GeauxPreps Players of the Week: Bunkie’s Ketron Watson Sets Record, Owens Sparks Opelousas Defense
by Marshall Loeffler // GeauxPreps.com
Ketron Watson of Bunkie gets this week’s award for setting the school’s single-game record for rushing touchdowns, with seven against Avoyelles on Thursday. The previous school record of six rushing scores was set just last year by 2025 teammate Zion Lee, who now plays for the US Naval Academy.
Watson carried 27 times for 240 yards. Four of the scores came in the first half, and the fifth arrived early in the second half while the game was still competitive. While they had to keep up in a game that was high-scoring on both sides, Bunkie Head Coach Jimmie Hillman told me that the senior offensive linemen “made it clear” they wanted the record if they could get it, and Watson was able to get two more.
More importantly for the team, it was the first win of the season for the Panthers against a parish rival, and while this top-seeded team has been looking for a spark to replace Lee and a talented senior class, Watson stepped up on Thursday, broke a record, and carried his team to a 63-24 win, and that is why he is this week’s GeauxPreps Offensive Player of the Week.
Offensive Total Team Effort
D’Arbonne Woods had four different players with a rushing touchdown (Ethan Trash, Dylan Rodriguez, Jericho Adkins, and Ryder Genis), and two different players with a passing touchdown (Ryder Genis and Bradley Thrash, who completed one to his brother Ethan on a trick play). The Timberwolves totaled over 400 yards of total offense in a 42-6 win over Arcadia to move to 2-1.
David DeMoss and Josh Barham have worked side by side on this coaching staff since they made the move to class 2A, and consistently use multiple skill players and a reformed single-wing attack to run the ball and spread the production around. They have some good district matchups coming up with Union Parish and Oak Grove.
GeauxPreps Week 2 Defensive Player of the Week: Daniel Mazyck, LB/DB, DeRidder
Opelousas defensive back Jaylon Owens saved his best defensive performance of the season for a perfect moment. In a 44-7 victory over cross-town rival Northwest, Owens intercepted two passes and returned two long punts, one for a touchdown, to lead that unit and dominate on nearly every play.
This was a real team effort for the Tigers, who did not allow a point to be scored until late in the game after substitutions had been made, but Owens forced 2 of 3 turnovers and made the Raiders pay on third and fourth down.
“Most of us play both sides of the ball. Coach [Harry Coleman] makes sure we are all in shape,” Owens told Jordan Taylor of Under The Lights after Friday’s matchup. So we are athletes, whether it’s offense, defense, special teams; we just stay ready to make a play, and it took everything we had tonight.” Owens had plenty for his rivals, and for that, he is this week’s GeauxPreps Defensive Player of the Week.
Defensive Total Team Effort
After four straight one-win seasons, Beau Chene is 3-0 for the first time since 2021, and the team is only giving up an average of 9 points per game so far. Isaiah Cisneros and Santiago Solis have led the charge up front for a Gators team that hasn’t given up more than 14 points yet.
They have a few games coming up against teams that also have winning records, but a defense like this tends to travel, and for third-year head coach Buck Harris, this could be the point where his staff’s work starts to pay off on the scoreboard.