Multiple offensive looks make team a contender

In football, carrying momentum from game to game is difficult.

So what about maintaining it 10 months later?

The Terrebonne Tigers believe they can do that in the 2008 season.

“We hope to improve on where we left off last season because the offense played well in the second half of last year,” said Tigers second-year head coach Gary Hill. “We increased our discipline. We’re not getting penalties at crucial moments.”

Terrebonne went 2-8 overall (1-5 in district play) last season and has not made the playoffs since 2004.

This year’s squad is comprised of 56 players, down slightly from last season. Hill says these are the guys who root for each other and are ready to compete on every down.

“The stragglers who don’t want to be here, they’re not here. These guys want to be here,” he said. “They want to win games and they’re starting to act like they want to win games.”

The Tigers retain the multiple-offensive system that averaged 20.3 points a game last year.

“We’re going to be running plays out of the I-formation, some four-receiver sets and even empty backfield,” Hill said.

Hill also brought in Chris Dugas from Thibodaux High as the new offensive coordinator.

The offense returns seven starters, including senior skill position players quarterback Neil Robertson, wide receiver Darion Jones and tailback Darrius Neville.

“We all have been starters since we were sophomores, so we have game experience,” Robertson said. “We’re going to help out the young guys to put it all together because it’s a team effort.”

Robertson threw for 1,081 yards, 10 touchdowns and seven picks last year. He is not afraid to put his head down and run the option.

However, it will be Neville leading the Tigers’ running back corps. He gained 1,092 all-purpose yards last season.

Neville will be joined by senior slotback Mark Lawson and junior tailback Domonique Matthews.

“We put in a lot of work in during the summer,” Neville said. “We went to a 7-on-7 camp at LSU. They showed us some things that improved our technique and we will put that to use this year.”

The Tigers return four starters on the offensive line: seniors Charles Cook, Pat Thompson and Micah Allums and junior Brennan Barrios.

“Our success is going to start with our offensive line,” Hill said.

The defense needed a jolt after allowing over 34 points a game last year.

So Hill hired Terrebonne’s athletic director Joe Clement as defensive coordinator and switched from the 4-3 to the 50 defensive scheme.

In the 50, there are only three down defensive linemen, with four linebackers and four defensive backs who have numerous blitzing options.

Judging from the spring game, the moves seemed to have paid off. The unit held Morgan City to five yards and caused a turnover in one quarter of play.

“The spring game was a success for us,” Hill said. “I was surprised how well they played simply because we had six new guys who were young, and we had starters who were out due to injury.”

Defensively, Terrebonne returns four starters from last year, including the team’s leader in tackles and interceptions, safety Jordan Anderson, and defensive end Keith Bolden.

Bolden is especially thrilled by the freedom players are given in the new system.

“We don’t have to do a lot of checkdowns, which caused a lot a confusion during games last year,” he said. “We just react and go after people in this system.”

Bolden will get help on the line by junior tackles Jarronni Wilkerson and Noah Martin.

On special teams, junior Matt Adams replaces Adam Marcel, who made 17 of 18 point-after tries in 2007. Hill has not settled on a punter to replace 2007 graduate Kirk Ledet, who averaged 41.6 yards per punt last season.

The Tigers are looking to improve on their sixth place finish in District 8-5A last year. Hill believes the team is in a position to make a run for the district crown, as long as it keeps the momentum going.

“From what I’m hearing, everybody thinks the district is wide open this year,” Hill said. “I don’t think it’s going to be a district where you can say, ‘We’re going to go out there and really take it.’ I think it’s going to be a very competitive year for the district.”