Trojans’ offense evolving beyond the run in recent weeks

Central Lafourche senior halfback Deon Jenkins is amazing.

Heck, just look at his stats for the season. He now has well more than 1,000 yards and has as many touchdowns just this year alone than most players score in their entire careers.

Oh, and the season is just six games young.

But the Trojans are beginning to flex their muscles outside of their running game, too, as the season evolves.

That’s a scary thought for opposing defenses trying to figure out what to defend, and Trojans coach Keith Menard said it’s all about what he and his staff see at the line of scrimmage, adding that he trusts both is running and passing game equally to make plays for his team.

“Look, we know what teams see. At this point in the year, teams know about Deon and know the things he can do,” Menard said last week. “So if teams are going to pack the box, we’re going to look to throw. I think we have to do that. We’re never going to abandon our run game. But we’re going to position ourselves as an offense to take what the defense gives to us.”

Central Lafourche got through the first month of the year hardly ever having to put the ball in the air.

They played their first several games at home against outclassed competition and Jenkins ran wild, posting several huge games with hundreds of yards and sometimes 5-6 touchdowns per Friday night.

But in the local Class 5A district, you’re not going to sweep through the campaign being one-dimensional, and Menard knows that.

In recent weeks, opponents have started to clog the box early in down and distance sequences, which has forced Menard to dial up different plays to keep opponents honest.

Against Ellender, the Trojans hit several big plays down the field, getting huge plays in the passing game in a comfortable win.

A week before that, the Trojans gave Thibodaux a steady dose of Jenkins, but also made plays in their passing game.

On Friday against H.L. Bourgeois, the recipe was the same. Jenkins did his usual thing, but again, the Trojans kept the Braves honest by stretching the field through the air.

Central Lafourche has a first-year starting quarterback in Ashtrein Duncan. He’s a different type of quarterback than Menard said he’s used to — a guy who’s more mobile and who can make. In recent weeks, Duncan has been looking far more comfortable and poised and is managing the offense beautifully throughout games.

“He’s a good football player and a good leader,” Menard said. “Coming in, he was replacing a guy who had two years of starting experience for us, but the kid worked hard throughout the offseason and he keeps getting better. He’s grown more comfortable and the kids trust him back there. He’s a good player for our offense.”

The Trojans have other weapons on the edges, as well.

Tight end/H-Back Logan Wilcox is a mule — a guy with college-level size and an athletic frame to go with that body. He effectively works the middle of the field throughout games to help the Trojans — including on Friday when he caught a touchdown pass.

Duncan’s No. 1 target is Jansen Folse — one of the more underrated players in our area, if not the state.

Folse is a big outside receiver who is deceptively quick and able to take the tops off of defenses.

Folse is one of our area’s leading receivers — a guy who is starting to put together some impressive statistics of his own.

The Trojans could have been even more lethal, as well. Senior slot man Peyton Loredo suffered a severe injury before the season started.

If healthy, he would undoubtedly be touching the ball throughout games.

“We like our receivers,” Menard said. “We think we have some tough kids out there with some size who can go up and make a play. That group we knew coming in had some experience.”

But the schedule gets rough.

The Trojans are 5-1 and are playing elite offense, having scored at least 33 points every game this season.

But they close with Hahnville, East St. John, Destrehan, then Terrebonne in four-straight weeks and three of those four games will be on the road. The lone home game will be with East St. John.

That will be challenging, undoubtedly, but Menard said he likes where his team sides getting into the meat of the schedule.

“We’re working on us. Figuring out ways we can be better,” Menard said. “We like where we stand.”