Allstate Sugar Bowl honors local scholar-athletes
The Allstate Sugar Bowl Chapter of the National Football Foundation/College Football Hall of Fame held its 2021 Awards Luncheon on Wednesday afternoon at the Audubon Tea Room. The highlight of theevent was the announcement of five winners of college scholarships from the Allstate Sugar Bowl.
Thirty-one local high school football players were recognized for their achievements in the classroom, in the community and on the football field. The honorees were chosen from a group of nominated scholar athletes from the New Orleans area. ArchieManning, the national chairman of the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame, recognized each of the 31 student athletes at the event. From that group of 31, five were selected to receive Allstate Sugar Bowl Scholarships: four for $10,000and one for $20,000 each. The scholarship winners were chosen based on essays submitted after being notified of their selection as scholar-athletes.
Wyatt Coffey from Archbishop Hannan High School was the recipient of the $20,000 Oliver Delery Scholarship, named for the Sugar Bowl Committee-member and past president who passed away two years ago. The $10,000 scholarships were awardedto Joshua Bailey (Fontainebleau High School), Brandon McGowan (Isidore Newman School), John Drake (John Curtis Christian School) and Justin Perritt (Northlake Christian School).
In addition to the high school honorees, two local leaders were recognized for their contributions to the community and the sport of football.
Jay Roth, the current director of athletics at ArchbishopRummel who was the Raiders’ head football coach for 24 years before retiring following the 2018 season, was presented with the Contributions to Amateur Football Award, which is given annually to an individual for his or her effort to promote the game, preserveits history and ensure its future. Roth compiled a career record of 228-62 at Rummel, directing the Raiders to two consecutive Class 5A state championships (2012 and 2013), two other trips to the finals and an unfathomable 12 Catholic League championships.Roth’s dozen Catholic League championships are the most by any coach in the 65-year history of the league that dates to 1955. He also had 10 trips to the state semifinals and seven undefeated regular seasons, including 1980, when he was the Raiders’ seniorquarterback.
Rick Dickson, who served as the director of athletics at Tulane University from 2000-16, was presented with the Distinguished American Award, which is presented each yearto an individual who has set the standard for a life of service to the community and has made a significant contribution to the betterment of amateur football. Dickson guided the Green Wave through some of the most tumultuous periodsin its history, including the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, which nearly destroyed the university’s athletics facilities. Despite the Katrina chaos, Dickson provided leadership and coordinated the effort to rebuild the athletics program to a full complementof 16 programs. He also keyed the program’s admission to the American Athletic Conference, opened Yulman Stadium and built or renovated numerous other facilities. Under Dickson’s watch, Tulane teams won 41 C-USA titles and advanced to NCAA postseason play 36times. This includes two bowl games, two College World Series trips and four runs to the NCAA Women’s Golf Championships. He is currently the Director of Athletics at the University of Tulsa.
The New Orleans Chapter of the National Football Foundation was established in 1971. The Sugar Bowl took over sponsorship of the chapter in 2000 and since then it hasrecognized nearly 500 student-athletes while distributing over $500,000 in scholarship money.
2021 National Football Foundation Scholar Athletes (alphabetical by high school):
Wyatt Coffey (Archbishop Hannan High School)
Academic Achievements: National Honor Society, Principal’s Honor Roll (five years), CrimsonHonor Roll, English II Award. AthleticAchievements: Four-year letterman in football and track; five years in wrestling; three-time all-district in football; all-parish; all-state; All-South Louisiana; Team Captain; Christian LeadershipAward. Extracurricular Activities: Student Ambassador; Homecoming Court; Vacation Bible School Leader; Habitat for Humanity; FCA. Will play footballat the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Chase Tollin (Archbishop Rummel High School)
Academic Achievements: Alpha Honor Roll, National Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta; President of the Latin Club.. Athletic Achievements:Team Captain; 2020 state football champion for undefeated Raiders; three-year letterman; three-year starter. Extracurricular Activities:Student Council, SALT Club, UltimateFrisbee, Student Ambassadors. Name of CollegeAttending: Undecided.
Dawson Guidry (Archbishop Shaw High School)
Academic Achievements: Honor Roll every Semester. Athletic Achievements: Four-year letterman; team captain; school captain. ExtracurricularActivities: Student Government President, Cheerleading,Peer Ministry. Will play football at Ouachita Baptist this fall.
Maximillian Morrell (Benjamin Franklin High School)
Academic Achievements: Honor Roll. Athletic Achievements:Three-year letterman; team captain; all-district; starter on offense and defense; Most Improved. Plans to attendLSU in the fall.
William Fineran (Benjamin Franklin High School)
Academic Achievements: Honor Roll. Athletic Achievements:Team captain; three-year letterman; all-district; Most Improved. Plans to attend LSU this fall.
Tayler Tate (Bonnabel High School)
Academic Achievements: Entourage Boys Club, volunteer work. Athletic Achievements: Four-year letterman; three-year starter; team captain; two-time all-district; team offensive MVP .. ExtracurricularActivities: FCA. Plans to play football at Mississippi College in the fall.
Logan Farrell (Brother Martin High School)
Academic Achievements: National Junior Honor Society; Alpha Honor Roll. Athletic Achievements: Four-year letterman; all-district; all-metro; all-state honorable mention; Brother Martin Bob ConlinAward; also lettered in track. Extracurricular Activities: Youth sports referee. Plans to attend Louisiana Tech in the fall.
John Martin (De La Salle High School)
Academic Achievements: National Honor Society; Honor Roll for five years; Merit Scholarship; De La Salle Gold & SilverTorch award winner. Athletic Achievements: Four-year letterman; led team to three state championship games; four-time all-district;all-metro; All-Clarion Herald First Team; first-team all-state; All-South. Extracurricular Activities: Big Brother,Video Game Club. Will attend Columbia University.
Joshua Kovacic (Ecole Classique High School)
Academic Achievements: National Honor Society. AthleticAchievements: Two-year starter on both offense and defense; team captain; Coaches Award &Most Improved in 2019; Overall Team MVP in 2020. Extracurricular Activities:Key Club. Plans to attend UNO or Southeastern Louisiana.
Joshua Bailey (Fontainebleau High School)
Academic Achievements: National Honor Society; Honor Roll all four years; St. Tammany Parish SuperintendentStudent Advisory Panel. Athletic Achievements: Team captain; three-year varsity starter and letterman; two-timeall-district; four-year letterman in track and field; all-district in basketball. Extracurricular Activities: Lifeguard. Will play football at Rice University.
Charles Dean (Frederick A. Douglass High School)
Academic Achievements: Honor Roll. Athletic Achievements:Four-year starter; four-time all-district; also a four-year starter in baseball. Extracurricular Activities: Youth ministry. Plansto attend UL-Lafayette.
Lawrence Lambert (George Washington Carver High School)
Academic Achievements: Scholar of the Year 2020, Principal’s Honor Roll. Athletic Achievements: Three-year letterman; two-year team captain; all-district; also captain of the baseballand track & field teams; all-state in track and won the Louisiana 4A championship in the long jump earlier this month. Name of CollegeAttending: Undecided.
Barryn Sorrell (Holy Cross School)
Academic Achievements: Honor Roll; All-State Academic; American Rivalry Series Scholarship; Highest GPA on footballteam. Athletic Achievements: Four-year letterman; team captain; all-district, all-state; ButchDuke Award. Will play football at the University of Texas.
Brandon McGowan (Isidore Newman School)
Academic Achievements: Honor Roll, KennethA Kirschmann Scholarship. Athletic Achievements: Two-yearstarter at linebacker; captain of the track team. Extracurricular Activities: Social Justice club, admissionsambassador, homecoming king, peer leader, Relay for life volunteer. Plans to attend the University of Southern California.
Joseph Pleasant (Isidore Newman School)
Academic Achievements: Honor Roll. Athletic Achievements: Team captain; two-year starter; all-district;track and field captain; district champion in the shotput. ExtracurricularActivities: Secretary of the young independents club; Newman choir; volunteer at learning anddaycare center. Name of College Attending:Undecided.
Giovanni Licciardi (JesuitHigh School)
Academic Achievements: National Honor Society; HonorRoll, four years. Athletic Achievements: Four-year letterman; two-year starterin the secondary; team’s leading tacklerin 2020; also an all-district state champion in baseball. Extracurricular Activities: Campus ministry; peer support; ThanksgivingDrive volunteer. Name of College Attending: Undecided.
Win Schibler (Jesuit High School)
Academic Achievements: Jesuit Honor Roll, five years; topscore on National Latin Exam. AthleticAchievements: Three-year letterman; two-year starter; also played rugby. Extracurricular Activities: RepresentedJesuit at Unity Day at Loyola University; Sodality Club; Fishing Club. Plans to attend Tulane University.
John Drake (John Curtis Christian School)
Academic Achievements: Honors Scholar; National Honor Society; All-Academic for football and wrestling. AthleticAchievements: Three-year starter and four-year letterman; two-time all-district; also a five-year letterman in wrestling; the Louisiana Division III heavyweight wrestling champion. Extracurricular Activities: FCA; STEM Club; Physics Club;Spirit Club. Will attend LSU.
Devin Weilbaecher (Lakeshore High School)
Academic Achievements: Honor Roll – 4Years. Athletic Achievements: Four-year letterman and three-year starter for football team that went 43-8 during his career; honorable mention all-state; two-time all-district; District Defensive MVP; all-parish; team leadership council.Extracurricular Activities: Fellowship of ChristianAthletes; flag football referee. Plans to attend Baton Rouge Community College.
Jared Albert (Lusher High School)
Athletic Achievements: Team captain, four-year starter on offense and defense; also lettered in track & field. Extracurricular Activities: Clothing drive volunteer; church volunteer.Plans to attend LSU or Rice University.
Caden Costa (Mandeville High School)
Academic Achievements: Honor Roll. Athletic Achievements:Two-time all-parish and all-district; All-South Louisiana; all-metro; rated as the seventh-best kicker in the country; made 30-of-42 total field goal attempts with a long of 51; converted 178-of-181PAT attempts; also lettered in soccer and baseball. Will play football at Ole Miss.
Jyron Parker (McDonogh 35 High School)
Academic Achievements:National Honor Society; HonorRoll; 24 Plus Club. Athletic Achievements: Three-yearletterman; two-year starter; all-district. Extracurricular Activities: Churchvolunteer. Plans to attend Hamline College in Minnesota.
Douglas Heebe (Metairie Park CountryDay School)
Academic Achievements: Rhodes Book Award; Frederick Douglass & Susan B. Anthony Award. Athletic Achievements: Four-year letterman; team captain;all-district. Extracurricular Activities: Student Body President;Relay for Life. Plans to attend Washington and Lee University.
Jackson Picone (Northlake Christian High School)
Athletic Achievements: Four-year letterman; team captain; all-parish; all-district; District DefensiveMVP. Extracurricular Activities: Mission work inthe Amazon; youth group volunteer. Plans to attend SoutheasternLouisiana University.
Justin Perritt (Northlake Christian High School)
Academic Achievements: A Honor Roll, three years; National Honor Society; All-State Academic.Athletic Achievements: Four-year letterman; team captain; two-time all-district. Extracurricular Activities: Disaster Relief Response Team for First Baptist Covington; Covid 19Test Kit assembly volunteer. Plans to attend Samford University.
Brady Pisciotta (Pope John Paul II High School)
Academic Achievements: National Honor Society; Principals Honor Roll; Student Ambassador; Student Council; Leukemia and Lymphoma Society - Student ofthe Year. Athletic Achievements: Four-year letterman; two-time all-district; also a five-year baseball letterman; all-district baseball for three years. Extracurricular Activities: Hurricane Reliefvolunteer in Lafayette; Future Health Professionals. Will attend LSU in the fall.
Darren Labit (Riverdale High School)
Athletic Achievements: Two-year letterman; team captain; starting safety as a junior; starting quarterback as a senior; broke his collarbone but still returned to finish the season and earn all-district; also lettered in track, baseballand basketball; three-year starter in basketball. Extracurricular Activities: Middle school volunteer; playground official/coach. Plans to play football at Millsaps College.
Dylan Porche (St. Paul’s School)
Academic Achievements: TaylorAward Scholar; Honor Roll all fouryears; Academic All-State. Athletic Achievements:Four-year lettermen; team captain; all-district; all-parish. Extracurricular Activities: Offensiveand Defensive Line Camp; Teacher Assistant; Annual Roux Ga Roux Race Volunteer.Plans to attend LSU in the fall.
Jacob Frolich (St. Paul’s School)
Academic Achievements: National Honor Society; “A” Honor Roll,four years; academic all-state. Athletic Achievements: Four-year starter; team captain; three-time all-district; all-parish; all-metro; honorable mention all-state; also lettered in track & field andpowerlifting. Extracurricular Activities: Key Club; Special Olympics volunteer, Cooking for a Cause. Name of CollegeAttending: Undecided.
Braeden Carr (Thomas Jefferson Academy)
Academic Achievements: Honor Roll, four years; multiple scholarship offers; Superintendent Breakfast of Champions. Athletic Achievements: Four-year letterman; team captain; three-time all-district; also lettered in soccer,baseball and track & field; district champion in the javelin. Extracurricular Activities: School play volunteer; YoungLife officer. Plans to attend Nicholls State.
Khalil Jebreel (West Jefferson High School
Academic Achievements: Honor Roll, three years. AthleticAchievements: Three-year letterman; two-time team captain. Extracurricular Activities: Volunteerat car dealership. Plans to attend the University of New Orleans.