By RYAN ARENA
L’Observateur

LAPLACE — It was a banner football season locally, especially in St. John Parish, where three teams reached the state semifinal of its respective classifications.

As such, the contenders for L’OBSERVATEUR’S year-end honors on the All-St. John the Baptist Parish Team were numerous and deserving.

In the end, West St. John receiver Morell Bartholomew and WSJ coach Robert Valdez are this season’s Offensive MVP and Coach of the Year, respectively, after leading the Rams on a terrific postseason run in the wake of great tragedy. On the defensive side, St. Charles Catholic’s Eric Lewis did it all for a Comets defense that underwent a complete personnel overhaul this season, and he earns Defensive MVP honors.

West St. John was expected to once again run the football with authority, but before the season began, there was  a major question as to how balanced West St. John could be with a first-season passer under center — Jemoine Green was succeeding a very experienced quarterback in the graduated Austin Howard, who excelled this season at Southern.  

Enter Bartholomew. The 6’4” wide receiver emerged as an impossible cover, beginning the season with a memorable three-touchdown first half against archrival St. James. His game-winning touchdown reception in Week Two kept the momentum going, and Bartholomew ended the season with 54 receptions for 972 yards and 19 touchdowns — that yardage accounting for nearly half his team’s 2,143 passing total this season. When WSJ needed a play, there was little doubt who would answer the call.

His coach is no stranger to earning Parish Coach of the Year honors, Valdez now earning that distinction for the third time in three seasons. Leading the Rams to three consecutive postseason runs to at least the state semifinals has largely fueled that run of selections. But while three teams in St. John Parish made that march this season, with SCC’s Frank Monica and Riverside’s Bill Stubbs each laying strong claims to the coaching mantle, Valdez and his staff had to tackle a different kind challenge this season: the death of assistant coach Juan Joseph, who in November was tragically shot and killed in Baton Rouge a week prior to the Rams’ first postseason game.

A season that could easily have fallen apart did no such thing. Valdez and his staff not only held the Rams’ team together, he did his part to hold his community together as well. West St. John won their next two games,  dominating Varnado, 51-0, and then rallying in dramatic fashion to notch a 35-20 quarterfinal win over Plain Dealing. After a spirited early effort that saw WSJ lead at halftime, the Rams finally fell in the semifinals to defending 1A champion Haynesville, 26-13. But the Rams did Joseph proud, and what was supposed to have been a rebuilding year proved to be anything but.

When St. Charles began the 2014 season, there were many questions yet to be answered about the Comets defense, which lost nearly all of its 2013 starters. One returning starter was Eric Lewis, who quickly asserted himself as the defense’s leader. Lewis tallied 55.5 tackles, six for loss, two sacks, five interceptions, three forced fumbles and two recoveries.

He scored on an interception return, and was one of the area’s most dangerous return men. When the Comets needed to shut down the run, he played in the box as a safety. When it came time to shut down an outside receiver, he played man-to-man on the outside. He was the steady hand on a defense lacking starting experience needed this season.

While WSJ and SCC earned this year’s top honors, Riverside Academy doesn’t go empty-handed for its sterling run by any stretch. The Rebels earn a parish-high nine selections on this year’s squad after dominating much of their competition

See the rest of our All-Parish selections above.