Closing the Gap: A year after a stunning semifinal defeat, No. 2 Iowa rebounded with undefeated season
by William Weathers // GeauxPreps.com Contributor
One minute, 18 seconds separated Iowa High from its first state championship appearance in the Caesars Superdome.
The Yellow Jackets played from behind during the majority of their Division II non-select state semifinal at Franklinton in 2024, finally tying the game at 29-all with 3:22 remaining when Reed Dupre connected with Jeremiah Bushnell for a 9-yard touchdown – the third time they combined for a score.
Franklinton, though, put together a 6-play, 58-yard drive that resulted in a 31-yard scoring pass with 1:18 to go, and Iowa, which reached midfield on its final possession, had a 28-yard completion wiped out by a penalty, and the homestanding Demons went on to a 35-29 victory.
“We had some crucial mistakes that ended up hurting us, and we still had a chance,” Iowa football coach Tommy Johns said. “That was a tough one to swallow.”
Iowa fielded the second team to ever reach the semifinal round, the other coming in 2017 in Johns’ first season. The Yellow Jackets (12-1) had a robust senior class of 21 players, and their best player was safety Cohen Charles, the Class 4A Most Valuable Defensive Player.
A thinner senior class of 12, and a group of inexperienced players, waited in the wings for their opportunity to continue moving the program forward, which had reached postseason play in four straight years with two semifinals and a quarterfinal.
Instead of a step back or drop off, the Yellow Jackets have been elite once again.
Iowa (10-0) completed the school’s first undefeated season since ’17 and garnered the No. 2 seed in the Division II state playoffs, an improvement of three spots over a year ago. The Yellow Jackets, which received a first-round bye, look to take advantage of advancing through a bracket that will be played from the comforts of home, beginning with Friday’s 7 p.m. regional round against No. 15 Northwest (7-4).
“You never know how people are going to respond to that,” Johns said of last year’s semifinal defeat. “It can go one of two ways. You’re that close. You wonder if we are ever going to get back there again, or we’ve got to figure out what it takes to get there. We’ve been knocking on the door for the last three or four years; we just haven’t been able to kick it in yet.
“The guys came to work,” Johns said. “They busted their butts during the offseason. You can kind of tell by the way they approach the offseason. You’ll know pretty quick. A lot of them had gotten a little taste of it. We’re a minute away from going to the Superdome. We’ve got to find a way to put ourselves back in that position.”
Johns is the son of former longtime Lake Charles-area legend Mike Johns, who spent a total of 48 years in coaching.
Johns, whose mother was also an educator, played for his father at LaGrange (1997-2000) and later coached with him for nine years at St. Louis Catholic.
“I was able to learn a lot from him,” Johns said of his dad. “I watched him, how he was able to build it. The No. 1 thing he always told me was to surround yourself with good people. He always did that, and we’ve done the same thing here. It was fun to watch. I learned a lot from not only him, but the guys that were on his staff.”
With 21 years to his credit, Johns is nearly halfway to his father’s total number of years in the profession, spending three years as an assistant at Iowa before being promoted to head coach in 2017.
“It’s always been enticing,” Johns said of the Iowa job. “You always have a good amount of players here. The middle school is on campus, which is very rare for this area, and that’s paid off tremendously. A lot of people are moving out this way, the school’s growing. I always thought it was kind of a hidden gem, and it had previous success. This wasn’t some horrible job.”
The two struck gold in that first season.
Iowa went 9-1 during the regular season and earned a No. 2 seed in the Class 3A state playoffs. The Yellow Jackets defeated Wossman, 39-8, before losing 24-15 to Crowley.
The upward trajectory was halted over the next three seasons when coaching turnover and roster influx, coupled with upheaval from Hurricane Laura, contributed to two losing seasons and three years without postseason play.
“There’s no doubt, those were some rough years,” Johns said. “We still use those as motivation, more from a teaching standpoint. We kind of knew that was coming. In the last five to six years, we’ve had very little staff turnover. We’ve got some guys that want to be here. There’s growing pains in every job.
“We made some drastic changes after ‘20 with the entire program,” Johns said. “We just wiped everything clean and started over, and we’ve been kind of rolling ever since. Hopefully, that can continue.”
Iowa’s won 48 of its last 58 games over a five-year span, with this year being the program’s third double-digit win season.
The Yellow Jackets’ first appearance in a state semifinal was in 2022, falling to eventual state runner-up North DeSoto (38-9), and advanced to face the Griffins again the following season in the quarterfinal round, dropping a 45-21 decision.
Johns was named the Southwest Louisiana Coach of the Year by the Lake Charles American Press in 2022 and 2024. He was also selected as the Class 3A Coach of the Year in 2022 by GeauxPreps.com.
“They’ve always been right there in the mix,” Johns said of Iowa. “I thought we could do some really good things. We’ve had administration that’s supported us, and they allowed me to hire some really good coaches here. That’s been the key to surround myself with some really good coaches and, more importantly, good people.
“That’s what has allowed us to get to this point,” Johns said. “There were six of us on staff when I first got here. Now we’ve got 12. Everything’s just grown over the years. We’ve got more kids out for the team, too. That helps.”
What Johns learned with this year’s team, one that may have lacked experience, was that they were willing to compensate with desire.
“We had a lot of question marks coming into the season,” he said. “When you lose that many seniors that contributed a lot to our program, there’s going to be a ton of question marks. A lot of them were hungry to prove themselves and do what it took to get on the field, and they’ve done a tremendous job. I’m very proud of them.
“We only have 12 seniors this year,” he said. “The fact is that these young players have stepped up and done a really good job for us to get us to this point. Hopefully, they can keep it going.”
Rapid starts have been constant in Iowa’s unblemished season.
The Yellow Jackets have outscored their opponents 269-28 in the first half this season, a point of contention from last season that was prevalent, especially in the playoffs.
“Coming into the season and August camp that was something we really harped on,” Johns said. “Last year, especially in the playoffs, we were just the opposite. Against Franklin Parish (a 42-28 win), we were down 14 points at half, and Franklinton, we were down at 14 at half. We had to crawl and find our way back. You dig yourself a hole like that against good teams; at some point, that’s going to catch up to you.
“On the flip side, there’s been some games where we haven’t come out in the third quarter playing well at all, especially defensively, and kind of stalled out on offense,” Johns said. “I still don’t think we’ve put together a true, complete game yet. I’m hoping that we can do that because that’s what it’s going to take to beat some of these we’re going to play.”
Iowa’s enjoyed a 28-point scoring differential, beginning with a 35-6 win over Jennings.
“They always have a lot of guys back and have tradition,” Johns said of Jennings. “You know they’re always going to be good. We went out and played as well as we did, especially on defense. We didn’t have a lot of guys back defensively. That really opened my eyes.”
The Yellow Jackets won their home opener 28-8 over Cypress High of Mauriceville, Texas, and added a 35-20 decision over Wossman, which turned out to be their smallest margin of victory.
Iowa extended its District 3-4A winning streak to 21 consecutive games with its third straight undefeated march through the league by an average of 29 points.
“This is probably the fastest season I’ve been a part of as a coach,” Johns said. “We had a chance to go undefeated and to be honest, if you would have told me, I would have thought you were crazy due to the fact the number of players we lost.”
Charles has played in 10 of 11 games for McNeese at cornerback, where he’s recorded 20 tackles, 3 ½ tackles for loss and a pass broken up.
Johns said junior Kaston Lewis has given Iowa’s defense similar qualities in addition to being the third-leading rusher with 515 yards and 17 touchdowns on 37 carries. His 76 tackles are fourth on the team to go with eight TFLs and a team-best three interceptions from his safety position.
“They’re very similar, and Kaston looked up to him,” Johns said of Charles. “He brings a different style of running. At one point, he had 18 carries with 10 touchdowns. It was crazy. When you bring a guy like that into crucial situations, he’s a load to bring down. He’s physical enough to run over you and can run through tackles, but also fast enough to run away from you.”
“You have to be smart to play there, which requires a unique skill set,” Johns said of the safety spot. “You have to be physical enough to come down to the box and versatile enough to go out and cover somebody as well. Their style and skill sets are very similar. He’s had an outstanding year for us, and I’ve been proud of him.”
Senior J’Vien Adams, a three-year starter, leads Iowa with 152 carries for 1,299 yards (8.5 per carry) and 17 TDs. He’s enjoyed eight 100-yard-plus rushing games with a season-high of 148 yards and a TD on 13 attempts coming in a 42-13 win over Parkview Baptist.
Junior quarterback Lawston Broussard has completed better than 60% of his passes (60 of 99) for 1,115 yards with 17 touchdowns against three interceptions. Bushnell, a Houston commitment, is his top target with 31 receptions for 677 yards (22 yards per catch) and nine TDs.
“He’s had a really good year,” Johns said of Adams, who scored a season-best three touchdowns in a 42-16 win against Washington-Marion. “We’re very proud of him. He’s getting some tough yards for us, which in years past he may not have been able to do that consistently. He has the ability to run away from you. When he gets into open space, he can make something happen.”
The Yellow Jackets have an offensive line that’s rounded in form, led by returning starters, 6-foot-3, 290-pound senior Kohl Fulton, a three-year starter, and junior Izac Montou, a 5-10, 225-pounder.
“He’s a great kid, a great leader,” Johns said of Fulton. “He makes us go.”
Iowa’s defense, which had four returning starters, has evolved into a disruptive unit with 116 tackles for loss, 42 sacks, and nine interceptions.
The Yellow Jackets have generated plenty of pressure with their front four, tackles Kyan Rivera (57 tackles, 8 TFLs, 4 sacks) and Thomas Harris, Jr. (70 tackles, 8 QB hurries, 13 TFLs, 5 QB sacks), along with ends Landon Joseph (81 tackles, 28 TFLs, 23 QB hurries, 11 sacks) and Gaven Brown (68 tackles, 27 TFLs, 24 QB hurries, 10.5 sacks).
Senior linebacker Bryceson Fontenot is the team’s leader with 102 tackles. He also has 16 TFLs and five sacks.
“They’re very active and take a lot of pressure off the guys in the back,” Johns said of the first level of his defense. “There’s a lot of people who are excited. There’s a lot of football left to be played. At this time of the year, we’re all fighting for the same thing. We’ve told our kids that everyone’s going to elevate their game. Nobody’s coming to come here and lay down. I think they know what’s at stake.”
The opportunity to play at home, where a new video scoreboard represents improvements within the program, is a place where Iowa has been at its best. An appreciative crowd, that’s expected to show up in force, has been a driving force for the Yellow Jackets, who have won their last 17 games.
Johns is hopeful the passage of a bond next spring will fund construction of a fieldhouse which would become the newest addition to a home setting that added more seats five or six years ago.
“It’s a sellout every week, it’s standing room only,” Johns said. “That’s probably been the most fun thing to watch. For our kids to see that week in and week out. You look back at where we were 10 years ago to now, and it’s not even close.
“We don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves,” Johns said. “We’re only in the second round. There’s a lot of good teams in this division. It’s tough, and at this point, everybody’s good. I’m excited about the things they’ve accomplished up to this point. Hopefully, we can keep this thing going. That would be really nice.”