Bobcat coaches built a strong legacy

The 200th-career victory pinnacle that Eunice High head football coach Paul Trosclair reached last season is one few coaches in St. Landry Parish have achieved.
Trosclair (204-88) is only the fifth coach in parish history to have won 200 or more games along with Johnny Buck, Donnie Perron, James Waguespack and Larry Dauterive.
Buck, who also coached at Sacred Heart-Ville Platte and Kinder before coming to Opelousas Catholic, had a 271-132-7 record in 36 seasons.
Perron (257-93) coached at Port Sulphur before leading the Port Barre Red Devils to the 2004 2-A state championship.
Waguespack was 238-158 in his 35-year career, which included Beau Chene, Cecilia and St. James.
Dauterive (228-85-1), coached at a number of schools, including Winnfield, East Ascension and East St. John. In St. Landry Parish, Dauterive coached at Opelousas High and Opelousas Catholic.
At Eunice High, Trosclair follows a long line of legendary coaches that include Faize Mahfouz, Joe Nagata and Johnny Bourque.
Mahfouz spent 22 years at Eunice and was the first high school coach inducted into the Louisiana Hall of Fame in 1981.
Mahfouz had a 127-80-4 record that included 20 winning seasons.
Known as an offensive innovator, Mahfouz introduced the Wing-T and Split-T to high school football.
Mahfouz passed away at the age of 72 in 1983.
“Coach Mahfouz was ahead of his time,” Johnny Bourque said. “He was like Tom Landry (former Dallas Cowboy coach), he didn’t know anything about football, he knew everything.”
Nagata coached at EHS from 1963-73 before heading to the Blue Jays where he coached until 1985.
Nagata began his coaching career under Mahfouz as an assistant coach at Eunice (1951 to 1962) before becoming the head football coach in 1963.
He spent 1963 to 1973 at EHS with a 52-47-6 record with the Bobcats.
Nagata then moved on to St. Eds, where he remained until 1985, compiling an 83-43-1 record.
Nagata finished his career with a 135-90-7 record, including six district titles, four district runners-up, and led the Blue Jays to the Class 1-A runners-up in 1978 and 1979.
Nagata’s teams won six district championships, made the state playoffs 11 times, and reached the state finals twice.
He died in 2001 at the age of 77.
Nagata was inducted into the Louisiana High School Hall of Fame in 2008.
Moving from Opelousas Catholic, Bourque became the Bobcat head football coach in 1979 and compiled a 104-76 record and four district titles ending his coaching career in 1994 to become Eunice High prinicipal.
In 1981, Eunice won its first district championship in 17 years.
Then in 1982, the Bobcats defeated Jennings 16-13 for the Class 3-A state championship – the only football title in program history.
“I shared any success I had with Coach Mahfouz and Coach Nagata,” Bourque said. “When we played for the state championship, we had Coach Mahfouz come watch us practice in Baton Rouge as we recognized where the Bobcat tradition began.
“We gave him a game ball as we won the championship for him and all of the Eunice community.
“When I was at Eunice High, Coach Nagata was at St. Ed’s and we had a great relationship.
“It made my job at Eunice so much easier because of the foundation those two men built.
“I was fortunate to follow those two great men.”
Bourque is presently superintendent of Acadia Parish Schools.
“I learned a lot about organization and communication from those two coaches,” Bourque said. “I learned to put other people’s needs in front of mine,” he added. “My only goal is to help you reach your goal.
“Neither of those men had a selfish bone in their bodies,” Bourque said. “It was all the kids and the others around them.”
Trosclair was Bourque’s offensive cooridinator before leaving for the top job at Oakdale in 1990.
“Paul is very sharp as he knows the game of football well,” Bourque said. “I had great assistant coaches, but I don’t think I had any who worked as hard as Paul did.”
After going 39-19 and earning four district titles in five seasons with the Warriors, Trosclair returned to Eunice in 1995 and brought the Bobcats to state championship games in 1997 and 1998.
Trosclair said the six seasons he spent as an assitant coach with Coach Bourque helped him be ready for the challenges he has faced.
“I have been fortunate in my early career to work under some great coaches,” he said, “including Charlie Hayes (Opelousas) and David Aymond (Abbeville) before joining the Eunice High staff with Coach Bourque.”
Trosclair said he is lucky to have followed in the footsteps of three great coaches who helped build the Bobcat tradition.
“They laid the foundation so it made it much easier,” Trosclair said of the three EHS legendary coaches.
“I want to be successful like those guys were and continue the winning tradition,” he said.
Trosclair has a 165-69 overall record with 11 district titles heading into his 20th season at EHS.
“It is an honor to be mentioned in the same list with those guys,” he said. “But when I look back on my career I feel I impacted some young kids in a positive way and helped them to become better.”
Eunice High opens the season at home against Opelousas High on Sept. 4.
The Bobcats moved back down to Class 3-A this season and will compete for the District 5-3A title.