NEWS
By Kim M. Braud | September 19, 2026
NEW ORLEANS - Four Louisiana high school football programs took the field inside the Caesars Superdome Saturday for an afternoon and evening that delivered more than two football games.
The 2026 Inspire the City Invitational in Honor of Ed Daniels, presented by the Allstate Sugar Bowl, brought Ruston, Edna Karr, East Ascension and St. Augustine together for a doubleheader hosted by InspireNOLA Schools. Three of the four teams entered the event ranked among the top four in Class 5A, and all four arrived undefeated.
By the end of the night, Edna Karr had extended one of Louisiana high school football's most impressive active winning streaks, while St. Augustine celebrated a decisive victory alongside milestones honoring both its present and its past.
Karr holds off Ruston for No. 30
The opening game matched Edna Karr against Ruston, the top two teams in the Louisiana Sports Writers Association Class 5A poll entering Saturday.
Karr arrived in the Dome riding a 29-game winning streak dating to 2023. The two-time defending Division I Select state champions left with No. 30, defeating Ruston 21-14 in a game that remained unsettled until the final seconds.
Senior running back Jermond “Tre'Tre” Macklin accounted for all three Karr touchdowns.
Macklin scored twice in the first quarter to quickly put the Cougars ahead 14-0. Ruston responded behind junior running back Dalen Powell, whose 71-yard touchdown run cut the lead before his second score tied the game at 14 in the second quarter.
What began as a quick exchange of touchdowns then settled into a defensive battle. Neither team scored in the third quarter, and Ruston stopped Karr on fourth-and-goal from the 2-yard line late in the period.
Macklin finally broke the tie with 9:31 remaining in the fourth quarter, scoring from three yards out for his third touchdown of the game and giving Karr a 21-14 advantage.
Even then, win No. 30 was anything but secure.
A high snap on a Karr punt gave Ruston possession at the Cougars' 16-yard line with only 12 seconds remaining. The Bearcats had one final opportunity to force overtime, but could not complete a pass into the end zone.
Karr walked off the Superdome turf 3-0 and still unbeaten.
Thirty straight
The Cougars marked the milestone after the game with a “30 Straight” graphic documenting a run that has now stretched across three seasons.
According to figures published by the Karr football program, the 30-game streak includes 23 games scoring at least 30 points, 18 scoring at least 40, 10 scoring at least 50 and four scoring 60 or more. The Cougars have recorded five shutouts during the streak while averaging 43.2 points per game and allowing 12.4, an average margin of 30.8 points.
The program has dubbed its current pursuit “The Three Smoke Tour,” a reference to its bid for a third consecutive championship.
Karr captured the 2024 and 2025 LHSAA Division I Select state championships, including last season's title-game victory over St. Augustine in the Superdome.
Saturday's game presented a different challenge. Rather than another runaway victory, the Cougars saw a two-touchdown advantage disappear, went scoreless through the middle two quarters and had to protect a one-score lead through the final seconds.
They did.
St. Augustine dominates the nightcap
The second game brought St. Augustine back onto the Superdome field less than a year after the Purple Knights reached the Division I Select championship game for the first time in 46 years.
Before St. Augustine and East Ascension kicked off, Louisiana football legend and St. Augustine alumnus Leonard Fournette delivered the ceremonial coin toss, beginning a night that would connect the program's history with its current success.
Once the game began, St. Augustine quickly took control.
The Purple Knights scored on their first four possessions on the way to a commanding 52-7 victory over East Ascension, improving to 3-0.
Quarterback Jaelle Noble threw three touchdown passes, while Patrick Robinson and Co'Hann Davis each scored twice. Payton Thomas added a 24-yard interception return for a touchdown as St. Augustine turned the nightcap into a decisive victory. At one point in the third quarter, the Purple Knights scored three touchdowns in a span of just 66 seconds.
But the final score was only part of the night's story.
Win No. 150 for Robert Valdez
The victory marked career coaching win No. 150 for St. Augustine head coach Robert Valdez.
Valdez led the Purple Knights to a 12-2 season in 2025 and their first appearance in a state championship game since 1979. Saturday's win added another milestone to his coaching career.
The evening also provided St. Augustine with an opportunity to honor one of the most recognizable players to come through its football program.
Leonard Fournette honored by his alma mater
Fournette returned to the Superdome as part of the evening's celebration of St. Augustine football.
After delivering the ceremonial coin toss before the game, Fournette was honored by his alma mater. His No. 5 St. Augustine jersey was presented in a framed display, and he was recognized as part of the school's Wall of Honor.
The moment brought Fournette back onto a Louisiana football field where a new generation of St. Augustine players was building its own chapter in the school's history.
For the Purple Knights, the evening ended with a 52-7 victory, an undefeated 3-0 record, a 150th career win for their head coach and recognition of one of the program's most celebrated former players.
More than a doubleheader
Saturday marked the second annual Inspire the City Invitational, an event created in honor of longtime New Orleans sports journalist Ed Daniels, whose decades of work included extensive coverage of high school athletics.
The Invitational provides high school athletes an opportunity to compete on the same Superdome field that hosts Louisiana's state championship games, while bringing multiple programs and fan bases together for a full day of football.
Three of the four teams participating Saturday had played in the Dome during the previous December's LHSAA Prep Classic.
This time there was no championship trophy waiting at the end.
There were nevertheless moments that became part of each program's story.
For Edna Karr, 30 consecutive victories.
For Robert Valdez, career win No. 150.
For Leonard Fournette, a return to the field and recognition by his alma mater.
And for the players from Karr, Ruston, St. Augustine and East Ascension, another opportunity to play beneath the lights of the Caesars Superdome.
Kim M. Braud is the Founder & Editor of Evans Cutchmore Press, an independent newsroom covering Louisiana and the Gulf South. Her reporting focuses on government accountability, infrastructure, business, culture, and the public policies that shape communities.
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