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 (Here is a Q&A conducted by the Abbeville Meridional sports writer Rosco Harrington)

Javonte Mouton is a senior at Kaplan High School.  He plays football and basketball.  He carries a 3.0 GPA.  After high school, he plans to become an electrician.  When he’s not playing sports, he likes to hang out with friends and play video games.

When did you first start playing organized sports?

 I started playing football in eighth grade.  I added basketball in my freshman year.  I didn’t play when I was younger.  I was a homebody kid.

 Compared to most kids today, you started playing sports late.  Do you think that’s helped you or hurt you?

 I feel it’s neutral.  I still have a lot of good experience, even though I’ve only been playing for a few years.  I’ve had really good coaches who have helped me a lot.  The best part is I don’t go home in pain every day because I don’t have all those extra years of wear and tear on my body.

What kinds of video games do you play?

 I like action games like Call of Duty.  I grew up on those games.  Since we were kids, I’ve been playing with my cousins.  I don’t always win, but I think I’m pretty decent at it.

 
Since you like those types of video games, do you have an interest in the military?

 I did when I was younger.  It hasn’t crossed my mind in years.  The world is crazy right now.

Who has been the rock in your life, the person who keeps you straight and inspires you to be better?

 My mother, Theresa Mouton.  She’s always told me I can be better than what I show people.  When I used to mess up when I was younger, she’d tell me I am better than that.  She believes in me.  She wants me to get us out of where we are right now.

 
Which of your coaches has had the most influence on your life?

 My old coach, Savion Meaux.  He coached me in basketball and football up until this year.  He helped me become the athlete I am today.  He also helped me become a better man.

 What inspired you to want to become an electrician?

 It’s a way to make money and support my family.  Electricians are always needed everywhere.

 Do you use social media?

 Yes, TikTok and Snapchat are the main ones I use.  I like TikTok because my friends and I send each other funny videos.  I like Snapchat because that’s how I talk to everybody.

 
Are you excited for the 2025 football season?

 
I’m so ready.  We lost a lot of people from last year’s team.  But that’s not going to make us give up on the season.  We’re going to push through.  We’ve all been around each other since elementary.  We’re like brothers.  We’re excited for our senior year.

 Of the two sports you play, which is your favorite?

 I definitely prefer football.  I like the stage.  The atmosphere on Friday nights with all the fans and the band is awesome.  I play basketball because I’ve always loved it.  I played with a lot of older people when I was younger, and they instilled in me skill and a love for the game.

John Thompson received an early 44th birthday gift on Friday when he was named the head football coach at Kaplan High School.
Thompson, 43 years old, will turn 44 on Aug. 20, and when that day rolls around, he will be in his second week of being the head football coach at Kaplan.
He will spend this week at Vermilion Catholic, a place where he was about to begin his eighth season as the strength and conditioning coach and the defensive line coach.
After school at VC, Thompson will head to Kaplan High to begin preparing for his first season as a head football coach. This past Sunday,  Thompson was in Kaplan, meeting the defensive coaches.
This is the first time he has ever applied to be a high school head football coach. 
“I have been preparing for this for the last 20 years,” said Thompson. “I have coached under some good high school and college coaches who have taught me a lot. I am not done growing.”
Thompson is about to take a crash course on how to be a high school head football coach. It is a crash course because of the timing of the hire - four weeks before the start of the 2025 season. 
He was hired one week after head coach Stephen “Tank” Lotief was relieved of his coaching duties on July 31, just 20 minutes after completing a morning practice. No official reason was provided for Lotief’s removal from his position.
The first football game is Sept. 5 when Kaplan opens against Ascension Episcopal High. The week before will be the jamboree.
Thompson met with his players and assistant coaches on Friday afternoon.
It looks like Cody Mire will be the defensive coordinator and Thompson will look to call the offense, with the help of other assistant coaches. The coaching assignments are all still in the air, Thompson said. 
With Thompson possibly running the offense, it looks like the Pirates will be installing a different offense, other than running the strict Wing-T offense.  Thompson’s plans to have the quarterback in the shotgun formation, with a wing-back and running back not far away. Look for the Pirates to “open up” the offense.
 Thompson said he is not scrapping the Wing-T 100 percent because it’s what the players know.
This past weekend, Thompson toured the Kaplan facilities, including the field house and football field, which is being converted into an artificial turf field.  He did say he saw where Kaplan could use upgraded weight-lifting equipment and possibly improve the locker room. 
Thompson’s vision for the school extends beyond the field. He expressed his desire for the players to take pride in their facilities, indicating his commitment to their overall experience at Kaplan High. 
After this season, Thompson will have to put a new football schedule together. There is already talk that  Vermilion Catholic could be added to the Kaplan football schedule in 2026 and 2027.
“If Broc wants. That would be a big parish football game,” Thompson said. 
 

The new school year in Vermilion Parish is set to begin later this week. 
Below, Vermilion Parish Superintendent Tommy Byler shares some thoughts on the new year:

When does school start for everyone except Pre-K and kindergarten?

The first day for students is Friday, August 8th. That will be all students in grades 1-12 and half of our kindergarten for each school. 

When does Pre-K and Kindergarten begin?

All kindergarten students will be in place by August 12, and Pre-K will be in place by August 15. 

As the opening of the school is about to get underway, what is your biggest concern?

As with every year, ensuring the safe transportation of our students to school, starting the school in an orderly and organized manner, and ensuring our teachers and students are set up to be successful are always my concerns. We work extremely hard throughout the summer to give all of these factors the best chance to be successful. Inevitably, things will never be perfect, but we will do our best to get things straightened out as soon as possible.

Explain why that is a concern.

As I mentioned earlier, we want things to go well and make the first day experience for students a comfortable situation. 

Are there any new rules that the students and parents need to be aware of before the start of school?

The only major adjustment to any rule would be the makeup policy. We have reverted back to our pre-covid make up policy.

How many students are you projecting on the first day of class?

At the current time, we will be around 8,300-8,400 students when we add our final total from Pre-K.

How has the hiring been going? A week before school, is the school system still looking for certified teachers?

Hiring has gone as usual. We fill most of our positions early, but we still have a few spots where we are still trying to fill. Also, some of our teachers are discovering that they have been offered positions in neighboring districts and are leaving us for higher pay. We are still working to fill the last spots.

What is the status of the two football stadiums undergoing the artificial turf transformation?

We have gotten good weather the last couple of weeks, and good progress has taken place. We are still on schedule to be complete in Kaplan to start the season, and a few weeks later, we are hoping to have North Vermilion complete.

This summer, Lafayette Parish is allowing its students to wear jeans (Blue or Black). ;
Any chance the school board would do the same shortly?

This information was shared with our board and the discipline and dress code committee. However, neither group favored moving forward with this proposal.

KAPLAN — The interviews for the next head football coach at Kaplan High School have already begun, despite the job still being open until noon on Friday.
As of Thursday, six candidates had applied for the head football coaching job. The school district did not release the names of the six. Interviews began at 11 a.m. on Thursday. 
One of those six names who interviewed on Thursday is a parish native who has coached at Vermilion Catholic for many years.
VC assistant football coach John Thompson confirmed he applied for the head football job at Kaplan High School. 
Thompson graduated from VC in 1997 and signed a football scholarship to attend South Carolina.  He coached under Ossie Blaize and VC head coach Broc Prejean. He was a big part of VC winning the state title last season. 
For the past couple of years, Thompson was also the head boys basketball coach and led his team to the playoffs.
One unconfirmed names who applied for the KHS job is former Abbeville High assistant football coach Doug Guillory.
Guillory was an assistant coach at Abbeville under Coach Roderick Moy was at Abbeville High.  Today, he is an assistant coach at Oakdale High School. Guillory is also familiar with the Wing-T offense, an offense the Kaplan football program has run for several years.
The new Kaplan head football coach is expected to be named as early as Friday or by Monday.