Braves believe skill players will pave the way
August 30, 2012Young Gators eager for more after last year’s playoff push
August 30, 2012
Last year was Houma Christian’s first full season of varsity football.
It showed.
The Warriors sometimes looked outmatched and they recorded just a 2-6 record.
With a better idea of what to expect in their second go-round, Houma Christian believes it will be improved in 2012.
Enhanced success is on the minds of everyone within the Warriors’ program as the season nears and they get another crack at varsity competition.
“Things are coming together nicely,” offensive lineman Gage Porche said. “We’re starting to gel a little bit and become a little bit closer as a team. We’re excited about the season.”
Football at Houma’s Christian-based private school is still in its infancy stages.
This year will mark the third season the team has a full tackle football squad.
In 2010, the Warriors played an abbreviated junior varsity schedule.
After the trial run, the team jumped to Class 1A varsity competition last year.
Warriors coach Chuck Battaglia said the biggest adjustment his players had to make in their new transition was adjusting to the physicality of the game.
“We have a lot of kids we took in who had never played football in their lives, much less in organized games,” Battaglia said. “So we really didn’t understand at first how the hitting and everything worked. But toward the end of the year, it started to sink in.
“We didn’t hear the pads popping when we first started. But we heard them toward the end of last year and we still hear them now. They know now.”
With pads popping in practice, the Warriors’ offense will be experienced – returning eight starters from last year’s unit.
Daniel Achee will lead the team under center.
He will replace 2011 starter, senior Nate Frye, who will shift gears and play halfback for the Warriors.
Battaglia said he believes Frye will be able to have a bigger impact at his new position.
“We’re trying to get him a little bit more room 1-on-1 operating on the outside,” Battaglia said. “He’s an exceptional athlete all the way around. His quickness, his power and his leadership to the guys around him is going to mean a lot to us. Our guys really rally around Nate and look up to him.”
But for Frye’s rushing to be maximized, the Warriors have to block better up front in 2012.
Achee said the team’s line was inconsistent last season, which sometimes hampered their offensive output.
He added this year’s group, anchored by Porche and returning starter Noah Callais.
“They’ve gotten a lot better,” Achee said. “They do a much better job protecting and getting a push up the field for our athletes.”
“That one year of growth is the difference,” Battaglia said. “We’ve gotten taller and we’ve gotten bigger and we’ve gotten stronger. Overall, just that one year has caused us to improve.”
Defensively, the Warriors will rely on a lot of the same names that it does on offense – the downfall of a roster consisting of fewer than 30 players.
Porche and Callais will serve as anchors in the middle, while Frye will likely see time at linebacker.
The players believe they have plenty enough talented players to keep opponents out of the end zone – if they can stay at 100 percent energy throughout the game.
“We have to condition – a lot,” Achee said. “It really requires a lot of hard work and dedication for our guys because for a lot of them, they know that they won’t be out on the sideline for any of the game.”
“It’s hard sometimes,” Porche admitted. “But it takes heart and just being willing to push through it.”
If the Warriors can find the right balance of physicality, experience and stamina, they believe they can put everything together and have a much better 2012 season.
The “new car” smell is still prevalent around the Houma Christian football program.
They say they cannot wait to begin another year of varsity action.
“It’s all still so new to us,” Battaglia said. “We’re still learning more and more by the day. Other teams mention building a program. Well here, we are literally building a program from the ground up. We know it’ll take time before things get where we’d like them to be, but the steady gains we are consistently making are encouraging and we know we’re on the right track to going where we want to go.”
Houma Christian believes it has more strength and agility in advance of the 2012 season. The Warriors believe they were often overpowered in their first full LHSAA season.
