Evangel Christian Academy

History

Rodney and Frances Duron, parents of the current chancellor, Denny Duron, founded the school in 1980 as a small kindergarten to eighth grade school. The high school was added as a second campus in 1989. Evangel has grown from 21 graduating seniors in 1990 to over 100 seniors in 2001. The school currently has over 675 students.

As of May 2013, according to the SACS website, Evangel is one of twenty-five schools to have earned SACS accreditation in Caddo Parish, and one of eight private schools to have done the same. Evangel Christian Academy is a state approved (K(5)-12) school through the Louisiana State Department of Education.

Athletics

Evangel Christian athletics competes in the LHSAA.

• Baseball
• Basketball
• Cheer
• Football
• Soccer
• Softball
• Swimming
• Tennis
• Track and field
• Wrestling
• Volleyball

Evangel fields basketball, golf, tennis, track and field, volleyball, and wrestling teams at the middle/high school level. The baseball, basketball, football, and softball teams are played at most grade levels K–6th. The Shreveport Country Club is the training ground and tournament facility for the Evangel golf and tennis teams and the Evangel swim teams.

Championships

Baseball championships

• (6) State Championships: 1995, 2006, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2014

Football championships

• (1) National Championship: 1999
• (14) State Championships: 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2016

Softball championships

• (3) State Championships

Tennis championships

• (3) State Team Championships

Football

Winning one national championship and fourteen state championships, Evangel's football team was given a prominent place in a book cataloging the top twelve dynasties of high school football

Arts

The drama department puts on at least one major musical per year along with a straight play. ECA drama regularly participates in local, state and national drama competitions.

ECA's band and choir have also grown in recent years. Beyond the traditional arts, Evangel offers two spirit groups, twirlers and cheer teams for their elementary school and cheer for their high school, both competitive in their various divisions.

Campus

The ECA high school campus lies on approximately 100 acre in West Shreveport. The high school campus is home to the "main" high school classrooms (divided into "A" and "B" wings with ten rooms on either side serving various purposes) including a library with over thirty-five Dell Dimension 3000 desktop computers (20 more of which that can be found in the computer lab), a main and student office, and a high school cafeteria with food service provided by the Sodexho food service company. These were original at the opening of the high school campus and were built by previous private schools. Further back in the campus are the "T" (temporary) buildings which were added in 1993 by founder Frances Duron to accommodate the growing number of middle and high school students enrolling in the school. The campus also includes one tennis court, one softball, baseball, and football field, and a large basketball gym (built in 1997). The campus is surrounded by woods on two sides and by homes on the other two sides. During the summers the campus is used for summer sports camps.

The elementary campus and Shreveport Community Church occupy approximately 33 acre just minutes from the high school campus and located next to I-20. The elementary has recently moved into a new space inside of the renovated church including a new auditorium tailored specifically for elementary school students, a two story indoor climbing playground, several new outdoor play spaces, a fully equipped computer lab, a cafe for parents, and new daycare facilities.

Notable alumni

• Micah Baskerville, NFL linebacker currently for the Chicago Bears, former college football player for the LSU Tigers
• Brock Berlin, former NFL quarterback for the Miami Dolphins, Dallas Cowboys, St. Louis Rams and Detroit Lions
• Jarrick Bernard-Converse, NFL cornerback for the New York Jets
• John David Booty, former NFL quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings, Tennessee Titans and Houston Texans
• Josh Booty, former MLB third baseman for the Florida Marlins, former NFL quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks, Cleveland Browns and Oakland Raiders
• Elijah Chatman, NFL defensive end for the New York Giants
• Myles Cole, NFL outside linebacker for the Jacksonville Jaguars
• Keyunta Dawson, former NFL defensive end for the Indianapolis Colts, Detroit Lions, Tennessee Titans and New Orleans Saints, played collegiately for the Texas Tech Red Raiders
• Dez Duron, former singer and Top 8 contestant on the third season of The Voice, also played quarterback for Yale; the son of the current Evangel chancellor, Denny Duron
• Jacob Hester, former NFL fullback for the San Diego Chargers and Denver Broncos
• Tug Hulett, former MLB second baseman for the Seattle Mariners, Kansas City Royals and Boston Red Sox
• Chase Pittman, former NFL defensive end for the Cleveland Browns, played collegiately for the Texas Longhorns and LSU Tigers
• Jermauria Rasco, former NFL linebacker for the Green Bay Packers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Pittsburgh Steelers
• Brittney Rogers, Miss Louisiana USA 2003 and former contestant of Fear Factor, Miss USA 2003 and The Amazing Race (8: Family Edition)
• Blake Shapen, college football quarterback currently for the Mississippi State Bulldogs, previously played for the Baylor Bears
• Richard Smith, former professional football wide receiver
• Trent Taylor, NFL wide receiver and punt returner currently for the San Francisco 49ers, previously played for the Cincinnati Bengals and the Chicago Bears, former college football player for the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs
• Eric Thomas, gridiron football wide receiver currently for the Iowa Barnstormers of the Indoor Football League, formerly in the CFL and the NFL, for the Indianapolis Colts and Buffalo Bills
• Jerry Tillery, NFL defensive end currently for the Minnesota Vikings, previously for the Los Angeles Chargers and the Las Vegas Raiders, former college football player for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish
• Jonathan Wade, former NFL cornerback
• Ar'Darius Washington, NFL safety for the Baltimore Ravens, former college football player for the TCU Horned Frogs
• Sophia Young, former WNBA power forward for the San Antonio Stars

References

References

1. "Evangel Christian Academy".
2. "About Evangel Academy". evangelacademy.com.
3. "SACS". advanc-ed.org.
4. (2008). "Gridiron Dynasties". Gridiron Publishing.
5. (August 5, 2023). "Micah Baskerville Football Stats".
6. Hodge, Bill. "Berlin a Brock-solid quarterback".
7. (January 26, 2022). "Jarrick Bernard-Converse". [[LSU Tigers]].
8. "TrojanSports - JD Booty Makes Historical Decision".
9. Lang III, Roy. "Josh Booty: 'I was an idiot' to attempt to marry baseball, football".
10. Watson, Jimmy. (April 11, 2018). "Evangel's Elijah Chatman surpasses Pittman record". [[Shreveport Times]].
11. (December 19, 2017). "Evangel's Byron Dawson sees good, bad with early signing period".
12. Evans, Chris. (October 9, 2013). "Saints Sign Former Evangel Star Keyunta Dawson".
13. "Dez Duron". yalebulldogs.com.
14. "Jacob Hester, Evangel Christian Academy, Fullback".
15. (2019-07-11). "SEC Baseball Leaders LSU and Auburn Face Off".
16. "Chase Pittman, Evangel Christian Academy, Defensive Tackle".
17. Cohen, Michael. (August 12, 2015). "For Packers' rookie linebackers Rasco, Vaughters opportunity is knocking". Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel.
18. (November 22, 2017). "Evangel's Blake Shapen puts LSU on hold". [[Shreveport Times]].
19. "Richard Smith, Evangel Christian Academy, Wide Receiver".
20. Sands, Ethan. (February 14, 2022). "Former La Tech, Shreveport standout Trent Taylor was punt returner for Bengals in 2022 Super Bowl".
21. (December 5, 2014). "Jerry Tillery affirms commitment to Notre Dame, shuts down recruitment".
22. "Jonathan Wade - Miami Dolphins - Cornerback".
23. Watson, Jimmy. "Evangel's Ar'Darius Washington makes college decision".