Morgan City Tigers trying to stand on top

The last time the Morgan City High School football team made the playoffs was the 1999 season.

The vast majority of the current team’s players were in kindergarten or the first grade.

“I was 6,” Tigers’ offensive lineman Todd Brown said.

“That was too long ago,” linebacker Henry Fraijo fires back after Brown’s statement. “That needs to be fixed.”

With the school embedded in a decade-long playoff drought, a simple, six-letter, one syllable word is on everyone’s mind in Morgan City: change.

The team hopes to do just that in their quest to reverse their fortunes after a 2-8 season in 2010.

“That’s the word of the year this season for us, change,” Fraijo said. “It’s got to be better this year.”

The reason the Tigers’ players believe they can do what other Morgan City teams in recent years couldn’t is three-fold.

The first reason is attitude.

The Tigers went 2-8 last season and fought to just be competitive, especially late in the season.

Despite the struggles, second-year Morgan City coach Brandon Nowlin decided to release several players from the team this offseason, saying the program needed new life and a new attitude to “get out of the bad habits of the past.”

“We lost a couple of kids, yes. We had to change the culture around here,” Nowlin said. “We had to try and trim some of the fat off of this program.”

Players say that even though some of the guys released made an impact in 2010, they support the decision and believe they are now ready to take the next step because of the new unity in the locker room.

It’s a classic case of addition by subtraction.

“Poor attitudes that were there last year, Coach cut ’em loose,” Fraijo said.

“We had key players last year who really helped out that team that he let go because he said attitude would now be a big thing on this team,” Brown said. “Coach is reinforcing to us that there’s no ‘I’ in team.”

“And you know what?” Fraijo adds after Brown. “As we cut them, we realized Coach was right. We got better.”

The second and third reasons the Tigers believe they can make a run go together, experience and talent.

In Nowlin’s first season, the Tigers experienced a massive youth movement, fielding a heavy freshman and sophomore-laden team.

Morgan City struggled as a result against the more experienced teams on their schedule.

“We took our lumps last year, because we were a very sophomore-heavy squad,” Nowlin said. “In a lot of games, we were lining up 14 and 15-year-olds against teams of 17 and 18-year-olds. Obviously, that’s a tough thing to overcome in a sport as physical as football.”

But with a summer to lick their wounds, the Tigers say they have hit the weights this summer and are now more physically and mentally mature.

The team’s so-called “kids” from the 2010 season are now one year closer to becoming the experienced men on the field and the Tigers’ players feel like they are more equipped to handle a 10-game varsity schedule than they were last season.

“The things we dealt with last year, that’s going to help us out this year in the fourth quarter,” Brown said. “We’re going to know how to stay tough until the end. … That’s going to be a big improvement for us this season.”

Experience is good, but talent is better.

The Tigers believe they have a few guys who can play a little football, too.

Nowlin said Hong Nguyen and Jasper Turner will compete to be the team’s quarterback.

Nguyen was a sparsely used slot receiver for the Tigers’ last year.

“He got lost in the shuffle,” Nowlin said. “Honestly, he should have played more.”

Turner is a transfer from Northside High School where he established himself as an explosive dual threat, while leading his team to the state quarterfinals.

Both guys have the ability to make good things happen when they are on the field.

That’s why the coach reiterated that that’ll more than likely always be the case this year, regardless of who emerges as the team’s starter.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if they’ll both be on the field at the same time,” Nowlin said. “Whether it’s Hong at receiver and Jasper at quarterback or Jasper somewhere else and Hong at quarterback, we’ll have two kids who can run and throw the football and that can be pretty dangerous for somebody to defend. … We’ll be able to do all sorts of crazy things with them with the way we line up and it’ll be interesting and exciting to see.”

Joining the Tigers’ quarterback duo will be starting halfback Adeyemi Wheeler and a skilled group of receivers led by speedy flanker Austin Stroud.

Boasting a 10.5-second 100-meter dash time, Stroud figures to be an edge threat for the Tigers.

“He’s a very versatile player,” Nowlin said. “And he’s only been playing football for one year. I’m looking for his football IQ to really rise, which will help him to be a more productive player for us.”

On the offensive line, Brown is the only returnee on a sophomore-heavy line that was heavily tested last year.

But Brown believes that progression has been made.

Wheeler said he can see it, as well, and the end result is the team’s skill players having more room to run.

“You get the ball out to our weapons and get a little blocking and who knows?” Wheeler said. “We just might make something happen.”

Defensively, the Tigers return six starters from last year’s group, led by Fraijo.

Joining him will be linemen Joseph Jones and Keldon Calloway to give the Tigers what Nowlin believes will be a serviceable front.

In turn, Nowlin believes that will make Fraijo better.

“He’s always in position,” the coach said. “I told him if you’d make half of the tackles you miss, you’d be an All-State linebacker. … But the fact that he’s always there shows us he’s a very good player. This year, he’ll make more of those plays and have a good season.”

A good season is something the Tigers’ defense didn’t have in 2010, surrendering close to 40 points per game.

Chalk it up to the list of things that need to change.

Sure, it might be a long list, but with a new coach, there’s excitement again in Morgan City that things will get where they need to be.

“We’re going to get this turned around,” Wheeler said. “We believe we’re going to have a good year.”

“We want to be that first team to get us back to the playoffs,” Brown said. “That’s the goal. … To get us back to the playoffs.”

Morgan City Tigers

District 8-4A

Sept. 2 at Comeaux

Sept. 9 at Berwick

Sept. 16 vs. Sarah Reed

Sept. 23 vs. Jeanerette

Sept. 30 at Pearl River

Oct. 7 vs. Franklin

Oct. 14 vs. Ellender*

Oct. 21 at South Terrebonne*

Oct. 28 vs. Vandebilt Catholic*

Nov. 4 at Assumption*

* Denotes district game

Coach: Brandon Nowlin

Assistant Coaches: Louis Boudreaux, Jeffery Fontenot II, Marc Gonzales, Sam Hawkins, Duriel Singleton, Lane White

Record last season: 2-8

Returning Starters: 10

Players to Watch: Hong Nguyen, Jasper Turner, Henry Fraijo

Primary Strength: Talent at skill positions

Fun FACTS

1999: The last time Morgan City made the playoffs, a stat players vow to change

2: The number of quarterbacks the Tigers expect to employ with Hong Nguyen and Jasper Turner

10.5: The number of seconds it takes Morgan City wide receiver Austin Stroud to run 100 meters