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May 14, 2013
The South Lafourche football team had a magical 2012 season – even by the school’s lofty measures for success.
The Tarpons finished the regular season with a perfect 9-0 mark – enough to earn the program its 15th district championship.
But no one around South Lafourche is happy with the team’s first-round exodus from the postseason.
Taking the next step forward is on everyone’s minds during spring practices.
Improvement, progression and leadership are three words everyone in the Tarpons’ locker room is saying as the team goes through its 2013 spring drills.
“We’re getting there,” South Lafourche coach Dennis Skains said. “We have a lot of work to do, but we’re making progress toward getting where we need to be.”
On offense, the 2013 Tarpons will rely heavily on its powerful offensive line.
Massive 6-foot, 7-inch, 330-pound lineman Bailey Granier will anchor the Tarpons’ front that also features a slew of other talented players with size and athleticism.
Skains acknowledged that his team has depth up-front. He said the key to his team’s line play will be how younger players adjust and fit into their roles within the depth chart.
“We have a lot of potential there,” Skains said. “But you know what they say about potential – it means that you haven’t done anything yet. We’re trying to get those big guys ready to roll. As many as we have that are ready to play, that’s how many we plan to use. We’re still in the very embryonic stages, but we feel like we have definite potential.”
Granier agreed with his coach and said that the Tarpons will pull it all together and be able to push the pile this season.
“We’re coming together,” Granier said. “We’re playing as a unit, and I think that we have a lot of guys who will do a good job for us up front.”
If the Tarpons can open a hole, they have a back capable of running through it.
Halfback Jake Williams returns to the team’s lineup after rushing for 980 yards last season.
Williams said with the team’s horses paving the way, he believes he can eclipse the 1,000-yard mark.
“It makes any running back feel good when you know that you have a good line and we have that,” Williams said. “A football team isn’t anything without a good line. That’s the most important part of what we do.”
The halfback also said that he believes the team will reap the benefits of their second season in offensive coordinator Jared Landrum’s “NASCAR offense,” which never huddles and aims to run as many plays as possible in a game.
“We really know what we’re doing this year, and it’s about executing, and not just learning,” Williams said. “It’s a big difference.”
But even with the size, playmakers and experience in the system, the Tarpons offense has its share of question marks.
South Lafourche will use spring practices and the preseason to find a starting quarterback to replace Colby Callais, who was arguably the area’s top signal caller in 2012.
Skains said Dominick Fillinich, sophomore Harvey Allen and Cullen Matherne are all vying for the top job in practices.
Fillinich was working with the first team during drills last Wednesday.
Skains said he doesn’t like alternating quarterbacks within a game, preferring instead to stick with his starter.
But that doesn’t mean the team’s two backups will be sitting on the sidelines while the starter leads the offense.
Skains said all three players are in the team’s plans at multiple positions.
“We feel like we’re going to be pretty good at that position with the potential to be exceptional,” Skains said. “Whoever wins that spot, that just means the other two guys will have a position somewhere else. They are all going to fit. I think we’re learning how to be unselfish and to fit and to know our roles within the team. … When we name a starter, I assure you that the other two kids will be able to find a home within our team.”
On defense, South Lafourche returns several starters from last year’s group that allowed just 10.8 points per game in district play last season.
Senior defensive lineman Mason Boudreaux will be the anchor for the team’s defensive front that will also return Steven Dye, Marvel Bourgeois and Justin Berry.
The Tarpons also will return standout linebacker Peyton Guidry in its linebacker corps.
Both Boudreaux and Guidry believe that the Tarpons’ defense will be capable of holding opponents out of the end zone.
“We’ve gotten off to a great start so far,” Boudreaux said. “We’re just working on the little things – getting better every day.”
“It’s all about the effort,” Guidry added. “We are just trying to work as hard as we can every day so that we can get the younger guys to buy into what we’re doing and bring the same effort. We have a lot of players doing what the coaches do – encouraging guys to run to the ball and to make plays.
“It’s like we have a bunch of assistant coaches out there.”
So with offense and defense predicting success, the biggest hurdle in South Lafourche’s way may be expectations.
The Tarpons said they need to understand that last season is over and the current team is 0-0.
If the players can flip the switch and mentally start over, the team believes it can take the next step and find the only thing that eluded last year’s group – playoff success.
“We have to understand that we’re starting fresh, but also build on last year with the way that we play and prepare,” Boudreaux said.
“We know what our goals are,” Granier added. “And we know what we have to do to reach those goals. Last year was last year, and this year is this year. The 2013 South Lafourche football team has to pave its own way and make its own mark.”
South Lafourche wide receiver Justin Doucet breaks a tackle during the Tarpons’ spring football practices last Wednesday. After finishing last season with a perfect 9-0 record, South Lafourche players say that their biggest goal in 2013 is achieving postseason success. The Tarpons return several players on offense and defense that have the team’s coaches optimistic about the new season.
