MICHAEL KIRAL / L’Observateur / October 13, 1999

RESERVE – The last time Riverside and West St. John met on the footballfield, it was to determine who was the best Class 2A team in the state.

Ten months later, not much has changed.

A number of faces that played in West St. John’s 28-23 statechampionship game victory over Riverside are gone now. But the Rebelsand Rams are still two teams to reckon with in the hunt for the state title. Riverside, 6-0 overall and 2-0 in District 9-2A, is the No. 1 rankedteam in Class 2A. West St. John, 5-1 overall and 2-1 in district, was No. 1for the first four weeks of the season and is currently ranked fourth.

Each of the past two years, this game has gone a long ways to determining the district champion in 9-2A. Two years ago, West St. John won atRiverside on its way to the district title. Last year, Riverside went toWest St. John and won, ending the Rams’ six-year winning streak indistrict play, on its way to an undefeated regular season.

A few players who played a big part in those games return. Riversidereturns Casey Remondet, its all-state running back a year ago. Remondetovercame an injury that saw him miss a couple of games to rush for 103 yards in the Rebels’ 21-13 non-district victory over E.D. White Friday. For West St. John, quarterback Carl Gauthier, last year’s championshipgame MVP, completed 8-of-11 passes for 116 yards and three touchdowns in the Rams’ 55-6 district win at Buras.

The Rams also got their running game untracked in that game. NormanStrickland rushed for 62 yards and a touchdown while Amone Lumar added 51 yards and a score. The Rams finished with 193 yards rushing and 309yards overall.

The West St. John defense held Buras to 170 yards, all on the ground,while forcing four turnovers.

That defense will be looking to stop a Riverside offense that has rolled up 256 points this season through six games. Remondet has rushed for over500 yards and eight touchdowns. Britt Waguespack has also gone over the500-yard mark and has scored a team-high 10 touchdowns. Riverside’sdefense should not be overlooked, having allowed 57 points through six games.

The Rebels defense will also be facing a tough task. Gauthier has picked upwhere he left off last year and is the River Parishes’ leading passer through six games with 1,161 yards and 16 touchdowns on 79 completions in 133 attempts. Brian Lumar, who caught three passes for 43 yards and a touchdown Friday, now has 28 catches for 449 yards and five touchdowns on the season. With receivers Donriel Louis and Jeremy Lumar and tightend Marlon Jackson, teams cannot afford to double team lumar, however.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Riverside Stadium.West St. John hosts Redeemer-Seton while Riverside plays at homeagainst Ridgewood in District 9-2A play next Friday.

Return To Sports Stories

Copyright © 1998, Wick Communications, Inc.

Internet services provided by NeoSoft.

Best viewed with 3.0 or higher