List of Louisiana state high school football champions
Below is a list of Louisiana state high school football champions sanctioned by various organizations since they began holding formal high school football state championship games in Louisiana in 1909. High schools in the state are currently divided between the Louisiana High School Athletic Association, a small number of independent private schools, and those private schools that choose to compete across state lines for Midsouth Association of Independent Schools honors. In the past schools also competed under the auspices of the Louisiana Interscholastic Athletic and Literary Organization, the Louisiana Independent School Association, the Louisiana Christian School Athletic Association, and the Association of Christian Educators of Louisiana.
Background
Although numerous late-season games are known to have been hastily scheduled between prominent teams and informally dubbed "state championship" games back in high school football's early days, these games were generally held without formal, independent third-party sponsors. Several early games are notable exceptions to this, but even then these games usually featured a home team as a draw; a neutral playing site could have given these games a stronger sense of legitimacy.Louisiana State University Athletic Department (1909)
In 1909 the athletic department of Louisiana State University sponsored a state championship game, complete with a trophy. The hometown school, Baton Rouge High, defeated Warren Easton High of New Orleans in the game.Calcasieu–Louisiana Fair (1910)
The first annual Calcasieu–Louisiana Fair scheduled a high school football game between the hometown Lake Charles High team and Warren Easton, billing it as being for the state championship. The game was a very successful draw, as 3,000 of the fair's 10,000 attendees watched Lake Charles High's victory.Louisiana State Board of Education's Committee on Athletics (possibly 1912)
The Louisiana State Board of Education's Committee on Athletics was founded in 1911. In 1912 Morgan City High School petitioned the committee to be recognized as state champion, although it is not immediately clear if the committee did in fact accept their request and extend the honors to them—especially since they lost badly to Warren Easton a short time later.State Fair of Louisiana (1914–1915, 1917)
The Shreveport-based State Fair of Louisiana, which was known to host football games in conjunction with the fair—the Louisiana State Fair Classic for college teams, for example—also sponsored a series of games involving high school teams in the 1910s. Although earliest teams do not appear to have been billed as facing off for the state crown, the fair began to promote later games as being for a formal state championship. However, even these games did not necessarily resolve the issue of a true state champion—and indeed may have even actually helped generate further controversy—since the annual fair always scheduled its championship game participants well before the end of the high school football season. Also, the local team from Shreveport High was usually invited to play as the representative of North Louisiana in the state fair's game, which was a particular concern in 1916 when SHS had a down year.The state fair was significantly impacted by multiple events during its 1918 term—including issues that concerned World War I in general, and the mounting Spanish flu pandemic in particular—and in the face of efforts to scale back the fair or even cancel it outright, it appears to have dropped its championship game in the process and never revived it. Also, the newly-created LHSAA was largely rendering it obsolete any way.
Below is a listing of all state fair football champions.
| Year | ' |
| 1914* | Shreveport |
| 1915 | Shreveport |
| 1916** | ' |
| 1917 | Easton |
Notes: *—championship disputed ; **—Shreveport High lost a regular season game shortly after the state championship game had been scheduled, so the game was no longer billed as being for the championship after all
''Times–Picayune'' (1915)
The New Orleans Times–Picayune sponsored a state championship game for two city schools, Warren Easton and Jesuit High. The two schools had tied 6–6 earlier in the season, so the game was seen as an opportunity to both break the tie and to serve as a fundraiser for the city's Doll and Toy Fund drive for needy children's Christmas presents at the same time. However, Jesuit's starting quarterback had been injured in the first game and was not able to recover in time to participate in the second game. Easton won, 13–12.What set this state championship game apart from the state fair's game earlier that season is that this one included a private school, the first time that a private school had been allowed to compete for a state crown. Warren Easton had actually approached Shreveport High, the state fair's champion, about playing earlier in the season but was turned down.
Louisiana High School Athletic Association (1916, 1920–1921, 1923–Present)
The Louisiana High School Athletic Association was founded in 1915 to serve as an interscholastic governing organization for white public high schools. Additional discussions continued on into 1916 for improving and strengthening the new body. Among the earliest controversies that the fledgling LHSAA would be called upon to resolve were competing claims to the 1916 football crown. Shreveport High School's regular season shutout loss to Minden High School suddenly made the state fair's previously-scheduled game between SHS and Warren Easton seem far less useful for determining the state championship. Minden and Easton quickly attempted to fit a replacement match into their existing schedules, but no firm playing date could be arranged; the LHSAA ended up siding with Easton's claim to the title. The LHSAA also faced much more serious issues in its early years, with older students enrolling in the military for the war effort and with flu victims in general. Numerous teams were disbanded and games canceled during the outbreak, and a travel ban greatly limited the remaining active teams. The association split into classifications based upon enrollment numbers in 1921. Private schools and African American schools were later extended membership. In 2013 the association moved schools that had selective student body enrollments into separate divisions.The LHSAA has been recognized as Louisiana's sole representative to the National Federation of State High School Associations over other competing private school associations.
Below is a listing of all LHSAA football champions since its founding.
: a regular venue for LHSAA state championship football games since 1981.
| Year | ' |
| 1916* | Easton |
| 1917** | ' |
| 1918** | ' |
| 1919** | ' |
| 1920 | Easton |
Notes: *—association withheld formal sanctioning of postseason games but declared champion instead; **—association withheld formal sanctioning of postseason games but also declined to declare champions
| Year | Class A |
| 1921 | Easton |
| 1922* | |
| 1923** | Morgan City |
| 1924† | Haynesville |
| 1925** | Ruston |
| 1926 | Byrd |
| 1927 | Bastrop |
Notes: *—association withheld formal sanctioning of postseason games but also declined to declare champion; **—association withheld formal sanctioning of postseason games but declared champions instead; †—championship game ceded by opponent
| Year | Class A | Class B |
| 1928 | Homer | Kentwood |
| 1929 | Haynesville | Rayville |
| 1930 | Byrd | Jonesboro–Hodge |
| 1931 | Byrd | Rayville |
| 1932 | Lake Charles | Tallulah |
| 1933 | Jesuit | Tallulah |
| 1934 | Byrd | Tallulah |
| 1935 | Byrd | Vinton |
| 1936 | Haynesville | Vinton |
| Year | Class AA | Class A | Class B |
| 1937 | Byrd | Homer | Columbia |
| 1938 | Istrouma | Minden | LaGrange |
| 1939* | Jennings | Homer | Kentwood |
| 1940 | Jesuit | Ponchatoula | Arcadia |
| 1941 | Jesuit | Ruston | Ascension Catholic |
| 1942 | Easton | Bossier | Landry |
| 1943 | Jesuit | Sulphur | Waterproof |
| 1944 | Baton Rouge | Sulphur | Slidell |
| 1945 | Holy Cross | Jonesboro–Hodge | Slidell |
| 1946 | Jesuit | Sulphur | Tallulah |
| 1947 | Bogalusa | Ruston | Baker |
| 1948 | Fortier | Bossier | Tallulah |
| 1949 | Byrd | Destrehan | Hahnville |
| 1950 | Istrouma | Baker | Clinton |
| 1951 | Istrouma | Ruston | Delhi |
| 1952 | Fair Park | Springhill | Kenner |
| 1953 | Jesuit | Westlake | Ferriday |
Note: *—Class A championship game tie broken by total first downs
| Year | Class AAA | Class AA | Class A | Class B |
| 1954 | Lake Charles | Minden | Ferriday | Donaldsonville |
| 1955 | Istrouma | Neville | Ferriday | Holy Name |
| 1956 | Istrouma | Minden | Ferriday | Mangham |
| 1957 | Istrouma | Morgan City | Tallulah | Delhi |
| 1958 | Lake Charles | Reserve | Tallulah | Greensburg |
| 1959 | Istrouma | Neville | Vandebilt | St. James |
| 1960 | Jesuit | Pineville | Tallulah | St. James |
| 1961 | Istrouma | Neville | Tallulah | Oberlin |
| 1962 | Istrouma | Neville | Catholic | Clinton |
| 1963 | Holy Cross | Minden | Amite | Lockport |
| 1964 | Baton Rouge | Assumption | Lockport | Ridgewood Prep |
| 1965 | Sulphur | Larose–Cutoff | Landry | Arcadia |
| 1966 | Broadmoor | Central | Buras | St. James |
| 1967 | Airline | Loyola Prep | Kinder | Sacred Heart |
| 1968 | Woodlawn | Hahnville | White | Clinton |
| 1969 | Bogalusa | Natchitoches | White | Kentwood |
| Year | Class AAAA | Class AAA | Class AA | Class A |
| 1970 | West Jefferson | Hammond | Haynesville | Elton |
| 1971* | Brother Martin | South Lafourche | Haynesville | Second Ward |
| 1972** | Neville | Hahnville | Boston | Second Ward |
| 1973 | Captain Shreve | Destrehan | Notre Dame | Ascension Catholic |
| 1974 | Tara | Richwood | Opelousas Catholic | University Lab |
| 1975 | St. Augustine | Lutcher | Curtis | Gilbert |
| 1976 | Covington | Loyola Prep | Notre Dame | Hanson Memorial |
| 1977 | South Lafourche | Haughton | Curtis | St. Mary |
| 1978 | St. Augustine | Lutcher | Kinder | Catholic |
| 1979† | St. Augustine | St. James | Curtis | Port Sulphur |
| 1980 | East St. John | Minden | Curtis | Southern Lab |
| 1981 | Ehret | St. Martinville | Curtis | Port Sulphur |
| 1982 | Ruston | Eunice | Winnfield | Southern Lab |
| 1983 | Neville | Lutcher | Curtis | Kentwood |
| 1984 | Neville | St. Martinville | Curtis | Haynesville |
| 1985 | Ehret | Curtis | Springhill | Ouachita Christian |
| 1986‡ | Ruston | Wossman | Kentwood | Southern Lab |
| 1987 | Shaw | Curtis | Jonesboro–Hodge | Haynesville |
| 1988 | Ruston | Curtis | Jonesboro–Hodge | University Lab |
| 1989 | Ouachita | Crowley | Jonesboro–Hodge | Oak Grove |
| 1990 | Ruston | Curtis | Buras | Haynesville |
Notes: *—Class AA championship game tie broken by total first downs; **—Class AAA championship game tie broken by total first downs; †—Class AAA championship game determined by overtime; ‡—Class AAAA championship game determined by overtime
| Year | Class 5A | Class 4A | Class 3A | Class 2A | Class 1A |
| 1991* | Thibodaux | South Terrebonne | Mansfield | Haynesville | Oak Grove |
| 1992* | Carencro | Hahnville | Jennings | Coushatta | Ascension Catholic |
| 1993** | West Monroe | Curtis | Karr | Haynesville | Evangel Christian Academy |
| 1994 | Hahnville | Salmen | Amite | Haynesville | Evangel Christian Academy |
| 1995 | Neville | Salmen | Cecilia | Haynesville | Logansport |
| 1996† | West Monroe | Curtis | Evangel Christian Academy | Haynesville | Southern Lab |
| 1997 | West Monroe | Curtis | Evangel Christian Academy | Ouachita Christian | Kentwood |
| 1998 | West Monroe | Curtis | Evangel Christian Academy | West St. John | Kentwood |
| 1999 | Evangel Christian Academy | Curtis | Amite | Iota | Oak Grove |
| 2000 | West Monroe | Salmen | Notre Dame | Ouachita Christian | Haynesville |
| 2001 | Evangel Christian Academy | Curtis | Parkview Baptist | Union Parish | Oak Grove |
| 2002 | Evangel Christian Academy | Curtis | Redemptorist | Port Barre | Port Sulphur |
| 2003 | Hahnville | Redemptorist | Lutcher | West St. John | Vermilion Catholic |
| 2004 | Evangel Christian Academy | Curtis | Amite | West St. John | Dunham |
| 2005‡ | West Monroe | Breaux Bridge | Redemptorist | Curtis | Evangel Christian Academy |
| 2006 | Acadiana | Bastrop | Lutcher | Curtis | Evangel Christian Academy |
| 2007 | Destrehan | Bastrop | Parkview Baptist | Curtis | South Plaquemines |
| 2008 | Destrehan | Belle Chasse | Lutcher | Curtis | South Plaquemines |
| 2009 | West Monroe | Neville | Notre Dame | Evangel Christian Academy | Haynesville |
| 2010§ | Acadiana | Franklinton | Parkview Baptist | Evangel Christian Academy | White Castle |
| 2011 | West Monroe | Neville | St. Charles | Curtis | Ouachita Christian |
| 2012 | Rummel | Karr | Parkview Baptist | Curtis | Ouachita Christian |
Notes: *—Class 5A championship games determined by overtime; **Class 3A championship game determined by overtime; †—Class 1A championship game determined by double-overtime; ‡—Class 4A championship determined by forfeit, from Bastrop; §—Class 4A championship game determined by overtime
| Year | Non-select Class 5A | Non-select Class 4A | Non-select Class 3A | Non-select Class 2A | Non-select Class 1A | Select Division I | Select Division II | Select Division III | Select Division IV |
| 2013* | Acadiana | East Jefferson | Union Parish | Kinder | Haynesville | Rummel | University Lab | Calvary Baptist Academy | Vermilion Catholic |
| 2014 | Acadiana | Neville | Livonia | Many | Haynesville | Jesuit | University Lab | Calvary Baptist Academy | Ouachita Christian |
| 2015** | Zachary | Neville | Lutcher | Kinder | Kentwood | Catholic | Parkview Baptist | Notre Dame | St. Mary |
| 2016** | Landry–Walker | Karr | Lutcher | Sterlington | Logansport | Evangel Christian Academy | St. Thomas More | Riverside Academy | Ascension Episcopal |
| 2017 | Zachary | Karr | West Feliciana | Welsh | West St. John | Catholic | University Lab | Catholic | Lafayette Christian |
| 2018 | Zachary | Karr | Eunice | Amite | Kentwood | Curtis | University Lab | Notre Dame | Lafayette Christian |
| 2019 | Acadiana | Karr | St. James | Ferriday | Oak Grove | Rummel | St. Thomas More | Lafayette Christian | Ouachita Christian |
Notes: *—Non-select Class 3A championship game determined by double-overtime and Select Division II championship determined by forfeit, from Curtis ; **—Select Division IV championship determined by forfeit, from Southern Lab
Louisiana Interscholastic Athletic and Literary Organization (1950–1970)
The Louisiana Interscholastic Athletic and Literary Association was created for black high schools in 1935, after a merger of two regional interscholastic organizations. Although black schools were known to claim state championships prior to 1950, these claims were apparently somewhat mythical in nature. In 1950, after rechristening itself as the "Louisiana Interscholastic Athletic and Literary Organization", it openly worked with the LHSAA to restructure itself from a coordinating body into more of a governing body, with stronger rules and enforcement power. It also began formally sponsoring football championships in the process. The LIALO was eventually merged into the LHSAA after the 1970 season, as part of desegregation efforts in the New South. However, the LHSAA is apparently in possession of few archival records from the organization.| Year | Class | School |
| 1950 | ' | Washington |
| 1951 | A | Winn Training |
| 1952 | ' | ' |
| 1953 | ' | ' |
| 1954 | ' | ' |
| 1955 | ' | Capitol |
| 1956* | AAA | DeSoto |
| 1956* | AA | Landry |
| 1957 | AAA | DeSoto |
| 1958 | AAA | DeSoto |
| 1959 | AAA | Landry |
| 1960 | AA | Levy |
| 1961 | AAA | Carroll |
| 1962 | AAA | Carroll |
| 1963 | AAA | St. Augustine |
| 1964 | AAA | Washington |
| 1965 | AAA | St. Augustine |
| 1965 | ' | Ray |
| 1965 | ' | Southern Lab |
| 1966 | AAA | St. Augustine |
| 1966 | AA | Richardson |
| 1967 | AAA | Lincoln |
| 1968 | ' | Carroll |
| 1968 | AA | Southern Lab |
| 1969 | ' | Princeton |
| 1970 | Washington |
Note: *—Class AAA championship game tie broken by total first downs
Louisiana Independent School Association (1970–1991)
In 1970 a number of private schools, many of which could probably be classified as segregation academies, formed the Louisiana Independent School Association. The LISA also included at least one Arkansas school. When the LISA disbanded many of its member schools joined the Midsouth Association of Independent Schools.Below is a listing of all LISA football champions.
| Year | |
| 1970 | Valley Forge Academy |
| 1971 | Huntington |
| Year | Class AA | Class A |
| 1972 | Riverside Academy | Tallulah Academy |
| 1973 | Riverside Academy | Natchitoches Academy |
| 1974 | Silliman Institute | Southwood Academy |
| 1975 | Riverside Academy | Belmont Academy |
| 1976 | Barthe | East Ascension Academy |
| 1977 | Riverfield Academy | Tensas Academy |
| 1978 | Southwood Academy | Tensas Academy |
| 1979 | Briarfield Academy | Tallulah Academy |
| 1980 | Riverside Academy | Tallulah Academy |
| 1981 | Plain Dealing Academy | Claiborne Academy |
| 1982 | Valley Forge Academy | Tensas Academy |
| 1983 | Riverside Academy | Bowling Green |
| 1984 | Riverside Academy | Ridgedale Academy |
| 1985 | Riverside Academy | First Baptist Academy |
| 1986 | Riverside Academy | Plain Dealing Academy |
| 1987 | Ridgedale Academy | Claiborne Academy |
| 1988 | Prairie View Academy | Plain Dealing Academy |
| 1989 | False River Academy | Briarfield Academy |
| 1990 | River Oaks | Claiborne Academy |
| 1991 | Riverfield Academy | Briarfield Academy |
Midsouth Association of Independent Schools (1988–Present)
The Mississippi Private School Association was formed in 1968, and individual Louisiana schools have been participating in it since at least 1988. When the LISA disbanded after the 1991–92 school year, a number of former LISA schools joined it. The association changed its name to the "Mississippi Association of Independent Schools" in 2009, and then to the "Midsouth Association of Independent Schools" in 2019 to more fully reflect its member institutions from Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee.Below is a listing of all Louisiana-based MAIS football champions..
| Year | Class | School |
| 1992 | A | Tallulah Academy |
| 1996 | AAA | Silliman Institute |
| 1997 | AA | Bowling Green |
| 2001 | AAA | Silliman Institute |
| 2002 | AA | Oak Forest Academy |
| 2004 | A | Claiborne Academy |
| 2005 | A | River Oaks |
| 2007 | A | Glenbrook Academy |
| 2010 | AA | River Oaks |
| 2014 | AAA–II | Oak Forest Academy |
| 2015 | AAA | Silliman Institute |
| 2019 | AAAA | Riverfield Academy |
Louisiana Christian School Athletic Association (2006–2011)
The Louisiana Christian School Athletic Association began competition during the 1981–82 school year, with formal championship competition between its 24 member schools coming during the 1984–85 term. Although very similar in nature to the make up of the LISA, it differed slightly in that LISA schools tended to be larger Protestant Christian academies concentrated within Protestant-majority North Louisiana while LCSAA schools—also largely Protestant academies—were more often clustered in Louisiana's predominantly Catholic Acadiana region, giving its schools much fewer potential students to draw from. With smaller schools than the LISA, it initially could not sustain football programs. It did eventually attempt to add football as a league sport starting with the 2006 season.| Year | |
| 2006 | Christian Home Educators Fellowship |
| 2007 | Christian Home Educators Fellowship |
| 2008 | Lighthouse Christian Prep |
| 2009 | Breaux Bridge Christian Academy |
| 2010 | Covenant Christian Academy |
| 2011 | Covenant Christian Academy |
Association of Christian Educators of Louisiana (2012–2014)
In 2012 the LCSAA was "reformed" as the Association of Christian Educators of Louisiana. It featured two "divisions" for football, including one for eight-man football with 7 schools competing. However, after three seasons it no longer had enough schools sustaining eleven-man football teams to warrant sanctioning further championship competition and, as of the 2019 season, has not resumed sponsoring the sport. However, with five schools still fielding eight-man teams, the ACEL has been able to continue fostering competition for that particular form of the sport.| Year | |
| 2012 | Acadiana Home School Athletics |
| 2013 | Christian Home Educators Fellowship |
| 2014 | Christian Home Educators Fellowship |
Louisiana Independent Football Tournament (2015–Present)
With the ACEL membership no longer fielding enough eleven-man football teams to merit additional formal championships, some remaining teams went outside the association to continue participating in championship competition. They formed the Louisiana Independent Football Tournament to compete in.| Year | |
| 2015 | Christian Home Educators Fellowship |
| 2016 | Christian Home Educators Fellowship |
| 2017 | Acadiana Home School Athletics |
| 2018 | Acadiana Home School Athletics |
| 2019 | Acadiana Home School Athletics |
Team superlatives
of River Ridge is the school with the most championships and most consecutive championships. Haynesville Junior/Senior High School is the public school with the most championships and most consecutive championships, tied with Edna Karr High School of New Orleans and Ferriday High School. Istrouma High School of Baton Rouge is the school with the most championships within the highest classification. Curtis, Haynesville, and Istrouma are known for having programs with extensive family ties. Curtis' head coach, J. T. Curtis—the second-winningest coach in the country—is the son of the school's founder and has had numerous family members serve as assistant coaches or players for the team. Haynesville has had a very successful transition of its head coaching position from Alton "Red" Franklin to his son, David. Istrouma similarly had a very successful transition of its head coaching position from Ellis A. "Little Fuzzy" Brown to his twin brother, James E. "Big Fuzzy" Brown.In addition, R. A. "Racer" Holstead, formerly the winningest high school football head coach in the state, coached Tallulah High School to four LHSAA football championships, Tallulah Academy to three LISA championships and one MAIS championship—and even Plaquemine High School to one LHSAA basketball championship; recently his grandson, Chad Mahaffey, also coached University Lab of Baton Rouge to four state championships.