The high school football season in Louisiana came to a close
last week with championship games in nine classifications. St. Thomas More (Lafayette) was among the winners, taking
home the trophy in Division II following a 35-28 win over De La Salle (New Orleans).
That victory, coupled with its 10-0
record and tremendous play this season, makes St. Thomas More the 2020
MaxPreps Champion for the state of Louisiana.
Quarterback
Walker Howard connected with
Paxton Perret on a game-winning 22-yard touchdown pass with 3:52 remaining in the title game to secure a second straight championship for the Cougars. In 2019, St. Thomas More beat De La Salle 58-10 in the final.
The Cougars got 381 yards passing and four touchdowns from Howard and a Division II title game record of 232 receiving yards from
Jack Bech (10 catches, two touchdowns) to pull out the 2020 championship. St. Thomas More also got a late stop at the Cougars' 20 to finish the game.
For the season, Howard completed 198 of 314 for 3,430 yards and 39 touchdowns. Bech came down with 69 grabs for 1,391 yards and 16 scores. The Cougars outscored opponents 453-167, with another tight win over Division I champion Catholic (Baton Rouge) 39-38 on Oct. 16.
The only other undefeated team in the final Top 25 was Class 2A champion Many (12-0), which finished No. 24.
Other Louisiana teams to repeat as state champions were Acadiana (5A), Oak Grove (1A) and Lafayette Christian Academy (Division III), which won its fourth straight crown.
2020 LHSAA state championsClass 5A – Acadiana (Lafayette)Class 4A – Carencro (Lafayette)Class 3A – Madison Prep Academy (Baton Rouge)Class 2A – ManyClass 1A – Oak GroveFinal Louisiana MaxPreps Top 25
