By: RHETT MANUEL
Sports Editor
VILLE PLATTE – There was a time this past offseason when Sacred Heart quarterback and Evangeline Parish co-offensive MVP Hayden Droddy wasn’t the front-runner for the position.
He was in a well-documented battle for the position over the spring and summer with junior Wade Pitre. Each brought their own special skill set. Pitre had previous experience in the offense while Droddy was the one who brought immense athletic potential to the position despite not having played the position since eighth grade.
Talking to both Droddy and head coach Josh Harper, something wasn’t quite clicking even late into the summer through 7-on-7 tournaments.
Then when it finally did, it did in a big way. Droddy separated himself, Pitre shifted to wide receiver and the team was better for it in all regards.
Droddy ended his career with a special senior season. He accounted for over 2,000 total yards – over 1,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards – and nearly 40 total touchdowns.
He became the heart and soul of the Sacred Heart offense, providing electricity when plays went sideways and ultimately sharing the offensive MVP with Basile running back Ashton Deaville, who was named his district’s offensive MVP after running for nearly 1,400 yards and 19 touchdowns.
“I played quarterback in eighth grade and got to high school. Freshman year, they moved me to receiver. Coach Josh came to me after junior year and said they might need me to play quarterback.
“Reading defenses was hard at first. You have to take practice really seriously and learn everyday. Learning how to read coverages and when guys would be open on the field.”
Droddy ultimately learned how to read those defenses very well. He very rarely put his team in a bad position due to a poor decision.
Where he thrived, however, was off-script. When plays broke down Droddy’s football instinct and athleticism took over and allowed him to fully blossom.
“Just learned to take what defenses gave me,” Droddy said. “At first, I was hesitant to do anything because I didn’t want to mess up. But, as the season progressed I got more comfortable making decisions.”
It was a stroke of irony that ultimately, Droddy’s most memorable moment of the 2022 season came when he returned to his old position for a play.
With time winding down in a tied game against Basile, Droddy shifted to wide receiver and Pitre hit him for a 21-yard touchdown that gave Sacred Heart a dramatic road win.
“I’d gotten hurt on a punt and went out for a play or two,” Droddy said. “Wade came in and threw a couple awesome passes. Coaches kept saying they wanted to put me out there. I just ran the route and Wade made a perfect throw that I just happened to come down with.”
Winning co-MVP just happened to be icing on the cake.
“It’s good to say you had a big role and are rewarded in this way,” Droddy said.
June 19, 2026
