Six Jena Giant football players were recently selected to the Louisiana Sports Writers Association All-State 3A Team, as recently announced by the association.

Senior running back Zerrick Jones was selected to the Offense First Team and senior defensive back Demariyon Hammock was selected to the Defense First Team.

Selected as Honorable Mention were senior receiver Zy Hunter, senior offensive lineman Aiden Palmer, junior linebacker Triston McLendon and junior linebacker Jacob Belcher.

District 2-3A was well represented on the All-State team as Caldwell had one player, offensive lineman Eli Head, make the First Team Offense, along with another selected as honorable mention.

Other District 2-3A schools had the following number of players selected as honorable mention: Buckeye 4, Bunkie 3 and Marksville 3.

Jena Head Coach Jay Roark thanked the sports writers across the state for their recognition of his players for the 2023 season performances.

“This is a real honor for these guys to be selected to the LSWA All-State team,” he said. “It’s a testament to the hard work they put in all year long and how it was recognized by those in the media. This is a really, big deal to be selected All-State in this format and on behalf of the entire program, we thank the sports writers for this recognition.”

Jones and Hammock join seven other Jena Giants who have been selected to the First Team LSWA All-State elite squad throughout the history of the program.

They are: 1952 – Raymond Manchester, running back; 1953 – George Crews, center; 1954 – George Crews, center; 1995 – Chad Stapleton, punter; 2000 – Jason Hatcher, wide receiver; 2000 – Dayne Ashley, quarterback; 2006 – Mychel Bell, return specialist; 2017 – Shaun Todd, defensive back; and 2022 – Trace Franklin, center.