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The Kaplan Pirates moved on to the second round of the Division III Non-Select Playoffs after surprising No. 12 Pine with a 34-18 win on Friday. Their next opponent will bring a different style of football.
The Pirates (6-5) travel to Kinder to battle the No. 4 Yellowjackets, who drew a bye in the first round.
The Yellowjackets are undefeated at 10-0, averaging 48 points per game on offense and allowing 21 points per game on defense.
They have scored 60 points in one game and topped 50 points five times this season.
Their lowest offensive output was 22 points, which came in a 22-20 win over Eunice.
“They have good athletes who move quickly to the ball,” said KHS Head Coach John Thompson, who earned his first playoff win as a high school head coach. “They play a spread offense.”
In short, Kinder likes to throw the football.
Pine completed just four passes in the whole game against Kaplan. Kinder will likely complete that many in their first offensive series.
The player-leader of Kinder’s offense is Isiah Thomas, who stands 6 feet tall and weighs 175 pounds. Thomas is considered one of the top passing quarterbacks in the state. He has thrown for 1,990 yards and rushed for 600 more. He has completed 108 of 205 passes for 22 touchdowns, with only three interceptions in those attempts. Against Logansport earlier in the year, Thomas rushed 229 yards and threw for 169 yards.
Thomas has several reliable receivers, with Brandon “King” Perkins, who is 5-foot-10 and 190 pounds, as his main target. Over the past two years, Perkins has collected more than 1,600 receiving yards and over 100 catches.
This season, Perkins has 40 catches for 819 yards and seven touchdowns.
“We know Kinder is going to score. But we have to do our best to get them off the field. We can’t let them keep converting third downs. If they make a big play, our players need to forget it and focus on the next play. In football, you have to have a short memory.”
The Pirates hope to have a balanced offense again, like they did against Pine. Kaplan rushed for 120 yards and passed for 185 yards in that game.
It was only the second time this season that Kaplan passed for more yards than they rushed.
Kaplan ran for 120 yards, and quarterback Sabe David threw for 185 yards and two touchdowns. That brings his season total to a career-best 829 passing yards.
“People have underestimated Sabe,” said Thompson. “In my opinion, he is one of the best quarterbacks in the district.”
David threw a 64-yard touchdown pass to Jeremy Roy and a 42-yard touchdown pass to Jacob Devoltz against Pine. Roy finished with two catches for 73 yards.
Over 11 games, Roy has 19 catches for 355 yards and five touchdowns, while Devoltz has eight catches for 134 yards and one touchdown.
Friday’s playoff win also marked the return of Kaplan running back DaMarion Cormier, who had missed two games with a shoulder injury. Cormier has nearly 1,100 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns in 11 games. Against Pine, he scored twice, with a 28-yard touchdown run and a 4-yard touchdown run in the second half to secure the win.
With the Pirates leading in the fourth quarter, the Kaplan defense kept Pine from scoring, while the offense ran down the clock.
Cody Clement made a big impact on defense, recording five tackles, returning a fumble for a 32-yard touchdown, and grabbing a fourth-quarter interception.

When you walk into Walmart, you never know who you’ll see.  But no one expects to see six horses with riders walking through Walmart. 
On Sunday at 4:30 p.m., people who shopped in the Abbeville Walmart saw exactly that.
At least eight people on six horses entered the Abbeville Walmart through the west entrance near the grocery aisles.
A video posted on social media shows two horses, each with two riders, walking past the Subway restaurant and near the grocery aisle. Another horse stopped in front of Subway.
All six horses stood in the Walmart lobby near the shopping baskets for a short time.
One rider got off his horse and led it to the checkout aisles near the drinks, but a woman waiting in line said Walmart employees told him to leave.
“I told myself, there is a horse in Wal-Mart,” said a woman, who did not want her name in the newspaper. “At first, I thought it was funny seeing the horse. Then I got worried because a horse is a big, strong animal. I know how to handle myself around a horse. But a kid or an adult who knows little about horses could have run up to the horse and wanted to pet it. It could have been a dangerous situation.”
As the horses left Walmart, each rider had to duck to get through the doorway.
By Monday evening, Abbeville Police Chief Mike Hardy said Walmart had not contacted the police about filing charges against the eight riders. Until then, the police department does not plan to take action, Hardy said.
That Sunday afternoon, the Bayou Xchan and the Bowzier Trailride was held at the Red Barn, not far from Walmart.
One shopper was loading his groceries in the Walmart parking lot when he saw a group of riders and horses by the gardening supply entrance on the east side. Then the horses trotted to the west side of the parking lot.
“I told myself, ‘I know they are not about to go inside,’” said the man in the parking lot. “They started going inside, and customers leaving the store were just going around them, hoping to avoid the horses. It was crazy. I’ve been on this Earth for 45 years, and I have never seen this before.”
The shopper also saw one rider fall off his horse in the Walmart parking lot after being thrown.
The Abbeville Police Department arrived and spoke to the large group of riders gathered in the strip mall next to King’s Restaurant. Then they drove to Walmart.
Earlier this year, four people rode their horses through a Walmart in Baker.
The Baker Police Department investigated to identify the riders and arrested three men and a teenager. The three men turned themselves in on misdemeanor counts of entering and remaining after a forbidden, unlawful post of criminal activity and disturbing the peace.
Walmart has a policy that prohibits pets or emotional support animals in its stores. Mason Webb, one of the riders charged in Baker, was interviewed about why he rode his horse through Walmart.
“It was fun, we were famous. That’s all. We didn’t wanna hurt nobody... that’s my emotional support animal,” said Webb during a TV interview from jail in Baker, back in April.

In February 2025, 11 senior Abbeville Police Officers won the first round of their lawsuit against the city over a pay dispute.
On Monday afternoon at the district court in Abbeville, Judge Michelle Billeaud listened to both attorneys discuss how much the city should pay in back wages to the 11 senior police officers.
James Hilburn, the attorney for Abbeville, argued that the city does not owe the 11 officers any money.
Some of the senior officers suing the city were in the courtroom.
Chris Landry, the attorney for the 11 senior officers, said the city owes them about $333,000. This amount includes their base pay, 2% raises from the past year, and missed retirement contributions.
After hearing both sides, Judge Billeaud told the attorneys she would announce her decision on February 2, 2026.
Each attorney brought a certified public accountant to the stand to explain to Judge Billeaud what they believed the city should owe the 11 officers.
Landry called CPA Michael Broussard from Langlinais Broussard & Kohlenberg, who told the judge that each senior officer should get an average of $19,000 in back pay. Some officers with higher salaries could get $36,000, $34,000, $33,000, or $30,000, while others might get as little as $8,000, depending on whether they still work for the department.
Hilburn called CPA Steven G. Moosa from Darnal, Sikes and Frederick to explain why he believes the city does not owe the officers any more money.
Moosa said all police officers got around $19,840 in raises within three years. Since everyone received equal pay increases, he argued that the pay scale stayed correct, and the city does not owe back pay to the 11 officers.
Both attorneys are citing a state law that applies only to Abbeville to argue whether senior officers should get extra pay.
Attorney Chris Landry refers to Louisiana State Law 33:2212, which covers laws specific to the Abbeville Police Department.
Landry argues the city owes $333,000 in back pay because a state law set the salaries for first-class officers, sergeants, and lieutenants.
One law states that a first-class officer will receive 15 percent more than a new officer. A sergeant will always receive 25 percent more than a new officer, and a lieutenant will receive 50 percent more than a new officer.
Landry told the judge that two city raises doubled the yearly pay of a starting patrol officer from $20,000 to $40,000.
However, a lieutenant who made $30,000 before the raises now makes $50,000. This is only $10,000 more than a starting officer or 25 percent more, instead of the required 50 percent like the state law states.
A sergeant who made $27,000 before the raises now makes $47,000. According to the law, a sergeant should earn 25 percent more than a starting patrol officer, which would be $51,750 a year, not $47,000.
Moosa, however, is trying to persuade the judge to consider a different argument.
Mossa told the judge that, just below the section about percentage pay raises, the law also allows the city to give equal raises to all full-time police officers, without consideration of rank or years of service. These raises are funded by a special sales tax, which city voters approved.
The city could only afford to give all police department employees the same pay raise, instead of making sure senior officers got additional percentages above a first-year officer’s pay.
Moosa said that some senior officers are now at the right percentage after the two pay raises. For example, a lieutenant who made $60,000 before the raises now makes $71,000, which is more than 50 percent above the starting salary of $40,000.
In 2019, a new Abbeville officer started at a $20,000 salary before any raises were applied. Three years later, that officer’s pay rose to over $40,000, and they are one of the 11 suing the city.
Abbeville Mayor Roslyn White is disappointed with the lawsuit. She notes that taxpayers approved a sales tax increase to fund employee raises, but some officers still feel they are owed more money.
“We gave a generous raise - more generous than has ever been given,” said Mayor White. “More than any other department in the city. We feel we have done everything within the law. The fact that a handful of officers believe they are owed more money is their right; but it is up to the court to tell us how much we owe them. We are going to have to deal with the ramifications of that.”
No matter what Judge Billeaud decides on February 2, 2026, the losing side is expected to appeal to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.

With the regular season now in the rearview mirror, five Vermilion Parish teams are moving on to the postseason.
The Abbeville Wildcats, Delcambre Panthers, Erath Bobcats, Kaplan Pirates, and Vermilion Catholic Screamin’ Eagles will all be in action when the LHSAA playoffs begin on Friday.
The Erath Bobcats secured the highest seed in the Division III Non-Select bracket, achieving a perfect 10-0 record during the regular season. They are set to host No. 28 Bogalusa in the first round of the playoffs. The winner of this matchup will advance to face the winner of the game between No. 12 Union Parish and No. 21 Rayville.
Erath head coach Eric LeBlanc watched film on Bogulsa.
“They may have one win, but they have athletes,” said LeBlanc.  “Their schedule was tough. They played three 5A teams.”
Coach LeBlanc told his team that going 10-0 is behind them, and that each playoff team is now 0-0.
“We are going to take it one game at a time,” he said.

The No. 20 Pirates (6-4) are also in the Division III Non-Select bracket. They will travel to face No. 13 Pine High. The winner of that match-up will take on No. 4 Kinder, which has a bye in the first round.
“The kids believe,” said Kaplan head coach John Thompson. “They believe every game they can win.
Pine (7-3) is not afraid to score points. In their wins, they have scored 64, 55, 44, 48, and 37 points.
“They can score,” said Thomson. “We have to do our best and keep their offense off the field.”
Abbeville will make its return to the playoffs after missing last year. They are part of the Division II Non-Select bracket. The No. 26 Wildcats (4-6) will be on the road against No. Franklin Parish. The winner moves on to the second round against the winner of No. 10 Lutcher and No. 23 Iota.
The Panthers are the No. 26 seed in the Division IV Non-Select playoffs. Delcambre will hit the road to square off with No. 7 East Feliciana. Awaiting the winner in the second round is the winner of No. 10 Ferriday and No. 23 Northeast.
Vermilion Catholic, the reigning champions, is the No. 22 seed in the Division IV Select bracket. The Eagles will travel to face No. 11 Kentwood, a team they beat during last year’s run to a title. 
A win would set up a rematch with district rival Ascension Episcopal, the No. 6 seed, which has a bye.