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KAPLAN — Friday’s Non-Select Division II playoff game at Jennings will be a new experience for many of Kaplan High’s starting football players.
It’s an experience the Pirates and head coach Cory Brodie are looking forward to after Kaplan narrowly missed the playoffs in 2022.
“Not making it last year, a lot of these guys didn’t play in the (playoff) game two years ago,” Brodie said. “For most of our starters, it’s their first playoff game, their first playoff experience. It’s always good to be playing bonus football, so we’re excited for the opportunity.”
The Pirates are 7-3 overall and earned the No. 23 seed for the playoffs. Kaplan finished 4-1 in District 5-3A, dropping a close 18-14 decision to Abbeville this past Friday in a battle of teams that were unbeaten in district.
“I thought it was a pretty even game,” Brodie said. “I think we kind of dominated the first half, and they had a big fourth quarter. We also turned the ball over twice late in that game. It came down to what I thought it was — the team that made the fewer mistakes won. They had one turnover and we had two.
“It was just a really good high school football game. I expect the same thing again in the first round of the playoffs. The more we’re tested like that, the better it’s going to be for us down the road. I think it’s a good test for us.”
Brodie said the loss stung for a bit but the players have done a good job of moving on to preparations for the playoffs.
“When you get to keep playing, at this point we know teams around the area aren’t playing in the playoffs, so we’ve got to be appreciative of what we’re doing and staying focused on the goal in hand,” he said. “We’re a 23 seed this year, and last year North Vermilion was a 23 seed and made a run to the quarterfinals. We’re just taking it one game at a time and one matchup at a time and not looking too far ahead or looking behind us is definitely the focus this week.”
Kaplan’s three losses have been by a combined 11 points, and three of their wins have been by a combined 11 points, so the Pirates have been tested already.
“We’re 7-3 and we’re 11 points away from being 10-0,” Brodie said. “The real difference from last year is we’ve won some close games this year. The last two years we found a way to lose those close games. We’ve lost some close games too but also we beat Erath by 3 and Crowley by 4, and then beat St. Martinville with 50 seconds left. I think Friday night’s going to be another example of two teams that are going to battle it out. Expect (a score) more in the low 20s and running the football. They’re pretty similar to Abbeville with their style.”
Both teams will try to run the ball. Kaplan’s offense is led by wingback Daylon Landry with 1,060 yards and 11 touchdowns on the ground, second in the parish rushing totals, and 261 yards and two TDs on 11 receptions, third in the parish in receiving yards. Fullback Jed Devoltz, who missed a few games with an injury, is fifth in the parish with 823 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground.
Quarterback Sabe David has thrown for 578 yards and six touchdowns, fourth in the parish in passing yards. Brayden Bearb (273 yards, 6 TDs rushing, 113 yards, 1 TD receiving), Wyatt Hebert (230 yards, 2 TDs rushing), Dane Frick (175 yards, 1 TD rushing) and André Marceaux (105 yards, 1 TD receiving) add to a potent offense for the Pirates.
Jennings forces teams to play sound defense, the coach said, much like North Vermilion and Abbeville, two teams the Pirates have played this year.
“They’re an option team,” he said. “They have a really good fullback over there that has created some problems for some people. The biggest thing about them is they’ve got a coach that’s won a couple of state championships at Kinder, and his first year going 7-3, obviously he’s doing a great job over there.
“They’re just a super disciplined team that if we don’t match that level of mental toughness and discipline, they can run away with the game,” Brodie said. “It’ll be a good test for us seeing where we’re at, preparing for a team that’s usually in contention for making a run in the playoffs.”
Brodie said he’s glad to see Kaplan having only a 45 minute drive to get to the first-round game. The Pirates were nearly paired up with Franklin Parish, a 3 1/2 hour drive away in Winnsboro.
“Being closer, I think it definitely benefits us just because we’re going to get more of our fans in the stands,” Brodie said. “Being in Jennings is a blessing just because a lot of people who want to go to the game wouldn’t have been able to drive three or four hours will be able to travel 45 minutes down the road.”
The winner of Friday’s game advances to the winner of the opening round game between No. 7 Leesville and No. 26 St. Martinville.

Abbeville High School students were given the opportunity to gain practical knowledge in animal husbandry and understand the intricacies of food production from farm to table.
The slaughtering of 22 chickens, which were raised by the students, was observed by the Agriculture I and II classes, as well as other students.
For seven weeks, Shane Theall and Thomas Stelly, both agriculture teachers, collaborated to teach Abbeville High School students about the process of raising chickens for slaughter.
Over the course of seven weeks, a cohort of agriculture students have been tending to 22 Broiler chickens, providing them with daily sustenance and hydration.
Of the 22 chickens, 20 were generously sponsored by AHS teachers, who will receive the meat from their designated chicken after it has been prepared by the students.
The birds were killed by Stelly and Theall, and then some students prepared the meat for the sponsoring teacher by cutting, cleaning, and bagging it.
Abbeville students have been raising and cleaning chickens for the last two years. Stelly wanted to give AHS agriculture students the chance to raise a farm animal.
According to Stelly, in the past, Ag students had to raise farm animals at home, which was a challenge for AHS students.
He sought a fast and affordable method to raise and process the birds at school, thus prompting his search. The Broiler chickens, being fast-growing and genetically bred to grow faster, were purchased as chicks and could reach full growth in just seven weeks.
After only seven weeks, their weight ranged from seven to 10 pounds before being cleaned.
AHS senior Hunner Hickok weighed and helped clean chickens.
According to Hickok, the experience was very informative.
“It is a really good learning eperience for people who do not know how to it or never it,” said Hickok.
During the class, Theall, the Ag instructor, provided a demonstration on removing the organs of a chicken.
He showcased the heart, lungs, liver, stomach, and digestive system to the students.
The purpose of this activity was to educate the students on the process of food breakdown and digestion in chickens.
To assess their understanding, Theall engaged the students in a quiz on the chicken’s anatomy.
Sophomore TaCarra Stewart displayed great enthusiasm as she answered numerous questions about the digestive system.
Stewart emphasized the significance of this knowledge due to an upcoming test, and expressed that the chance to witness the subject matter firsthand added to her fascination.
“I have a test on this, so I need to know it,” said Stewert.

The identity of the person who was struck by a vehicle and the person responsible for running him over were successfully determined by the Abbeville Police Department.
The name of the man hit is Kameron Bergeron, 24, who is from New Iberia but lives in Leroy. The city police had to fingerprint Bergeron while he lay unconscious in a Lafayette hospital to get a name.
The name of the driver is Khamthout Xayalath, a 59-year-old Vietnamese female from New Iberia.
According to Abbeville Police Chief Mike Hardy, Xayalath did not know she hit a person until she learned the Abbeville police were looking for her.
Hardy said Xayalath said she saw what she thought was a pile of clothes in the road and went over it.
It was Kameron Bergeron lying down in the road, said Hardy.
Hardy said no charges will be filed against Xayalath.
The accident occurred on the morning of Oct. 31, on Hwy. 14, near Tractor Supply Company.
The Abbeville Police Department used video cameras along Hwy. 14 from Abbeville to Erath to capture footage of a white SUV.
They were able to identify the license plate of the vehicle, which was filmed
passing through Erath shortly after Bergeron was hit.
After running the license plate, they were able to determine the name of the driver.
On Tuesday morning, the female driver was brought in for questioning at the Abbeville Police Department.
Currently, Bergeron is still in a Lafayette hospital, battling a broken femur and a shattered ankle on his left leg.
In addition, he is also facing a brain bleed and potential internal injuries, which has kept him confined to a regular hospital room.
Although he started physical therapy this week, he is unable to bear any weight on his left leg.
Tuesday morning, Bergeron’s father, Marcus, and his stepmom, Andi Louviere Bergeron, who live in Arkansas, are caring for Kameron.
They are furious with the driver who fled the scene after hitting their son.
Andi expressed their anger, said, “I can’t believe the driver didn’t even stop to offer help. It’s infuriating to think that someone could hit a person and then just leave them to suffer on the road. Why would they do that?”
Andi mentioned that another driver, who was behind the white SUV, did stop to assist Kameron. Unfortunately, the Bergeron family never learned the name of this kind driver, but they are eager to express their gratitude for stopping and preventing further traffic congestion.
“We want to meet and hug you for helping,” said Andi.
Marcus remained with his son until he regained consciousness after the accident, but unfortunately, Kameron has no recollection of what happened.
Marcus is struggling to come to terms with the fact that his son was involved in an accident and wants to know how it happened.
“It is so hard in my mind that this happened to my son,” said Marcus. “We want to know how this happens. How did my son end up in the middle of the road?”

Although no Vermilion Parish Schools were reclassified under the Louisiana High School Athletic Association’s enrollment assessment for the upcoming two-year period, each district that includes teams from the parish will see some changes, based on the LHSAA’s initial redistricting plan for the 2024-26 cycle.
Changes to enrollment for schools in each of those districts sees some teams moving out as their enrollment increased or decreased, and others moving in.
The biggest change in the proposed plan comes for Vermilion Catholic and Gueydan, which are slated to move out of districts 7-A and 4-A, respectively, and into a new District 6-A under the new plan.
VC was in District 7-A with Centerville, Central Catholic, Covenant Christian, Hanson Memorial, Highland Baptist and Jeanerette.
All of those teams except Highland Baptist remain in the new District 7-A.
Gueydan was in District 5-A with Elton, Beekman Charter, Hamilton Christian, Oberlin and Merryville.
Elton, Hamilton Christian, Merryville and Oberlin will move into a new District 4-A along with Grand Lake, which moves down from Class 2A, and Basile, which moves over from District 5-A.
Beekman Charter moves up to Class 2A and will join District 2-2A with Delhi Charter, Ferriday, Madison, Mangham, Oak Grove, Ouachita Christian and Rayville.
The new District 6-A will include VC, Gueydan, Ascension Episcopal, Highland Baptist and Westminster Christian of Lafayette.
District 4-4A, which includes North Vermilion High School, sees one team move out and two teams move in.
Lafayette Christian, which had been in the district, is being reclassified as a Class 2A team and will move into District 6-2A with Lafayette Renaissance Charter Academy, Lake Arthur, Midland, Notre Dame and Welsh, if the redistricting plan is approved.
Moving into District 4-4A along with current teams David Thibodeaux (non-football), North Vermilion, Northside, St. Thomas More, Teurlings Catholic and Westgate, are Comeaux and Rayne.
Comeaux is moving down from Class 5A and Rayne, which moves out of District 3-4A.
District 5-3A, which includes Abbeville, Erath and Kaplan from Vermilion Parish, sees Crowley moving out and Acadiana Renaissance Charter moving in.
St. Martinville remains the fifth team in the district.
Crowley is shifting to District 4-3A to join Church Point, Iota, Mamou, Northwest, Pine Prairie and Ville Platte. Port Barre is moving out of that district and down into Class 2A.
Delcambre, which is part of the Iberia Parish school system but is located in Vermilion Parish, remains in the same district but with a new district designation.
The Panthers will be in District 7-2A with Catholic High of New Iberia, Franklin, Houma Christian, Loreauville and West St. Mary, which previously comprised District 8-2A along with Delcambre and Ascension Episcopal, which moves down to Class A.