Ricky James Pellegrin
December 17, 2013
Anna Marie Reed
December 26, 2013
Local football coach Randy Boquet has already shown that he can build a program from the bottom-up.
He did that in the early 2000s when he turned H.L. Bourgeois from an annual cellar dweller into a multi-time district champion.
But after a few years out of the saddle, Boquet is eager to show that he’s also capable of taking an already-successful program and turning it into a state champion.
Boquet was named the Covenant Christian Academy head coach this week after the school announced that it had parted ways with its inaugural coach Blyght Wunstell.
Both Wunstell and CCA Headmaster Steve Folmar declined to elaborate on the reasons behind the change.
Boquet was already an assistant coach and Athletic Director at the school. He said he’s very excited to guide the Lions into the future after the school’s first-ever playoff berth in the 2013 season.
“I’m excited. I’m anxious to really get going,” Boquet said. “Obviously, it’s going to be a big challenge because of the foundation that Blyght Wunstell laid down here – it’s going to be a challenge to try and keep us at that high level of performance. It’s not going to be easy to fill those shoes, but we’re surely going to give it our best shot. We’re very excited.”
For Boquet, this will be the second time he’s a prep head coach for a school in the Gray area.
The 44-year-old coach led the H.L. Bourgeois program from 2002-07 – some of the brightest seasons in the Braves’ recent football history.
After struggling in his first few seasons, Boquet built H.L. Bourgeois into an annual contender. In his six seasons with the Braves, the coach took the Braves to the playoffs three times, winning two district championships.
Boquet resigned from the H.L. Bourgeois program in 2007 and has been an assistant coach ever since.
He said he spent time with South Terrebonne after leaving the Braves. From there, he landed as an assistant coach with the Lions in the 2010 season.
Boquet said he enjoyed his time as an assistant coach, because it enabled him an opportunity to learn from successful coaches like Wunstell and longtime South Terrebonne coach Richard Curlin.
But he quickly added that once you have a taste of being a head coach, it never goes away.
“After the challenges that I faced at H.L., it was good for me to sort of lay in the weeds a little bit and become an assistant coach again – I learned a lot,” Boquet said. “It’s good to be able to assist and work with great head coaches. I embraced and I really enjoyed that.
“But at the same time, there’s always times where you’re sitting back and thinking in the back of your mind that maybe you’d be doing something a little bit differently here or there. Once you’re a head coach once, I think it’s something that just sort of sticks with you. I enjoyed my time as an assistant, but I wanted to get back.”
With Boquet in control, the Lions won’t change much schematically. The new CCA coach said the team will stick with its Wing-T offense that can operate out of either a conventional Wing-T look or a spread formation.
The team will utilize a 4-3 defense.
“I’ve got to give credit to Coach Curlin at South Terrebonne. It’s because of him that I’ve really fallen for the Wing-T,” Boquet said. “I think with the personnel we have here, we can use that and be successful. We run what I consider to be a flexible Wing-T. We can go traditional Wing-T, or we can go spread. We’re going to use both here. That’s our strategy.”
But Boquet knows his biggest challenge at CCA will be continuity.
Wunstell was the father of the Lions’ program – he started the team with his bare hands. Boquet said he will always acknowledge and embrace his passion for the program.
But at the same time, he said he knows that it’s always tough to replace a quality man.
“That’s going to be challenging,” Boquet said. “Blyght Wunstell did a terrific job here. He is the only thing that CCA football knows. But I think we have enough good kids and enough good people here to make a positive impact and keep this thing moving.”
Former Covenant Christian Academy head football coach Blyght Wunstell gives instructions to players during a practice this past season. CCA decided to part ways with Wunstell last week, the first time the school ever had to search for a new head football coach. After fielding applications, the Lions hired former H.L. Bourgeois coach Randy Boquet.
