Parish football players headed to bowls
The college football regular season has come to a close, and so has its championship weekend.
With its conclusion, bowl matchups were released on Sunday, and many players from Ascension Parish will be participating in college football’s postseason.
The postseason started earlier for teams in the Football Championship Subdivision. This included Nicholls.
Nicholls went 8-4 during the regular season and captured a Southland Conference championship for the second straight year.
The Colonels then reached the playoffs for the third straight season. In the opening round, they defeated North Dakota, 24-6. However, in round two, they lost on the road against defending champion North Dakota State.
Nicholls has a roster filled with former players from Ascension Parish.
From Ascension Catholic, defensive lineman Dillion Davis signed with the Colonels last fall.
Also, from Donaldsonville High, defensive lineman Tahj Brown is on the team. Brown is a redshirt freshman that originally signed with Houston. He transferred to Nicholls after one season.
Two former Griffins play at Nicholls. They are Alonzo Craighton and Jordan Jackson.
Craighton is a senior defensive back that began his career at Minnesota, before eventually transferring to Nicholls after three seasons.
Jackson is a true freshman defensive back.
The final Ascension player on the roster is St. Amant’s K.J. Franklin. Franklin is a true freshman athlete for the Colonels.
The Oklahoma Sooners are headed to the College Football Playoffs, and a former parish standout is headed there with them.
East Ascension alum Adrian Ealy is a starting offensive tackle for Oklahoma. He and the Sooners finished the season with a 12-1 record. They're headed to the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on Dec. 28.
Another Spartan that’s going bowling is tight end Kade Waguespack.
Waguespack is now a senior. He has helped lead Air Force to a 10-2 record that includes a seven-game winning streak.
They are headed to the Cheeze-It Bowl on Dec. 27, where they'll face Washington State.
Also from East Ascension, Deshon Hall is going bowling. Hall is a true freshman defensive lineman at Louisiana Tech.
The Bulldogs finished the regular season with a 10-2 record and are headed to the Independence Bowl on Dec. 26.
Also playing for Louisiana Tech is Dutchtown alum Noah Pitre. Pitre is a redshirt freshman offensive lineman for the Bulldogs.
Another former Griffin that will be playing in a bowl game is Coney Durr. Durr is a redshirt junior defensive back for the Golden Gophers.
Minnesota went 10-2 during the regular season. The team is headed to the Outback Bowl to play Auburn on New Year's Day.
Durr’s former Dutchtown teammate Lloyd Cushenberry will be headed to the College Football Playoffs. His LSU squad will face Ealy's Oklahoma team in the Peach Bowl.
Cushenberry is also a redshirt junior. He has been the Tigers’ starting center for the past two seasons.
One of his teammates at LSU is also a former Ascension product. That’s Donaldsonville alum Stephen Sullivan. Sullivan is a senior wide receiver/tight end for the Tigers.
Another Donaldsonville product that will be going bowling for a second straight season is Davon Wright. Wright is a sophomore defensive lineman at Tulane.
The Green Wave went 6-6 during the regular season. They’re headed to the Armed Forces Bowl against Southern Miss on Jan. 4. St. Amant alum Briggs Bourgeois (junior) is a kicker for Southern Miss. The Golden Eagles finished the season with a 7-5 record.
Adam Sparks and his Missouri Tiger team finished the year with a 6-6 record that would have usually sent them to a bowl game, but the school has been banned from postseason play this season by the NCAA due to academic misconduct violations.
Sparks, a Dutchtown alum, is a junior defensive back at Missouri.