Vernon Parish football fans have to be feeling good after all three teams in the parish won their jamborees this past week.
Leesville, Rosepine and Pickering appear to be headed in the right direction in their respective classifications, and those teams will strap on the pads for real Friday.
The Wampus Cats host DeRidder, the Eagles welcome Montgomery and the Red Devils bring in Pine Prairie as football stadiums will light up all around the parish for Week 1.
LEESVILLE
Leesville fans don’t need to rub their eyes and take a second glance at Week 1 opponent DeRidder.
The Dragons are one of four District 3-4A members from this past cycle to move down to Class 3A, leaving just Leesville and LaGrange from the old gang in District 3-4A.
The Wampus Cats will open the season with two of those former district rivals, first DeRidder and then Iowa.
If the 27-20 jamboree win against Natchitoches Central is any indication, expect fireworks on the scoreboard.
Quarterback Trel Broom is back for a third season under center after accounting for nearly 3,000 yards and 29 touchdowns as a junior.
While his top target Michael Davis Jr. (Western Carolina) as well as four other senior targets are gone, Broom still has plenty of options with Julius Brown (742 yards, 10 touchdowns) leading the way.
Grant Braxton is just a junior and will serve as the bell cow running back again this season, gaining nearly 1,500 yards and 18 touchdowns in 2025.
Offense was rarely an issue for veteran coach Robert Causey, who’s been at the helm a decade and has his Wampus Cats receiving votes in the preseason statewide Class 4A football poll.
While the defense improved in the second half of the season, six teams topped 30 points this past season, including Lake Charles Prep – 42-23 winners in the second round of the playoffs.
Leesville finished the season 6-6.
Now LCCP is a district foe in the reshuffle, and that Week 10 matchup will almost surely be for all the marbles as other district members LaGrange, North Vermilion, and Rayne combined to win just five games this past season.
As for DeRidder, the Dragons also won a playoff game in 2025 and finished 6-6.
DeRidder will try to make room behind a sizable offensive line for quarterback Michael Parmley and running back Jaiden Cooper to keep the ball away from Leesville.
ROSEPINE
A jamboree win does not a season make, but Rosepine’s 14-7 victory against Many changes the narrative around the entire program.
Coming off consecutive 1-9 campaigns in which the win came in the season finales, the Eagles will attempt to put one in the win column early when they welcome Montgomery on Friday.
Rosepine’s one win in each of the past two seasons came against East Beauregard, but the jamboree victory came against a Many team who caught fire in the back half of 2025, won a playoff game, and returned key players from that 2025 squad.
The last time Rosepine won a season opener? 2023 – against East Beauregard.
But the Eagles bring back 10 rising seniors on a 29-player roster as they aim to rewrite recent history in the second year of coach David Weldon, who previously served as the team’s offensive coordinator.
Weldon called this team one of the “hardest working teams” he’s ever been around, calling 2026 their “breakout year.”
The offensive anchors begin with four-year starter Brynnum Chaney, who led the team with 514 receiving yards, and offensive lineman Tug Haymon, another four-year starter.
Other weapons include receiver Austin Lounsberry (led team with five touchdown catches), fullback Brayden Bergeron and running back Camdyn Curry (244 rushing yards).
Dax Wagster is a defensive leader from the back end, with guys like Wyatt Colletti (defensive line), Levi Kennedy (defensive line), Griffin Carter (cornerback) and Collin Cline shoring up the defensive unit.
That defensive unit could be tested by a Montgomery bunch who scored at least 34 points in eight games en route to a 5-6 season.
PICKERING
The playoffs.
While every program starts the regular season with the playoffs as a major goal, for the Pickering Red Devils, it’s pretty much the only thing on their mind.
Pickering is eligible for the playoffs after rebuilding its program for the past two seasons without competing in district, allowing the Red Devils to schedule opponents more similar to their competition level.
Now the Red Devils re-enter District 5-2A and will play a full district slate after successfully repairing the program following a 23-game losing streak that ended in 2024.
That journey begins Friday when Pine Prairie comes to town.
Pickering posted a 5-5 record in 2025, its first non-losing since 2020 – which also happens to be its last playoff appearance.
Coach John Daugherty has provided stability to the program headed into his fourth season, which includes a 9-11 mark over the past seasons.
Two of those wins have come against Week 1 opponent Pine Prairie, a 29-6 win this past season and a 41-20 win in 2024. That score against Pickering was the only one Pine Prairie managed all season long in an 0-10 campaign.
Quarterback Taylor Osorio threw 15 touchdowns one year ago and wiil look to connect with targets like Braxton Baker and Caleb Falls.
Hunter Noel is a four-year starter and leader of a defense that held five opponents to 14 or less points this past season.
The Red Devils topped Lakeview, 7-6, in the Battle on the Bricks Jamboree in Natchitoches this past week.