Multi-sport star Ethan Frey helped set a new standard for the Rosepine Eagles, while Grand Lake’s Brett King was feared on both sides of the trenches.

Frey and King headline the 2021 American Press All-Southwest Louisiana Small Schools football team as the Most Valuable Players.

Rosepine’s Brad Ducote is the Coach of the Year after leading the Eagles to the quarterfinals for the first time in program history and an 11-2 record. In four seasons, Ducote is 32-13 with four playoff appearances.

Frey, who led the Eagles to their first state baseball championship last May, became a true dual-threat quarterback in his final season. Frey ran for 733 yards and 17 touchdowns and threw for 1,913 yards and 23 TDs while completing 68 percent of his passes for the Eagles’ first quarterfinals team.

“It is his determination and just pure toughness,” Ducote said. “He was pretty good as a junior as far as that goes, but his senior year he was all-out football.

“He turned it loose. And he gave us everything he had every game. We knew we knew what kind of passer he was, and when he sold out to the running game, he became a complete football player.”

Ducote said the 6-foot-4, 225-pound, senior was at his best in the regional round, a 43-42 win over Red River. He ran for 157 yards and five TDs plus the winning 2-point conversion in overtime.

“He was the running game,” Ducote said. “Grant (Ducote) was banged up, so we put a lot on (Frey), and he performed at a high level,” the Rosepine coach said. “Obviously we had no chance to win that football game without him performing at that high level. Red River is probably the staple of his football career. He was pretty much Superman that night.”

King anchored the Hornets’ defense that allowed 11.8 points a game and reached the quarterfinals for the second time in program history. King made 52 tackles, including 24 tackles for a loss and helped run the defense from his tackle position after injuries to the linebacking corp.

“The thing you get from him is the motor — 100 percent on every play. The kid loves football,” Grand Lake head coach Jeff Wainwright said. “As a coach that has been doing it for a long time, it is rare for a defensive lineman to have that much energy and passion for it. It has been a privilege to coach him.”

King (6-1, 265) was one of the Hornets’ two big offensive tackles, along with Bryant Williams (6-7, 315) as the Hornets’ split-back veer averaged 250 rushing yards a game.

“We ran a lot behind him the last couple of years on offense,” Wainwright said. “He’s a really powerful guy in the weight room.

“He certainly had a really great senior year and on both sides of the ball for us. We had a great season because we had two dominant tackles, I don’t know that we’ll ever have that again at one time like that. They were a really special pair.”

AMERICAN PRESS ALL-SW LOUISIANA FOOTBALL TEAM

Small Schools

Offense

Pos. Player, School Ht. Wt. Cl. Statistics

WR Isaiah Stinson, Rosepine Jr. 5-11 160 64 rec., 736 yds, 11 TDs

WR Noah Carter, Oberlin Jr. 6-4 190 26-480 yds, 3 TDs

TE Cole Donahue, Rosepine Sr. 6-2 205 31-653 yds, 7 TDs

OL Matthew Morgan, E. Beauregard Sr. 6-0 220 Trojans averaged 323 rushing ypg

OL Donaven Henderson, Hamilton Sr. 6-1 315 Warriors averaged 39 ppg

OL Hunter Kelly, DeQuincy Jr. 5-9 280 Won first playoff game since 2018

OL Lane Willis, Rosepine So. 5-10 215 Eagles averaged 398 ypg, 43 ppg

OL Bryant Williams, Grand Lake Sr. 6-7 315 Signed with Louisiana-Lafayette

QB Ethan Frey, Rosepine Sr. 6-5 225 2,646 total yds, 40 total TDs

RB Grant Ducote, Rosepine Jr. 5-10 205 202 carries, 2,015 yds, 34 TDs

RB Kane Atkinson, E. Beauregard Sr. 5-7 175 241-1,863, 26 TDs

RB Cedric Allison, Oakdale Jr. 5-7 155 154-1,439, 14 TDs

ATH Cohen Fontenot, Welsh Sr. 5-8 185 251-1,783, 23 TDs

K Ross Cortez, Basile So. 5-9 174 40-45 PAT

Defense

Pos. Player, School Ht. Wt. Cl. Statistics

DL Brett King, Grand Lake Sr. 6-1 265 52 tackles, 24 tackles for loss

DL Jordan Pelican, Kinder Jr. 6-1 195 66 tackles, 3 fumble rec., 4 hurries

DL Adameon Botley, Oberlin Sr. 6-4 310 85 tackles, 12 TFL, 4 QB hurries

DL Rhett Davis, Welsh Sr. 5-11 240 58 tackles, 5 TFL, 1 forced fumble

LB Michael Woods, Rosepine So. 6-2 180 139 tackles, 16 TFL, 11 sacks

LB Baylor McCoy, Basile Sr. 5-8 170 94 tackles, 1 blocked punt

LB Grant Trahan, Grand Lake Sr. 6-1 155 43 tackles, 1 fumble rec., 1 sacks

LB Dallas Daniels, Oakdale Sr. 6-1 215 74 tackles, 3 hurries

DB Ethan Bazinet, Basile Sr. 5-9 180 35 tackles, 3 TFL/1,340 yds, 22 TDs

DB Cam’ron Williams, Merryville Sr. 5-9 160 41 tackles, 6 TFL

DB Neiman Sullen, Hamilton Sr. 5-10 165 20 tackles, 6 passes broken up

DB Taije Ceasar, DeQuincy Sr. 5-10 197 2 Interceptions

P Lukas Bunting, Vinton Sr. 5-9 155 32.1 avg.

KR Elijah Belton, Hamilton Sr. 6-0 175 648 return yds, 4 Ret TD, 3 INT TDs

OFFENSIVE MVP — Ethan Frey, Rosepine

DEFENSIVE MVP — Brett King, Grand Lake

COACH OF THE YEAR — Brad Ducote, Rosepine