Subhead: In 2024 the Eagles started 0-9. Then came a coaching change, another 1-9 season and a new offensive coordinator with 40 years in the game. Now Rosepine is unbeaten, and Friday it returns to the field where it was shut out a year ago.
By T-Rohn | Gridiron Gumbo | Oct. 21, 2026
REPORTED: facts per MaxPreps, American Press, KPLC, KALB and others (sources below)
Two years ago, a win in Rosepine was rarer than a parking spot at a crawfish boil. Now the Eagles are 7-0, and the town is relearning how to celebrate.
Mais, it’s been a minute. Somebody check whether the victory bell still rings or if a dirt dauber moved in.
Looking for Friday’s Rosepine at Vinton preview, with keys to the game and T-Rohn’s pick? Read it here. This story is about how Rosepine got here.
Rock bottom: 2024
Rosepine started the 2024 season 0-9, and coach Frank Rosegrant stepped down, the American Press reported.
David Weldon took over for Week 10, and the Eagles beat East Beauregard 20-6 in his first game to finish 1-9. That offense averaged fewer than seven points a game. The defense gave up 36.8.
One win, but it came in the last game. In Rosepine, that counted as momentum. Folks talked about it all offseason, mostly at the gas station.
Year one: 2025
Weldon’s first full season also ended 1-9, according to MaxPreps and KALB. The Eagles scored 128 points and allowed 376. One of those losses was 27-0 at Vinton on Oct. 23, 2025.
Back-to-back 1-9 seasons. The faithful kept showing up anyway, the way you keep going back to the diner whose biscuits are only good on Tuesdays.
Not everybody did. “You could see from the stands that not as many people would show up,” senior lineman Tug Haymon told KPLC in August.
The hire: Donny Crier
Then came the move that changed things. Donny Crier joined the staff as offensive coordinator, bringing 40 years of experience and a new playbook, KPLC reported in its preseason Two-A-Days series.
Weldon, entering his second full season, said leaning on Crier “transformed a lot of our culture.”
He also made a promise: “The new offense that we have coming, it’s going to be a different year, so mark my words, be excited for this year.”
Senior running back Brynnum Chaney set the bar in the same story: “10-0. That’s the mindset we’ve had this year.”
Bold talk from a program that had won two games in two years. Out here, folks answer that kind of confidence with two words: “Show me.”
The proof: 2026
They showed them. Here’s Rosepine’s season, per MaxPreps:
- Sept. 4: Rosepine 48, Montgomery 20
- Sept. 10: Rosepine 29, Grand Lake 19
- Sept. 18: Rosepine 50, Basile 6
- Sept. 24: Rosepine 35, Oberlin 8
- Oct. 2: Rosepine 59, Delhi 12
- Oct. 8: Rosepine 54, Pickering 0
- Oct. 16: Rosepine 47, Plain Dealing 0
That’s 322 points scored and 65 allowed. Last season it took all 10 games to score 128. This year the Eagles passed that in their fourth game.
That’s not a turnaround, cher. That’s a pirogue going from sinking in the bathtub to winning the bass tournament.
The last time Rosepine started at least 6-0 was 2018, when the Eagles went 10-0, according to Cajun Radio.
The engine
Chaney has carried much of the load. He ran for 190 yards and four touchdowns in the opener against Montgomery, KPLC reported.
“If I had 11 Brynnums, I could put him at center and he’d be fine,” Weldon told the station. Chaney said he “could’ve had more than 200.”
He scored all four Rosepine touchdowns in the 29-19 win at Grand Lake, according to the Cameron Parish Pilot, which called it “a heck of a game all night long.” Through LHSAA Week 6, Cajun Radio had him at 975 rushing yards and 19 touchdowns.
The defense did its part, too. After giving up 376 points in 2025, the Eagles have allowed 65 in seven games, with back-to-back shutouts of Pickering and Plain Dealing.
Friday: one year later
Here’s where the calendar gets cute. Rosepine (7-0, 1-0 District 5-2A) plays at Vinton (7-0, 1-0) on Friday, Oct. 23, at 7 p.m., per MaxPreps. That’s one year to the day after the 27-0 loss in Vinton.
Calendars in Rosepine have been circled, double-circled and laminated.
For the matchup, the district math and T-Rohn’s pick, see our full preview.
Whatever happens Friday, the Eagles already did what they promised in August. They gave folks a reason to fill the stands again.
Bring a seat cushion, a cooler and a solid alibi for where you were in 2024.
Headed to Vinton Friday? Send Gridiron Gumbo your photos and final-score predictions. T-Rohn will be watching.
Corrections: Gridiron Gumbo corrects errors promptly and notes the change at the bottom of the story. Spot one? Tell us.
Sources
- Gridiron Gumbo, “Two Perfect Seasons, One Field: Rosepine at Vinton Preview (Both 7-0)”: https://gridirongumbo.com/vinton-rosepine-preview-2026/ (full game preview; consistent with records, kickoff and district scenario cited here).
- American Press, Rodrick Anderson, “Rosepine: Eagles eye turnaround under Weldon,” Aug. 31, 2025: https://americanpress.com/2025/08/31/rosepine-eagles-eye-turnaround-under-weldon/ (2024 0-9 start; Rosegrant stepped down; Weldon took over in Week 10 and beat East Beauregard 20-6; 2024 offense under 7 ppg, defense allowed 36.8 ppg).
- MaxPreps, Rosepine 2025 schedule: https://www.maxpreps.com/la/rosepine/rosepine-eagles/football/25-26/schedule/ (1-9; 128 PF / 376 PA; L 27-0 at Vinton, Oct. 23, 2025).
- KALB, “Inside the Huddle: Rosepine Eagles,” Aug. 21, 2026: https://www.kalb.com/2026/08/22/inside-huddle-rosepine-eagles/ (1-9 finish in 2025; 2026 is Weldon’s “second season” as head coach, meaning second full season, since he took over for the final game of 2024).
- KPLC, “2026 Two-A-Days: Rosepine Eagles,” Aug. 18, 2026: https://www.kplctv.com/2026/08/19/2026-two-a-days-rosepine-eagles/ (Crier hired as OC with 40 years’ experience; Weldon, Chaney and Haymon quotes).
- MaxPreps, Rosepine 2026 schedule: https://www.maxpreps.com/la/rosepine/rosepine-eagles/football/schedule/ (7-0, 1-0; all 2026 scores; 322 PF / 65 PA; at Vinton Oct. 23).
- MaxPreps, Vinton 2026 schedule: https://www.maxpreps.com/la/vinton/vinton-lions/football/schedule/ (7-0, 1-0; 340 PF / 46 PA; vs. Rosepine Oct. 23, 7 p.m.).
- KPLC, Ben Rickevicius, “Rosepine running back fuels Week 1 victory with four-touchdown performance,” Sept. 10, 2026: https://www.kplctv.com/2026/09/10/rosepine-running-back-fuels-week-1-victory-with-four-touchdown-performance/ (Chaney 190 yards, 4 TDs; “11 Brynnums” quote; “could’ve had more than 200”).
- Cameron Parish Pilot, Jake McCoy, “Second half miscues cost Grand Lake,” Sept. 20, 2026: https://cameronpilot.com/second-half-miscues-cost-grand-lake/ (all four Rosepine TDs by Chaney; “a heck of a game all night long”).
- Cajun Radio / Chaston Tavares, “SWLA High School Football Week 7 Schedule and Standings,” Oct. 13, 2026: https://cajunradio.com/ixp/149/p/swla-football-week-7-schedule-standings/ (Rosepine last 6-0+ in 2018, 10-0; Chaney 975 yds / 19 TD through Week 6).
- American Press, “Local prep football district standings, Oct. 20”: https://americanpress.com/2026/10/20/local-prep-football-district-standings-oct-20/ (East Beauregard 2-0 in District 5-2A; Rosepine and Vinton 1-0).
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