Summer Jade Duplantis
September 20, 2011
Alvin Harding Sr.
September 22, 2011
Before the glamour and flash of the NFL game, there’s the glory and passion of the college level.
Before college, there’s prep football and its famous and storied rivalries and Friday night lights.
And even before that, there’s middle school football, the birthplace of all of tomorrow’s stars.
If that adage holds true, South Lafourche High School’s future Tarpons will be able to swim in the deep end for a long time to come.
With middle school football well under way throughout the Tri-parishes, one of the Tarpons feeder schools, Golden Meadow Middle, has emerged as the only undefeated team in Lafourche Parish, having posted a 5-0 record in the first half of the season.
“We’ve played well all year,” Golden Meadow head coach Bryan Curole said. “I’m absolutely proud of the way we’ve rolled to start the year.”
The way the Lions have fueled their fast start is defense, dominant, smash-mouth defense.
In its five games, Golden Meadow has allowed just 16 points.
And even that dominant number is misleading because one of the scores the team allowed came in garbage time against East Thibodaux when Golden Meadow’s first unit was out of the game.
“We’re doing a great job on that side of the ball with the defense,” Curole said. “The most we’ve allowed in a game this year is eight points, so that will tell you that we’re playing pretty well there.”
The way the Lions say they keep opponents off balance is with variety.
Curole wouldn’t disclose the specific formations his team runs, but added it’s usually something unique to the Lions’ opponent every week to try and keep them off balance.
That was on display last Tuesday against Bayou Blue Middle School when Golden Meadow stuffed the Gators’ offensive attack throughout the game en route to a 6-0 victory.
Bayou Blue was held to less than five first downs in the game and never seriously threatened the end zone.
“For middle school, if you can be versatile and have a few different defenses, that’s obviously going to screw up the opponents blocking schemes and will screw up their protections,” Curole said. “That’s mostly what we’re trying to do on that side of the ball, keep the other team’s offense off balance.”
With the Lions’ defense keeping opponents in check, the Golden Meadow offense’s job is simple, score a few points and control the clock.
Against Bayou Blue, the Golden Meadow Lions scored just a lone first half touchdown. But the team’s offense mustered just enough first downs to stay on the field and keep the game under control.
“Offensively, we’re sort of struggling right now,” Curole said following the Bayou Blue victory. “But we’re doing just enough to get the job done. That’s what you saw in the second half. We controlled the clock. We gave them just a couple of possessions.
“That’s the difference between winning and losing right there. … If we can get to just double digit points each game, we’ll be tough to beat.”
To do that, the Lions rely upon skill players like quarterback Daniel Griffin, halfback Xaine Laudun, fullback Devin Falgout and wingbacks Jay Griffin and Gabriel Kibodeaux.
Up front, Golden Meadow has plenty muscle, most notably Hayden Lasseigne, Blayne Kiff, Rage Hunter and arguably the most unique name on the squad, Nykalys Pasache, pronounced Nicholas.
“We’ve got some very big guys,” Curole said. “We’ve got a lot of size on our offensive line. … That helps. That certainly helps.”
But Curole believes his big boys could still play better.
“What we’re asking for with them right now is a push,” the coach said. “That’s our problem right now, we’re not getting a big push up front.
“Our big boys aren’t mean enough. They don’t have that edge.”
Even with the team’s nice guy mentality up front, the Lions have five wins in the bag.
With that, Golden Meadow will now shift its focus to the second half of the season.
The Lions played Lockport last night. (The final score was unavailable at press time.)
Golden Meadow will then move to play Sixth Ward Middle School, Raceland and E.D. White before the team’s big rivalry game with Larose-Cut Off Middle School.
The first half’s out of the way.
Golden Meadow is 50 percent away from its season-long goal of taking home the parish championship.
“We’ve got five more to go, just five more,” Curole said. “That’s the goal, to win parish, to take it all.”
They might be Lions now.
But it sure looks like nature’s annual Lafourche Parish transformation from Lion to Tarpon will be a seamless one on the football field in recent years.
These future Tarpons know a thing or two about football.
Golden Meadow defender Xaine Laudun wraps up Bayou Blue ball carrier Earl Henry Jr., in last Tuesday’s game. Laudun is one of the top performers on the Lions’ fearsome defense that has sparked the team’s dominant start. CASEY GISCLAIR
