Catholic High School usually doesn’t have prototypical defensive ends to man the line — UL Lafayette sophomore Zi’Yon Hill being the exception — so the Panthers tend to take linebackers and put them at the position to take advantage of their athletic ability.

CHS senior Marlon Brown Jr. has thrived in that role for the Panthers the past couple of years, and head coach Brent Indest attributes that to a couple of factors.

“Well, his football I.Q. is real high,” Indest said Monday as his team prepares for Thursday night’s Division III state championship football game at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, a rematch of the 2017 title game that saw CHS upend Notre Dame 33-16 for the school’s first football championship since 1962. “And he’s a real good athlete.”

Alex Guilbeau is another linebacker playing defensive end for the Panthers, and he and Brown have worked to learn the position, their coach said.

“We try like heck when they’re freshmen to get them in the position and leave them there so they can develop their craft,” Indest said.

“Coming here I knew I was like the average type, so I started working out in the (weight room) more and I did some drills to work on my speed, to try to get around linemen who were bigger than me,” Brown said. “It was pretty easy to adapt to (the position).

“When I first started playing, I was a sophomore and I didn’t really know anything. Now I’m one of the leaders, and over the past couple of years I learned a lot, and I can help other guys. Just learning the game more, my I.Q. got higher, and knowing how if I see a certain situation, I can adapt quicker.”

Brown inherited a lot of his athletic ability from his dad, Marlon “Nino” Brown Sr., who played football for Indest at Abbeville High in the 1990s. His size is another matter.

“It’s pretty cool that he coached my dad,” Brown said. “My dad was such a great athlete. When I started playing football I always wanted to be better than my dad. I think Coach Indest has helped me get there, to be a better athlete than my dad.”

“His dad was a blazer,” said Indest, who also coached CHS teammate Zoe Cormier’s father at AHS. “He takes after his mom as far as his size. His dad was a 24-foot long jumper. It would take Marlon two jumps to get to 24.”

“My dad was a sprinter,” Brown said. “I’m more of a hit-the-sprinter type.”

That physical contact is one of the things he enjoys about football.

“I just do whatever coach needs me to do, but my thing is hitting people,” he said. “I like hitting people.”

Brown’s father died tragically in February at age 37.

“It was pretty hard knowing he wasn’t going to be here to watch my senior year,” Brown said. “But I took on that role just to make him proud from up there. I’ve been trying to get this one. I know he won’t be there, but he’ll be there spiritually.”

The senior defender is appreciative of the support he got from his coaches, teammates and schoolmates in aftermath of his father’s death.

“They kept me from losing it, and I really appreciate that,” Brown said. “I love the school so much. Whenever I was going through hard times, the love that I got was just unbelievable.”

Thursday’s game will be the fourth meeting between the Panthers (12-1) and Pios (12-0) in the past two seasons. Notre Dame won the regular season matchup handily both years, with CHS turning the tables in the finals in 2017 and looking to do the same this year.

“We just got better over the past couple of weeks,” Brown said. “We practiced for the other teams first, and then knowing we had Notre Dame in the Dome again, they were ready, we were ready, so we just got ready to repeat.”

CHS again feels like it’s being looked upon as an underdog this year, he said.

“We know what we’ve got and how we’ve practiced, and how ready we’re going to be ready to play in the Dome again,” Brown said. “Playing in the Dome, the atmosphere, we’re prepared for it, so we’re looking good heading into the game.”