Purple Reign: New faces want to keep Karr going places
by William Weathers // GeauxPreps.com Contributor
BATON ROUGE – Karr senior linebacker Ian Gray realizes he was part of something so special in 2025 that every team thereafter will be seen in a different light.
He realizes, though, that this year’s team, which faces the challenge of maintaining the program’s back-to-back Division I select state championships and 28-game unbeaten streak, must forge its own identity to come up with similar results.
“(Karr) Coach Brice (Brown) preaches that we’re never going to have another team like that,” Gray said. “That Karr team has to be the best. They set the standard. Their standard was high, so ours has to be even higher. We have a target on our back.
“We’re the best team in the state, top five team in the country,” Gray said. “We’re going to get everybody’s best punch. That’s taught us how to fight through adversity, play as a team, stay together, and be confident.”
Karr’s excellence is rooted in a camaraderie so strong that success continues to follow the grind it’s taken to get there. The Cougars put together another 14-0 record that was capped by a 49-14 victory over archrival St. Augustine last December.
Karr defeated 12 of its 14 opponents by double figures with an average margin of victory of 31 points per game.
The Cougars won the school’s eighth overall title and sixth under Brown with a spectacular senior class of 32 players with 25 of them signing college scholarships.
“I’m proud of how this team is handling coming off back-to-back state undefeated championships, and whatever the win streak is,” said Brown, whose team was ranked fourth nationally in the SI Power 25 national rankings and sixth by MaxPreps. “It doesn’t seem like they’re concerned about that. That’s the best part. I’m encouraged. I don’t know how many games we’re going to win. They’re going to be very competitive and scrappy.”
Karr’s ring ceremony served as the official passing of the torch from the ’25 state championship team to the ’26 hopefuls.
“It was a great event,” Brown said. “It’s on them (’26 team) to uphold that Karr legacy, and they’re doing a good job. To start workouts, they’re on time. We haven’t had any issues. That’s what I really enjoy about coaching this team. They’re having fun. They know the standard and where they’re at.”
Gray said the motivation for each team to win a state championship at the state’s highest level comes from the opportunity each senior class is presented with in leading the program to the top of the mountain.
“It’s not our ring,” Gray explained of the most recent addition to Karr’s collection. “We get our ring in December. Every ring you win at Karr is for that senior class. It’s for the seniors. You never know when they may never get to play another down of football.”
Since the team’s on-campus spring game, where Karr nearly topped 50 points against John F. Kennedy, the development for the 2026 team hasn’t stopped.
Karr hosts its own 7-on-7 passing league each Wednesday with Bonnabel, McDonogh 35, John F. Kennedy, John Ehret, and St. Aug. The Cougars will also venture twice across the Crescent City Connection to take part in a four-team 7-on-7 opportunity against teams such as Catholic-Baton Rouge, Dunham, St. Augustine, and Zachary.
Karr, which took part in LSU’s 7-on-7 passing tournament on June 6, returns to Elite Performance Training in Baton Rouge at the end of the month to face the aforementioned teams with St. Aug replacing Zachary.
“That’s a good league on Wednesdays that we have,” Brown said. “We get to play some good, quality opponents. You can’t replace reps.”
Among the biggest contributors to Karr’s success was quarterback John Johnson, a Liberty signee. The first tea, Class 5A All-State choice, left a gaping hole in the offense following his more than 3,500 yards and 50 combined touchdowns.
The responsibility of keeping Karr’s offense functioning at a high level is now on the shoulders of juniors Forest Johnson and Marlon Jones.
A part that’s alleviated some of the pressure in their battle for the team’s No. 1 quarterback position is the return of a capable running back position that will feature seniors Jarell McGee and Jermond Macklin, who will run behind an offensive line that must replace Class 5A All-State choice Leon Noil, a Nebraska signee.
The Cougars also graduated leading rusher Tre Garrison, a Class 5A All-State, first team selection, and Washington State signee, who compiled 1,592 yards rushing for 19 touchdowns. He was also the team’s MVP in the state championship game with 41 attempts for 183 yards and a score.
“I like our young offensive line,” said Brown, who returns Mississippi State commitment Zyion Wesley to anchor that group. “They’re big, physical. We ran the ball well in the spring, and we threw it well. It doesn’t surprise me that he almost scored 50 points because of the work ethic of our coaches.”
Karr will also feature a deep and talented wide receiver corps with Renard Price, Jai Warner, Kamal Martin, and Quincy McKinnies, who have all worked with Johnson and Jones.
Senior cornerback Eldric Cambrice, who’s played in all of his team’s games the previous two seasons, brings experience to the back half of Karr’s defense, which graduated senior Aiden Hall, a Class 5A All-State first team choice and LSU signee, along with cornerback Hayward Howard Jr., a Class 5A All-State first team pick and Texas signee.
Ole Miss edge commitment Juelz Batiste will take on a greater leadership role on the defensive front with the graduation of defensive tackle Richard Anderson, an LSU signee and the state’s Defensive Outstanding Player in ’25.
The Cougars, who allowed 11 points a game, stopped Zachary’s offense in its first series in last week’s 7-on-7 matchup, and outside linebacker JaMichael Quinn had an interception to stop the second series.
“The leadership comes from the people who were competing with the seniors last year,” Gray said. “Guys like Ronell Kindell, JaMichael Quinn, Ian, and myself. It’s going to come from guys like the upcoming seniors.”
Despite allowing a 40-yard touchdown down the middle of the field on the second series, Karr finished strong by forcing three straight incompletions.
“We’ve been working together,” Cambrice said. “That’s the biggest thing this year, and that’s working together because we’re going to be together on the field. We’ve been moving forward, doing 7-on-7, just getting better at communicating with each other.”
Karr and Catholic have met in the last two Division I select state semifinals, with the Cougars emerging both times with hard-fought wins, 21-19 and 17-10, respectively.
Catholic scored on its first two series until Martin brought in a 15-yard TD catch, and Macklin added the conversion – both pass attempts coming from Johnson. Both teams added scores with Jones throwing a 40-yarder down the middle of the field.
“It’s not easy when you go through so much scrutiny, so much pressure,” Brown said. “These guys are out there competing and having fun. Catholic’s a rival, and we love playing against them. They push us and get the best out of us every time.
“We know when we play, we’re going to get everybody’s best, even in events like this,” Brown said. “How are we going to rise to the occasion? I think we’re doing it. I like this team when they’re young and inexperienced. It pushes the coaches to make them better.”