Parish coaches talk football

OPELOUSAS – The room was filled with every color of parish public schools as the coaches from Eunice High, Beau Chene, Northwest, North Central, Opelousas and Port Barre joined for the annual St. Landry Parish jamboree kickoff supper.
This is the 18th year for the parish jamboree after the six schools withdrew from the now defunct John Bradley Memorial Kiwanis Jamboree in 1997.
The first parish jamboree was held at Eunice High with the Bobcats rolling to a 27-0 win over Port Barre, Opelousas High grabbed a 13-0 shutout over Beau Chene and Northwest downed North Central 14-0.
This year’s jamboree will be held Friday at Opelousas’ Donald Gardner Stadium.
North Central and Port Barre will begin at 6 p.m.
Eunice will face Beau Chene at 7:15 p.m., while OHS and Northwest battle at 8:45 p.m.
The games will be divided into two 10-minutes halves.
St. Landry Parish superintendent of schools Edward Brown is proud of the jamboree tradition but wants to see it thrive in the future.
“It is an inspiration for our kids and our parish,” Brown said. “I would like to get a chance to see what we could do against teams from other parishes.”
Brown said the issue with the parish jamboree is many of the six schools play each later in the regular season and those coaches would like to see a different look in the jamboree.
For example, Eunice High starts the season against Opelousas High and will compete against both Northwest and Port Barre in District 5-3A competition.
“It would bring a different fan group to the games,” Brown said. “We would love to expand the number of teams in the jamboree.”
Port Barre head coach Mac Mistric said the Red Devils have been working hard in the preseason and are looking forward to the season.
“We have big dreams but we are in a tough district and will face a lot of competitive teams this season,” Mistric said. “We will give it our best and that is all we can promise.”
North Central head coach Jacobi Theirry said he is limited in numbers with just 22 players.
“Have two seniors, five juniors and the rest are babies,” he told the crowd. “We don’t have a lot of depth but they worked hard this summer and we will see how that pays off.”
Eunice High offensive coordinator Andre Vigs said the Bobcats are ready for the season
“We are excited about this season after dropping down to Class 3-A,” Vige said. “We will see a lot of familar faces on our schedule including OHS, Northwest and Port Barre.
“We have a young offensive line but we have some skill players returning,” he said. “Our defense should g be ready to go as the season starts.”
Beau Chene head coach Josh Guidry said their district is one of the toughest in the state with St. Thomas More, Teurlings Catholic and Carencro along with Northside and rival OHS.
“We will run the ball and try and make the game as short as possible,” Guidry said. “We want to keep the other offenses on the sidelines as long we can but we will pass the ball more than last year.
“We have some speed on defense, but we can’t afford too many injuries.”
Second-year Northwest head coach Chris Edwards told the group he will be better prepared than 2014 when he was hired two weeks before the season started.
“Things are better at Northwest and we are excited about the season,” Edwards said. “We will be ready for the challenges ahead.”
Former Eunice High assistant coach Dwight Collins is entering his first season as head coach at Opelousas High.
“We have eight seniors but five didn’t play last year,” Collins said. “The three who did play have been moved to new positions.
“We are making strides and we are looking forward the beginning of the new season.”