By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

BAY ST. LOUIS — The next “Southern Six” Senior Spotlight sponsored by Reese’s of the school year is Evan noel of St. Stanislaus.

Each week throughout the school year, we here at SouthMiss6 Sports will highlight a senior student/athlete in the “Southern Six” to honor.

Noel, a senior standout placekicker/punter for the Rock-A-Chaws, enjoyed a splendid final campaign at SSC that was capped off by an appearance in the prestigious Alabama/Mississippi Al-Star Football Classic last week.

Noel, one of the top two consensus ranked ranked kickers in the nation for the Class of 2025, has had a number of postseason honors come his way recently. He recently signed with Southeastern Conference member the University of Florida Gators.

Noel has been a starter for four seasons, handling kickoffs, extra points, field goals and punts. In 2024, Noel made 21-of-23 PATs, 11-for-20 field goals including a state record 61-yard kick against Pass Christian this past season. 

He also handled kickoff duties with 43 kickoffs for 2,318 yards with 30 touchbacks and five converted on-sides attempts.

Noel also handled punting duties for SSC with 36 punts for 1,477 yards for a 41.03 avg and five kicks downed inside-10 yard line. 

He was selected as first team All-Division 8-3A and was named the Special Teams Player of the Year.

He was also chosen first-team All-State for Class 3A for the third consecutive season. 

He ended his prep career by nailing a 30-yard field goal with 1:22 left in the third period in the annual all-star game Saturday.

The Reese’s company has long been a big supporter of current and former high school student/athletes all over the Southeast.

For over a decade now, Reese’s® Peanut Butter Cups has been the title sponsor of The Senior Bowl played annually in Mobile, Ala.

In addition to its new partnership with the Senior Bowl, the Reese’s® brand is also the official candy partner of the NCAA® and the title sponsor of the National Association of Basketball Coaches’ Reese’s® College All-Star Game, which features the top Division I senior basketball student-athletes from around the country and is played the weekend of the NCAA Men’s Final Four®.

“The Reese’s brand is excited to continue our partnership with the Senior Bowl,” said Drew Iddings, Director, Promotions and Planning, The Hershey Company.  “We are confident that this partnership will continue to solidify the Reese’s brand’s leadership in collegiate athletics as well as honor senior student-athletes who achieved success on and off the field during their athletic careers.”

The 2025 Reese’s Senior Bowl will take place on Saturday, February 1, 2025 at 1:30 PM CT at Hancock Whitney Stadium in Mobile, Alabama. The game and practices will be televised on the NFL Network. 

The Reese’s Senior Bowl is widely regarded as the preeminent college football all-star game and the first stage in the NFL Draft process. The longest continual-running all-star game has taken place in Mobile, Alabama the past 75 years.  More than 900 NFL personnel, including key decision-makers from all 32 teams, and over 1100 media members from around the country were credentialed this year. This past April, the game produced 110 total picks, representing 43 percent of the entire NFL draft.