Reading too much into the opening game can be foolish, but an eventful first week produced a number of eye-opening performances
that provided hope for a number of area teams as the season moves forward.
At the Barbe-LaGrange game, the Gators
showed enough in a 29-14 loss to prove that their strong finish to last
season was
no fluke. Last year, the Gators overcame a slow start to win their
first four district games and sneak into the Class 4A playoffs.
Against Class 5A Barbe, LaGrange played the Bucs even through the first half, and could have had a chance to win if it had
been able to finish drives. Three times the Gators drove inside the Bucs 30-yard line but did not produce any points.
On a positive note, the Gators held one of the state’s best offenses to eight points in the first half, and new quarterback
Quinton Barry made an
and Class 4A powers O.P. Walker and North
As for the Bucs, the new-look defense
answered some questions. The line produced a couple of sacks on key
third- and fourth-down
plays, and the Bucs produced key stops in the red zone during the
first half when the offense had yet to find their rhythm.
The game swung on a Barbe fumble recovery early in the second
half, which set up a short scoring drive to give the Bucs the
lead for good.
The Bucs will face diverse challenges
the next two weeks as Washington-Marion and Evangel visit. The Charging
Indians feature
Melvin Jones, a powerful runner at quarterback, while the Eagles
annually feature one of the state’s best passing games. Good
showings will help the new starters gain confidence before the
district season starts.
In Sulphur, the Tors’ quarterback search appears to be settled after Kale Breaux made a smashing debut with 293
yards and three touchdown passes in a win over St. Thomas More. With a
veteran receiving corps that will also feature the
other candidate for the quarterback job, Seth Bohannon, and a
multidimensional big-play threat in Brian Walker, the Tors have
the makings of an explosive offensive if Breaux can maintain a
high level of play.
After an impressive season on the mound
last year as a pitcher on the baseball team, Breaux has shown he can
handle the spotlight.
In a district that features outstanding offenses at Barbe,
Acadiana and Comeaux, the Tors will need to continue putting big
point totals on the board if they are to challenge for the
district crown.
At Washington-Marion, head coach
Freddie Harrison is trying to replace tailbacks Osha Jackson and Julius
Fontenot, who combined
to run for more than 1,700 yards last season. Sophomore Rawling
Guillory gained 94 yards and scored a touchdown in an opening-week
win over Peabody. Consistent performances like that will help take
some of the pressure off Jones, who picked up where he
left off last season with 253 yards and three touchdowns rushing.
Iowa, Jennings and St. Louis also must
replace their top two backs, and all three teams saw some good things in
Week 1. The
Yellow Jackets ran for 218 yards, with 115 coming from quarterback
Austin Theriot, and running back Chaz Key scored on a kickoff
return in addition to rushing for 58 yards. Jennings got a pair of
touchdowns from running back Jarquis Brown in a road win
at Cecilia and St. Louis used the committee approach to good
success in its win over Sam Houston.
The players mentioned showed what they can do. The question is, How often they can do it over the course of a season?
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Warren Arceneaux covers high school athletics. Email him at warceneaux@americanpress.com