At 6'10 in the ninth grade, Central's Ethaniel Rizan had basketball superstar written all over him.

"When you see a sixth ten ninth grader you expect him to be Shaquille O'Neal," says Central head coach Gary Duhe. 

But Ethaniel, or Big E as he's affectionately known, hasn't always had it that easy. Growing so fast and eventually surpassing seven feet tall, coordination was always his toughest opponent. It got so frustrating that he eventually took some time away from the game.

Now as a senior for the Wildcats he's back and better than ever; hoping for to better his teammates and himself in the process.

Catholic High is looking for a new head football coach after Gabe Fertitta announced to the team on Friday afternoon that he was leaving the program to coach at the University of Louisville.

Fertitta was extremely successful in his four years as head coach on campus winning two state titles with the Bears while finishing second twice as well.

“While our family is extremely excited about this new chapter, I am certainly sad to leave a place that has become part of our DNA. I will always remember the determination and toughness I learned from my good friend Bob “Cur Dog” Cade and will carry this strength with me as a take on my new role with the University of Louisville," Fertitta said in a release from the school.

Fertitta replaced legendary Bears head coach Dale Wiener as the head coach after serving on staff with him for three years. 

In a release from Catholic High principal Lisa Harvey expresses her appreciation for Fertitta and all he has done to advance the football program at CHS.  

“Not only has Coach Fertitta brought unprecedented success, but more importantly, his focus on the mission of the Brothers of the Sacred Heart as the cornerstone of the program allowed our student athletes to grow in faith and character,” Harvey says. “He has been an excellent role model and he will be missed. I wish him continued success in his new role.” 

More from the school release follows below: 

CHS Athletic Director J.P. Kelly calls Fertitta’s departure bittersweet.

“Obviously, we love having Gabe as our head coach and we are very proud of what he accomplished in his time here. We are thrilled that he has been presented with this tremendous opportunity to further his coaching career and we wish him the best,” Kelly says. “While we face the end of an era, we are also optimistic about the future of our football program. We are excited about our continued success that will come with our next hire.”

Catholic High School will begin accepting resumes for the position of head football coach immediately. Interested candidates should email their resume to CHS Athletic Director J.P. Kelly (jkelly@catholichigh.org) within the next two weeks. School administrators will contact qualified candidates to schedule interviews shortly after. For more information, contact CHS Director of Communications Ashley Davies at adavies@catholichigh.org.

On Tuesday, Walker's Brian Thomas signed with LSU ending his two year long recruitment. The 4 star wide out chose the Tigers over Alabama and Texas A&M among a laundry list of others but the real accomplishment is that even with the publicity that came with being a top tier recruit, he was able to keep his choice close to the chest until the very end.

Scotlandville Hornets send 7 football players off to college on National Signing Day. Bryan Cage heads to Hammond to play defensive end for Southeastern. The future dentist showing off the pearly whites where he plans to pursue a degree in dentistry. Right next to him is defensive back Quincy Dent. Heading off to attend Mississippi Delta CC. Lineman Jamie Cleveland will be at Division II Lane College in Tennessee. Tight end CJ Knighten suiting up for the Cowboys of McNeese. Rounding out the signees is Mike Brown. He'll go to Hutchinson JC in Kansas.

Safety Jahvon Grigsby to Purdue and Reggie King at Prairie View signed during the early period but were still in attendance. Braelon Hobson was supposed to be signing his letter of intent to Louisiana Tech but due to recent shoulder surgery was unable to make it.