Dunham QB Elijah Haven (5) scrambles out of reach of Parkview LB Wesley Marien (2) in the first half of the Division III select regional playoff game between Dunham and Parkview Baptist Friday at Dunham. Parkview led 28-18 at the half. Episcopal School of Baton Rouge's Reid Chauvin (2) is brought down by Metairie Park Country Day School's Justin Drago (9), left, and Brent Schwing (17), right, in Metairie on Friday, September 15, 2023.
(Photo by Brett Duke, | The Times-Picayune) Until proven otherwise, East Feliciana football coach Darius Mathews doesn’t believe there’s any reason to begin a discussion about the District 8-2A hierarchy without starting with The Dunham School and Episcopal. The Tigers of coach Neil Weiner are the league’s two-time reigning champions and are prohibitive favorites among the district’s coaches to capture the title again. “The district still goes through Dunham and Episcopal,” Mathews said.
“You look at teams like Baker, Capitol and Northeast and they’ve made improvements. "I think it will be a little tougher this year, but at the end of the day the district still goes through Dunham and Episcopal. You have to be ready to take down the champ if you want to be the champ.
” Dunham’s earned the type of respect befitting a district champion. The Tigers have averaged just over nine wins under coach Neil Weiner who enters his 10th season at the school. The Tigers return 12 starters, including the nation’s top quarterback in the Class of 2027, sophomore Elijah Haven, from a 9-2 team that dropped a 39-32 decision to Parkview Baptist in the regional round of the Division III state select playoffs.
“We’re excited about the kids we’ve got coming back,” Weiner said. “We’ve got question marks up front. We’ve got a great group of receivers, a running back that will be fantastic and a defensive line that will be small, but are some of the fastest, toughest kids we’ve had.
” Haven has an impressive group of tall, athletic receivers to choose from in juniors Kris Thomas and Jarvis Washington, while junior Colin Pecue is back at running back. The Tigers did lose Southern Lab transfer JJ Harris to a torn ACL this summer. Senior right guard Joshua Beychock returns to anchor the offensive line along with junior left guard Hopelond Eldridge and senior center Connor Guidroz.
Beychock will be one of a pair of two-way starters on the defensive line with wide receiver Trevor Haman moving from safety to linebacker and giving the Tigers an aggressive group with seniors Rives Johnson and Jonah McClain. All-district selection junior Richard Montgomery is one of three returning starters in the secondary with seniors Bronson Bonneval and Grant Morgan. Episcopal (10-3) made its second straight trip to the quarterfinals, falling to Newman (31-15).
The Knights have plenty of positives returning in junior quarterback Zach Hu (780 yards, 6 TDs passing), senior all-district running back Reid Chauvin, senior all-district offensive tackle Matthew Boagni and senior tight end Matthew Greene. They also return senior wide receiver David Olinde who suffered a torn ACL after the fifth game last season. Chauvin is expected to carry a bigger load with the graduation of the team’s leading rusher, Braeden George, from last season.
Chauvin gained 1,124 yards with 20 touchdowns. “Usually, you rely on the offensive line to kind of settle things down,” Episcopal coach Travis Bourgeois said. “The skill guys are going to have to be patient and show good leadership with the guys up front.
” Episcopal returns experience at each level of its defense with senior end JB Sessums (49 tackles), linebackers Chase Cresson (103 tackles) and Will Ribes (99 tackles, 2 interceptions) and junior defensive back Tahj Callahan (49 tackles, 6 TFLs). Mathews is back for his fourth season and guided East Feliciana (6-6, 3-2 in district) to the second round of the Division IV nonselect state playoffs. The Tigers have the luxury of having their entire offensive line back — led by three-time all-district selection Amari Barnes — and can rely on a pair of aggressive cornerbacks in Ryan Moore and Queze Dillion to be able to apply pressure on the quarterback.
“Staying healthy and focused and doing the small things to be good,” Mathews said. “We should be pretty good.”.
