By RYAN ARENA

L’Observateur

 

EDGARD – As his West St. John players lined up to take photographs at the Rams’ annual picture day, head football coach Robert Valdez reflected on the feeling of August 2012 versus that of August 2011 – the latter leading into a season that brought his first trip to the Superdome to compete for a state championship as a coach. 

“There’s a lot of anticipation,” he said. “You can’t wait to get back to play another game. A lot of that is because of how it ended.”

How it ended was a 23-7 loss to Ouachita Christian in the Class 1A state championship game,  one that no doubt a talented 2012 squad wants to rectify.

But 2011 cemented the Rams as once again a difference-maker in the championship picture. West St. John won a dramatic opener against archrival St. James in the rain, a victory that sparked a 12-3 season and an undefeated District 8-1A championship. 

That team had a few high impact seniors, chief of which were linebacker Ronnie Feist and wide receiver/cornerback Jarius Moll, players who have been cornerstones for in team for each of the past three seasons. 

But this year’s team also boasts plenty of reason for optimism. 

A lot of it comes from the offensive backfield, where West St. John boasts double-trouble at running back.  

All-State rusher Kylum Favorite returns and will be joined by a healthy Jeremy Jackson, who broke out as an eighth grader two years ago. 

Jackson was expected to be the go-to rusher before last season. But injuries hit and rendered Jackson limited for much of the season.

That gave Favorite, who was likely earning more playing time anyway due to a strong start to the season, all the opportunity he needed to reveal himself as one of the state’s top rushers. He finished the season with 1,938 rushing yards and scored 23 times

Jackson’s eighth grade season included a string of 100 yard rushing performances and a bevy of game breaking plays. To have the two of them at his disposal, Valdez said, is just fine by him. 

“It’s kind of like having an X-Box and a Playstation. It’s a lot of fun,” said Valdez. “They bring different things to the table. Both of them can catch well, and that gives us a chance to put one at receiver and get them both out there in different areas. The good news is, it’s not my job to stop them.”

Another point for Valdez and his Rams is something most coaches would give just about anything for: a seasoned passer. Austin Howard started all of last season in leading the Rams to the Dome and also started a handful of games as a freshman. 

This summer, he looked very sharp in 7-on-7 competition, most notably helping lead the Rams to a championship in the New Orleans Saints 7-on-7 tournament, which gave the Rams a berth in the NFL’s national tournament in Indianapolis – WSJ also performed quite well at that tourney.

“We’re very excited about Austin. He’s the catalyst,” said Valdez. “He’s really gaining a grasp of our offense. The good thing is with he and these backs, teams can’t just key on one element.”

Defensively, Valdez said he expects big things from a number of players, but at the forefront will be linebacker Dontre Turner, who enters his fourth season of starting duty.

Turner, Valdez said, is a fearless player who brings a strong intimidation factor to the defense.

“He’s played so much that the game has slowed down for him. There’s no wasted motion with him. He’s one of the hardest hitters we’ve had in a long time.”

Defensive tackle Eric Bell is also a defensive anchor — Coach Curtis Johnson and Tulane noticed such, and the senior committed to the Green Wave recently. And cornerback Justin Bethancourt comes off a strong junior season to lead the secondary into 2012 — he’s expected to take on some of the returner duties vacated by Moll.

Indeed, those are reasons for excitement in Edgard. But Valdez cautions: Though the Rams reached great heights last season, nothing is guaranteed. The journey must start anew.

“We’ve got a lot of guys that weren’t a part of that team with us now,” said Valdez. “That season is history. You take the lessons you learned from it, but at the end of the day you’re starting over with a lot of work left to be done.”