NEW ORLEANS (March 4, 2026) – Casey Parker-Karst, the leading scorer for the Jesuit High School boys soccer team, has been selected as February's Allstate Sugar Bowl Athlete of the Month presented by LCMC Health. Athletes of the month have been selected by the New Orleans Sports Awards Committee since 1957. The athlete must be a native of the greater New Orleans area or must compete for a team in the metropolitan region to be eligible. Parker-Karst is just the second boys soccer player honored in the 69 years of the honors.
 
Allstate Sugar Bowl Athletes of the Month
 
Parker-Karst capped a memorable February by scoring both goals to lead Jesuit to a 2-1 victory over rival Brother Martin in the LHSAA Division I state championship match. The Most Outstanding Player of the match netted both of his goals in the first 10 minutes of the second half to erase a 1-0 deficit.
 
"I knew we needed something," Parker-Karst said moments after receiving the LHSAA outstanding player award. "I just had to take a risk and go for the ball. It worked out, thankfully."
 
"He just emulates what he does at practice and brings it to the big stage," Jesuit coach Hubie Collins said. "When we needed him to step up and do it tonight, he was able to do it." 
 
His February included two goals and an assist in a Feb. 2 victory over Brother Martin which delivered the district title to Jesuit. The junior also had a two-goal, one-assist performance in the state semifinal victory over Baton Rouge while adding goals in the Blue Jay's other three February playoff victories (two against Sulphur, one against Dutchtown, one against East Ascension) as he finished the month with 10 goals in six matches.
 
Jesuit finished the year 21-0-1.
 
The soccer star was selected for the Sugar Bowl honor over two other high school soccer state champions, a record-setting runner, a state champion wrestler, and a college baseball ace.

• Lilly Juneau saved a pair of penalty kicks, including the match-winner to seal a 5-4 shootout victory for Pope John Paul II over sixth-seeded Newman in the LHSAA Division IV girls soccer state championship match on Feb. 25. The senior had back-to-back saves to secure a 2-0 win in penalty kicks in the semifinal match against Calvary Baptist on Feb. 21. She posted shutouts in the first three matches of the state playoffs (9-0 over Rapides, 7-0 over McGehee, and 2-0 over Catholic-New Iberia).
• Grace Keene had a sensational showing for Northshore at the LHSAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships on Feb. 20-21 in Baton Rouge. The 5-4 Keene broke the state record in the 1,600-meter run with a time of 4:54.09 and then followed that with a victory in the 800-meter run (2:19.34). Keene, who is just a sophomore, was the 2025-26 Gatorade Louisiana Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year after posting the third-fastest time ever (17:21.7) at the LHSAA state meet to claim the Division I championship – it was 20.6 seconds ahead of her closest competitor.
• Chris Olivier had a dominant February on the mound for the Lamar baseball team. The senior, who graduated from Lakeshore High School and Delgado Community College, allowed just six hits and no runs over three starts for the Cardinals – he has opened the 2026 season by throwing 18.2 consecutive scoreless innings, piling up 28 strikeouts in the three appearances. On Feb. 28, the right-hander tossed seven innings of no-hit ball with 11 strikeouts as Lamar held on to defeat UT River Grande Valley, 1-0. He had opened the season with a victory on Feb. 13 by allowing one hit and striking out 14 against Oakland University – that performance earned him Southland Conference Pitcher of the Week and Dick Howser Trophy National Player of the Week.
• Caleb Shartle completed an undefeated season for St. Paul's by capturing the LHSAA state wrestling title at 190 pounds with an 18-7 victory over Quinn Anderson of Jesuit in Bossier City on Feb. 7. The senior was 34-0 on the season. St. Paul's finished tied for fourth in the Division I standings. Shartle is coached by Pat Ritchie.
• After a scoreless first half in the LHSAA Division IV state championship match against Ascension Episcopal, Northlake junior Harry Wall gave the Wolverines a 1-0 lead as he beat the keeper to the ball and headed it into the goal in the 55th minute. In in the 86th minute of the state semifinal against sixth-seeded Pope John Paul II, Wall, the Division IV Most Outstanding Player, blocked out his defender as a long pass skipped over the Jaguars' back line, allowing the junior to gain a one-on-one opportunity with the keeper and he found the back of the net. Then in the 98th minute, he calmly slotted home a penalty kick and sprinted to the NCS student section to celebrate the Wolverines first trip to the state championship match in seven years. 

The Allstate Sugar Bowl has established itself as one of the premier college football bowl games, having hosted 29 national champions, 114 Hall of Fame players, 55 Hall of Fame coaches and 21 Heisman Trophy winners in its 92-year history. The 92nd Allstate Sugar Bowl Football Classic, which served as a College Football Playoff Quarterfinal, saw Ole Miss defeat SEC rival Georgia in a sold-out Superdome on January 1, 2026. In addition to football, the Sugar Bowl Committee annually invests over $1 million into the community through the hosting and sponsorship of sporting events, awards, scholarships and clinics. Through these efforts, the organization supports and honors thousands of student-athletes each year, while injecting over $2.5 billion into the local economy in the last decade.