South Lafourche ready to ‘hit somebody’

Football has become a pretty complex game.

From intricate X’s and O’s, multiple formations, exotic blitzes and custom packages, every coach is on his toes under the Tri-parish’s Friday night lights.

South Lafourche third-year coach Terry Farmer is one in the club.

But instead of being overwhelmed by the chess match, he has what he believes is a pretty simple formula for success.

“Block and tackle,” Farmer preaches. “The most physical team is going to win the football game.”

Hard hitting and toughness are on the minds of South Lafourche this year, as they look to rebound from an up and down 4-6 season in 2010.

“I know with the line, we’re pretty excited,” senior offensive and defensive lineman Gary Bruce said. “We’re ready to hit somebody. We’re ready to hit people in the teeth. … We think we’ll do pretty well this year.”

“Coach Farmer tells us every day that we’ve got to come out, hit hard and work hard,” fellow lineman Cody Chabert said.

The play of the Tarpons’ offensive line dominated both the team’s successes and failures in 2010.

South Lafourche started the season 0-5, they didn’t block consistently in any of those games.

“We were young,” Farmer admits.

But with experience came success, as the Tarpons finished by winning four of their final five games of the season to finish in a tie for second place in the district.

The cause for the change? Line play.

“We finally realized that we needed to get our minds right,” Bruce said. “And it showed toward the end of the season.”

With the now experienced big men paving the way, South Lafourche also returns a slew of playmakers from last year’s squad.

“As long as we get our blocks down, we know they’ll take care of the rest,” offensive lineman AJ Sooklall said of the Tarpons’ skill players.

Quarterback Seth Griffin returns for his senior season after completing 89-of-130 passes for 1,130 yards, nine touchdowns and five interceptions last year.

On the ground, Griffin is just as big a weapon, rushing for 602 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Joining the dual-threat quarterback are seniors Bruce Lee and Hunter Alario.

Lee had 496 combined rushing and receiving yards in 2010. He’s also a big-time threat in special teams.

Alario is Griffin’s favorite weapon over the middle and caught 28 passes for 337 yards and six touchdowns last season as a junior.

Farmer said he believes his team has plenty players who can handle the football on offense, that is, if they have time to maneuver with the football, of course.

“You can have all of those playmakers and they don’t mean a thing if you don’t block,” Farmer said with a laugh. “But assuming we do, we’ll spread the wealth. We don’t have anybody who’s just this big, outstanding star. They’ll all just have to help share roles and help package things and when it’s their turn, do the best they can.”

“We have some guys who can handle the football,” fellow lineman Zack Rousse added. “We’re excited to see everything they can do.

On defense, the Tarpons believe they are just as loaded and return seven starters from last year’s unit, including Alario, who doubles as a linebacker, Griffin who doubles as a defensive back as well as Bruce and Sooklall, who plug the middle on the line.

But despite the returnees, the Tarpons’ defense will probably look vastly different in 2011.

You can thank new defensive coordinator Darren Drago for the team’s remodeling.

A former college defensive coordinator, Drago joined the Tarpons’ staff in the spring after taking a year-long sabbatical from the profession.

With a set of spring practices and a handful of fall workouts under his belt, Farmer already sees the difference.

Change was needed within the team’s defense, as South Lafourche allowed 30 or more points in five of their 10 games last season.

“He brings a lot of experience, a lot of excitement and just some identity back there,” Farmer said. “He’s real good for our kids. He’s doing a great job.”

“He’s awesome,” Bruce added. “He’ll really help out our defense. He knows what he’s doing.”

The big and physical Tarpons will find out pretty early what they are made of.

South Lafourche opens its season on the road against annual power Destrehan.

After three-straight non-district home games, the Tarpons then move to Bayou District play, where they’ll open with Terrebonne, Westgate and New Iberia in consecutive weeks. Those teams had a combined 22-8 record season record last season.

But these pesky fish say no matter who is on the schedule, they will show up ready to play.

“It’s going to be tough,” Farmer said. “We play good teams. But truthfully, we don’t talk about records with our kids. We really don’t. We talk about doing the best we can for that particular week.”

Oh yeah, they plan to hit you in the mouth, too, that’s the Tarpon way.

“That’s basically what it means to be a Tarpon,” Sooklall said.

“We’re excited and we’re ready to go,” Rousse added. “We’re ready to turn this thing around.”

South Lafourche Tarpons

District 7-5A

Sept. 2 at Destrehan

Sept. 9 vs. Plaquemine

Sept. 16 vs. John Ehret

Sept. 23 vs. Helen Cox

Sept. 30 at Terrebonne*

Oct. 7 at Westgate*

Oct. 14 vs. New Iberia*

Oct. 21 vs. Central Lafourche*

Oct. 28 at H.L. Bourgeois*

Nov. 4 vs. Thibodaux*

* Denotes district game

Coach: Terry Farmer

Assistant Coaches: Darren Drago, Jeremy Galjour, Billy Gillis, Tommy Gisclair, Lonny Griffin, Jared Landrum, Thad Matherne, Scott Sanamo

Record Last Season: 4-6

Returning Starters: 13

Players to Watch: Seth Griffin, Bruce Lee, Gary Bruce

Primary Strength: Size along the offensive and defensive lines

Fun FACTS

4: The number of games the Tarpons won in the final five weeks of the season after struggling to an 0-5 start.

1,139: The number of passing yards South Lafourche quarterback Seth Griffin accumulated last season

0: The number of losses Tarpons’ coach Terry Farmer has against parish rivals Central Lafourche and Thibodaux in his two full seasons with the school