Offseason drama sets stage for 2024 prep football season

A new football season has arrived!

After nine long months of waiting, high school football is back in Louisiana. A number of teams, including defending state champions, Oak Grove, Opelousas, and St. Thomas More, will have some familiar names and faces returning to the gridiron this year. Other teams that are used to appearing in the Superdome in December, including St. Charles Catholic and Lafayette Christian, find themselves playing in not only new districts but also new classifications.

The new year also begins after an offseason of drama for two teams that competed against each other in a state title game last year. That drama ended with a lawsuit and a settlement allowing Division II Non-Select champion Opelousas to keep its championship after the LHSAA stripped the title from them amid allegations of the team using an ineligible player.

Meanwhile, the LHSAA is stepping up efforts to improve sportsmanship among parents and fans, with the organizations executive director, Eddie Bonine, warning that stiff penalties could come to schools whose supporters create disturbances and disrupt games.

We'll take a look at all these storylines, and we'll take you around the state to preview the 2024 high school football season in the first episode of year two of the Pelican State Prep Football Preview. This week, we'll be joined not only by our correspondents, but also by LHSAA executive director Eddie Bonine, LHSAA head of officials Lee Sanders, and LHSAA regional coordinator of officials Greg Gauthreaux.