St. Thomas More – The STM Cougars are coming into a 2023 season where they will be looking to defend their title. STM won another state championship when they came from behind to defeat the Lafayette Christian Academy Knights 52-48 in the Caesars Superdome. This Cougars program has set a standard of winning and reloading yearly instead of resetting. Much of their starters from last year are gone but they’ll have a few critical guys like Quarterback Sam Altmann and running back Hutch Swilley returning for their senior season as the Cougars try to go back-to-back.
IMPACT PLAYERS
Sam Altmann QB, 6’3”, 195 lbs, SR
This will be Altmann’s second year as the Cougars’ starting signal-caller after he went into a quarterback competition in 2022. In his junior year, he threw for 2,833 yards and 27 touchdowns with just six interceptions. Altmann said his expectations for this year are “to continue to get better. If we stay where we are right now, we’re not going to end up where we want to be. So as long as we keep working and getting better, I think we’ll end up where we want to be.”
Hutch Swilley HB, 5’11”, 195 lbs, SR
Swilley is another senior on this offense who will be returning after a productive 2022. The lead back for the Cougars ran for 914 yards and 16 touchdowns on 135 carries. Swilley said that even though the Cougars have lost many starters, they won’t look back at this year as a rebuilding year. “Yeah, we lost a couple of guys, but we have better guys. We’re not losing anything in my eyes. We’re growing as a program and for us to go back-to-back, it’s going to take us working hard every day and I see it coming.”
Peyton David FS, 6’0”, 185 lbs, SR
David has been a starter for STM the third year and will line up in a new spot with him now being in the secondary. He previously played inside and outside linebacker for the Cougars and talked about his versatility, “It’s come naturally I believe. You’re going inside the box, now you play halfway-in-halfway-out at outside playing nickel safety and now at free (safety) you’re all the way out of the box and now you’re overseeing everything which also helps.”
HEAD COACH JIM HIGHTOWER
Hightower, who has been with the Cougars since 1986 will look to take his STM program back to the Superdome this year after winning state. Coach only has eight returning starters with three on offense and five on defense. When asked what stands out the most about this Cougars team and the play on both sides of the ball, his reply was “the great work atmosphere they exhibited. We’ve got a number of starters back on defense so I think they’re a little more sure of what they’re doing than maybe last year’s group… I think this year’s group has a lot more confidence out of the gate. Offensively, we’re missing those big-play receivers so we’re waiting for people to step up and fill that void.”
2022 RECORD – 13-1 (State Title)
2023 SCHEDULE
Sept. 1 @ Comeaux
Sept. 8 vs Alexandria
Sept. 15 vs Brother Martin
Sept. 22 vs Catholic -BR
Sept. 29 @ Denham Springs
Oct. 6 vs North Vermilion
Oct. 12 vs Northside
Oct. 20 vs Teurlings
Oct. 27 @ Westgate
Nov. 3 @ Lafayette Christian