District 3-4A sent a pair of high school football teams to the state semifinals and swept the Louisiana Sports Writers Association Class 4A Outstanding Player awards. Leesville senior running back Xavier Ford was voted the top offensive player, while Iowa safety Cohen Charles won the defensive award.

Ford capped a prolific career with a record-breaking season. He broke the state single-season rushing record with 3,461 yards on 331 carries plus the touchdown mark with 52. He broke Cederic Skinner of Oberlin’s single-season mark of 3,437 yards set in 2010.

Ford finished his career with 8,591 yards and 118 touchdowns, which broke school records set by Cecil Collins in the 1990s. He also eclipsed Collins’ best single-season marks of 3,045 yards and 40 touchdowns.

Ford led the Wampus Cats to the semifinals for the first time since 2018.

Charles started the season as the anchor of the defensive secondary, but by the end of the season he influenced every part of his team and helped lead them to the semifinals for the second time in three seasons.

Charles made 109 solo tackles and 50 assists while breaking up 16 passes and made four interceptions. He broke through opposing offenses frequently with 13 tackles for loss and forced four fumbles.

On offense, he ran for 795 yards and 17 touchdowns on 82 carries and caught four passes for 65 yards and a touchdown. He was at his best in the playoffs. He scored nine touchdowns in four games, including a 210-yard, four-touchdown game in the Yellow Jackets’ 42-28 come-from-behind win over Franklin Parish in the quarterfinals.

He totaled 21 touchdowns including three punt returns.

Dennis Skains is the Coach of the Year after leading the Cecilia Bulldogs to their first state championship since 1995. As the No. 18 seed, the Bulldogs won four consecutive road games and battled back to beat No. 1 Franklinton 35-32 in the Non-select Division II state championship game.