Time to separate men from boys among prep challengers

Tuesday, Oct. 4
October 4, 2011
Leanda Boudreaux Hebert
October 6, 2011
Tuesday, Oct. 4
October 4, 2011
Leanda Boudreaux Hebert
October 6, 2011

For all intents and purposes, non-district games are over.


Now, it’s time for the fun to start, district champions are fixing to be crowned.

This prep football season has been a tough one to tackle because there’s so much uncertainty surrounding so many teams.


The first reason is because we have so many young, underclassmen-laden teams and so many teams predominantly made up of first-year starters.


Inexperience breeds inconsistency and as a result, we see an awful lot of teams playing up one week, then down the next.

Which team is closer to reality? Dr. Jekyll or Mr. Hyde? With district play now here, that answer will become clear.


The second reason for all of the question marks is schedules.


Most all of our local teams have played just disgustingly difficult non-district slates. As a result, as one could guess, they’ve taken their lumps from time-to-time.

Sure, 0-4 is 0-4, which is pretty bad. But is 0-4 with a brutal schedule really worse than 2-2 when the two wins are against terrible competition?


We’ll soon find out when 0-4 meets 2-2 on a level playing field.


I have a feeling a lot of those 0-4’s or 1-3’s are about to be turned upside down.

Either way, it’s time to separate the men from the boys in this prep season.


To do that, let’s look at a few of the teams who already have what I’d like to call grown man status among the ranks of the elite.


The Men

  • Patterson Lumberjacks.

The Jacks are a mean machine. They just are. They are good on offense, defense and special teams and field a roster comprised of about a half-dozen players who will be on Division I rosters next season. The results speak for themselves. The team didn’t allow a point in each of its first two games and is 4-0 with all of its wins coming in blowout fashion. This is easily the largest of the Tri-parish’s grown man teams.

  • South Terrebonne Gators.

The Gators were the last team left out of the playoffs last year. It’s pretty clear to see they aren’t interested in being left out of the party this time around. South Terrebonne’s offense has exploded like a nuclear bomb, leaving big play radiation all over the area. Cheesy cliches aside, our area knows who the Gators are now. It’s time to see if the hunters can survive as the hunted. I see no reason to believe they can’t.

  • Central Catholic Eagles.

Lloyd Grogan is the most underrated player in the Tri-parish area in football and basketball alike. The dude is just a freak of nature kind of athlete who can do anything in countless positions. But he’s not alone. The Eagles’ entire roster is incredibly talented. With a few breaks down the stretch and continued execution, who knows how far these little guys hidden in Morgan City can go.

And now, let’s look at the almost-elite who are trying to reach grown man status.

The following are teams who will either rise or fall in the meat of district schedules.

The Almost Men

  • Thibodaux Tigers.

Thibodaux started the year with four-straight losses. But all of the games were competitive and all were against some of the elite programs in the state. To some, that might prove that the team doesn’t know how to win in tight, high pressure situations. To me, that shows Thibodaux is better than most and is due for a run. The Tigers got off the schnide Friday and walloped H.L. Bourgeois. Expect them to get hot in the new-look Bayou District.

  • Vandebilt Terriers.

Vandebilt is one of the most talented teams in the area. The problem is a vast majority of its talent has spent more time in casts and slings than in cleats and pads this season. With Seth Ward on the shelf, the Terriers lose arguably one of the best linebackers in the state. With Elijah McGuire out, Vandebilt is down an elite playmaker. Both are expected to approach 100 percent in the next few weeks. Will it be enough to turn the team’s up-and-down season around? Time will tell.

  • South Lafourche Tarpons.

The Tarpons have lost one game on a dropped pass in the end zone and another on a fumble at the goal line. But football is a game of inches and the team’s should-be 3-1 start became 1-3 pretty quickly.

South Lafourche went 4-2 in district play last year.

Will we see another strong showing when the Tarpons take on local competition? With better ball protection in the red zone, it’s very possible.

  • Morgan City Tigers.

Morgan City wants badly to get to five wins in its quest to reach the playoffs for the first time in what feels like forever. So far, the team has done its part to make the goal obtainable, winning games against weaker competition in non-district play. Now, it’s time to figure out if these will be the new Tigers or same old status quo. Upset a reeling Vandebilt at home and that elusive fifth win just might happen this season.

  • E.D. White Cardinals.

The Cardinals started the season in grand fashion, beating its longtime rival Vandebilt. They’ve also scored a road win against defending Bayou District Champion Terrebonne. The problem is inconsistency. E.D. White has also suffered blowout defeats at the hands of Assumption and South Terrebonne, who are both dominant teams.

But make no mistake about it, neither is 20 or 30 points better than E.D. White, even though the score in each game said otherwise. The team’s second half success will depend on whether the good Cardinals or bad Cardinals show up and take charge.