BATON ROUGE - As he enters the playoffs of his junior year, Dunham quarterback Elijah Haven is a well known name in the football space.

Haven is a five-star recruit and the No. 2 player in the 2027 class according to 247 Sports. In his three seasons leading the Dunham offense, Haven has broken records by totaling more than 10,000 offensive yards and scored 158 career touchdowns.

In that same time, the Tigers have averaged 42 points per game. The success, however, didn't come without a lot of work. 

"I think mentally. That's the biggest part in my game that I've grown in. Just learning the game, learning coverages, just continuing to grow as a quarterback in the mental aspect, so when I go out there and let it rip on Friday, it's easy," Haven said.

His head coach, Neil Weiner, has seen the quarterback grow for a while now and notices his progress.

"This year where I really think he's taken his game is really understanding the offense. Where the ball should really be going before the ball is ever snapped, and having a good game plan, and then he can just kind of relax and make plays and react," Weiner said.

Dunham is coming into the playoffs after a first-round bye week. They are trying to get back to the Superdome to avenge the State Championship they lost a season ago. 

"Definitely that chip on that shoulder. I think we're just using that as motivation though to get back to that Dome like we did last year. Just using that to motivate us throughout these playoffs and to dominate," Haven said.

Dunham will host Northlake Christian in the Regional round of the playoffs on Friday.

If they win, they'll advance to the quarterfinals and face the winner of Holy Savior Menard and Isidore Newman.