September’s football schedule wrapped up with a bit of a bang.
The LHSAA’s Week 4 action may have featured the most memorable and thrilling matchups — and correspondingly standout performances — of any week of the young season yet.
LSU bounced back emphatically, Tulane came back and won in clutch fashion and Louisiana (Lafayette) and Southeastern Louisiana added big wins of their own to further highlight the college results.
And the New Orleans Saints appeared in great shape late in the third quarter before a rash of turnovers let a lovely Sunday slip through their grasp, but not without some great efforts along the way.
Here’s are this week’s nine LVAY Players of the Week.
HIGH SCHOOL
Offense — Jaelle Noble (2028), St. Augustine QB: The Purple Knights’ dynamic junior continued his impressive start to his first season starting at the helm of the offense. Noble racked up nearly 300 yards passing and nearly 100 rushing and six total touchdowns — three each way — to help lead a 42-32 win against highly ranked John Curtis and its stout defense in the marquee matchup on the state’s late in Week 4. Those have been the type of numbers he’s put up consistently this month, and his latest performance came against his toughest competition and notched a major district-opening victory in the loaded Catholic League.
Defense — Azi Joseph (2028), St. James DB: Another game-changing performance in one of the state’s marquee matchups, Joseph helped lead a flat-out disruptive Wildcats defensive effort with three sacks and at least one another tackle for loss. The versatile junior athlete was flying around the field making plays early and often, setting the tone and then closing the door as he met teammate Zamir Aubert at the quarterback for the final fourth-down stop. As banged up as St. James has been, the relentless efforts by standouts such as Joseph has helped keep the title-hopefuls undefeated through four weeks.
Special Teams — Reilly Hopkins (2029), East Ascension K: The sophomore kicker authored the final blow in the always-hardfought and always-electric rivalry between East Ascension and St. Amant that took four quarters and two overtimes to finally decide. The Spartans pushed the ball to the 1-yard line where they trusted Hopkins to shake off an earlier miss and drill the chip shot. East Ascension, which won the matchup by a point last season, has now beaten the Gators back-to-back years for the first time since 2019 and 2020.
HIGH SCHOOL
Offense — Maurice Turner, Tulane RB: For the second time in three weeks, the Green Wave receiving a 200-yard rushing performance — and needed every bit of that effort. Turner, the senior, hit 200 yards on the dot with a breakaway 74-yard score, his second explosive touchdown of the contest, on which he broke three tackles, kept his balanced and kept rumbling all the way to 24-21 comeback defeat of Southern Miss.
Defense — Ty Benefield, LSU S: The Tigers had struggled to contain Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed the past two years, entered this past week without “star” safety Dashawn Spears and lost linebacker and leader Whit Weeks midway through the contest. But defensive coordinator Blake Baker’s unit, with Benefield shifting to Spears’ role, was exceptional, disciplined, disruptive and smothering. Benefield led the team with a game-high nine tackles and brought another long, physical athlete into the box that gave the Aggies trouble.
Special Teams — Josh Lewis, Tulane EDGE: Southern Miss came dangerously close to answering the aforementioned Turner go-ahead touchdown, moving its way effectively down the field and into the red zone to set up a potential game-tying field goal. Instead, Lewis, the former Dutchtown star broke through the line and swatted the attempt to preserve the lead and the victory in the regulation.
PROFESSIONAL
Offense — Damien Lewis, Carolina Panthers OL: Veteran guard Damien Lewis, a starter on LSU’s 2019 national-championship offensive line, continued his strong start to the season with his highest-graded game thus far in 2026 and one of the five highest in his seven-year professional career. Lewis earned the league’s 10th-best run-blocking grade and was not charged with a sack or any pressures in pass protection.
Defense — Kool-Aid McKinstry, New Orleans Saints DB: The Saints’ defense has been good enough to win all three games thus far, including the Raiders needing to force four fourth-quarter turnovers Sunday to come back and win in Caesars Superdome. Tight end Brock Bowers was the most dangerous weapon Las Vegas had going in his season debut, but not without McKinstry making him work when matched up together. The third-year corner was one of the league’s more highly target defenders, according to PFF, and allowed just three catches for 49 yards — tied for the lowest completion percentage and on the lower end of the yardage spectrum among those targeted more than five times.
Special Teams — Anfernee Jennings, New Orleans Saints EDGE: For the first time this season, New Orleans wasn’t playing from behind heading into the fourth quarter. The Saints were able to build an 11-point lead in the third quarter thanks to a big special-teams play by Jennings on which he knocked a fumble loose that allowed querterback Tyler Shough and company to score back-to-back touchdowns in less than a minute.
