Prep roundup of Week 8 action
October 23, 2012
Saints’ offense, LSU’s defense earn high marks
October 23, 2012
One of our area’s biggest football rivalries is officially over.
Evergreen and Houma Junior High played the final installment of their storied gridiron series Wednesday night at Terrebonne High School.
The annual battle among the local junior highs is a back and forth series that captivates a large portion of Terrebonne Parish with its immense combination of bragging rights, school pride and also a high level of competiveness amongst the players.
The final installment in the annual battle didn’t disappoint and fulfilled all three, as fans lined up and down both ends of Tom B. Smith Stadium to watch Evergreen score a 14-0 win.
The victory marked the completion of a perfect season for the Eagles, securing them the distinction as Terrebonne Parish champions.
“This is very special,” Evergreen coach Troy Jackson said. “This is my last year coaching my ninth graders, so this is really special to me. With this team, we didn’t really know what we had in the preseason and we had to work for everything. Those kids worked their behinds off to get to this point and each and every one of them deserves it.”
Jackson gave his postgame interview still drenched from a Gatorade bath he received from his team – this was a monumental night for the Eagles’ community.
The game marked the final time Evergreen fielded a football team with freshman players.
Future freshman within the school’s boundaries will go to H.L. Bourgeois in the fall – a part of the high school’s multi-million dollar expansion plan.
With no tomorrow to fall back on, Evergreen played arguably its best game of the season.
The Eagles’ offense consistently pushed the ball forward throughout the game, getting a first half score from halfback O’Shawn Henderson to make the score 8-0.
Out of halftime, Evergreen extended its lead and put the game out of reach when receiver DeShawn Walker caught a pass from quarterback Brandon Lyons and pushed into the end zone to push the game to its final margin.
In between the scoring was a dominant performance from Evergreen’s defense.
“That’s what we’ve been doing all season long,” Jackson said. “The points we’ve given up this year have been the second string getting some reps and learning how to play. That first unit has been strong every game.”
The Bulldogs had several opportunities to put points on the board throughout the game, but couldn’t find pay dirt.
Evergreen’s defense bent, but never broke, keeping Houma Junior High out of the end zone.
Bulldogs coach Stuart Vitter said a combination of solid defense and untimely offensive mistakes were what decided the game.
He credited Evergreen’s blitzing schemes for being effective in key situations.
“We had a good opening drive and got in their territory and then we went backwards,” Vitter said. “We had some turnovers and they didn’t and that was kind of it. … We had plenty of times where we’d move the ball and just kind of hit a wall.”
With Evergreen up two scores late in the game, the atmosphere shifted from intense to more of a party-like feel.
When the last seconds ran off the clock and the game officially ended, the Eagles’ players stormed the field in jubilation, while the Bulldogs slumped to their locker room in defeat.
Jackson said he will forever take pride in his 2012 team because of their ability to stay focused throughout a season.
He used last Wednesday’s game as an example – pointing to how poised his team was, despite the distractions it faced playing its rival school in front of a jam-packed stadium.
“That is what we did all day long – we talked to the kids about just being calm,” Jackson said. “We calmed them down and kept them grounded. That’s a serious task with kids this age, but they stayed calm and they stayed focused. We walked in here focused and we stayed ready the entire game.”
With the final whistle blown in the 2012 junior high school season, the Evergreen and Houma Junior High football rivalry, as we know it, is now essentially over – a several decades-long chapter of local sports history complete.
“This is the end of an era,” Jackson said. “I don’t think there’s any other way to explain it.”
The schools still have the option to play one another in the future for junior varsity competition – a game pitting Evergreen’s varsity squad of seventh and eighth graders against Houma Junior High’s junior varsity.
Likewise, H.L. Bourgeois’ freshman squad could play Houma Junior High in a regular season game.
But no one involved believes that game would be anywhere near as special as the battles of yesteryear.
“It’s over now,” Jackson said. “Nothing we do with these two schools will ever match up – it’ll never be the same. H.L. Bourgeois could play them, but I know from experience in high school that the freshman team doesn’t get the band and the cheerleaders and everything like that. The kids can be the same, but it’s everything around this game – the hype, the bands, the surroundings that make it what it is. That won’t be replicated.”
“It won’t equal what we have here,” Vitter agreed. “It just won’t be the same logistically. We were sort of the last two junior highs in the area and simply because of ballgames like this, the rivalry grew and grew and grew. Our games were always competitive and always close.
“I don’t think it’ll be tough to find another rival – I just don’t think there will be another one for us quite like this one. What we have here is a special thing.”
A special thing indeed – a rivalry series now a part of the past.
Jackson said he relishes knowing his side got the last laugh.
“We get to go home with the trophy,” he said with a smile, wringing out his liquid-soaked shirt. “The last-ever trophy.”
Evergreen head football coach Troy Jackson gives his team a post-game pep talk following their 14-0 win against heated rival Houma Junior High School. The Eagles’ victory capped a perfect season. It also marked the final freshman game between the schools, as H.L. Bourgeois will accept ninth graders next season.
