillotine to runaway chickens, groundbreaking inventions, and particle colliders, history seems to treat the day as a stage for odd twists of fate.

While September 10 may not carry the same notoriety as dates like July 4 or December 7, its legacy is an unusual one. It reminds us that history is full of surprises, and that even ordinary dates can leave behind extraordinary and sometimes bizarre stories.

Each week, the Shreveport-Bossier Journal’s Tony Taglavore takes to lunch a local person – someone who is well-known, successful, and/or influential, and asks, “What’s Your Story?”

By TONY TAGLAVORE, Journal Services

It was standard protocol.

After roll call, the police officers who were assigned to hit the streets went to the patrol desk. That’s where they got keys to the car they were using that day.

But this rookie, on the job less than a year, didn’t look like the other officers.

“I stood there and waited for the lieutenant to acknowledge my presence. After a couple of minutes, he finally did. He leaned over the desk and said, ‘What ya need, boy?’”

In Shreveport in the 1970’s, when a white man called a black man “boy”, he wasn’t being endearing.

“I said, ‘Sir, roll call is over. I need my car to go to my assignment.”

The lieutenant looked over his desk, and down.

“That looks like a nice enough car on your feet – what you’re wearing.”

The officer turned around, left the police station, and walked to where he was going, unfazed by the racism from his commander.

“It was simple for me, but difficult for some. I didn’t know life any different. That was the environment I was raised in, that I was born in, and I really didn’t know life any different.”

66-year-old Shreveport Police Chief Wayne Smith told me that story, and his story, during lunch at a place he chose, Taylor’s Catering and Restaurant #2. Wayne had a smoked pork chop with rice and gravy, corn, candied yams, hot water cornbread, and a Coke. I enjoyed meat loaf, corn, cabbage, hot water cornbread, and bottled water.

In the 70’s, the federal government required the Shreveport Police Department to become more diversified. Not everyone thought that was a good thing.

“One of the first training officers said, ‘We didn’t hire you negroes. We don’t want you here, and we ain’t got to keep you. It didn’t move me that much. I’m going to be here. I’m going to do my job. When he said, ‘Don’t touch nothing, don’t say nothing, don’t do nothing until I tell you to,’ my answer was, ‘Yes sir.’”

Wayne, who is beginning his 45^th year with SPD, has come a long way from the Red River Parish farm where he was raised, and where he worked as a child. Born to an unmarried high school student who “fixed hair”, Wayne was adopted when he was around two years old, although there wasn’t any paperwork. “They didn’t do that back then. They didn’t understand legalities. A handshake was good enough.”

“My foster mother went one Saturday afternoon to get her hair done, and she saw me beneath the kitchen table eating crumbs off the floor. She asked my mother, ‘Why don’t you let me keep that little boy?’ Without question, my mother said ‘Okay.’”

The lady would take Wayne for a couple of weeks, then bring him back. Finally, Wayne’s biological mother said, ‘I thought you wanted him? I give him to you.’ She was shocked. She was stunned. My mother handed her a brown paper bag with what things I had. She took me on back to the farm, and that’s where I was ever since.”

One of eight children, Wayne was baptized in the Red River.

“My foster mom got to shouting on the banks of the river and hit another lady and knocked her down the hill and into the water. She was so happy to see her baby accept Christ.” Wayne only saw his real mother a couple of days a year when he would go to her house and play with his siblings.

“I remember how bad it hurt when (my foster) momma would come get me. ‘Well, it’s time to go.’ It hurt so bad because I was having a great time with my brothers and sisters. I just could not understand for the life of me, why did they get to stay and I had to go?”

Life on the farm was tough. Wayne picked cotton, hoed cotton, drove a tractor, and raised cattle. Until he was 13 and his foster parents bought a place of their own, Wayne didn’t have electricity or running water.

“I had not been exposed to anything else. I didn’t know life any other way.”

But by the time Wayne was a young adult, he knew there had to be another way to live. One day, Wayne heard a radio commercial announcing the Shreveport Police Department was hiring. The next morning, in pouring rain, Wayne got on his motorcycle and headed north. On the outskirts of town, he stopped to get gas. Wayne gave the clerk five dollars, which Wayne had borrowed from the man for whom he worked. The clerk gave Wayne his change – a $2 bill.

46 years later, Wayne reaches in the back packet of his blue uniform pants, pulls out his wallet, and carefully removes that greenback, which for the most part is still intact.

“I look at it periodically. It gets me emotional because I am so thankful for how far life has taken me. At that point, I was at rock bottom in life. I was broke, busted, and hungry.”

But Wayne had, as he puts it, “a passion for opportunity.” He certainly made the most of that passion, rising through the ranks as a Corporal, Seargeant, Lieutenant, Captain, and Assistant Chief. In 2022, after serving several months as the interim chief, Wayne was appointed the Chief.

“It was my destiny . . . . I got bit with the bug and wanted to be the best I could be. I found mentors who were doing great things in this community, and I wanted to emulate their actions.”

A high school graduate, Wayne noticed many of those mentors had a higher level of education. So, he took advantage of a program in which the city helped pay for its employees to attend college. Wayne took night classes at six schools on his own time. We’re not talking online classes. We’re talking the old-fashioned way – driving to campus and sitting in a classroom.

“I wanted to be better than I was. I wanted to understand life a lot better. I did not want to be embarrassed. I wanted to feel just as proud of myself in the company of other people who spoke very well, wrote very well, and could read very well. I wanted to feel good about myself that I was just as good and competent as anyone else.”

Wayne earned an undergraduate degree in Organizational Management from Wiley College in Marshall, Texas. But he wasn’t satisfied.

“I had a thirst, a desire, to learn more. To grasp more. To be challenged more.”

So, Wayne earned a master’s degree in business from Centenary College of Louisiana.

“I’m so proud. It was the best education experience I could have ever had.”

Married 40 years and a father to three children and grandfather to five children, Wayne told me he’s had opportunities to leave Shreveport for better-paying jobs in and out of police work. But he couldn’t bring himself to take what Shreveport gave him – the path to a college education – and run.

“I was very thankful that somebody in this city had wisdom to take a chance on me. To give me an opportunity. To provide a way for me to be somebody different – to do better. An investment in me was an investment in this city. So, I made a personal pledge to me before my God that I was going to spend all of my productive years giving back to a community that gave to me.”

That includes often getting out from behind his desk and joining officers at crime scenes.

“Many times, I begin to let the popularity of being police chief work for us. People recognize me, but they wouldn’t recognize someone they hardly ever see. I begin to work the crowd, going over and shaking people’s hands. I begin to walk the streets and meet people. Quite honestly, they give me wonderful information related to an event that investigators may not have gotten otherwise, just because they’re happy to see me.”

Hoping the statue of limitations had passed on that time when, as a kid, I accidentally left the store with a candy bar for which I didn’t pay, I asked my final question. As always, what has Wayne learned about life that he would like to pass on to others?

“Get through struggles. Put the past behind you. Don’t harbor on what has occurred, because you can’t change it. Always focus on the positive side of life. Keep your eyes focused on the future, and the greater possibilities. Find peace with yourself. That’s very important. Probably the most important thing. Find yourself a purpose in life and pursue that purpose to the fullest, no matter what it takes.”

In other words, be like Wayne.

Do you know someone with a story? Email SBJTonyT@gmail.com.

The Journal’s weekly “What’s Your Story?” series is sponsored by Morris & Dewett Injury Lawyers.

By LORI LYONS, Journal Sports

Woodlawn senior Adam Miller may not be the biggest or the fastest on the football field, but he is always working hard to get better – at everything.

Miller, who plays tight end and linebacker for the Knights football team and runs the 400- and 800-meters in track, spent some of his summer putting himself through his own drills, sprinting up and down a small hill near his home and using an old ladder to perform his ladder drills in his backyard.

“I’m trying to move to wide receiver,” said Miller, the son of Gay Miller of Shreveport and the younger brother of Ashlynn. “A lot of people don’t believe I could play wide receiver. I just want to show them I can when I do get a chance.”

A three-year player at Woodlawn, Miller is one of 37 Shreveport-Bossier seniors who have been named to the fifth annual National Football Foundation McNaughton Chapter Preseason Scholar-Athlete Watch List. Nominees must have at least a 3.2 grade point average, have won all-district honors or have remarkable team impact, and be involved in extracurricular activities.

“I like to make my mama proud so she can go brag to her friends,” Miller said of his honor student status (he carries a 3.8 g.p.a.). He hopes to give her much more to brag about this season, including – he hopes – some offers to play college ball. But not too far away.

“Somewhere down here,” he said. “I don’t want to go too far.”

To that end, Miller is already enrolled in college courses at Southern University-Shreveport and will probably earn his associate’s degree in general studies before he even graduates from high school. He is a member of the Future Business Leaders of America and, qualified for the National Leadership Conference in Orlando but did not attend.

Miller said it has been challenging to play for a team that has not has had as much success as others. The Knights were 5-7 last season, losing to North DeSoto in the second round of the Division I Non-Select playoffs.

But Miller said he already sees improvement this season. The Knights opened the 2025 season Friday with a 36-28 win over Green Oaks – a team they lost to last year.

“Last year, we had a team that everybody loved,” he said. “All of a sudden, the first game of the season, we lost. 0-and-1. I felt so bad. Everybody was crying. I feel like we’re already better.”

The Knights will play at Parkway this Friday.

Miller is hoping to make his mark in his senior season.

“I love football because it shows you who a person really is,” he said. “Are you a person that’s going to make that tackle or are you person that’s going to sit there and watch the person walk by you? I like how it exposes people. And I like the leadership and the discipline. Mainly the discipline. My freshman year, I wasn’t really that disciplined. Sophomore year, I kind of got it. And now I’m locked in. I stopped hearing it and started listening.”

Contact Lori at sportslyons@gmail.com

By DOUG IRELAND, Journal Sports

Scoring 63 points is not to be taken lightly, even in these parts.  The Bossier Bearkats hadn’t put up that many in four seasons, until they rallied for a 63-25 homefield win over North Caddo to open the season last Friday night.

That’s right, they rallied. The Titans cashed in a turnover with a touchdown on a double pass trick play, and went up 12-0 just three minutes into play.

Previous Bossier football teams recently might not have been able to overcome such a nightmare start, but Gary Smith’s third Bearkats squad rose up and roared back.

That resiliency, and firepower led by two Bearkats basketball players, makes Bossier the first Shreveport-Bossier Journal Team of the Week for the 2025 high school football season.

In preseason, Smith had faith this year’s team was ready to show the progress of the program. Not long after the opening kickoff, that was put to the test and the Bearkats stood tall.

“We had a lot of things go our way, after a pretty rough start. Things didn’t look good, but our kids handled it better than they’ve ever handled adversity, never got their heads down, and got back into the game,” he said. “Once they turned it over a couple times, we got our foot on the gas and never let up.”

With a 56-man roster, nearly double the 32 that greeted Smith in his first season (2023) in charge, the progress is evident, and was on display Friday.

“Injuries and a lack of depth has plagued us the last couple of years, and hopefully that won’t be much of an issue this season,” he said. The key asset is attitude, however.

“We have a lot more confidence this year. Our kids believe they can win, when before there was always some doubt. This is a good group of kids.”

Bossier’s comeback was sparked by a quarterback change. Sophomore Montrevell Lewis moved over from receiver to run the offense, and not only steadied things, he made plays. The basketball player accounted for five touchdowns – rushing for four in a 156-yard night on 14 carries, and throwing for another as he went 9 for 11 for another 135 yards.

Another Bearkat hooper, freshman running back Demareya Bates, also lit it up. He scored four TDs while posting 113 yards rushing on 13 carries.

“Wish we had more of those guys,” said Smith, chuckling. “They’ve got some talent in that gym.”

The Bearkats’ big men – on the football field – had a good night and are being counted on to set the tone this fall, said Smith.

“The offensive line can be the strength of this team. They’re pretty big, had a good offseason in the weight room. We have three seniors (K.J. Sims, Isaiah Cortez and Lamarcus Harris) who we’re counting on to lead us,” he said. “We are putting it on their shoulders for us to be successful.”

Bolstered by the resounding win, Bossier hits the road to take on a pair of Class A area stalwarts in the next two weeks, visiting Glenbrook Friday and then Logansport.

“Our main goal is to make the playoffs, and we think we need 4-5 wins to get there. With the schedule we play, in the district we play, that’s pretty tough. It seems like these first few weeks are must wins for us,” said Smth, who doesn’t flinch sharing that with his players.

“We put some pressure on them and they responded well last week.”

Contact Doug at sbjdoug@gmail.com

JOURNAL SPORTS

The first week of the 2025 high school football season provided some surprises but no change atop the Shreveport-Bossier Journal’s weekly top 10 rankings of local teams.

Airline was No. 1 ending the 2024 regular season and the Vikings started even more impressively last Friday, running past visiting Barbe 56-27. They needed a late, long Ben Jump field goal last year to escape Lake Charles with a 52-49 victory over the Bucs, launching an undefeated regular season and a state quarterfinal appearance.

Parkway was near the top of the SBJ staff poll throughout the 2024 season and debuts at No. 2 this year. The Panthers cruised by visiting Carroll 43-13 last Friday.

Evangel had a breakeven year last season thanks to a late surge. The Eagles were not in the SBJ poll then but open at No. 3 this time, thanks to high expectations and a near-miss on one of the state’s biggest upsets in Week 1. ECA fell 33-32 at 2024 state semifinalist Neville.

The only other 0-1 team in this week’s SBJ top 10 is Captain Shreve, which lost 37-19 at Ouachita Friday after a dominant performance against Byrd a week earlier in jamboree action.

Northwood, Calvary, Loyola, Booker T. Washington and Bossier posted convincing Week 1 wins. No. 9-ranked Woodlawn rallied past Green Oaks and visits Parkway this Friday.

The Week 1 SBJ top 10, as voted by staff members:

1. Airline (1-0)
2. Parkway (1-0)
3. Evangel (0-1)
4. Northwood (1-0)
5. Calvary (1-0)
6. Loyola (1-0)
7. Captain Shreve (0-1)
8. BTW (1-0)
9. Woodlawn (1-0)
10. Bossier (1-0)

Also receiving votes: Byrd.