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More than anything else, what the H.L. Bourgeois football program needs entering the 2013 season is stability.
New Braves coach Daron Franklin is the latest hoping to provide the type of sturdy leadership the program has been missing in recent years.
When Franklin accepted the position at H.L. Bourgeois this past June, he became the Braves’ fourth head coach since 2010. Franklin, who previously coached as an assistant at Belle Chasse, said the H.L. Bourgeois job intrigued him for several reasons — chief among them the school’s incoming freshmen and sophomore classes.
“You have a freshmen class coming in and then a 10th-grade class coming in at the same time,” Franklin said. “Most programs aren’t offered the opportunity to have two classes coming in together.”
The unusual twist is because beginning this year, H.L. Bourgeois now offers a full freshman program after previously hosting only 10th through 12th graders.
Currently, the Braves have somewhere in the neighborhood of 120-130 players that will combine to make up varsity, junior varsity, and freshman teams, the coach said.
Franklin praised the Braves’ upperclassmen for showing character in the face of so much unsteadiness over the past several years.
“They had a lot of changes in leadership but continued to show up and compete,” he said. “It just displayed the resilience of these young men. I think this entire school and this community are ready for some success.”
Meanwhile, Braves players say Franklin has done a lot to improve the morale of the team in such a short period of time. He’s the third head coach at the school in the past year after taking over for Jack Phillips, Jr., who was hired last December but was dismissed several months later before ever coaching an official game.
Going through so many different coaches has been aggravating, but the players say they’ve taken an instant liking to Franklin.
“It’s real refreshing having a good coach come in and rebuild from all the damage and the letdowns we’ve had in the past,” said senior defensive lineman Victor Hawkins. “It’s been disappointing when you have a coach you’re starting to adapt to and then when he leaves, we have to keep the ball rolling.”
“We’ve had a better work ethic,” added junior Todd Adkins. “I’m excited and think we have something good to look forward to. We’re more confident. What we’ve been going through, I think there’s no doubt we can get out there and compete.”
Adkins will start at quarterback in a Braves offense that will operate out of multiple sets. The junior showed off his athleticism last year, playing both quarterback and wide receiver throughout the season, and also competing in baseball.
In the backfield, the Braves are high on Ritney Coleman, a sophomore playing his first year at the varsity level. Coleman’s ability to stretch the field and run inside the tackles makes him a threat for big plays anywhere on the field, Franklin said.
Up front, Brett Rome is a returning starter who will play at center on an offensive line that also features sophomore Brett Dupre. In the receiving corps, Chris Harris is a returning starter who garnered all-district honors a season ago. Tylone Johnson will also line up at receiver in addition to garnering some snaps at tailback.
The offense hasn’t been completely overhauled since last season, but one change Franklin expects this season is for the team to involve the tight end in more packages.
“We have two or three true tight end-type kids. They’re 6’2, 6’3 kids that are athletic,” he said. “We’re going to play multiple sets, but we’re going to include the tight end. It won’t just necessarily be a spread offense, but a multi-set offense.”
On the other side of the ball, the Braves are making the switch to a 4-2-5 set with Franklin serving as defensive coordinator.
Hawkins is a returning starter on the defensive line, and sophomore Trayvon Nowland figures to start at defensive tackle. Stephen Battaglia and Zach Hebert round out the line, while senior Claude Verdin returns at linebacker/defensive line, and Johnson and Tyree Andrew help make up the secondary.
“We have some skill kids on defense and two interior guys that can really disrupt some things, so we’ll get after the ball,” Franklin said.
For a school that hasn’t made the playoffs since 2007 and hasn’t won a district game since 2009, the Braves seem to be setting the bar pretty high for themselves.
The players say they’re ready to compete, and even Franklin isn’t shying away from what many might consider high expectations for a team lacking recent success.
It will be difficult, he said, especially with River Parish schools like Destrehan, East St. John and Hahnville joining the 7-5A district, but Franklin expects the Braves to become competitive right away.
“The biggest concern, and the biggest challenge, is just changing the culture,” Franklin said. “I don’t worry about what happened in the past. We don’t too much talk about it. … Once these kids believe in us, nobody is going to be able to stop us.”
With a new coach, H.L. Bourgeois’ football team is excited about the upcoming season. Standouts Victor Hawkins (left) and Todd Adkins will play big roles on the team.
