Building Something Special: North DeSoto Continues to Thrive Under Head Coach Dennis Dunn
by: William Weathers // GeauxPreps.com Contributor
If you’re looking for an awe factor involving North DeSoto’s football team, head coach Dennis Dunn said there’s a good possibility you won’t find it.
Where the Griffins have excelled, though, has been in the production of an assembly line of players matching a template that’s been a combination of tenacity, passion, and drive.
“We don’t have a whole bunch of Division I talent roaming around,” Dunn said. “If you came into our locker room, or if you came to the game, on most Friday nights we’re not the imposing team. Most of the time our opponent looks a whole lot better than we look on the hoof. We’ve just got a bunch of hard-nosed kids that embrace hard work, discipline, and accountability.”
What Dunn has managed to do in his return to northwest Louisiana six years ago is turn a successful program into one of the state’s upper-echelon Class 4A programs that are headed to the Division II non-select state regionals.
Seventh-seeded North DeSoto (9-2) hosts No. 10 Belle Chasse (9-2) at 7 p.m. Friday.
“I think it’s culture that’s built year-round,” said Dunn, who has a high school career record of 252-73. “Once that culture’s in place then it begins to perpetuate itself in terms of what senior classes want to leave as their legacy. It becomes a challenge for each senior class to do better than what had been left to them. That’s fun to see that develop, to see leaders emerge that have bought into the process and trying to meet that standard every day.”
The benchmark for the program has been raised over the previous two seasons when North DeSoto made the school’s first appearance in the Class 4A Division II state championship game. The Griffins almost made it back to the Superdome last season, falling to eventual state champion Opelousas in the state semifinals, 28-20.
The Griffins have won 32 of their last 38 games and claimed four district championships under Dunn.
“We’re no longer the best-kept secret in northwest Louisiana,” Dunn said after his team’s 28-25 loss to Lutcher in the ’22 state championship game.
Building a power in his hometown
Dunn’s name resonated throughout northwest Louisiana with the creation of Evangel Christian Academy in his hometown of Shreveport. He guided the Eagles to both state and national prominence, winning nine state championships and his program was ranked in USA Today’s Top 25 five times – including a national championship in 1999.
A glittering record of 200-39 in 14 seasons made Dunn a household name in coaching circles throughout the state, but the Woodlawn graduate moved to Louisiana College (now Louisiana Christian) in Pineville to become head coach and eventually athletic director.
Over his 11 seasons with the Wildcats, Dunn helped transform the program into a winner with 65 wins during his tenure.
LC recorded its first winning season since 1961, had its best American Southwest Conference finish at 7-1 in 2010, earned its first national ranking in ’11, and made its first playoff appearance a year later.
Dunn was named the conference’s coach of the year after leading LC to its first eight-win season and initial showing in the NCAA Division III playoffs, putting in motion a stretch of seven-plus win seasons in a seven-year stretch.
“I don’t regret anything in my time at Louisiana College and what we were able to do there and the young men we were able to impact,” Dunn said. “We had more success at LC than anybody in their history. We had seven straight seven-plus win seasons. People who know that and understand the situation at LC know that’s a miracle.”
Dunn began his coaching career in his hometown at Southwood High in 1984 before leaving for his alma mater and leading the Knights to four district titles.
Evangel was opened in 1990 and two years later Dunn developed the phenomenon that was known as Evangel’s pass-happy football teams led by a staggering line of great quarterbacks such as Josh Booty, Brock Berlin, Phillip Deas, and John David Booty.
Success followed and the Eagles had won 84% of their games, including nine state titles for a school that now has 14 state crowns and only trails Haynesville’s 17.
Dunn spent two years at Pineville High after leaving LC when the North DeSoto job opened. The Griffins had appeared in a pair of state semifinals (2012 in Class 3A, 2015 in 4A), but hadn’t advanced past the second round over the next three years when Dunn was hired.
Not only was Stonewall six miles away from Shreveport, but Dunn had also taken notice of the area’s growth, fueled by Haynesville Shale, during recruiting trips at LC.
“It was always a love for high school football,” Dunn said. “I’m a high school football coach. I cut my teeth coaching high school and loving high school kids. There was always an understanding that I would probably finish as a high school coach. This area caught my eye. It was close to home and had exploded in terms of growth in the area.
“We have a K-12 campus, I just saw an opportunity to truly build something,” Dunn said. “I thought the community was primed to experience something really special, much like we created at Evangel all those years ago. When you have the right ingredients, which I felt like this (job) had, you’d have this kind of opportunity to build something that’s consistent and long-lasting.”
Building around a freshman quarterback
One of the driving forces in North DeSoto’s current run of success can be traced back to the 2022 season.
That’s when a freshman named Luke Delafield became the team’s starter at quarterback – a position that’s been of paramount importance in the success of Dunn’s teams.
He started in all of his team’s games his first season and never looked like a freshman, directing the Griffins to a 12-2 record and to the school’s first appearance in a state championship game.
“He’s been the catalyst,” Dunn said of Delafield. “His overall record is 32-6. “He’s had savvy, pocket presence, poise under pressure, ability to make the right decisions on coverages, and a will to win.”
Delafield launched his record-setting career by passing for 2,516 yards with 38 touchdowns against 15 interceptions. He earned a pair of scholarship offers from Northwestern State and UL-Monroe that season.
He’s gone on to break all of North DeSoto’s passing records with another season left. The Class 4A All-State honorable mention choice in 2023 enjoyed his best season with 3,219 yards (188 of 223), 38 TDs, and nine interceptions.
Delafield has completed 508 of 794 passes for 7,955 yards with 97 TDs and 34 interceptions. This season, he’s thrown for 2,220 yards (154 of 223) with 21 TDs and nine interceptions.
When asked, Dunn would not rank his all-time quarterbacks, but offered Delafield is certainly among the best to play the position for him.
“He’s on the list,” he said. “I won’t say where he is on the list, but he’s on the list. No doubt. He’s the ultimate competitor. He’s not just a talent, he’s the consummate leader.
“He wills some victories because he’s so determined, and the guys respond to him,” he said. “The guys follow him, and he’s got that aura about him when he comes in a room. There’s not a cockiness but an overwhelming confidence that’s contagious.”
Dunn said one of the major factors working against Delafield from a recruiting standpoint is the new era of the NCAA’s transfer portal. It’s become commonplace for college coaches to search for more experienced players for immediate results instead of signing and developing high school freshmen.
“If it was five years ago, he would already have multiple power conference offers,” he said. “It’s so different now. The guys are recruiting the portal more now than they are high schools. I still think it will happen when he has multiple offers from big, big schools. People play their cards closer to the vest now because they’re portal shopping first. Those guys unfortunately have to win now and guys aren’t taking as big of a chance on developing younger guys. It’s unfortunate for high school kids but that’s where we are.”
More than just a passing fancy
North DeSoto has a balanced offense generating 440 yards and 41.3 points this season.
“We’re a little more traditional,” Dunn said. “We run the ball. We’re probably 50-50.”
Junior running back Kenny Thomas has evolved from a part-time starter a year ago to the team’s leading rusher with 187 carries for 1,622 yards (8.7 yards per carry) and 27 TDs. He’s rushed for 100 yards or better in nine of 11 games and combines with junior Braelyn Latin (129-677, 8 TDs) to give the Griffins a dynamic 1-2 rushing duo behind returning junior starters Nathan Dubroc (right tackle) and Mason Guillory (left guard) on the offensive line.
Thomas’ biggest effort came in the six-point win over Booker T. Washington with 21 carries for 200 yards and two TDs. He added 190 yards and 3 scores against Northwood and had five touchdowns and 196 yards in a 62-11 win against Southwood.
“He’s had a tremendous season,” Dunn said.
Delafield’s benefitted from a talented group of wide receivers, led by the return of first-team Class 4A All-State selection Cole Cory.
Cory, the area’s leading receiver with 79 catches for 1,431 yards and 15 TDs in ’23, was knocked out of the team’s starting lineup in the second week of the season with a torn PCL. He returned to the field two weeks ago and started in last week’s 44-0 playoff opener over Woodlawn with four catches for 82 yards and a TD.
Cory’s had a distinguished career with 192 receptions for 2,922 yards (15.2 yards per catch) and 28 TDs.
A group of seniors have served as North DeSoto’s receiving leaders with Eli Procell (32-392, 2 TDs), Jarred Jackson (28-416, 6 TDs), and Chaz Martinez (26-492, 7 TDs), along with sophomore Miller Warren (30-472, 5 TDs).
The anchors to North DeSoto’s base 3-4 defense are senior linemen Javon Brown and Konnor Watson.
“Both of them have had tremendous seasons so far,” said Dunn, who has 21 seniors on his roster.
The beauty of this year’s defense under coordinator Josh James has been the development of the linebacker corps and a secondary which has undergone some retooling after last year.
Junior inside linebacker Porter Doyle is the team’s leading tackler with approximately 100 stops, providing an example to the team with his maturity from ’23.
“If you would have told us at this time last year that he’s going to be our dude, we weren’t really sure,” Dunn said. “He’s been a guy that’s said he wasn’t going to be denied. We didn’t know if he could do it.”
Doyle’s emergence has only been trumped by the performance of freshman Logan Addison, who has teamed with Doyle and sophomore outside linebacker Hayden Bell (four fumble recoveries, two interceptions) to pace this year’s unit.
“We had no idea that a freshman was going to step in and be the other guy,” Dunn said. “Logan’s older brother Hunter was a safety for us and signed at Nicholls. We knew he had it genetically, we just didn’t know it would be this quick. He’s turned out to be one of our best tacklers and makes a lot of plays week in and week out. We’ve been fortunate to have some really good linebackers over the last few years and this year’s no different.”
The back half of North DeSoto’s defense has looked like a patchwork quilt at times because of injuries.
Senior Aiden Davis suffered a lacerated kidney in the second week of the season and missed six weeks. He’s returned to the starting lineup to join senior safety Tucker Brewster, a converted H-back from a year ago, first-year starter Braylen Delton, and junior Ethan Ivey, who also dealt with an injury this year.
“He doesn’t try to do things that we can’t do from a personnel standpoint,” Dunn said of James. “We’re undersized in many ways and the linebackers make a lot of plays. We do a lot with our front to keep blockers off of the linebackers so they can make plays.”
Persevering through adversity
The ebb and flow of North DeSoto’s season began after two games. Not only did the Griffins suffer a 35-28 loss at Center, Texas, but they left with a roster that was beaten up physically with a matchup against West Monroe on the horizon.
The losses of Cory, Davis, and Ivey for multiple games forced Dunn and his coaching staff to adjust its scheme and personnel on the fly.
There was a low point in a 63-14 home loss to West Monroe, a development that could have resulted in the season coming off the rails.
“Week 2 was a devastating week for us,” Dunn said. “Not only did we lose the game, but we essentially went into the West Monroe game without our whole secondary.”
Martinez, who played cornerback in middle school, earned additional playing time and also started at cornerback.
There were similar stories of players filling the gaps of their injured teammates heading into the team’s District 1-4A opener against Northwood.
What transpired was more than just a 38-21 victory, but the galvanizing of a team that hasn’t lost a game since.
North DeSoto followed a narrow 20-14 win over Woodlawn, with a stretch of eight wins for a team that’s outscored its competition, 322-33.
“That’s a credit to the staff, sitting down and brainstorming,” Dunn said. “How do we overcome this adversity and how do we stay steady, steady and show our team we have not panicked at all? Every goal we had was still attainable. Probably the biggest turning point was that Northwood game (which suffered its only of the season at North DeSoto), one where we kind of had a piecemeal team put together. We won the game big, and the rest has kind of been history since that point.
“If people only knew what we were having to makeshift to put a plan together on the field,” Dunn said of the Northwood game. “Credit the coaches. I can’t say enough about our staff for the way they’ve responded to the adversity. Our players have just followed them. They didn’t throw the baby out with the bath water in terms of what we were trying to do.”
Dunn also points to two key areas to the path his team has blazed since the end of September.
He said Delafield has completed 80% of his passes with 17 TDs and two interceptions, and the Griffins have minimized their fumbles which were prevalent in their trip to the ’22 state title game and in last year’s state semifinal loss to Opelousas.
“What we preach every day is execution, not turning the ball over,” said Dunn, who joined an esteemed group of coaches to lead two different teams to the Superdome. “We’re protecting the ball and not turning it over. We’re playing really sound defensively, not giving up the big play and we have a good kicker (sophomore Dakota Denney). For the last two years, that’s (turnovers) what beat us. All of those are things that can change a game.”
And have kept this year’s North DeSoto team in position for an opportunity at postseason glory.