SL cancels football jamboree

One of the longtime staples of Houma-Thibodaux prep football is done.

South Lafourche High School football coach Dennis Skains confirmed to The Times this week that the Tarpons will not have their football jamboree in 2015 – ending the preseason scrimmage that had been in existence for several decades and featured both South Lafourche and Central Lafourche.

Skains said the cancellation is because a few teams from the New Orleans area backed out, which left a void that was unable to be filled.

The Tarpons will now play in a jamboree in Lafayette against Teurlings, while Central Lafourche will jump into the fast-growing local jamboree in Thibodaux.

“It’s unfortunate, because I know that a lot of our fans look forward to seeing our team play at home on that first Friday night, but some

things happened that just didn’t make that possible,” Skains said. “But we’re going to go out and play in Lafayette on the UL-Lafayette field, which I think is going to be very excited to our kids. That’s one of the best jamborees in the state, so I think it will be a good chance for our team to see where we stand early in the year.”

For Skains, the jamboree experience will a bit of a homecoming, as well.

The South Lafourche coach both played and coached for Teurlings Catholic, touting that the school is still very special to him.

He joked that he’s happy that the Tarpons are taking on Teurlings in an exhibition game and not in a regular season contest, because it would be difficult for him to compete against some of the people that he’s coached with throughout the early days of his head coaching career.