By RYAN ARENA
L’Observateur

RESERVE — When East St. John High School was ravaged by Hurricane Isaac just over two years ago, the Wildcats football team found itself without a true home just one week before the start of the regular season was set to begin. 

Though ESJ has settled in since then at the former Leon Godchaux Jr. High School, things aren’t yet back to normal, and won’t be until the ESJ campus is rebuilt.

The Wildcats continue to find ways to win in spite of all that. They continue to face off with the best in the state, and sometimes the country.

Not everyone has forgotten their plight. 

Representatives from the recently released Sony Pictures film “When the Game Stands Tall” paid a visit to the ESJ football seniors Thursday afternoon, there to award the football program a donation of $1,000 in recognition of their efforts to “stand tall” in the face of adversity.

“The East St. John football team, through their resilience and determination, have shown how much they deserve the “Stand Tall” award,” said Adella Gauthier, who played the character of “T-Gram” in the film. “All of you young men are such an inspiration. The odds were stacked against you, yet you continue to stand tall and persevere.”

The donation includes a $500 gift from the hat company LIDS as well as a $500 gift card from Sony Pictures. 

The movie was filmed locally, making Thursday’s ceremony of recognition a natural fit. It tells the tale of the De La Salle football team of Concord, Calif., which won a record 151 consecutive games. 

It’s the second time ESJ has been tied to a film in recent memory, the previous time being the documentary “Walking on Dead Fish,” which followed the ESJ football team in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. 

“Isaac doesn’t bother these young men,” East St. John coach Phillip Banko said. “They didn’t let Isaac beat them. They still compete. These (seniors) know we have to set the bar for others to follow, for our younger brothers here.”

Banko said he and his team were very grateful for the donation and gesture.

“It’s tremendous of them,” Banko said. “It truly shows people still care about one another in this world.”

When Isaac hit two years ago, it largely rendered East St. John’s campus underwater. 

While the Wildcats still were able to play their home games at Joe Keller Memorial Stadium as usual, it lost its fieldhouse, practice field, uniforms and equipment. 

In ESJ’s first game, half of the team’s new uniforms weren’t delivered on time for kickoff, leaving half the roster unable to dress out. ESJ had a nomadic practice schedule, using a handful of different practice sites before settling in at Godchaux.

But after a slow start, ESJ regrouped, winning all but one of their district games to improbably reach the postseason. 

Gauthier said East St. John has indeed shown others how to regroup after adversity.  

“It’s a small token of appreciation for how this coach and his team have kept going in spite of adversity,” she said. “It’s not how hard you fall, but how you get back up.”