The Franklinton Demons football team had a good season in 2025 and look to follow that with a better one in 2026, with possibilities of bigger and better things this time around.
The Demons, despite losing some key players, return a lot of talented players at key positions and with the hard work the Demon football program is known for, another splendid season is to be expected.
The football coaching staff remains mostly intact with head coach Nick Saltaformaggio returning for his fourth season at Franklinton.
Coach Salt is high on his staff. "We have some quality guys who have high school experience come over like Tino Fletcher, who was the head coach at St Thomas Aquinas and he's coaching our linebackers. Donald Kelley came over from Hannan, he's coaching our corners and safeties. Daniel Hillburn will coach our defensive front. I like our staff a lot, it's the right mixture and guys like offensive coordinator Matt Hughes and Drew Mizell, who are essential to our success have been here every day. Our weight room is starting to show, our kids are built different and that's a credit to Drew Mizell."
The Demons enjoyed a great season in 2025 as they opened the 2025 season with a scrimmage against stout Kentwood before playing Mandeville in their jamboree. A win over Amite opened the season before a two point loss to Covington on the road. Week three saw the Demons open their home schedule with a win over Pine before they rolled over Fontainebleau. Week five was a tough game as they fell in overtime to Sumner.
The Demons opened the district portion of their schedule with a loss to Lakeshore. The Demons rounded out their regular season with wins over Abbeville, Hannan, Loranger and Pearl River. The Demons qualified for a home playoff game against Rayne and handled them with authority before also sending Jennings home in the second round. The Demons concluded their season with a Thanksgiving week state quarterfinals loss to #1 seeded North Desoto, a game in which they held a lead for a portion of the game.
The Demons’ schedule has changed somewhat with two new opponents and the return of an old district foe. The Demons will again play in the Mandeville Jamboree against the Skippers before hosting Amite and Covington. Week three will see the Demons go up against Pine on the road before staying on the road at Sumner for week four. The Demons will then play one of the top programs in the state at home against Lutcher. The Demons will then open the district against Hannan on the road before hosting Pearl River. The Demons will then travel to Lakeshore before hosting Salmen, who returns to the district after a two year stint in 5A. The Demons will conclude the regular season on the road in a non district game against 5A Prairieville.
Coach Salt says while the Demons schedule, particularly the non-district portion, is tough and there are reasons for it. "When you get to where we are now, it's hard to schedule. We call a lot of people. It's just getting hard to schedule. People know who we are now, our reputation is back, I guess our brand is back."
Another reason is that Coach Salt wants to play programs that are similar to the Demons. "When I plan a schedule out I plan it around people who are like us. Amite is like us. I like playing them. Covington is Covington. Pine is a rivalry, you have to play them as it's good for the parish and it's good for their program and our program. Sumner is like Amite, they're like us. I know people are going to look at the Lutcher game. But you're going to have to play them sometime. I'd rather play them in week five and test the water.”
He added, “About Prairieville in the last game of the year, I like playing the 5A schools because you get the two extra power points. Coming off of a Superdome appearance and a quarterfinal appearance, those are the guys you're going to play now. I know it's a rocky road but it's a road we should be able to navigate."
The Demons, like all high school sports teams, lost players to graduation. One of the top players the Demons lost to graduation is quarterback Jacob Crain. Crain set several school records as he passed for over 2600 yards. Another top player lost that will have to be replaced is DaMikies McClain, who had receptions for over 1000 yards.
One of the top, if not the top, players returning for the Demons is receiver Jayden Burkhalter, who returns as a top receiver having caught for over 900 yards last season. Senior back Ricardo Burris also returns to lead the rushing game as he had over 850 yards last season.
Jaden Burkhalter, Chakyn McClain and Kai Allen will be the receivers. Coach Salt is high on them as well as a couple of incoming freshmen. "We also have two very talented ninth graders who are going to play some on Friday nights. Khalif McClendon and Preston Athey." He also likes his tight end group. "Our tight end room is very good in Preston Venable and Devin Harris."
The backs will be Ricardo Burris, Stephen Tate and Matt Harding. "They're all different kind of guys. Ricardo has elite top end speed. Tate is more of a bruiser and the wildcard is Matt Harding. He may be the best running back at our school but it's a new position for him."
There will be five new starters on the offensive line. "They are better than anybody we've played with on the line last year. George Brewer is 6'5" 250 and works very hard. Jevonta Woods is 6'3" 320. Our two guards will be Nathan Hillburn on one side and Manny Ayers on the other. Senior Ty Penny will start the season at center. We have sixteen offensive linemen on the team and they all have ability and only one of them is a senior. If those guys come together, we have a chance to be really, really good. This is a large offensive line. We look the part up front, it's just how quickly do we play at the speed of Friday night?"
Another key point for the Demons this season will be filling the vacant quarterback position. Kerston Diddon, a newcomer to the Demons, started in the spring game and has solidified his hold on the spot. Coach Salt and offensive coordinator Matt Hughes are big on him. Coach Salt said. "Getting Kerston over here has really solidified what we want to be offensively. It does change our identity somewhat because he is more athletic. He has the ability to make plays with his feet. He's had a very good summer, he's made every workout and he leaves here and goes to work out with (former LSU quarterback) Rohan Davey. His biggest thing for me is that he's won our locker room which was difficult because of who he had to replace. He's had a wonderful summer."
Matt Hughes spoke of how he has made the offense better. "Kerston's ability to run, not only solidifies your run game a little bit but often you play offense ten players on eleven. If you have a quarterback that doesn't run, then you play ten on eleven. If the quarterback can run the ball, and the run game is all about equating numbers, now you're playing eleven on eleven football and that helps your run game. It also helps your passing game."
Defensively the Demons return eight starters and several others that saw significant playing time in 2025. Coach Salt feels they should improve from last season. "Defense should be better. We're finally getting to the structure that I wanted to get to since I've been here. We've had such turmoil in that room, you know we've had three different coordinators and I've been going back and forth between the offensive line and trying to install a defense. Just the mindset of us is different. We know how we want to be, how we want to play it and how we want to call it and we have talent at every level of our defense. Caleb Garrett is going to be an extremely good football player for the defense. Tyler Magee is going to be exceptional. I'm hoping Demontra Taylor can continue to grow. Rashad Ginn will be heard about a lot and Taylor McRae is a very good football player."
Coach Salt feels the Demons district is a good one. "I think our district is really good. Hannan has gotten better, Jerry (Leonard) has done a good job at Pearl River. Lakeshore and Salmen are what they are. Lakeshore is going to be more of a fundamentally rock'em sock'em type of program where as Salmen is going to be unbelievably athletic. They have a tremendous quarterback coming back. So, we just have to be prepared to play it. I'm excited about the district because I think it's very good."
Overall Coach Salt sees the Demons having another good season. "I think where our program is at now we should be playing at Thanksgiving. If we get to Thanksgiving and we're playing here we should be playing in December. All of the old clichés, if we tackle, don't turn the ball over and stay healthy we'll be practicing Thanksgiving morning."
The Demons have a lot of talent on the 2026 version. If a few players step up and if certain position groups can learn to play together the Demons are looking at another season along the lines of the last two seasons.
Hang on for the ride Demon fans, this should be a fun one!
