CCA hopes to build on historic season

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Last year was a historic season for the Covenant Christian Academy football team.

But now, the Lions are hungry for more.


Expectations are high around CCA this fall as the Lions look to build on last season’s storied run which saw the team win its first-ever Louisiana High School Athletic Association-sanctioned football district title.

With several returnees back on both sides of the ball, both players and coaches think CCA has a recipe that works for 2016 – one they hope will guide the team to another victorious push.

“This year, the story of our season will be defined by how we get our younger players to mature and get ready for the grinds of a full, varsity season of football,” Lions coach Randy Boquet said. “It helps having the season we did last year, because it’s a reward that shows the kids what can happen when you dedicate your time and energy to the program. Now, we just have to keep building and working on what we did a year ago.”


For CCA, a lot of the same faces will be playing in 2016. But a few may be at different positions on the depth chart.

The Lions return seven total starters in 2016 – a number that sounds lean, but is misleading.

That’s because the Lions play just about all of their starters both ways in varsity games, which means that the team’s returning starter tally is actually closer to 14, which makes CCA a veteran club.


“We just don’t have the numbers like bigger schools do,” Boquet said. “We rely on our kids, and we rely on them for the full length of the game – sometimes on every, single play.”

Offensively, CCA will stick to their trademark Wing-T attack – an offense that the Lions have run with success in the past several seasons.

Boquet said the Lions will turn to senior Caleb Seitz under center this fall – a multi-year returning starter and standout performer who isn’t new to CCA, but who is new to being a quarterback.


Seitz was a tight end and linebacker last season for CCA. But he’s a pitcher and outfielder for the Lions’ baseball team, which means that his arm isn’t to be taken for granted in the pocket.

“We’re surprised with how well he’s acclimated to the position,” Boquet said. “He really is throwing the ball well back there.”

Teammates agree.


Lions fullback Hunter Landry said Seitz is a leader and a playmaker. He added that the Lions’ locker room has no doubt that the new quarterback will get the job done effectively.

“If you didn’t know ahead of time, you’d think that he played the position before,” Landry said.

Seitz has help offensively, too.


Boquet said the Lions return a slew of playmakers off last year’s offense, including Landry, halfback Devante Johnson and wingback/receiver Cameron Solet — all players who are expected to receive multiple touches per game, according to Boquet.

“We have a lot of looks we can give to opponents in our offense. We have a variety of guys who can take the ball to the house,” Boquet said.

Defensively, a lot of the names are the same in the Lions’ two-way scheme.


Up front, Landry will be a defensive lineman and linebacker. Seitz, too, will be in the front seven and will be at middle linebacker. Also in the mix on both lines for CCA will be Mason Kilgore.

In the secondary, Johnson and Solet will roam – each set to split time at both safety and cornerback this fall.

“We have a hard-nosed defense,” Seitz said. “We have an aggressive front-seven in the box and our DB’s are very athletic. We should be fun to watch.”


“Our defense won’t be as big as we were last year,” Landry added. “But we are faster. We have a lot of speed on defense, and I think that’s going to help us out.”

But perhaps more important than any returnee is the team’s mindset, which was built up after last season’s district-championship run.

Boquet said he marvels at how far CCA’s football program has come in such a short period of time, calling it “a true blessing.”


“To say that we’ve had success and a good start would be an understatement,” Boquet said. “Start-up programs don’t usually do the things we’re doing until much farther down the road. I think that speaks to the great coaches, kids and administration we’ve had in this program who have supported us and have helped us get to this point.”

The players agree, though, now they want more.

Seitz said it’s CCA’s goal in 2016 to win more than district, but some playoff games, too.


Landry agreed and said CCA feels they can win any game on their schedule.

“We want to beat what last year’s team did,” Landry said. “We want to have a better record. Obviously, we’re shooting to go 10-0, but we also want to not just make the playoffs, but also, we want to make a run while we’re there.” •

CCA footballCASEY GISCLAIR | THE TIMES


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