MICHAEL KIRAL / L’Observateur / August 30, 2000

ST. JAMES – When West St. John and St. James kickoff their 2000 seasonsFriday night, the Rams and Wildcats will have more similarities than just two perennial playoff teams located on the West Bank.

Both West St. John and St. James are breaking in new quarterbacks thisseason. For the Rams, Devin Herbert is stepping in for Carl Gauthier whileChris Hymel is replacing Corey Webster for the Wildcats. Both teams alsohave concerns with depth. But both teams possess deep backfields. St. James ran for 106 yards on 20 carries against Riverside in the RiverParishes Jamboree Friday night. Montrell Steib led the way with 47 yardson six attempts while cousin Travell Steib had eight carries for 41 yards and a touchdown. The Wildcats also moved the ball through the air withHymel completing 8-of-19 passes for 173 yards. Davin Dennis caught fivepasses for 117 yards while tight end Justin Aubert had three catches for 56 yards.

“I’m very happy with the way we played,” St. James head coach Rick Gaillesaid. “We showed a lot of improvement from the previous week. We playedand competed enthusiastically. We got out of the jamboree what wewanted. We competed against a good football team. We moved the ballextremely well most of the time. Our running game and pass protectionimproved quite a bit and Chris’ decision making improved as well.”West St. John head coach Laury Dupont was also satisfied with the way histeam played against Destrehan as well. The Rams gained 87 yards inoffense against the Wildcats. The defense gave up 242 yards but HavinGaudet and Broderick Morris both came up with interceptions.

“We played hard,” Dupont said. “We just ran into a buzz saw. We ran into agood team. Once they stopped the running game, it put us into adisadvantage.

“I thought the defense played really hard. The defensive backs did reallygood against the pass. I thought the kids played hard. We just have to workhard to get better.”The rivalry has grown to be one of the best in the area with two of the last three games going down to the final minute. A year ago, Gauthier andMarlon Jackson connected on a touchdown pass with 31 seconds to pull out a 20-14 victory. It was the Rams’ first victory over the Wildcats since1993.

“It’s going to be a hard fought game,” Dupont said. “Defensively, we haveto recognize their sets and be in the right position. Offensively, we haveto be able to run the ball.”Both coaches said the rivalry is good for the programs.

“Playing a St. James year in and year out, makes us a better footballteam,” Dupont said.

Gaille added that playing the game early lets the coaches see where their teams are going into the season.

“It’s a great evaluation while you still have time to make changes,” Gaille said. “It gives an indication of where the football team is right off thebat.”Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at St. James. Next week, St. James travels to Reserve to play East St. John while WestSt. John hosts Ellender.

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