By LEE BRECHEEN, Louisiana Football Magazine

Captain Shreve’s Marquez Stevenson is a kid who has as much potential as any athlete in Louisiana for the Class of 2023.

After seeing Stevenson play in 2021 for Shreve, I came away impressed with his upside after seeing him return kickoffs, play wide receiver and play some free safety.

He reminds me in build and length of current LSU wide receiver Brian Thomas, who is 6-3, 210 now, but was 6-3, 185 in high school at Walker. Stevenson is a legit 6-2, 180 pounds but he has an 80-inch wingspan which makes him look all of 6-4 or 6-5 because he’s so long. I like his hands after watching him in a full game film, and I think they can become really good in college. Speed is a legit 4.45 or faster.

I haven’t seen him in track, but after I talked to coaches, they convinced me that he’s the real deal in track. He was All-State and one of the best in the state in different events, which we will share in his notes below.

It’s scary how good he can become once he fills out in college to his full weight of 210 or better. Once he gets more weight on and gets stronger, he will win most 50/50 balls that are thrown high in college.

Stevenson is committed to Texas Tech. His teammates call him by his nickname, “Macho.”

Captain Shreve interim head coach Adam Kirby has nothing but good things to say about Stevenson.

“Macho is an exceptional athlete who works extremely hard for everything he has,” said Kirby. “His ability to high point the ball and his speed after he catches it really set him apart from other wide receivers in the state. His strength, height, and wingspan are unreal for his age, and he’s only going to get better as his career progresses.

“He’s already a 3-star prospect and is rated by some as the 18^th best player in Louisiana. With all of his hype and his commitment to Texas Tech, he still is hungry to prove himself. He’s a kid who does everything right in terms of work ethic, attention to detail, film study and preparation. He’s one of the most genuine, fun-loving kids I’ve ever had the privilege to coach, and I have no doubts moving forward that he will be successful in whatever he chooses to do.”

Read more at ShreveportBossierJournal.com

By LEE BRECHEEN, Louisiana Football Magazine

I watch a lot of high school football, and one position you can’t hardly find in high school if you’re a college scout is a kid who plays center and looks the part with good grades, great feet, and plenty of strength.

Chris Allen from Captain Shreve High School is that kid. He plays center in high school and looks like a starting DI center already — with all the intangibles to be great in college.

With most O-Linemen they sign, most college coaches will tell you they have to move a kid who played offensive tackle or guard to center once in college to learn the position from scratch.

So if I’m a smart college coach, I take someone like Chris Allen, a 6-3, chiseled 275-pounder I don’t have to teach the position to in college; instead, I can just help make him better over time.

I thought after watching film from his junior year that he was the best center prospect in Louisiana for DI colleges in the Class of 2022, and now he is the best in the Class of 2023 to me.

Here’s his high school position coach, Adam Kirby, sharing what he thinks of his star center:

“Chris is the best high school center in Louisiana. His work ethic and knowledge of the game is unmatched at the high school level. He’s tall, long and physical and can work to a shade defender or handle a head-up nose guard.

“He is always looking to learn and grow his craft and is a film junkie who has taken a leadership role with the younger players in our offensive line room. I’ve coached a two-time Remington Award Winner and five All-Americans over the course of my career, and Chris has the potential to be the best one I’ve ever coached.

“He is everything you want in an offensive lineman and exemplifies what it means to play the position. He currently has offers from ULM, Monroe, Tulane, Grambling, and Northwestern State. And I expect him to gain more as the season progresses.”

“Coach Kirby has had a positive impact on my life,” Allen said. “Our story is when he saw me the first day he got here, he told me he was going to make me a DI center. What’s crazy is that I’d never played center before. Better yet, I had never played football until I got to high school. Coach Kirby is a good man and we’re going to be lifetime friends.”

Read more at ShreveportBossierJournal.com

JOURNAL STAFF

Captain Shreve senior guard Kyron Reed and coach Corey Deans took top honors on the 2022 Boys 1-5A All-District team selected by district coaches.

Reed was selected the Most Valuable Player for a Gator team that won the district with a 13-1 record. He led a balanced team in scoring at 12.5 points per game and was a key defender as Shreve allowed only 38.8 points per game.

Deans was named the Coach of the Year helping lead his team to its third consecutive 20-win season at 26-6. The 26 wins tied for the fourth-most in a season for the Gators and the most since 26-10 in the 1992-93 season.

Here is a complete list of the team:

District 1-5A

BOYS

First team

Kyron Reed, Captain Shreve, Sr.
Dalyn Davis, Natchitoches Central, Sr.
MarQuarius Johnson, Southwood, Sr.
AJ Coleman, Airline, Sr.
Christian Ford, Captain Shreve, Sr.
Greg Manning, Benton, So.

Second team

Jeremiah Evans, Southwood, So.
Colby O’Glee, Benotn, Jr.
Justin Aaron, Natchitoches Central, Sr.
Davieon Coleman, Captain Shreve, Sr.
Laythan Delaney, Haughton, Jr.
Brian Morris, Byrd, Sr.

Most Valuable Player – Kyron Reed, Captain Shreve

Coach of the Year – Corey Deans, Captain Shreve

Honorable mention

Airline – Trevon Jackson, Cameron Walker

Benton – Jalen Taylor, Wylyn Harris, Trey Smith

Byrd – Mike Thornton, Kavon Barnhill

Captain Shreve – Mekel Hart

Haughton – KJ Allen

Natchitoches Central – Devin Helaire, Caylin Demars

Parkway – Christian McCoy, Chance Snell

Southwood – Roderick Brown

Photo courtesy of KP PHOTOGRAPHY

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By JERRY BYRD JR., Journal Sports

Captain Shreve sprinter Marquez “Macho” Stevenson came into the 2022 LHSAA State Indoor Championships with quite the resume’. For starters, he was the only current competitor in the state who had broken the 50-second barrier over 400 meters.

However, there was one glaring omission — a state championship.

Only a junior, Stevenson can now check the “state champion” box off his “To Do” list. He won in 48.93. a time that puts him No. 23 on the national list of top prep indoor marks for 2022.

Last spring, Stevenson arrived on the track and field scene after basketball season and quickly made his way from one of the best in 2021 to one of the area’s best — ever.

He took third at the LHSAA Outdoor Championships (48.57) in early May. A couple months later, he carved nearly two seconds off his personal record. Stevenson clocked 46.85 at the AAU Junior Olympics in Humble, Texas, moving past Mansfield’s Jerry Wilson’s 46.91 to the top of the all-time Caddo-Bossier performance list.

On Saturday, Stevenson had bigger goals than a gold medal.

“I wanted to break the (state meet) record,” Stevenson said. “But I came up short. I put this race in God’s hands. I just went out and ran.”

The Division I record in the 400 is 48.29 was set in 2018 by Zachary’s Sean Burrell, who won a national championship in the 400 hurdles for LSU last spring. The LHSAA Indoor State Composite record is 48.15 set by J.S. Clark’s Ashton Collins in 2001.

Captain Shreve football offensive coordinator Adam Kirby stood at the rail watching his wide receiver as he LHSAA director Eddie Bonine placed the gold medal around Stevenson’s neck.

“I’ve never coached an athlete that fast,” Kirby said, an ominous statement for Gator foes this fall.

At this point there are only three or four coaches in the state who have, but none in Northwest Louisiana.

Stevenson was appreciative of Kirby and other coaches traveling to Baton Rouge to watch him compete.

And also thankful for the efforts of his mother, Alecima Stevenson, who along with an army of supporters who casts 37,527 votes for MileSplit Louisiana’s Performer of the Week last week.

“It means a lot,” Stevenson said of the support. “It shows that people are looking out for me.”

Other area state champions included Northwestern State signee Peyten Ware of North Webster, who vaulted 11-1.75. Ware also finished fourth in the Division II long jump with a best of 16-7.25.

As Ware stepped off the podium, she crossed the track at the Carl Maddox Fieldhouse to hug her father, North Webster head football coach John Ware.

“He cried,” Ware said of her father during the hug. “He probably won’t like me saying that, but he cried. This was my biggest dream, and his.”

Another area state champion was Mansfield’s Jayden Youngblood, who is the first indoor state champion in school history for the Wolverines. Youngblood won the Division II 60 meter hurdles with a time of 8.31.

While she didn’t win a state championship, Huntington sophomore Demetria Harris did score 16 points with two second-place finishes. Harris finished second in the 60 hurdles (8.78) and 60 meters (7.76).

The 60 meter hurdles race was fast. Scotlandville sophomore Makeriah Harris won (8.60), Harris was second and Ruston’s Bryanna Craig finished third (8.82). They rank among the top 13 girls hurdlers in the nation.

Read more at ShreveportBossierJournal.com

By PRESTON EDWARDS, Journal Sports

Since Coach Corey Deans has been at the helm of the Captain Shreve boys basketball team, he had yet to defeat Natchitoches Central.

He had the excruciating loss at the buzzer to the Chiefs in the quarterfinals last year and three other losses to the Chiefs by a grand total of 10 points. Adding the near misses by Deans and his Gators to the other games the two schools have played, Shreve had not beaten Natchitoches Central in the last 10-plus years.

That is a long, long time.

So going into their matchup Tuesday night, not only was first place in District 1-5A on the line, but a host of other firsts were within reach of this Gator squad.

Deans did not feel any extra pressure, however. As a matter of fact, he was quite calm about it.

“If we clean up our mistakes from the first time, we should win.” stated Dean before the contest.

It took an extra session of basketball but the Gators managed to clean up enough mistakes from their 3-point loss in Natchitoches. When the horn after the first OT sounded, Deans and his troops claimed a 46-41 victory over Natchitoches Central giving the Gators their first outright district championship since 2013.

“I am just happy for my boys,” Deans said. “The boys worked too hard and they deserved it.”

Kyron Reed was the story for the Gators on this night. He handled the Chiefs’ pressure the majority of the night and scored a game-high 18 points, which included five triples.

“I believe in Kyron Reed,” stated Deans. “He had the same shots at Natchitoches Central but missed them. He was on tonight. He has the ultra green light. Whatever shot he takes, I’m good with it.”

His backcourt mate, Christan Ford, was not too bad, either, as he scored 12 points and made some crucial free throws at the end of regulation and during overtime.

The Gator defense was the story of the night. They held the Chiefs to 41 points in 40 minutes.

NCHS did not quit, however. The Chiefs had 22 points through three quarters but scored 19 in the fourth quarter and overtime. All-State football safety Justin Aaron made a clutch three to send the game to overtime and Dalyn Davis scored six of his 12 points in the fourth to give the Chiefs a chance to win. It just was not their night.

With the victory, Captain Shreve moves to 24-5 on the season. Natchitoches Central drops only its sixth game of the season. The Chiefs have 21 victories on the year.

Both teams wrap up district play on Friday. After that, they will anxiously await the final power ratings next week to see who will be their opening postseason opponent.

Read more at ShreveportBossierJournal.com

By TONY TAGLAVORE, Journal Sports

All Zyon Lilly wants is a chance.

“You grind — blood, sweat and tears,” Lilly said. “You put it all on the line. When you do that, and you don’t get rewarded, it’s really just a hurt feeling.”

The Captain Shreve senior doesn’t think he can play college football. He knows he can. But Wednesday, much to his disappointment, Lilly was a supporter — instead of a signee — at the school’s National Signing Day Ceremony. Braylon Finney (Grambling) and Ckelby Givens (Southern) will play football at the next level.

“I’m happy for my teammates, because we’re brothers at the end of the day,” Lilly said. “I’m really being humble, because I know I can play. I know somebody will give me a chance.”

Lilly, a defensive lineman, was named second team All-District 1-5A both his junior and senior seasons. Last fall, Lilly was seventh on his team in tackles, tied for fourth in tackles for loss, and was third in sacks. All that, on a squad that shared the district title, and advanced to the second round of the state playoffs.

“I know I can play, because we play at the highest level — in Class 5A,” Lilly said. “We play in the toughest league. I go up against guys bigger than me most of the time. Really, people just need to start recruiting football players.”

It’s not that Lilly hasn’t drawn interest.

Read more at ShreveportBossierJournal.com

Captain Shreve’s fourth-ranked Lady Gators set a school single-season record for wins and dispatched No. 29 Denham Springs, 3-0, in the opening round of the LHSAA Division 1 soccer playoffs Tuesday night at Lee Hedges Stadium.

The program’s 25th win is an all-time best. Shreve got its first two goals by Kiley Rourke and the last from Maddie Aubrey. Brooklyn Lattier and Alex Knight each had an assist.

Avery Watson made five saves, including a diving effort late in the second half to preserve the team’s school-record 22nd shutout, while setting the program’s individual record of 21 zeroes.

Denham Springs freshman keeper Claire Findley kept the Lady Yellow Jackets in the game with 13 saves, six of which were high stress denials that even the Shreve fans had to cheer.

The game did not start the way the Lady Gators hoped. Denham Springs took control and had two shots on goal before Shreve possessed the ball. All that changed in the fifth minute of play when Emma Bradford got free on a breakaway and headed to goal. Denham’s Findley came off her line to dive at Bradford’s feet and made the save, but the tone changed. A couple minutes later Bradford created another breakaway, and shot earlier, but Findley made an athletic save.

This bolstered the Lady Jackets’ confidence and they were able to hold onto the ball for long periods of time in the half. In the 17th minute, Shreve’s Rourke took a free kick from 30 yards out that Findley was able to snag, but momentum took the ball over the goal line for the half’s only score. Shreve nearly doubled its lead when a shot hit the crossbar later in the half.

The second half started strong for Shreve as Lattier hit a ball just wide, then Rourke found the cross bar. In the 13th minute Lattier’s corner kick was located by Rourke, who headed it toward the net. Denham’s Findley dove, got her fingers on it, but couldn’t keep it out.

The Lady Gators’ final goal came when Knight passed to Aubrey, who took a touch around a defender and scored. The final margin would have been higher, if Shreve hadn’t struck the crossbar five times and the post once.

Captain Shreve will host No. 13 Baton Rouge in Round Two on Sunday afternoon at 2 in Lee Hedges Stadium.

Read more at ShreveportBossierJournal.com