Terrebonne football looking for rebound season
August 25, 2015
Ellender hopes ‘3-second rule’ will be followed in 2015 season
August 25, 2015
They’ll be talking about the 2014 season for a long time at Thibodaux High School. It was a magical ride that saw the team win 10 games, while also solidifying the program as one of the best in Louisiana.
How do the Tigers perform an encore in 2015? They think the recipe is to work harder, play better and not get complacent because of last year’s successes.
Thibodaux is again one of the preseason favorites in the area, thanks to a roster that returns a fair amount of players off last year’s historic group.
But Tigers coach Chris Dugas said the key to making headlines again is for the team’s players to understand and realize that they are 0-0 again and have to earn their position.
“We are coming off a great season – one that I think gave a lot of confidence to all of the kids in our program,” Dugas said. “But we can’t be satisfied with that success. We have to stay hungry and continue to push forward. I think we have a good batch of seniors, and I think they’ve really set the tone for how we’ll approach the year. But now, the challenge will be taking that onto the field and starting that journey to chase our goals.”
Offensively, the Tigers are talented at the skill positions – even if they return just two starters. All-Everything quarterback Peyton Bonvillain is gone to college after multiple seasons as the team’s starter – a void that Dugas said won’t be easy to fill.
But new-starting quarterback senior Trey LeBlanc has played a lot of snaps at the varsity level, and is ready to lead the team.
“He’s a good football player,” Dugas said. “He does a good job running our offense, and we think he’s going to have a good year. It’s never easy to replace a guy like Peyton, but I think Trey understands what he has to do and is a nice fit for our offense.”
Senior receiver Rontrell Sandolph agrees and said that the quarterback has looked great in practices.
“He has great potential,” Sandolph said. “He’s played a lot, so he knows what to expect. I don’t think the quarterback position will be a problem at all for us. We like Trey a lot.”
At the skill positions, the Tigers were also depleted by graduation, but the cupboard is far from bare. The Tigers will rely heavily upon receivers like Sandolph and Ronald Lemon to make plays. Also key on the offense will be junior tight end Chase Hollis and a loaded backfield that features Donnell Adair, Dane Benoit and Kenneth Brown.
“Adair is our downhill back – he’s a workhorse,” Lemon said. “He’s real dedicated. But Dane Benoit will also deliver a blow when needed. Kenneth Brown is the fastest back on our team, and I think once he’s in the open field, he can’t be caught. Our whole group of running backs are very tough.”
The challenge for the Tigers will be finding guys to block for those great athletes. Thibodaux graduated its entire offensive line in the offseason, and Dugas knows that’ll be a huge question mark surrounding his team.
“We’re not really concerned with our skill players. Those guys were backups in the past, but they were just as solid as our starters,” Dugas said. “We need to gel up-front, because we have a lot of new faces at those positions. I think if we get good blocking, we’ll be very stout.”
On the other side of the ball, Thibodaux is veteran with seven starters back off a unit that regularly limited opponents throughout last season.
Dugas said the Tigers are youngest along the defensive line, but have virtually everything back at linebacker and defensive back.
The most recognizable defensive name for Thibodaux’s defense is hybrid safety/linebacker Blair Brooks – a guy who is receiving interest from several schools around the country.
Also expected to play a large role are linebackers Joey Guillot and Kailin Joseph, as well as defensive backs Dwayne Coleman, Trymaine Samanie and Amik Robertson.
Thibodaux’s defense will be coached by longtime Vandebilt assistant Ashton Cagnolatti, who became the Tigers’ defensive coordinator after 2014 defensive coordinator Carey Melvin left to become the head coach at H.L. Bourgeois.
The Tigers’ offensive guys notice a big difference in the defense so far in camp.
“(Cagnolatti) has the whole defense fired up,” Sandolph said. “I don’t think defense will be a problem at all for us this year, because we have so many playmakers there.”
The Tigers will face some pretty good playmakers, too. Thibodaux faces easily one of the toughest schedules in Louisiana, a slate that includes premier matchups with St. Charles Catholic, East Ascension and St. Augustine outside of district play. Inside of district, the Tigers will face Hahnville, Destrehan and East St. John.
Dugas said the schedule will keep the Tigers hungry throughout the season.
Lemon agreed. He said that Thibodaux knows that it has high expectations, but this senior class embraces it.
The received added that Thibodaux wants to build on last season’s successes and won’t stop until that wish is a reality.
“I try not to really compare this team to last year’s team, but I like that we have a lot of hype around us,” Lemon said. “I’m hoping that we can back it up, because we have an amazing group. We want to win everything. … We want to be playing all the way in December in the Dome.” •
