JOURNAL SPORTS
The sixth annual National Football Foundation S.M. McNaughton Chapter Preseason Scholar-Athlete Watch List just announced spotlights 50 high-achieving high school seniors in north and central Louisiana who have been nominated by their coaches.
These young men, from all around the 318 area code in north and central Louisiana, carry at least a 3.2 grade point average, have won all-district honors or made remarkable impact on their teams, and are involved in extracurricular activities. A total of 29 play for teams in Caddo and Bossier parishes.
Annually, after each season, the NFF’s S.M. McNaughton Chapter solicits nominations for its scholarship program, and as many as nine senior scholar-athletes are honored in the spring with $1,000 college scholarship awards at a banquet in Shreveport. This Preseason Watch List is designed to provide recognition for not just the ultimate scholarship winners, but more young men in north and central Louisiana who are high-achieving senior football players.
Additionally, KTBS Channel 3 in Shreveport continues to honor the memory and legacy of former NFF Board member Bob Griffin, the iconic sportscaster at KSLA and then KTBS for over 50 years, by weekly Tuesday evening profiles of one of the players on the NFF Scholar-Athlete Watch List. The winners will be eligible for a separate Griffin’s Scholar-Athlete Scholarship at the close of the season, presented by KTBS and Highland Clinic Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine.
Griffin, a 2009 Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame inductee as a sports journalist, covered Ark-La-Tex high school football in an incredible six decades before he passed away early in 2020. Because of Griffin’s commitment to the NFF Scholar-Athlete program, the S.M. McNaughton Chapter of the NFF and KTBS created this partnership to celebrate these outstanding seniors.
Nominations for the watch list are open through midseason by e-mailing 318nffchapter@gmail.com or texting to 318-471-2086 with the player’s name, position and school, and the coach’s name and phone number.
The high school seniors nominated for the McNaughton Chapter’s Preseason Scholar-Athlete Watch List:
Clay Atkinson, DL, Byrd
Ja’Marion Baker-Shepard, RB, Plain Dealing
Phillips Beitz, OL, Pineville
Hayden Bell, SS/RB, North DeSoto
Brock Branim, WR, Calvary
Parker Coleman, OL, Pineville
Aaden Crow, OLB, Byrd
Brayden Cummings, LB/RB, Huntington
Dakota Denney, K, North DeSoto
Brodie Duff, DB, Oak Grove
Luke Edwards, WR, Ouachita Christian
John Harris, WR, Byrd
Chris Hill, WR, Captain Shreve
Jeffrey Holden, OT, Natchitoches Central
Jemarcus Hooper, WR/DB, Green Oaks
Peyton “Pop” Houston, QB, Evangel
Preston Hughes, WR, Airline
Isaac Jennings, LB/FB, Haughton
Rod Johnson, DE, Parkway
Jaden Keith, OL, Haughton
Bishop King, LB, Ouachita Christian
Hayden Knight, OT/DT, Loyola
Kaden Kuykendall RB, Natchitoches Central
Kaleb Law, WR/DB, Captain Shreve
Gabriel Lockett, RB, Captain Shreve
Joe Louis IV, OL, Winnfield
Kollin Magee, QB, Logansport
Daveon Marks, DB/WR, Many
Dorian McCoy, SS, Bossier
Keith McKinney, WR/CB, Grant
Drake Moore, OL, Calvary
Maxwell Moore, OL, Airline
Hunter Oglesbee, WR, Ouachita Christian
Josiah Rachal, WR, Bossier
Dominic Rinaudo, SS/MLB, Loyola
Carson Riser, OL, D’Arbonne Woods
Gage Sanders, OL/DL, Many
Ryan Sipes, C/DE, Loyola
Carter Smith, QB/WR, Pineville
Jakerrious Smith, LB, Green Oaks
Aymaud Sykes, RB, Grant
Bradley Taylor, OL, Winnfield
Kameron Taylor, CB, Bossier
Daniel Thomas, RB, Many
Kolby Turner, MLB, Northwood
Xavier Villamor, DE/OLB, Benton
Chase Williams, QB, Airline
Brenden Young, LB, Natchitoches Central
John Thomas Young, DT, Benton
Malachi Zeigler, QB, Benton