Trojans name new football coach

Role players shining bright for VCHS
December 19, 2012
Faith inspiring Nicholls State’s women’s basketball push
December 19, 2012
Role players shining bright for VCHS
December 19, 2012
Faith inspiring Nicholls State’s women’s basketball push
December 19, 2012

The Central Lafourche football program has seen four men serve as the team’s head coach in the past three seasons.


The Trojans believe the merry-go-round has finally stopped in Mathews with the hiring of Catholic-New Iberia coach Keith Menard.

Central Lafourche announced the veteran coach as the new leader of their program this week.


Principal Chris Kimball said having the coach on board is a huge plus for the school, adding that he will provide leadership and stability to the program as it moves into the future.


“He brings a lot of experience,” Kimball said. “He’s been a winner everywhere that he’s been and he’s done things the right way. He has experience turning around programs wherever he’s been. (Central Lafourche Athletic Director Travis Douglas) and I were very proactive in trying to find the right guy for our high school and I think Coach Menard meets all of the criteria that we were looking for.”

In Menard, the Trojans have found a seasoned coach who has had success in the past.


The former Catholic-New Iberia coach finished 4-7 in his first season with the Panthers, but quickly rebounded to post 19 wins over the past two seasons, including three playoff victories in the Class 2A playoffs.


This past season, Catholic-New Iberia was 8-3 and advanced to the second round of the postseason.

Prior to his stint at Catholic-New Iberia, the coach had successful runs at Central-Baton Rouge, Many, Sacred Heart-Ville Platte and Rayne.


Arguably his highest honor in the profession came in 2008 when Menard was named the Class 2A Coach of the Year at Many – a season the team accumulated 11 victories and reached the state quarterfinals.


He also won the state’s top coaching honor at Sacred Heart-Ville Platte.

That resume is what stood out to Kimball, who said he was impressed with Menard’s previous successes.


“That experience was one thing that we were definitely looking at,” Kimball said. “We wanted someone who has been a proven coach and someone who was well respected in the coaching realm.”


Away from a successful win/loss record, the Trojans’ administration said they also wanted a high-character man and community member.

Menard has ties to the Tri-parish area. He played his college football at Nicholls and his son Ryan is a freshman defensive back with the Colonels.

“We just wanted to surround ourselves and our school with quality people and quality leaders,” Kimball said. “We believe Coach Menard is that.”

In Mathews, the new Trojans’ head man will be tackling a program that could use quite a bit of polish.

Central Lafourche has made the Class 5A State Playoffs just one time since 2002. They’ve posted a 6-22 combined record in the past three seasons.

This year’s team showed promise and rolled to a 3-3 start.

But the team crumbled and lost the remaining three games of its schedule after coach John Callahan resigned midway through the season because of “philosophical differences with administration.”

Kimball believes the key to a turnaround within the program is stability and in Menard, he said the school has someone that they can rely on now and into the future.

He was hired over four other finalists who were pursuing the job – a list that included Morgan City coach Brandon Nowlin.

The principal said all of the finalists were worthy candidates.

“They were all great in the interview process,” Kimball said. “We couldn’t go wrong with any of them.”

He added that Menard was the guy because administration believed he’d be the best fit to be the program’s long-term coach.

“He really wants to be here,” Kimball said. “He’s committed to us for the long-term and we’re definitely committed to him. I think this is going to be a good fit.

“Anytime you’re changing coaches, you can’t build the stability around your program and anytime you have a lack of stability, it can hinder your program. The first way to get things stable is to get the right guy in and now, I truly think we’ve gotten that accomplished.”

Keith Menard