It’s an all-new E.D. White in the new season

Vandebilt aiming to protect home, go deep in 2016
August 24, 2016
CCA hopes to build on historic season
August 24, 2016
Vandebilt aiming to protect home, go deep in 2016
August 24, 2016
CCA hopes to build on historic season
August 24, 2016

E.D. White has been preparing for the 2016 football season for quite some time.


How long, you ask?

Cardinals’ players said preparations for this fall date all the way back to the second halves of games last season.

Knowing that the 2015 E.D. White team was loaded almost exclusively with seniors, Cardinals coach Chris Bergeron often rotated underclassmen throughout varsity games knowing that by doing so, he’d be getting future starters snaps in key situations.


Well, the future is now, and 2015’s seniors are gone, leaving E.D. White with a 2016 depth chart that is almost completely new with just five total starters combined on both sides of the ball.

But despite the inexperienced names, Cardinals players said there is no panic, because everyone on the field in 2016 has played before – just not necessarily in a starter’s role.

“We have new starters, but we’re not young. We’re not all that inexperienced,” halfback Nik Shanklin said. “Coach did a good job last year getting guys reps and getting people experience. Some have new roles and new positions. But there are very few guys on our team that will be seeing the field for the first time at the varsity level. No one will be intimidated by what’s happening on the field.”


Avoiding intimidation is something E.D. White’s offense didn’t always do in 2015 – especially in the middle of the season.

That’s because multi-year starter Ben Sposito went down with an injury around the beginning of district play, which thrust 2016 starter Hunter Tabor into action a little earlier than expected.

Tabor admitted that he struggled for a few weeks in 2015. He eventually settled into his role and stabilized the offense – momentum he said will carry into the new season.


“I was intimidated,” he said. “It took me a while to get my groove and to find my footing. It really was sort-of no looking back from there.”

With an offseason to study the game and mentally prepare himself for the assignment of being E.D. White’s quarterback, Tabor shined and had a good summer. That has Bergeron optimistic about his team’s player under center this fall.

“He’s looked good,” Bergeron said. “We have three starters back on offense, but it’s really three and a half starters, because Hunter played half the season. The kids respect him in the huddle, and we think he will have a good year.”


He has help back at some key positions, too, which helps.

Of the Cardinals’ three offensive returning starters, two are halfbacks with Shanklin back, as well as sophomore Brandon Legendre.

Also back is left tackle Jordan Moreaux, who said the Cardinals’ offense has been on point so far in practices.


“You haven’t been able to see much difference between this year and last,” Moreaux said. “In some ways, we’re a little tougher and are a little more physical. We have some inexperience, but the guys handling the ball have all handled it before. We will be able to make some plays.”

Defensively, the Cardinals have two starters back, but Bergeron said the depth chart will be 100 percent overhauled, because the two veterans will both be at different positions in 2016.

Bergeron praised the work of returnees Carter Bourgeois and Dex Falgoust, saying they’ve accepted a leadership role in the defense.


Falgoust said it’s different playing without the senior leadership of 2015, but having new players has bred new competition into the program as players have competed for spots.

“We lost a lot of guys, but that opened up jobs, which made a lot of people hungry,” Falgoust said. “Our energy has been good. Those new guys who have come in all want to play, and it shows.”

Bourgeois agreed. He said the competition has bred success.


“We compete, but it’s with the team in mind,” Bourgeois said. “It gets us better every day.”

One area where E.D. White does not have a position battle is at kicker – a spot where the Cardinals are set up better than just about everyone in the area.

Senior Mike Melancon returns to headline a Cardinals special teams unit that was a bright spot last season.


Players said Melancon often goes overlooked, but added he’s a huge cog in the team’s successes.

Offensively, Melancon has a huge leg, which allows E.D. White to attempt long field goals other teams can’t.

“He has a great leg,” Legendre said. “He helps us put points on the board.”


He also helps the team’s defense, too.

The vast majority of E.D. White’s kickoffs are blasted into the end zone for touchbacks, which means that opponents have to travel 80 yards down the field to find the end zone.

Having that field position advantage, players said, is key.


“He’s a weapon,” Bourgeois said. “We appreciate what he does for our team.”

The Cardinals will open their 2016 season with Vandebilt – the annual rivalry battle among the area’s Catholic schools.•

E.D. White footballCASEY GISCLAIR | THE TIMES


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