All four teams on road for Week 1 football action
High school football games kick off – finally – and all four Iberville Parish teams head into Week 1 action, although it may not look like the start of the season for all local stadiums.
Plaquemine heads to Lafayette for action against St. Thomas More, while White Castle will play about an hour south down U.S. 90 from the Oil Center when the Bulldogs tangle with West St. Mary.
East Iberville ventures the opposite direction when the Tigers head to Washington Parish, near Bogalusa, for action against Varnado.
As for St. John, the Eagles will have a Week 1 game after all. SJHS was set to visit Hamilton Christian in Lake Charles, but the ongoing recovery from Hurricane Laura forced a reschedule.
SJHS will have a slightly shorter road trip tonight when the Eagles head to Jennings to clash with Grand Lake.
“Assuming COVID doesn’t rear its head here or there, we will finally get to play,” second-year head coach Eric Holden said. “We’re ready for this game and it’s going to be nice to get back to some sense of normalcy for both the kids and the coaches.”
The Hornets enter the game on the heels of a 7-5 season which ended in the second round of the playoffs Nov. 22, 2019, at East Iberville.
Grand Lake fields a young team headed by junior quarterback Kobe Taylor. Other potential leaders include junior running back William Kelley, junior wide receiver Caleb Little and junior defensive tackle Coleman McCready.
PLAQUEMEINE
The Green Devils face a tough test in Week 1 action when the meet the St. Thomas More Cougars, coached by Jim Hightower, a 2016 Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame inductee whose career record is 325-99.
The Cougars enter the game as defending Division II Select champions after they capped an 11-2 season with a 58-10 win over DeLaSalle in the title game. STM defeated the Green Devils, 51-16, in the 2019 matchup.
Potential leaders for STM include senior wide receivers Carter Arceneaux and Paxton Perret, along with junior quarterback Walker Howard.
WHITE CASTLE
Marc Brown hopes to begin his era on the right note when the Bulldogs venture to the Morgan City/Berwick for action against West St. Mary.
The Bulldogs, who fell short in the state title game against Oak Grove last season, collide with a Wolfpack squad that finished 2-7 last season.
Potential leaders include senior quarterback Kobe Phillips, senior running backs Azhylon Brown and Bryston Abraham and senior wide receiver Kobe Phillips.
EAST IBERVILLE
Justin Joseph takes over the helm of the Tigers, where he and his squad hope to finish what they started last season when EIHS went two rounds in the playoffs to cap an 8-3 season.
The Tigers travel to the village of Angie (pop. 240) near Bogalusa, where the they hope to prevail over a Varnado Wildcat squad that finished last season 2-7.
“They’re a program that has a unique and very unconventional way of doing things on offense, ever lining up,” Joseph said. “They’ll do those kinds of things to force their opponents to make those mistakes.
“We’re just hoping this team can just building on what has been put in place the few years,” he said.
Leaders for Varnado include senior quarterback Zuyquantay Bickham, senior wide receiver Jaheim Hooks and junior running back and senior strong safety Bryston Abrham.