Sports guy makes prep picks

These days, everyone is a fortune teller.

Right now, I’m going to give it my best shot.

The high school football season starts this weekend and all 15 of our schools will begin their 2012 state championship dreams under the bright lights of a freshly trimmed prep football stadium.

It’s inevitable for a handful of our locals to shine and for others to fall flat – someone has to finish both first place and last place in every race.

So now, I’m going to do my very best to give everyone a peak at what they could expect in the new season.

Here is my list of six things we should all expect to see in the new football season.

1. Patterson will roar, despite departures – Sure, Patterson lost the majority of its game-changing players to either graduation or college. Who cares? These new kids can play. I attended the first 30-45 minutes of a Lumberjacks practice recently and I can vouch for the fact that these guys still have plenty enough size to block Class 3A competition. With the trenches under control, Patterson has some of the best athletes in the area. Sure, the number of total starts might not be large. But all of these guys have played their share of varsity snaps. Please remember that Patterson led most of its opponents by several touchdowns in 2011. That allowed their backups to play more than any other team’s backups in the Tri-parish area.

2. Ellender will win one in 2012 – Don’t laugh – the Patriots will not go winless this season. They return almost their entire team from last season’s bunch that came close in multiple games a year ago. I believe in coach Terry Washington’s plan to turn the team around. But more important than that, the Ellender players believe in their new coach. That’s a very, very important thing in high school football. I don’t know when or where, but I can say with strong conviction that the Patriots will snag a victory this season. I surely hope so, anyway, they could use a little injection of good spirit into their program.

3. South Lafourche’s defense will overwhelm many – I don’t know what Dennis Skains is doing in Galliano, but whatever it is – it’s working. The Tarpons are looking like the most powerful team in the area throughout the preseason schedule because of their powerful and opportunistic defense. One week after holding the always-strong Belle Chasse offense dry for most of a scrimmage, the Tarpons lambasted Miller McCoy Academy 61-12 in last Friday’s jamboree. For those not familiar with the format of the Tarpons’ jamboree, the team plays one half of football. Multiple 61 times two and you see why I think South Lafourche could be a top dog in 2012. Everyone down the bayou knows what happened the last time the school had a first-year head coach.

4. Morgan City playoff bound? Yes, please – Everyone in Morgan City is excited for the start of a new season – that’s a first for me in my third season covering this area. The biggest reason for that is the program rejuvenation created by head coach Brandon Nowlin, who has turned the team from a cellar dweller to a real threat. The Tigers are not a perfect football team by any stretch. But they have a lot of experience and a favorable schedule. If they can improve by one win from 2011’s 5-5 total, they would likely make the playoffs. I have to believe that is likely to happen.

5. Central Catholic will be our area’s best shot at the Dome – It’s impossible to say that a football team will be better the season after Lloyd Grogan graduates. But I do think the Eagles will remain a dominant force in Class 1A this season. Aside from Grogan’s departure, Central Catholic returns the vast majority of its skill players – a group more than capable of putting points on the scoreboard. Combine them with size and you have a team that I think is a real threat to win the state title. In Louisiana’s playoff system, the bracket means everything (ask Patterson last year), but if given a favorable draw, the Eagles have a real shot.

6. Covenant Christian will show they can hang with the big boys – Everywhere I go, people ridicule Covenant Christian. I’m not fully sure why. Yes, they didn’t play stiff competition in the Christian League. But when did they ever claim that they did? They are the first ones to admit the competition was soft. Now in the LHSAA, the Lions have a real chip on their shoulders. I expect them to rise above and beyond everyone’s expectations.