Program Builders: Prairieville has more to show than first district win in second season
by William Weathers // GeauxPreps.com Contributor
PRAIRIEVILLE – Prairieville was on the cusp of its first district victory, clinging to a five-point lead in last Friday’s District 5-5A matchup with Walker, when the Hurricanes’ defense convened with defensive coordinator Austin Thomas near the sideline for a timeout.
Prairieville held leads of 21-3 at halftime and 28-16 in the third quarter when Walker scored a touchdown and recovered the ensuing onside kick. The Hurricanes forced a fourth-and-one situation in the final minutes when players such as senior Eric Williams reassured head coach Mike Schmitt that everything would work out.
Prairieville held on fourth down and ran out the clock, celebrating a 28-23 victory that was the first league win for the second-year program that’s already matched its win total of their debut season in 2024.
“We could have easily given that game because Walker was coming on like a freight train,” Schmitt said. “The shining moment was the fourth-and-one play. When we called timeout, a bunch of kids, such as Eric Williams, were coming up and saying, ‘Hey, coach, we’ve got you’. That is growth, the confidence that we can build. I was pleased with that.”
When Prairieville looks back at the evolution the program it started 1 ½ years ago, it will look back at the night the Hurricanes came ashore.
“It felt good to get our first district win,” Prairieville quarterback Skyler Kelly said. “It was hard fought. We put in a lot of work this summer to get that. We definitely earned that. At the end of the day, a win’s a win. You’ve got to move on after the game and focus on next week.”
Defensive back Cade Hebert returned an interception in the first quarter, and Prairieville built a 21-3 halftime lead on a rushing touchdown from Kelly. He also found tight end Parker Faist on a 20-yard TD.
Walker responded with a pair of touchdowns in the third quarter, closing with 21-16, when Kelly threw his second touchdown pass of the game to Chance Jackson.
“We feel we had to make a statement,” Williams said. “We went to Walker last year and they pummeled us (39-6). It felt terrible.”
The Hurricanes showed they were able to finish what they started. They held off the Wildcats’ surge with Kelly’s second TD pass, and despite a chaotic conclusion, the defense held up their end of the bargain with a clutch fourth-down stop.
Prairieville (2-3, 1-1) hosts district co-leader East Ascension (4-1, 2-0) at 7 p.m. Friday.
“We started the season seeing if we could make the playoffs,” Schmitt said. “It’s not a pipedream for us; we’re trying to do that. It’s not the focus. It is a result of a good process.”
Instead of the traditional build-up for a new program, which usually consists of playing a junior varsity schedule for two years, Prairieville opted to dive into the deep end of the pool right away.
The Hurricanes, a melding of students from Prairieville, Dutchtown, East Ascension, and St. Amant, played a full varsity schedule and competed for District 5-5A honors with expected growing pains from a 2-8 season, winning games over Thrive Academy and St. Thomas Aquinas in the first and last games.
“It’s good that we went out the first year and saw 5A people and got the experience that we need,” Kelly said. “We came back in Year 2 and had already seen that. We kept most of our starters and knew how it was. It just helps us play and know what to expect.”
Prairieville welcomed three new assistant coaches, and Schmitt, a successful head coach in Colorado, took over the team’s offense and adapted to a more option-based attack that’s been well suited for Kelly’s ability.
Schmitt tried to further foster the team’s strength and conditioning level, which is an ongoing process to resemble that of a Class 5A program. That also resulted in a roster that’s at 95 players with 12 seniors, a year after beginning with 150 players.
“Chapter 1 is where we are; last year was the preface,” he said. “We focused in the offseason on physically trying to get ourselves bigger and stronger. Track was also a big piece. We had kids that didn’t run track but did the workouts together. We spent time in class reading books together and doing a report for them to understand what we’re trying to build.
“The mentality was that we needed to build 5A football players,” he said. “We’ve focused on building those 5A-type kids, mentally and physically. We have moved forward fast. We knew what we had because the kids had been through it. We had to prepare, and they did, and I have to give them credit. We’ve had our bumps in the road along the way. We’re trying to be a 5A program.”
A logical step for the program in May was to play its first spring game, facing Class 5A Woodlawn of Baton Rouge. That performance merged into a summer of lifting, conditioning, and 7-on-7 play, although the Hurricanes were still transitioning to their new offense and not quite settled at quarterback.
“We wanted to play a quality opponent with good coaches,” Schmitt said. “We scored a couple of touchdowns, and they didn’t score any, and we were able to build on that.”
Kelly, a junior, was the team’s reserve quarterback and started at strong safety last season. Without a background in the option game, he and fellow junior Charlie Green worked on the intricacies of the offense with Schmitt, taking that competition into fall camp, where Kelly emerged with the job.
Schmitt operated a shotgun, no-huddle offense during his second tour at Eaglecrest in 2022-23, where the Raptors went to the playoffs in both seasons. During his initial seven-year stint at the school, Eaglecrest went 13-1 and lost in the Class 5A state championship game in 2017.
“We were always undersized, but we were fast and strong,” he said. “We developed this offense about 15 years ago, and my personality fits it. I felt this is what we had to do in order for us to win.”
Kelly’s the state’s 11th leading rusher with 72 carries for 708 yards (9.8 yards per carry, 141.6 yards per game) and four touchdowns. He’s also completed 47 of 86 passes for 465 yards, four touchdowns, and one interception. Wallace is the leading rusher from the running back position (41-246, 2 TDs) and Faist (13-146, TD), and Jackson (12-115, TD) are the team’s leading receivers.
“Working really hard in the summer prepared me for this,” Kelly said. “It was a challenge learning it. We’re more spread this year with motion and try to get the ball out quick and play option.
“Last year the offense didn’t use that much of the clock, so the defense had to go out again, and again and again and got tired and let up on some scores,” Kelly said. “This year, we can maintain the ball and chew up the clock, go down the field and score touchdowns, and help the defense out a lot.”
Williams believed this year’s defense, which returned 10 starters, had the foundation in place to continue building with a group of players familiar with Thomas’ 3-3 stack and used to playing together.
“Last year we were trying to find our team, our sense of purpose,” he said. “We had everyone coming from different schools, we had to get to know each other better and play with chemistry.”
Williams’ 33 tackles and four tackles for loss tops a balanced defense that also has Hebert (31 tackles), Daniel Williams (21 tackles), Gabe Ford (21 tackles, 6 TFLs, 2 sacks), and Brycen Glover (14 tackles, 2 interceptions, 3 passes deflected).
Prairieville’s path to a new season included a three-way fall scrimmage with Plaquemine and Istrouma, another eye-opening moment for the program.
The Green Devils presented a mature team, a state quarterfinalist in 2024, with big aspirations this season. They’re ranked No. 4 in the Class 4A state rankings with a 4-1 overall record and co-leading 3-0 District 6-4A mark in the same district with Istrouma (3-2, 2-1), which had been to consecutive playoffs under former head coach Sid Edwards.
“That was a great awakening for our kids,” Schmitt said. “They (Plaquemine) were hungry, and you could tell the way we were scrimmaging. I told our guys that’s a team that’s trying to win a state championship. That’s what that feels like. I can’t be prouder of them. The attitude of what we’re trying to build has been the right one.
“We still have so many games that we have to play, are they winnable? I don’t know,” Schmitt said. “I tell them all that matters is that we’re a little bit better than we were last week.”
Prairieville followed with a competitive jamboree outing with Dutchtown and faced its first true road test with a trip to Lafayette Renaissance Charter, a program also in its second season of existence.
Kelly scored on an 80-yard run in the first quarter, but Prairieville couldn’t keep pace with the Class 2A Tigers, who opened a 21-6 lead after the first quarter. Kelly, who rushed for 112 yards, added another touchdown in the third quarter, but the Hurricanes were outscored 14-0 in the fourth quarter in a 35-14 setback.
“We wanted to give them the feeling that if we ever make the playoffs down the road,” Schmitt said. “This is what it feels like.”
Prairieville upgraded its home opener and hosted Parkview Baptist, a team it lost to 53-13 a year ago. Kelly erased a 6-0 deficit in the second half with an 82-yard scoring run and a 7-6 halftime lead.
Sophomore running back Tahj Wallace bolted 12 yards for a touchdown and a 14-6 lead midway through the third quarter when Parkview rallied to tie the game at 14-14 early in the fourth quarter.
The Hurricanes showed another sign of maturity, putting together a game-winning drive that was capped by Kelly’s 5-yard slant pass to Hudson Dettman with three seconds left.
“We put in a lot of work in the offseason,” said Williams, who had eight tackles. “There wasn’t a lot of playing around. We were just grinding to get better. Our competition level was better this year. We had more talent and drive to prove this season.”
Schmitt said the back-and-forth nature of the game was an indication of where this year’s team may be headed.
“Parkview’s a storied program (five state championships) with a great coach (Devin Ducote) that just lost a lot of seniors and has a new staff,” he said. “That wasn’t easy. We went down and marched the field to get there (to the winning score). It was exciting and an opportunity for the guys to feel what that’s like against a good program. That was a big win.”
Kelly enjoyed a monster outing against Riverside Academy, the state’s No. 5 team in Class 1A, a week later. His 45-yard TD run provided a 7-0 lead before the Rebels (4-1) answered with 40 unanswered points en route to a 40-23 victory.
Kelly totaled 344 yards (178 rushing, 166 passing) and a touchdown, with Jackson catching five passes for 38 yards, and Williams and Michael Schmitt, the son of the coach, each had five tackles.
“Riverside’s so well coached, we had turnovers, and the defense gave up some big plays,” Coach Schmitt said. “Learning how to win is just as hard as dealing with a loss. In that world of how to be a winner, it’s not easy. People are patting you on the back, and you’ve still got to get ready for each game.”
Schmitt said he found stock in the analytics of Minnesota head coach P.J. Fleck’s ‘78% rule’. Through a study, he said a team’s chances of winning are increased 78% by doing the following: winning the turnover battle and swinging such offensive stats as having more broken tackles and explosive plays.
For the second straight game two weeks ago, Prairieville took its opening drive and scored for a 7-0 lead on Wallace’s 40-yard run against Dutchtown in the District 5-5A opener for both teams.
Dutchtown, leading 13-7 at halftime, reeled off 42 straight points and limited Prairieville’s offense to 263 yards and held Kelly to under 100 yards passing and running.
“We had a poor second half,” Schmitt said.
Prairieville’s skilled position players are all sophomores except for Kelly, and the team’s offensive line has only two seniors. The defense is somewhat older, with four seniors.
Compare that to 2026’s projections and the Hurricanes should have 28 seniors and 40 juniors, giving them a decidedly different look.
“I wanted them to be able to leave with some mark on the program,” Schmitt said of his senior class. “It wasn’t our goal to win the first district game; this senior class can walk away with a district win over a 5A team. The chapter’s not completely written yet. That was important for them.”
Hebert’s pick-6 was a sign Prairieville was primed for an evening of change.
Kelly flirted with a season-high on the ground with 176 yards – his fourth 100-yard effort of the season – on 17 carries (a 10.4 yards per carry average) and a touchdown. He completed better than 73% of his passes (11 of 15) for 112 yards and two touchdowns, led by Faist (4-45) and Kale Daigle (3-16).
Glover led the defense with eight tackles, and Daniel Williams added seven, and Ford and Brody Creel each recorded sacks.
“Coach Thomas has done a good job with the defense,” Schmitt said. “We’ve had a ton of injuries, and we’ve tried to roll new guys in. It’s the next guy up, and that’s another staple of being a good program.”
Schmitt also points to a team that’s committed to fewer penalties and continues to strive for better results with turnovers. Moreover, he applauds his team’s work in the classroom, where 46% of the team hasn’t recorded anything less than a B thus far.
Strides are being made on and off the field, Schmitt said.
“We feel better as a team,” Eric Williams said. “We have to keep our heads down and keep playing hard and play our football. We can’t let the wins get to our heads and mess us up. We have some challenges coming up. We’re not worried about that. We have to play our football and win.”