MANDEVILLE—To say Christian Westcott had an outstanding senior prep football season may be the understatement of the decade.

Capping off the greatest individual season in the history of not only St. Tammany Parish, but possibly one of the greatest in the history of the state, the Lakeshore High do-everything 2020 senior was named not only the Gatorade Louisiana Player of the Year, but also took home the prestigious Mr. Football honors. An outstanding baseball player as well, Westcott signed to play both sports at Southeastern Louisiana University.

“It was a blast,” Westcott said of his senior football season. “We still talk about it today. Especially now with all the COVID-19 stuff going around. This year was so much fun and we had such a special team that it was basically not a normal football season. It was a rarity because of how close this team was and the success we had.

“The memories that comes up for me starts with the jamboree win over Slidell High. It set the tone for the entire season. I think about the stop on the goal line against Fontainebleau, the fourth and 17 against Bastrop and then really the entire fourth quarter against Warren Easton in the state semifinals.”

Leading Lakeshore to a 13-1 season and the Class 4A state semifinals, the 6-0, 210-pound Westcott accounted for 74 total touchdowns (35 passing touchdowns, 38 rushing touchdowns and a defensive touchdown) and 4,147 yards of total offense.

Perhaps his greatest performance came in his final game as a Lakeshore High Titan against Warren Easton in the state semifinals when he accounted for 553 yards of total offense and eight total touchdowns.

“Honestly with playing baseball before the season was suspended (because of COVID-19), the accomplishments I got in the fall I guess have really not sunk in yet,” he said. “When I hang out with my teammates it does kick in that wow, what a season it was. I couldn’t have thought anyone would think I would have won those awards. It really still to this day hasn’t sunk in yet and honestly, I’m still shell-shocked when I think about it.

“You always hope you can win those awards, but you really don’t believe you will do it. It was truly an honor.”

The first-ever Mr. Football to sign with Southeastern Louisiana, Westcott said in the end, the familiarity with the campus and the ability to play both sports proved to be the difference.

“I sat down with coaches Scelfo and Riser to see if they would both be okay with me playing football and baseball,” he said. “My official visit was done on a Sunday and by Thursday I was in Scelfo’s office having a meeting and I committed by that Saturday. They sold me on coming to SLU and we are all on the same page of what we want to do.

“I love how much of a family atmosphere is at Southeastern Louisiana. I grew up on that campus and watching all the sports. The football team is coming off of a great 2019 season and the recruiting class is great. They are blowing up; the whole city and town of Hammond is blowing up in a good direction. I’m excited to get over there to see how things go.”

The other fascinating part of Westcott’s signing with the Lions is the position he will be playing under Scelfo. A standout on both sides of the ball for four seasons at Lakeshore, Westcott will be competing for time at quarterback in the Lions’ offense beginning this summer.

“I’m going to play quarterback” he said. “I wouldn’t say defense is out yet but I was given the choice and I decided I had so much fun at Lakeshore in 2019 playing quarterback that it was something I want to try and continue. I can always fall back to defense, but the transition from defense to offense would be too difficult.

“I embrace the challenge. My mindset in life is whatever I want to do I am going to put the work in to get the job done.”

In terms of his baseball positioning, Westcott will only be a position player as opposed to playing a position and pitching like he has done for four years at Lakeshore High School.