DuPont champion on gridiron before sidelines

Before retiring in December, West St. John High School football coach Laury DuPont was recognized as one of the best in the business.

The 57-year-old Thibodaux resident boasts a resume that includes more than 200 wins and three state championships (1998, 2003 and 2004).

But unlike many of his contemporaries, DuPont also got to experience a state title in 1968 as a high school senior at E.D. White. That year, DuPont also reaped all-state accolades at quarterback and eventually went on to take the snaps for the Nicholls State football team.

The SportsNet met with the former field boss to discuss the past, present and future.

SportsNet: E.D. White’s football team had a decent season in 2007. Are you still keeping up with the program’s progress?

Laury DuPont: Sure I do.

SN: How many games have you attended in the past 10 years?

LD: It couldn’t have been more than a handful because our (West St. John) games usually coincided on the same nights. I would try to go if we had a Thursday game. We once had a Thursday night game and I once got to attend a homecoming game and see my daughter who was in the Homecoming Court at E.D. White. But I haven’t had many opportunities.

SN: The 1968 E.D. White football team was one of the best in school history. Do you have a memory of that season that trumps all others?

LD: You don’t forget moments when you’ve been successful. You might forget the poor performances, but that senior year at E.D. White is something you don’t forget. I think the biggest thing I will always remember is the closeness between the junior and senior classes on that team – that was the biggest thing. On and off the field we were all good friends and we are still close today.

SN: How did you eventually become a high school quarterback?

LD: In my day, they were looking for a quarterback during the seventh and eighth grade. I was a wide receiver and a defensive back, but I tried out and the next thing you know, I was the quarterback of the seventh- and eighth-grade team. And we were very successful. We beat all of the other junior high teams, so we knew we had something special coming up at the time. We just didn’t know that we’d eventually be state champions. But we definitely had some talented athletes.

SN: After ending your playing career, how long did it take you to decide you wanted to be a coach?

LD: In the beginning, I was a history major (at Nicholls State University) and planning on going into pre-law and later law school. To be honest with you, what really changed my mind was foreign language. (Laughs) I struggled with it, but was a pretty good student in all other areas. But I needed three courses of foreign language and it kind of turned me off. I always knew my first love was athletics, so after my sophomore year I went into education.

SN: How did you end up at West St. John?

LD: I was at Thibodaux High for 10 years, from (19) 77 to 87. Spent five as an assistant and five as a head coach. Then it became like anything else with wins and losses. They (administration) wanted to make a change. I was looking for a new job and had plenty of offers, but the best offer from the best school was West St. John. It was a great decision now that I look back. I coached 35 years, and 21 were at West St. John.

SN: Looking back on your days of calling the shots, would you say it has been fulfilling?

LD: I’ve been blessed. I’ve had a great career. I won 208 games in high school football, which I think I’m one of 43 coaches who have done so in the state. A milestone for a high school coach is 200 victories. It’s a credit to the kids, the staff and the program I was at, as well as everything else that was around me.

SN: Describe your coaching style.

LD: I’m a quarterback, so I’m pretty wide open offensively. We played a spread (offense) with a lot of play action and misdirection plays. Defensively, we like to play very aggressive man coverage. In high school football, most teams don’t play strictly man. But we did it because of our team speed.

SN: Was winning your first state championship as a coach as fulfilling as winning it as a teenager?

LD: It’s a different feeling. It’s more rewarding because it wasn’t just an individual accomplishment at the time. As a coach, it’s more with your family and the community. It’s a little bit different to see the smiles in the community, and to realize how much support you had from your family. As far as winning state championships, you feel that you accomplished two goals – winning state as a coach and a player.

SN: Now that you’re retired, what will you have on your weekly agenda?

LD: Hopefully I will only be semi-retired. I can’t get away from athletics – that’s the way it’s been all my life. Hopefully it (agenda) will have something to do with an athletic field or athletics. It just isn’t specific yet.

SN: It’s still winter. Spring is a month away. Is it still too early to be thinking “football?”

LD: We take football almost 12 months out of the year. (Laughs) That’s just the way it’s done. Even at the high school level, everything is almost 12 months. We give players a month off after the season, but then we jump back into offseason weight training and conditioning. There’s never a lot of free time.