A win’s a win, but some wins can pack a bit more of a message.
Every week, Louisiana high school football teams come out on top of games that open eyes around the state, surprise doubters, flex their muscles against good competition, inspire confidence in themselves or their communities or show rivals that their series dynamics may be shifting
Fans around the state who have followed Louisiana vs. All Y’all on social media through the years will be familiar with our weekly “Statement Wins” feature during each football season.
Now, with the site launched, we’ll have the opportunity to devote a little more ink and detail to these spotlighted outcomes.
Note: “Statement Wins” does not mean the most surprising outcomes of the week. The “statement” may vary between each game, but each game included said something of note that caught our eye.
And, as we look at Week 1 of the 2025 season, plenty of messages appear to have been sent to start the season, because there were about 20 that made our “short list” of candidates. But, as always, here are the top five.
1. CARENCRO 30, ST. THOMAS MORE 27
Any time a team is accomplishing something that hasn’t occurred since before any of the players were born, it’s notable. And the Golden Bears going on the road and gritting out their first win against the crosstown Cougars since 2006, ending a 12-game drought, was certainly one that caught the attention of the state. A young Carencro team finished the 2024 regular season 4-6 and entered 2025 somewhat under the radar by its standards — but confident in its growth and its work. And Friday, St. Thomas More and the rest of the state received an early message that the Bears are not to be overlooked.
2. RUSTON 49, ACADIANA 7
The Bearcats were favored, even on the road, entering Friday’s high-profile showdown between perennial Class 5A powers. But there had been some anticipation in exactly how strong this year’s Ruston squad would be after graduating another great senior class on the heels of a third straight Superdome trip. And the Bearcats flexed their muscles so aggressively in all three phases in a dominant performance — and breakout party for sophomore running back Dalen Powell — that marked Acadiana’s most lopsided loss in at least two decades.
3. MADISON PREP 48, DUTCHTOWN 41
The Chargers have felt somewhat underrated or under the radar to kick off a 2025 season in which they have (in our estimation very realistic) title aspirations. And they have continued to show during the preseason and now Week 1 that they deserve to be taken very seriously. For the second straight season, Madison Prep is challenging itself with Class 5A competition in the scrimmage, jamboree and first three weeks of the regular season. So far, the Chargers have more than held their own, battling each time out and winning two of the three. Madison Prep lost to Dutchtown, 31-6, to open last season, but came away with a road win Friday that should serve at least partially as a testament to its year-to-year progress.
4. EAST FELICIANA 32, KENTWOOD 26
As competitive a small-schools program as the Tigers almost always are, Kentwood has owned the series since the teams began playing annually in 2017 — winning seven of the eight games with an average margin of 17.4 points in the victories — and is considered among the top contenders this season in Division-IV Select. The Kangaroos should indeed be among the top Class 1A and D-IV Select programs to watch this season, but East Feliciana showed that it should be a team to watch in Class 2A and D-IV Non-Select as well.
5. LAFAYETTE CHRISTIAN 27, ARCHBISHOP RUMMEL 26
The Knights had spent several seasons among the state’s top teams regardless of classification, routinely beating larger-school programs and making runs to Division-II Select title games despite having a Class 2A enrollment size. An up-and-down 2024 season, the program’s first losing regular-season record, since 2015 let some wondering if that era for Lafayette Christian was over and what this year’s outlook might be. Instead, our preseason Class 2A No. 1 team held off a good Class 5A and New Orleans Catholic League program in Rummel to avenge last year’s season-opening loss and showing it can very much still compete with some of Louisiana’s best bigger-school teams.