My reason for attending Destrehan High School was simple: I wanted a fair shot to earn an athletic scholarship. Baseball was my first love and my main reason for transferring, but football was quickly becoming the defining factor. What I didn’t expect was the pressure and the politics, both in the classroom and on the field, that would shape my freshman year in ways I never could’ve imagined.

Our morning routine was never just “get to school.” Me, Vance, Jot, and Hubba had to mentally prepare for the gauntlet we had to go through just to make it to first period. First, we parked and climbed over a decorative metal wall. Then, there were teachers lined on both sides of the hallway with handheld metal detectors. After that came the dress code check, and if you were out of line, you were sent to the theater room to get straightened out before even stepping foot in class.

After all that, we’d make our way to our usual morning spot: backs against the library wall, next to the lockers near the boys’ bathroom, across from the lunchroom. That spot wasn’t just for hanging, it was for safety. We didn’t want anyone sneaking up behind us.

But even with our backs against the wall, tension stayed high. One time I was in the bathroom near the lunchroom when a boy walked in and said loud enough for me to hear, “One of them boys from LaPlace gonna catch this bullet.” He literally had a bullet in his hand. Before I could respond, Vance walked in and the boy quickly left.

That moment stayed with me.

Things weren’t always like that, but they were intense. The attention we were getting wasn’t always welcome. And to make things even more strange, every now and then we’d hear it over the school intercom: “Will all the boys from LaPlace report to the office!” That’s where the title of this series comes from. Funny now, but back then it felt like we were being profiled just for where we were from.

And before Vance got suspended, yes, that came later, there were already signs of trouble. Hubba walked past my classroom one day and said, “Vance just had a fight.” I immediately ran out of class toward the office. Seeing him there hit hard. That fight got him suspended, and even though I still had Jot and Hubba around (when they came to school), something felt different. I started feeling angrier, more frustrated, not just with the school, but with the way things were shaping up on the football field too.

But football… man, football was my escape.

No matter how bad things got in school, football practice became my therapy. I was still just the baseball kid trying to prove myself, but practice gave me the freedom to unleash the frustration I had built up. I was quiet, but aggressive. Humble, but determined. Every tackle, every hit, it wasn’t just about impressing coaches, it was about letting go of everything I held in all day.

The challenge wasn’t just proving I could play. It was proving that I was not the stereotype. Not the “undisciplined” black kid from St. John Parish. Not the loudmouth. Not the troublemaker. I had to show I was coachable, focused, and ready to work.

Stay tuned for Episode 5:
Football starts to earn me the respect that school politics tried to deny me. The lessons from the field start following me into the building.