Wunstell hopes to resuscitate football at South Lafourche

The South Lafourche football team hasn’t tasted postseason victory since the Clinton Administration.

Nonetheless, Tarpons athletic director Brian Callais is confident the recent hire of head coach Blyght Wunstell is the shot in the arm the program needs to turn the corner.

&#8220He (Wunstell) is an energetic guy,” Callais said. &#8220He brings discipline and a lot of emotion to our team, and hopefully that will carry over to the players and coaches.”

Wunstell hopes to rekindle the winning swagger South Lafourche teams brought to the gridiron through much of the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s, when it boasted a resume that included two state titles and a slew of district championships.

That’s why &#8220Bringing Back the Winning Tradition” will be the theme he uses for the 2007 season.

&#8220Teams used to be scared to come to South Lafourche because their kids knew they would be coming down to get their teeth knocked out,” Wunstell said. &#8220We want to get the program back to a top five or 10 team – just like we used to always be in the past. I believe deep down in my heart we’ll get it done.”

But the road to respect won’t be easy.

Wunstell inherits a squad that went 9-20 through three seasons under former field boss Tommy Gisclair. Furthermore, the school district needs to hire five more assistants to complete his staff.

Wunstell, however, is confident he’ll be able to overcome any obstacle that stands in his way. And according to Callais, he has the background to get it done.

After working as a graduate assistant at Nicholls State University for two years, Wunstell served assistant coaching stints at Thibodaux High School, Central Lafourche, Vandebilt and Evangel Christian in Shreveport.

&#8220He (Wunstell) has been at different programs around the state and has gained a little from each team to form his own philosophy,” Callais said.

That philosophy is ‘defense first.’

This, according to Wunstell, is how championships are won.

&#8220We’ll try to be aggressive and have good blitz packages,” he said. &#8220We want to let the kids have fun with it.”

Wunstell, of course, realizes you can’t achieve victory without a capable offense.

He also knows that as the game continues to evolve, so must his playbook.

&#8220South Lafourche is known for running the football, but we’re going to change that up a little because the game has changed,” he said. &#8220In today’s game, you have to throw the ball. We’ll run a spread offense with multiple formations.

&#8220We want to play hard-nosed defense, but we also want to move the chain and try to put some points on the board.”

Wunstell also hopes to put more trophies into the school’s display case, although he keeps things in perspective.

&#8220You would hope we can get things turned around really quickly,” he explained. &#8220Our goal as a team is to win a district championship, but a 6-4 finish is a realistic goal. That’s what we’ll at least stretch for. Anything less would be a failure to me.”

Forming a bond with his players and getting them to believe they can claw their way back into the upper echelon of the District 8-5A ranks will be Wunstell’s primary focus.

&#8220We’re going to do a lot of teaching, and when the kids come to play on Friday night, they’re going to be prepared,” Wunstell said. &#8220We’ll put them into position to be successful. We need to get a winning attitude back. It will take a lot of work, but if you believe it you can achieve it.”

The Tarpons open their 2007 season with the South Lafourche Jamboree on Aug. 24.