This year’s headliner: Ma’kelin Lemoine the latest member of family to star for Elton
by William Weathers // GeauxPreps.com Contributor
The reminder is there every day Ma’kelin Lemoine enters the Elton High gymnasium.
It’s there you will find three encased football jerseys that have been retired, serving as a testament to the school’s best players.
For Lemoine, a junior running back, it’s also a standard that’s been established by his older brother Marcus Jr., whose No. 3 is one of those jerseys. He rushed for 2,045 yards as a junior, was a two-time Class 1A All-State selection, and the state’s offensive MVP in 2014.
“Walking every day to the gym, and seeing his jersey in that case, it just motivates me to keep going,” Lemoine said. “It’s the first thing you see in the gym, and it’s dead center. If I don’t get there, I’ve got to at least make a name for myself for them to know.”
Lemoine’s father, Marcus Sr., also a running back at Elton, laid the foundation for a successful pedigree for his two sons to follow.
“It’s good to walk out of the fieldhouse at home games,” said Lemoine, whose first cousin Cedric Skinner was a standout at Oberlin and played at Grambling State. “That’s where my family is. They’ll be in the stands with shirts with my face on them. It’s good to look at.”
The youngest Lemoine has certainly followed favorably in the footsteps that preceded him. In his full season at tailback, and with Elton (3-1) headed to Hanson Memorial on Friday for its final non-district game, the 5-foot-11, 190-pounder has already rushed for more than 1,000 yards with six games remaining in the regular season.
Lemoine is the state’s leader with 81 carries for 1,096 yards (13.5 yards per carry) and 18 touchdowns. He’s recorded 505 yards, and he’s responsible for 19 touchdowns with a kickoff return for a touchdown in last week’s 49-0 win over Gueydan, following a familiar script of standing on the sideline one series into the third quarter of another runaway victory.
The distance between Lemoine and the state’s No. 2 running back, Zaiden Foster of Class 5A’s Liberty Magnet, resembles the room he creates against defenders once he breaks the line of scrimmage. Lemoine’s got a 200-yard lead in the chase for the state’s rushing title, a category he leads by more than 500 yards over the next Class 1A running back.
“He had 200 yards at half against St. Ed’s,” Elton coach Marcus LeJeune said. “That was brand new in terms of running from the ‘I’ spot. He’s starting to read some things well. The more he runs, the more experience he gets.”
LeJeune said opposing teams don’t even bother kicking to Lemoine in fear of being part of another of his highlights. Last week’s return for a touchdown against Gueydan was the result of his teammates allowing the ball to roll back to Lemoine, who knew what to do with it once he secured it.
“They don’t kick it to him, they want to pooch it,” LeJeune said. “I don’t blame them. I wouldn’t want to kick it to him either.”
When LeJeune took over at Elton five years ago, he’s also coached the junior high school programs where he first crossed paths with Lemoine.
Lemoine was a ready-made tailback who enjoyed success as a seventh grader before taking on more of a defensive role with the varsity team at strong safety.
“We have a lot of two-way players,” said LeJeune, who has 32-33 players on his roster this season. “He was a tailback that did well, and when he got to high school, he became more of a role player. Then, as a sophomore, we switched to a Wing-I, Power-I, and moved him to wing back.
“The tailback had most of the carries, and he had a lot of the misdirection plays, some of the plays up the middle,” LeJeune said. “He did a real good job with that and had a good year.”
Elton had one of District 4-1A’s top rushing attacks in 2024 behind senior tailback Tristan Leblanc and Lemoine. The duo combined for more than 3,000 yards, with Leblanc gaining 1,780 and Lemoine complementing him with 1,470 rushing yards and 24 total touchdowns.
Lemoine, the Jeff Davis Parish Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year, earned first-team All-District 4-1A honors on both offense and defense, and was also the league’s second-team return specialist.
The Indians were 7-3 during the regular season, finishing behind Hamilton Christian and Grand Lake in the district standings. They wound up 8-4 overall with a first-round playoff win over rival Basile before being eliminated a round later by Logansport.
“He did his part,” LeJeune said. “We all have to play both sides of the ball and multiple positions because of low numbers. I’ve known him since I got here. We went undefeated in the 7-8th grade, so this has kind of been building over the last two years. He did a good job in the weight room and conditioning. He’s still learning the reads at that position.
“Our offense incorporates a lot of different offenses, but it’s based on the run,” LeJeune said. “We do want to throw a little bit more. Sometimes you find yourself behind the chains, you have to throw the ball down the field and we’re getting better at that. It starts with the defense; we believe defense wins championships; offense wins games. Our defense keeps us in all of the games. We’re doing what we need to do to get the ball in the end zone.”
Lemoine believed his performance last year set the stage for the ’25 season.
“Last year, I was splitting carries with the starter,” he said. “I was still mostly a defensive player. Last year was getting me prepared for this year. This has been more of my breakout year.”
Lemoine said there were no players who escaped the process during the offseason of returning with a greater sense of urgency.
“Everybody’s got to put in the work,” he said. “Everybody’s got to have the want to play both sides of the ball. You have to condition to stay in shape and get in the weight room.”
Lemoine extended himself beyond his team-centric workouts. He branched out statewide, attending several collegiate camps at UL and Grambling State, and was named the top running back at a combine at Louisiana Christian University. He also took part with a 7-on-7 travel team and received additional training from performance coaches.
Marcus Jr. set the example of turning a productive high school career into a college scholarship. He went on to play for Arkansas-Monticello, where a young Ma’kelin Lemoine was on hand and was allowed to run out on the field with the team for home games.
One of his brother’s high-water marks at Elton – 634 yards rushing and seven touchdowns in a game – has been one of Lemoine’s foremost tasks, a bar he would love to clear over the remainder of his career.
Lemoine posted 334 yards and six touchdowns in a 45-22 victory against Northwood-Lena and topped that a week later in a marathon 64-62 win over Montgomery with 379 yards and four touchdowns.
“St. Ed’s was a tough start to the season,” Lemoine said of the team’s 58-28 setback in the season opener. “We’re starting to get right. Playing tailback is nothing new to me. The wing was new to me, but now I’m in my element.”
Elton was equipped to pave the way for Lemoine with five seniors on its offensive line, three of whom were returning starters.
Left guard Jerimiah Fontenot was a first-team all-district choice in ’24 and is joined by left tackle Ivan Gutirrez, center Jhonny Sanchez, right guard Clayton Clark, right tackle Quentin Martin, and tight end Jalen Thomas.
“I appreciate the guys working in front of me and blocking,” said Lemoine, a safety on defense. “They’re working just as hard as I am. We haven’t played a full game yet (because of blowouts). I’m trying to reach another 1,000. At the beginning of the season, we weren’t in shape and cramping. Now I’m getting in shape and can play a full four quarters. We’ve all been working hard.”
Lemoine’s latest outing – another abbreviated night – lasted one possession into the third quarter against Gueydan. He touched the ball five times on offense, produced 141 yards and four touchdowns, and had his first kickoff return for another score.
“Those games have gotten me prepared for games with Hamilton Christian and Grand Lake,” Lemoine said. “They have one of the best defenses we’ll play this year, and that will get us ready for playoffs.”
Elton opens District 4-1A play in two weeks at home against Oberlin, followed by the meat of its schedule with a road game against No. 5 Hamilton Christian (4-0) and the annual rival game at Basile (1-3) in the Battle of the Bayou. The Indians conclude that stretch at home with Grand Lake (4-0) on Oct. 31.
“The district championship’s a big thing to us and making it past the second round,” Lemoine said.
Family is another passion that enables Lemoine the opportunity to share his experiences with his parents and brother.
He knows he can count on feedback from Marcus Jr., who was a different type of running back, relying more on elusiveness, whereas Ma’kelin loves to utilize his power and bowl over defenders.
“Every day there’s a critique,” he said of his brother. “He wasn’t like me. He was more of a player that liked to juke and get out in the field. I’m going to run you over to get where I’m trying to go.”
The Lemoines have also shared their love of the outdoors and they’re passion for horse riding since before Ma’kelin was born. He began riding at the age of 5, whether it’s with his parents, including his mother, Kesia – the town’s former mayor – or his friends.
“If I’m not on a football field, I’ll be on a horse somewhere,” he said. “It’s been a family thing, and I enjoy it. I had to have patience in learning how to ride, just like I had to have patience in football in waiting my turn. It’s helped me a lot.”