Family Matters: Catholic High’s Cohen LeBlanc Embraces Distinction of Being Fourth-Generation Athlete

by: William Weathers // GeauxPreps.com Contributor

State championships in two sports over a five-month period typically warrant seating at the head of the family’s table.

But this isn’t just any table, and certainly not your ordinary family when you take into account the lineage of Catholic High senior Cohen LeBlanc. He’s a fourth-generation student-athlete from a family with deep roots in the Baton Rouge school dating back 72 years to Cohen’s great-grandfather Melvin LeBlanc. 

The LeBlanc name, beginning with Mel, became synonymous with Catholic High through both their athletic and academic pursuits. That continued with Joe LeBlanc, his son Dale LeBlanc, and now Cohen, a part of both Catholic’s Division I state select championship teams in both football and baseball last season. 

The No. 4 Bears open the 2024 season at No. 5 Destrehan at 7 p.m. Friday.

“Last year, I definitely took it on,” Cohen said of the family’s orange and black bloodlines. “I remember telling the team that I’m a legacy and I wanted to live up to the name. This year I can go write my own story because I’m more comfortable. To continue the legacy but extend it to new heights of going to play college ball, and possibly even farther than college. Just keep our family’s good name going.”

The 5-foot-11, 185-pound Cohen was an integral part of Catholic’s march to last year’s state championship in football that concluded with a 12-2 record. He caught 41 passes for 530 yards and five touchdowns, including a pair of scores in the state title game against Acadiana. 

On a deep and talented baseball team, which was crowned national champions by several national outlets with a 38-2 record, LeBlanc carved out a niche as a right-handed pitcher, pinch-hitter, and pinch-runner. He batted .375 with a double, four RBIs, and was 1-1 with a 1.62 ERA and 15 strikeouts in six appearances.

“It’s a blessing, for sure,” he said of last year’s sweep of state titles. “I’m just super grateful to be in the position that I am in. Obviously, it was really cool to experience both. I give all the credit to all my teammates in both sports. I was just trying to be a good teammate, but also just take in the experiences that I was given and that’s going to help me further down the road, too.”

Cohen’s great-grandfather Melvin played basketball at Catholic, and his grandfather Joe was a four-sport letterman before coming back to the school to coach teach, and work in administration for a total of 11 years at the school. His father Dale was a two-sport athlete in football and track.

However, the family’s ties to the school go deeper. Because of Mel’s expansive family of nine children, including seven boys, a wave of second, third, and fourth generations of LeBlancs have followed suit, a number that will reach 12 grandchildren to have graduated with Cohen’s next spring. 

“It was ingrained in me from the time that I could think about it, that one day I was going to Catholic High,” said Joe, who spent 42 years in education and is a member of Catholic’s Grizzly Greats. “I think I passed it on to my kids in terms of that’s where you’re going to school one day when you go to high school.”

During his four years on the school’s campus, it’s become commonplace for Cohen, who attended the school since eighth grade, to hear snippets about his grandfather from the parents of his friends. 

“Last year I noticed how crazy it was how much history I had here,” he said. “And then almost every time I talk to somebody, like a friend’s parent or somebody, they say your grandpa was my disciplinarian. My grandfather really was here teaching and he’s a Grizzly Great and that makes me appreciate this place a whole lot more. It’s amazing the places this place can take you, and just the opportunities that you can have if you really buy into what it has to give.”

Paving The Way to Catholic High 

Melvin LeBlanc, a 1952 graduate, paved the way for the family, playing football, basketball, and track and was an honors student. 

Unfortunately, his death in 1966 because of leukemia, resulted in his wife Audry being the sole caregiver of nine children. She abided by her husband’s wishes and steered the four oldest boys to Catholic High.

“I knew he wanted me to go to Catholic High and I knew my mom wanted me to go there,” Joe said. “When it came to going to high school there was no doubt where I was going to school.”

Joe played a variety of positions in football at Catholic, ranging from running back to wide receiver on offense, and defensive back, defensive end, and linebacker on defense. After playing basketball, he moved to baseball and track in the spring where he ran for legendary track and field coach Pete Boudreaux, who coached him in freshman football and basketball.

“I never went home from Catholic until after dark,” Joe said. “I had a practice or game every day. I was with the people at Catholic High longer every day than I was with my family. It became a part of who we were.”

Joe earned a scholarship to Nicholls State where his versatility enabled him to play both defensive back and wide receiver for two different head coaches over the course of his career. When he got into coaching, which included two years the equivalent of being a graduate assistant at Nicholls, his path eventually led him back to Catholic High where he coached six of his seven years under legendary head football coach Dale Weiner.

He applied for the head football coaching position that went to Weiner, a scenario that had far-reaching effects. 

“To this day, I couldn’t be any closer with anyone than I am with Dale Weiner,” Joe said, also noting a fondness for fellow assistants Don Hood and Gerry Garidel. “Just an incredible human being.”

Because of his demanding schedule that included classroom instruction and practice after school Joe, who also coached track, said it was customary to see his son Dale in tow. The son he named after his younger brother Dale, who tragically died in a fire in 1966, daily accompanied his father to practice where he was expected to complete homework beforehand.

Dale was also a constant at Catholic High football games and along with his brother Paul, served as ball boys for the Bears. 

“He grew up there,” Joe said of Dale. “Eventually we got to a point where it was just a way of life. It was never a conscious effort to make him love Catholic High. He liked it because it was a part of what he did every day.”

Dale flourished in school where he was a straight-A student and was a defensive back in football and also ran track. 

“I’ve loved seeking wisdom from my dad and grandpa,” Cohen said. “It’s something I think I need to do more of, spending more time with them or just calling them. I appreciate any chance I get to spend time with my grandpa because of his endless wisdom.”

Dynamic Athlete Who Grew Up Watching the Bears

Cohen LeBlanc used to be one of those kids attending Catholic High games at Olympia Stadium, emulating such standouts as running backs Clyde Edwards-Helaire (now of the Kansas City Chiefs) and Josh Parker (McNeese State signee). He estimated being 9-10 years old at the time, running with a football outside the field of play in the manner of his heroes.

“Those guys made it look so easy,” he said. “I was always the kid that was on the side grass playing and throwing the football around, wanting to be those guys and looking up to those guys. I hoped that I could have that chance someday. It’s so cool to say that I’m a part of it now. I just want to be that inspiration now for that little kid sitting on the side playing.”

By the time he was a sophomore, Cohen worked his way into a playing role and made 18 catches for 276 yards and three touchdowns for Catholic’s state semifinalist team.

It didn’t take first-year head coach Hudson Fuller long to identify LeBlanc as a potential key cog in Catholic’s offense, which was led by senior quarterback Daniel Beale. LeBlanc shined in one-on-one drills, showing a burst of speed that enabled him to gain separation from defenders.

“He’s got incredible open-field speed,” said Fuller, who guided Catholic to a state title in his first season. “I think you saw last year against some of the best competition in the state when he got the ball in space, he could really break away from people. He’s got just a great football mind that allows us to use him in a lot of different ways. He’s a great leader, a great teammate, and a big-time competitor.

“I’d say it’s (role) going to expand,” Fuller said. “There’s just going to be more opportunity, so we’re going to look to him for a larger leadership role, and him being a guy that’s vocal on offense. He’s going to be one of our primary targets this year.”

LeBlanc has been an offensive coordinator’s dream, a player so skilled that he’s handled the mental capacity that’s come along with a diverse offense. Not only has he played the wide receiver position but has motioned into the backfield carried the ball, and given the Bears a home run threat anytime he gets into the open. 

LeBlanc, also an adept blocker in the run game, helped Catholic to 503 yards of offense in the state final, scoring on plays of 12 and 30 yards in the second and third quarters in the state final.

“Last year it was coach Fuller’s first year, so I had to learn a lot of new stuff,” LeBlanc said. “Almost every game plan we had; I was drawing out every play in the game plan out in my notebook so that I could memorize it. If I had questions, I’d ask them. But now this year, most of it’s familiar. I’ve still got to look over it and write a few things down, but for the most part, I’m getting more comfortable in it.”

“A lot of that is just having complete trust and faith in my coaches,” LeBlanc said. “I trust those guys with everything. Just accepting whatever they’re going to teach me or whatever they’re going to coach me. Just going out there and doing it and fully trusting them. Just going out there, getting into the meetings, and going out there and doing it. They wouldn’t be throwing all this at me if I wasn’t capable of doing it. Just understanding their belief in me and trusting them as well.”

Family Tradition of Excellence, Both On and Off the Playing Fields

Cohen’s more aware of the scope of his family’s legacy. He said it’s customary to receive a text from his grandfather with the following message: ‘Just Do The Right Thing’.

“That’s always stuck with me,” he said. “Whether it’s an easy thing or hard thing to do, just do the right thing. That’s the main advice. It’s a simple thing but has a deeper meaning to me.”

Cohen has maintained a 3.87 grade point average received scholarship offers and made unofficial visits to the Air Force Academy, the Naval Academy, and Northwestern State. 

Like those before him such as his grandfather, father, and older brother Britton, a member of Catholic’s 4×400 relay team that clinched a state title in track in 2022, Cohen would like to follow in the footsteps of the aforementioned trio and be a part of Catholic’s prestigious ‘Men of the Year’ honor at the end of the school year.

Joe said his daughter-in-law Brittany has favorably compared her son to his grandfather.

“She said he’s my mini-me, she tells me that all the time,” Joe laughed. “Cohen is by far the better athlete out of all the younger generations. Had he been alive back in my day, he could have been a four-sport letterman.”

Catholic unveiled Cohen in a different capacity in last Friday’s 23-0 jamboree victory over Madison Prep.

LeBlanc, who averaged 17 yards a return in three kickoff opportunities last season, ignited the Bears in the second with a return of the opening kickoff of 88 yards for a touchdown – a run that was equal parts blocking and sheer speed.

Nearing midfield with the kicker in the vicinity, LeBlanc motored past him to score untouched, giving the Bears another weapon at their disposal this season.

“I was thinking last Friday about the last time I really did that, and it was in middle school at St. Aloysius,” said LeBlanc, one of the team’s 32 seniors. “We’ve had so many guys that were capable within the last few years. So, it was just working and waiting my turn when it comes to that return game. We’ve had so many studs back there. I finally got my shot last Friday and made the most of it. It’s going to definitely pretty cool to get back there, just another way that I can help the team.”

The kickoff of his senior year has afforded Cohen the time to reminisce about his growth at Catholic and reflect fondly on his time there. He plans to follow the family’s blueprint and one day send his sons to Catholic High.

“In my mind, there was never another choice, I was going to Catholic High,” he said. “I grew up watching them and grew up around the place. Why not? There was never a second thought. There’s no doubt that if I’m living here that he (future son) won’t have a choice, and he’ll understand by the time he leaves here. This place is unlike any other.”

Cohen said there are no shrines to Catholic High adorning the walls of his home or that of his grandfather. There are pictures that serve as keepsakes and subtle reminders about the role the school played in the development of the LeBlanc family that figures to continue into the 21st century.

LeBlanc will forever be thankful for the school’s community that’s helped foster a high standard of character and academic achievement. The discipline, an area his grandfather supervised at the school, has played a part in the molding of young men along with the development of his faith.

“I also give all of the credit to my grandpa, my great grandpa, and my dad for believing in me and sending me to this place,” LeBlanc said. “They didn’t have to, but without them, this wouldn’t have been possible.”