Half a Thousand: Ascension Catholic’s Trevin Simon delivers school record 519 yards
by William Weathers // GeauxPreps.com Contributor
Within hours of witnessing one of the best performances by one of his running backs, Ascension Catholic coach Taylor James watched the game film of his team’s 57-35 victory last Thursday over St. John of Plaquemine several more times.
He came away amazed each time by the performance of his senior running back, Trevin Simon’s monumental 34-carry, 519-yard rushing performance, which produced seven touchdowns in the key District 8-1A game. Simon also recorded eight tackles and an interception on defense, but it was his offensive exploits on offense – a school record – that left everyone awe-struck.
“I knew he had a good game, I didn’t know it was that good,” James said. “As a coach in the moment, you don’t realize it. We’ve had guys that have been around the program for ages. At the end of the game, they said it right next to me, ‘I’ve got him for 519, that’s the record,’ as I was taking my headsets off.
“In the moment I wasn’t thinking about that,” James said. “When I got home and talked to my wife, she asked if I had seen the (VSN) broadcast. I was writing some notes down and getting ready for Friday when we brought the team in. The announcer said he didn’t know if he’d seen a 500-yard game, but I’m about to tonight. It was unreal.”
For a program that’s produced Germaine “Juice” Williams and, more recently, two-time Class 1A All-State selection and 2023 Most Outstanding Offensive Player Chad Elzy, Simon took hold of the school’s single-game rushing mark. His yardage toppled Elzy’s previous record of 461 yards, but was two touchdowns shy of Elzy’s record of nine.
The 5-foot-10, 185-pound Simon will continue to take aim at Elzy’s single-season rushing record of 2,911 yards, needing another 989 to surpass that mark set in 2023. He’s currently the state’s leading rusher with 147 carries for 1,922 yards – 13.1 yards per carry – with 25 touchdowns to go with 25 tackles and two interceptions on defense.
“After the game, I didn’t sleep,” Simon said. “I was still in shock and still excited about it. My parents were pretty excited about it and talked to me about it.”
Ascension Catholic (5-2, 2-0) visits No. 10 North Iberville (7-0, 2-0) in a game Friday at 7 p.m. with direct implications for the District 8-1A championship.
“It was a big rival game,” Simon said of St. John. “We still had to come to work and get ready for the next game.”
Ascension Catholic had to make sizable replacements in the offseason.
The Bulldogs were looking for a new coach when Lowell Narcisse left after one season for Class 5A Thibodaux.
James, a graduate of Winnfield High and Louisiana College, began his career as a college assistant at Louisiana College and Northwestern State before moving to the high school ranks at Vandebilt Catholic in Houma.
That led to a five-year stay in Texas as a defensive coordinator until returning to his native Louisiana, bringing a ‘Fast & Wide’ system that needed a lead back to fill the dynamic role Elzy had left behind.
“It was high tempo and I kind of knew what we were going to be doing,” James said. “I looked at film and evaluated guys who fit where, and what can you do with those guys. Then you have to marry what you can do with the roster, and at a small school, you have what you have.
“When I was a college football coach, I watched track meets and powerlifting meets, looking for guys that stuck out on film,” James said. “That was something I always looked at. What are your weight room numbers, and what are your track times? Those are things I looked at when you’re evaluating the roster.”
James valued other areas for running backs, such as ball security and agility, and when he took Ascension Catholic into fall camp, the Bulldogs took more of a running back-by-committee approach to the position.
Simon, a wide receiver in 2024, was a running back in middle school and certainly had what it took to become the team’s starter at the position.
“I had played it when I was younger,” Simon said. “I had teammates help with switching positions, and having talked to Chad helped me with that.”
James saw the fast-track Simon was in advance of the team’s fall scrimmage and jamboree.
“We watched Trevin get better and better, getting more comfortable in the system, getting more comfortable in the game,” he said. “You started to see everything materialize faster from the back field. He understood what we were doing offensively.
“As the team’s gotten better, he’s gotten more comfortable,” James said. “He saw he had an opportunity, and he took advantage of it and hasn’t looked back one time. He was the guy that fit the bill the best and was able to do the most things we wanted.”
In the team’s opener against Class 5A H.L. Bourgeois, Simon rushed for 269 yards and four touchdowns in his team’s 45-40 victory.
It was the start of a season in which Simon rushed for at least 100 yards – topped by last week’s career-best effort. He’s averaged 274.6 yards per game – a figure that would net him Elzy’s single-season record with a minimum of four games.
Simon’s production included a 200-yard effort against Loreauville and 270 the following week against St. Thomas Aquinas. He scored six touchdowns in a 49-40 win over Class 2A Episcopal and followed that with 203 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the first half of a 42-0 league win over Ascension Christian.
“I wanted to achieve what he achieved,” Simon said of Elzy. “But I want to make the next step, and that’s get to the Dome. I still feel like I’ve got improvement to make to reach my full potential.”
Simon believed big things were in store last week once the team looked at film and the coaches put together the game plan.
“The game plan we had was spot on,” he said. “But I didn’t expect it to be as big as it was.”
The offensive line that Ascension Catholic had in front of Simon put together its best effort of the season.
Senior left tackle Vaughn Blanchard was the lone returning starter in the group and has meshed into a cohesive unit with senior left guard Carston Broden, junior center Cole Cassard, sophomore Davion Geason, and sophomore right tackle Hayden Turner.
Sophomore Payton Ledet’s been a rotational player on the line, and senior Chris Anthens is the team’s tight end.
“Early in the year, they took some lumps,” James said. “We had some miscues, missed blocking assignments. Guys were feeling out their own way, kind of figuring it out. They’ve gotten more comfortable as the year’s gone on. In the last four weeks, they’ve been unbelievable to watch.”
James made the observation during last Thursday’s game, it was a good night for the team’s offense when Simon wasn’t getting touched until eight yards in the secondary.
“I thought we were going to be all right,” he said. “They’re (offensive line) unbelievable and are really toting the load up front. That’s where I want the team to be built, by those guys up front.”
St. John (4-3, 0-2) didn’t go quietly under Simon’s avalanche of offense.
The Eagles were formidable with 545 total yards, and quarterback Tyler Edwards led the way with 396 total yards and five touchdowns.
“The offense knew it was going to have to turn a switch to keep us in that game,” Simon said.
Simon reeled off touchdown runs in the first half of 18, 7, and 53 yards in a 22-9 halftime lead.
St. John wouldn’t go away. The Eagles and Bulldogs combined for eight touchdowns and 54 points in the third quarter, with the visitors holding a 52-35 lead.
Simon’s second-half highlights included touchdown runs of 76, 62, 49, and 38 yards, with two of those coming out of the ‘Wildcat’ formation. The Eagles had twice closed to within one score of the Bulldogs, only to be foiled by Simon’s response each time.
“I want it to be another day at the office when you expect greatness,” James said. “That’s going to happen. You expect excellence. I want them to relish it and enjoy the moment, but understand it’s about the team and each other and we’ll go back to work and do it again.”
The career night never registered on Simon’s radar.
“I didn’t realize how many yards it was,” he said. “The past few weeks, I’ve put up a good amount of touchdowns, but it wasn’t near that amount of yards. I didn’t know until the end of the game. I was pretty shocked.”
“Whenever we needed to step up and make a play, he did it on cue,” James said. “To be put in conversations with guys like Germaine Williams and Chad Elzy, that’s nothing to scoff at. You put your name there; you’re in rare air.
“He’s always going to put the team first,” James said. “He’s one of the hardest workers we’ve got, one of the most selfless kids we’ve got. At the end of the day, the records and power ratings don’t go beside a person’s name; it goes by Ascension Catholic.”
The day after such a memorable game came with its share of privileges and pats on the back at school. Simon said he didn’t push his celebrity, though, declining an offensive lineman’s offer to carry his book sack.
He was used to carrying his own freight and didn’t want to start the day after his spotlight shone brightly.
“We have to move forward and go to work and worry about our next opponent and possibly the district championship,” he said. “We can’t let that affect us and keep going.”