Mayors of Central, St. George Make A Bet, Start a Tradition This Friday

Central Mayor Wade Evans and St. George Mayor Dustin Yates plan to lay it all on the line this Friday night when Central High meets Woodlawn High in a district game at Panther Stadium in the new City of St. George.

Starting Friday, the winner of the game will be awarded The Mayors Cup in ceremonies after the game. The winning school will be able to display the trophy for the coming year, as a symbol of the superiority of one city over the other.

The details of the new rivalry and all the benefits of victory are expected to be announced at a news conference scheduled for 2 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 9 at Dearmans’ restaurant, 7633 Jefferson Hwy.

Mayor Evans is betting his Central Wildcats, the defending Division I non-select State Champions, can handily defeat Woodlawn. But Mayor Yates says not so fast! 

Under terms the Mayors have agreed to, the Mayors Cup will also be on display for part of the year at

City Hall of their respective cities.

Central High and Woodlawn High have a long history of playing each other, going back to the 1950’s.  Both were rural schools on the outskirts of Baton Rouge and had much in common.

The City of Central incorporated in 2005, and the City of St. George incorporated in 2024.  They are the two newest cities in the state.

The two cities are both organized on a privatized model with a private, non-profit organization, IBTS, providing services.

Heading into Friday night’s game, Central is 4-1 and Woodlawn is 3-2.

They will meet at 7 p.m. Friday night, Oct. 10 at Woodlawn High School, located at 15755 Jefferson.

Head coach for Central High School is David Simoneaux.  Head coach for Woodlawn is Tramon Douglas.  Douglas was just named head coach in July.  He replaced Marcus Randall, who now serves as Athletic Director.

This is David Simoneaux’s third year as head coach at Central.  He has won State Championships at Central, Catholic, and Catholic of Pointe Coupee.