6 days ago
Lake Area boasts strong class of junior QBs
A slew of sophomore quarterbacks left a lasting impression on the high school football scene in Southwest Louisiana last season.
Between them, they threw for more than 12,600 yards, accounted for 204 touchdowns and won nearly 70 percent of the games they played.
Now juniors, Javon Vital, Dylan Vital, Brody Anderson, Chris Ned, Jelandon Gray, Isaiah Thomas and Trel Broom look to make a bigger impact. All except Ned, Thomas and Broom are three-year starters.
'They are all some pretty good quarterbacks,' Hamilton Christian head coach Dexter Washington said. 'The junior class, for some strange reason across the state, is one of the most loaded classes that I have seen in a long time from top to bottom.'
Washington said he's looking forward to a third season with Javon Vital (5-10, 185) at the helm of the Warriors' offense.
'I know one thing: he has gotten better,' Washington said of Vital. 'He understands the game a lot better from the quarterback position. You have to remember it took us a little while to get him adapted to accept to the role as a quarterback. He was a receiver. It took him last year to realize that putting the ball in his hands was more important than him lining up and not getting the ball at all.'
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The three-sport star, who was the American Press Male Athlete of the Year last season and earned Louisiana Sports Writers Association first team all-state honors in football and basketball, is one of the state's most dynamic dual-threat quarterbacks. He led the Warriors to their first postseason win since 2015 while accounting for 47 touchdowns and was one of two Southwest Louisiana Athletes to record more than 1,000 rushing (1,503) and passing yards (1,239).
District 3-3A has a pair of 2,000-yard passers returning in Lake Charles College Prep's Dylan Vital (6-3, 220) and Westlake's Brody Anderson (6-3, 200), plus a speedy dual threat in Jennings' Ned.
Dylan Vital and Anderson took their teams to the regional round of the state playoffs last season.
Westlake head coach John Richardson said Anderson has increased his mobility after passing for 2,161 yards and running for 500-plus yards, but lost his top two targets to graduation in Kevin Rideau (McNeese State) and Ryan Allen.
'We are expecting another big year out of him,' Richardson said of Anderson. 'I think he has gotten faster, and he is a little bit bigger. With a guy his size that can move and throw like that, we really think he is going to be a big player.
'Going into his third year, he has a better understanding of what we are trying to do.'
Dylan Vital was the area's top passer with more than 2,500 yards and has two big threats to throw to in Ayden Carter and Caiden Jones, who combined for more than 1,500 receiving yards in 2024.
'He had a good offseason and lost some more weight,' LCCP head coach Erick Franklin said of Vital. 'He should have a good year. He had a good year last year. He should be a 3,000-yard quarterback if he stays healthy.'
Ned (6-0, 160) led the Bulldogs to a 9-2 record and the District 3-3A title last year with 20 rushing and 11 passing touchdowns.
'Last year he provided a weapon for us with his legs and proved he was a better-than-average passer,' Jennings head coach Bret Fuselier said of Ned. 'He went to a quarterback camp this past winter and has really improved his throwing ability.
'The biggest attribute he brings to the table for us is not only his physical abilities, but his leadership abilities. This, along with his high football IQ, has him primed for a big season for us.'
Last season, Gray (5-11, 163) almost reached 2,000 yards passing and improved his touchdown-to-interception ratio from 1-to-1 to almost 3-to-1.
Thomas and Broom had big years as first-time starters.
Broom (6-4, 190) had the best playoff run of the group. With Mr. Football, Xavier Ford, in the backfield with him, the Wampus Cats reached the state semifinals. But Broom will have to take on a larger role now that Ford is at the University of Minnesota. He threw for 1,995 yards and 25 touchdowns as a sophomore.
Thomas (6-1, 190) led Kinder to a district title and the state quarterfinals for the first time since 2020 while throwing for 1,889 yards.
