In his final season, running back Grant Ducote was asked not only to be a big part of the Rosepine offense but become a defensive playmaker too.

Defensive lineman Troy Pattum was a stalwart up front for Welsh’s punishing defense.

Both have been rewarded for their efforts as the MVPs of the American Press All-Southwest Louisiana Small Schools football team.

Ducote said he longed for a chance to star on the defensive side.

“He was excited about it,” said Brad Ducote, Grant’s father who retired as the Eagles’ head coach after the season. “He has always wanted to play both sides and missed the defensive side since junior high. He took it and ran with it.

“Obviously we knew what he could do on the offensive side of the ball and expected that. Asking him to play defense and never coming off the field was impressive, and he did it all year. Thank God we had the (Bryson) Meeks kid to spell Grant in big situations. Having him perform on both sides of the ball sure helped us out.”

Ducote ran for 1,713 yards and 26 touchdowns on 218 carries and finished his with a school career record rushing total of 6,239 yards. On defense, he made 32 tackles, seven tackles for loss, an interception and two fumble recoveries.

Ducote helped lead the Eagles to the quarterfinals for a second consecutive season and the only two in program history. In a 20-13 regional-round win over Westlake, he ran for 121 yards and a score and completed 2 of 3 passes for 43 yards with some key first-down conversions.

“It was just a total blessing,” Ducote said. “You always knew if you needed yards in key situations you could design something up and throw it his way and more than likely he was going to make the play. He was an ace in the hole. When we got in a bind, we looked to Grant to pull us out.”

Pattum, a junior, was a force on the field, in the weight room and classroom. He made 103 tackles with 12 tackles for loss and 12 sacks.

“He works hard in the weight room but also in the classroom,” Welsh head coach Cody Gueringer said. “He is an effort and energy guy, which is great. He desires to work hard every single day and do his job, but he also cares about his teammates as well.

“No matter if the play is going his way or not, he is giving effort all the time. It is an infectious personality at practice. He is going to practice as hard as he possibly can, which then injects into the team itself.”

With Pattum up front, the Greyhounds allowed 17.5 points a game and Gueringer plans to have him play both ways next season.

“He is a pillar,” Geueringer said. “That is his second year starting. Now he is more comfortable and we can transition him over to offense as well and put the ball in his hands even more. He is going to help us on both sides as much as he possibly can.”

Basile’s Kevin Bertrand is the Small Schools Coach of the Year after leading the Bearcats to a 10-2 record, the Division IV non-select No. 4 seed and the quarterfinals.

His teams have reached the quarterfinals in 10 of the last 11 seasons.

Small Schools

Offense

Pos. Player, School Ht. Wt. Cl.

WR Isiah Stinson, Rosepine 5-11 170 Sr.

Statistics: 36 receptions, 393 yds., 8 TDs

WR Noah Carter, Oberlin 6-4 190 Sr.

Statistics: 228 receiving yds., 638 rushing yds., 14 total TDs

TE Grant Daigle, Welsh 5-10 210 Sr.

Statistics: 15 rec., 266 yds., 3 TDs

OL Baylor Monceaux, Lake Arthur 6-3 300 Sr.

Statistics: Tigers ended three-year playoff drought

OL Wyatt Bertrand, Basile 5-8 190 Jr.

Statistics: Blocked for two 1,000-yard rushers

OL Jayden Meadows, E. Beauregard 6-2 260 Sr.

Statistics: Trojans averaged 370 ypg, 36.5 ppg

OL Wyatt Wilkerson, Grand Lake 5-8 185 So.

Statistics: Hornest averaged 320 ypg

OL Josh Pitre, Oberlin 5-10 175 Sr.

Statistics: Tigers averaged 362 ypg, 34.4 ppg

QB Jake Smith, Rosepine 5-10 155 Sr.

Statistics: 94-159-4, 1,590 yds., 27 TDs

RB Kennon LeGros, Welsh 5-10 180 Sr.

Statistics: 162 carries, 1,414 yds., 21 TDs

RB Ian Vigo, Grand Lake 5-8 155 Jr.

Statistics: 248 carries, 1,741 yds., 20 TDs

RB Grant Ducote, Rosepine 5-10 205 Sr.

Statistics: 248 carries, 1,741 yds., 26 TDs

PK Ross Cortez, Basile 6-0 175 Jr.

Statistics: 40-46 PATs, 37-yard FG

ATH Gabe Gillett, Welsh 5-10 165 Sr.

5 Statistics: 82 rushing / 888 passing, 23 total TDs

Defense

Pos. Player, School Ht. Wt. Cl.

DL Gage Hildreth, E. Beauregard 5-10 230 Sr.

Statistics: 43 tackles, 7 sacks, 11 tackles for loss

DL Troy Pattum, Welsh 6-0 200 Jr.

Statistics: 103 tackles, 12 TFL, 13 sacks

DL Christian Bergeron, Basile 5-11 205 Sr.

Statistics: 73 tackles, 11 TFL, 2 sacks, 2 INT

DL Payton Jeans, Rosepine 6-2 190 Sr.

Statistics: 65 tackles, 9 TFL, 4 sacks, 3 fumble recoveries

LB Luke Fontenot, Basile 5-10 175 Sr.

Statistics: 126 tackles, 10 TFL, 4 forced fumbles, 4 sacks

LB Desean Deville, Oberlin 6-2 180 Jr.

Statistics: 100 tackles, 4 sacks, 7 TFL, 5 passes broken up

LB Horace Edwards, Basile 5-6 160 Sr.

Statistics: 40 tackles, 3 TFL, 4 PBU

LB Michael Woods, Rosepine 6-2 200 Jr.

Statistics: 67 tackles, 7 TFL

DB Demarcus Jack, Elton 6-2 220 Sr.

Statistics: 40 tackles, 3 TFL, 4 PBU / 14 total TDs

DB Hayden VanNess, Welsh 5-8 160 Jr.

Statistics: 53 tackles, 5 INT, 2 pick-six, KO TDs

DB Conner Guillotte, Grand Lake 5-10 175 Sr.

Statistics: 32 tackles, 2 TFL, INT

DB Ashton Deaville, Basile 5-8 170 Sr.

Statistics: 55 tackles, 6 TFL, 3 INT, 5 PBU

P Cade Dauzat, Oakdale 6-3 184 Sr.

Statistics: 45 yard avg., long of 68

KR Cedric Allison, Oakdale 5-10 170 Sr.

Statistics: 2 kickoff return TDs/171 carries, 1,875 yds., 21 TDs

ATH Aden Cline, Rosepine 5-10 150 Sr.

Statistics: 69 tackles, 6 TFL/47-58 PATs/15 total TDs

OFFENSIVE MVP — Grant Ducote, Rosepine

DEFENSIVE MVP — Troy Pattum, Welsh

COACH OF THE YEAR — Kevin Bertrand, Basile