Louisiana Pre-Season Thread

[westbankeagle]

Now that our great state is finished with track and beisbol, let's talk about what we think will happen next year. Obviously transfers, coaching changes, or a coup against the dumpsterfire LHSAA could change things, but otherwise based on what we know, what do you think will happen this year? Here is my predictions for 9-5A and D1.

Projected Final  9-5A Standings:

1) Curtis (9-10 wins) Curtis will roll through the season as they bring the best talent back and arguably the best coaching staff. They are strong to quite strong at their most important position on the team, QB, with multi year starter in JR Guggenheim. At RB they have the fastest RB in the state with the indoor 60 dash winner Cory Wren. Curtis only has one season with less than 10 victories since 1974.

2) St. Aug (7-8 wins)  St. Aug won't be far behind in the talent department but will be breaking in new HC Nathaniel Jones who has been a coordinator the past two years. Former HC for Karr for two years, one with a state runner up and the second struggling to get past .500. Many a great coached has been tamed by under-performance at St. Aug so we will soon find out if Jones is ready for his new role.

3) Rummel (6-7 wins) Senior leadership with Chandler fields at the helm will be a difference maker for at least one win this fall, but with much of the stable left for college, Fields will need to earn his keep or Rummel might fall to 5th. They aren't immune to a slip up year as in 2010 they went 4-6.

4) Brother Martin (6-7 wins) Finished strong with 6 of 7 wins in the last 7 games last year, but over achieved in a few of those victories. Head coach Mark Bonis has done a good job of making Brother Martin a competitive team most years, but they've lacked the execution to make themselves champions. The last district title was 10 years ago. They were state semifinalists four years ago in the watered down select bracket.

5) Holy Cross (6-7 wins) New head coach Guy Lecompte comes in from Mandeville who helped put that program on the map. He will have a tough road in his first year though as he wasn't named head coach until a little over a month ago and is inheriting a team that has averaged 5 wins the past 4 seasons. Question is, will he be able to fire these boys up in his first year or need to learn the ropes with is new team?

6) Jesuit (2-3 wins) Jesuit lacks the size and talent they have had in the past but the coaching staff always puts together a great game plan. 

7) Shaw (1-2 wins) Some young talent may get Shaw a couple wins this year, but the program is still in rebuilding mode. A new on-campus stadium will help draw some local westbank talent and all it takes is a few kids each year and Shaw can be back on top. They have lost a few coaches the past couple years and will need to find good replacements.

 

D1 Championship Game:

It will be Curtis vs Catholic or Scottlandville, but I'll go with Catholic for now as they know how to get hot in the post season as of late. This rematch won't end the same way, though, and Curtis will win 26-10.

[Nolebull813]

Shaw plays Escambia again this year. 

That means I can see Shaw taking the title 

[RedZone]

38 minutes ago, Nolebull813 said:

Shaw plays Escambia again this year. 

That means I can see Shaw taking the title 

Shaw might score 25 points this year. 😄

They scored 60 all last season.

 

[golfaddict1]

How’s JC’s OL?  Having Wren and a veteran QB is an attention getter.   D thoughts/returnee #’s?   

[westbankeagle]

O line has been okay but not what it has been in the past. They've had some big boys lately but a lot of them weren't great athletes, Just big bodies. Curtis generally gets a lot of transfers though and wouldn't be surprised if a couple O line guys show up in the off season. 

[westbankeagle]

47 minutes ago, golfaddict1 said:

How’s JC’s OL?  Having Wren and a veteran QB is an attention getter.   D thoughts/returnee #’s?   

A lot of talent on D. They graduated a ton but they will have some studs. LB Choncee Crum will be a big name coming up. DE Zech Blake is a physical specimen. He podiumed in all three throws at state. Got a 3 star CB as well. The defense is always well coached. Curtis used to show their spring game online but didn't last year. I hope they do this year. Jesuit just played De La Salle and I'm going to see if I can track any video down. Rummel played their our bowl as well.

[golfaddict1]

This is why this forum should have the best poll even w so many guesses.   

Geographically, no pollster or Dexter’s Labratory algorithm can touch this forum.  

Just need to get enough looks geographically, have a leader to break tiebreakers and submit (also if something looks F’d up the leader has sway lol).  

Then a panel mixes the states and ranks them and should have a review finished by Sunday night with latest Monday afternoon submittal.  

#missionimpossible?      That’s my shangri la forum poll.  

 

[westbankeagle]

It's a lot easier to keep track of LA because there is a small pool of good teams locally. Plus I have a couple old coaching buddies at a couple schools who I talk to every once in a while. I can't get out to as many games as I used to which makes it a bit harder to know who looks like what but luckily a lot of games are recorded these days!

[westbankeagle]

Brother Martin- Mac 35 spring scrimmage was today. Hopefully some footage will come up somewhere.

[RedZone]

45 minutes ago, golfaddict1 said:

How’s JC’s OL?  Having Wren and a veteran QB is an attention getter.   D thoughts/returnee #’s?   

People like westbankboy and his tribe have been trying to write Rummel off for years and all we do is put a decent product on field most every year. He mentions everyone's else's talent but ours which we have some. Don't let this guy fool you. We played a lot of young kids last year as well as we were beat up. 

Rummel may lack the Rummel depth of the past couple of seasons, but we will scrap.

The Catholic League will come down Curtis, Rummel and St Aug. Rummel plays Curtis and Aug the last 2 games of the season. Those games will decide the League.

Calpreps Dynasty Ratings since 2003. (2 state championships for Rummel)

Rank

School

State

League

Division

W-L

League W-L

State W-L

Division W-L

Top 1000 W-L

Top 7000 W-L

Rating

Schedule Strength

Opponents' W-L

1

Curtis [John] (River Ridge, LA)

Louisiana

5A District 9

I

178-19

70-3

167-14

125-11

38-17

149-19

56

26.6

1424-903-1

2

West Monroe (LA)

Louisiana

5A District 2

5A

181-23-1

83-0

172-18

149-15

46-22-1

160-23-1

55.1

30.6

1374-988-1

3

Evangel Christian Academy (Shreveport, LA)

Louisiana

5A District 1

I

161-42(160-43 on the field)

79-3

150-23

106-13

33-39

113-42

48.9

24.5

1537-875-2

4

Archbishop Rummel (Metairie, LA)

Louisiana

5A District 9

I

138-40

52-16

134-39

106-33

37-36

121-40

48.7

31.9

1177-814

5

Acadiana (Lafayette, LA)

Louisiana

5A District 3

5A

145-49(150-44 on the field)

63-25

145-48

120-41

40-28

137-49

48.6

31.2

1346-872

[westbankeagle]

1 minute ago, RedZone said:

People like westbankboy and his tribe have been trying to write Rummel off for years and all we do is put a decent product on field most every year. He mentions everyone's else's talent but ours which we have some. Don't let this guy fool you. We played a lot of young kids last year as well as we were beat up. 

Rummel may lack the Rummel depth of the past couple of seasons, but we will scrap.

The Catholic League will come down Curtis, Rummel and St Aug. Rummel plays Curtis and Aug the last 2 games of the season. Those games will decide the League.

Calpreps Dynasty Ratings since 2003. (2 state championships for Rummel)

Rank

School

State

League

Division

W-L

League W-L

State W-L

Division W-L

Top 1000 W-L

Top 7000 W-L

Rating

Schedule Strength

Opponents' W-L

1

Curtis [John] (River Ridge, LA)

Louisiana

5A District 9

I

178-19

70-3

167-14

125-11

38-17

149-19

56

26.6

1424-903-1

2

West Monroe (LA)

Louisiana

5A District 2

5A

181-23-1

83-0

172-18

149-15

46-22-1

160-23-1

55.1

30.6

1374-988-1

3

Evangel Christian Academy (Shreveport, LA)

Louisiana

5A District 1

I

161-42(160-43 on the field)

79-3

150-23

106-13

33-39

113-42

48.9

24.5

1537-875-2

4

Archbishop Rummel (Metairie, LA)

Louisiana

5A District 9

I

138-40

52-16

134-39

106-33

37-36

121-40

48.7

31.9

1177-814

5

Acadiana (Lafayette, LA)

Louisiana

5A District 3

5A

145-49(150-44 on the field)

63-25

145-48

120-41

40-28

137-49

48.6

31.2

1346-872

You are crazy! Didn't mention your talent? I specifically called your QB by name! You say I don't know anything then proceed to parrot my rankings for the season...hmm.

[westbankeagle]

Here is the spring game footage for Jesuit and DLS. Jesuit QB looks scrappy, DLS looks athletic. They are breaking in a new QB this year, their QB last year was a big part of their productivity on the ground.

[RedZone]

8 minutes ago, westbankeagle said:

 I specifically called your QB by name! 

It's the only name you know because you know nothing. You just yap and yap.

We get the point of your dribble though.

Change you thread title to Rummel wil finish 5th in the Catholic League because this is the worst "Louisiana Thread" I've ever seen.

[westbankeagle]

As I mentioned, St. Aug is going to be a force this year. Here is video from their spring game. They have SPEED. Their track team was young this year and was superb in the sprints. And yes, Khi Mathieu that makes that incredible 1 handed grab is the nephew of Tyran Mathieu, former St. Aug standout.

 

[DevilDog]

3 hours ago, westbankeagle said:

As I mentioned, St. Aug is going to be a force this year. Here is video from their spring game. They have SPEED. Their track team was young this year and was superb in the sprints. And yes, Khi Mathieu that makes that incredible 1 handed grab is the nephew of Tyran Mathieu, former St. Aug standout.

 

I am no expert on La. and thanks for the info. But what happened to the program at Shaw.  I can remember when that group was tough in La. for years.  Does any of those teams above have OOS games.  I know Curtis plays Bishop Lynch in the BOB.  

[Frosty4024]

44 minutes ago, DevilDog said:

I am no expert on La. and thanks for the info. But what happened to the program at Shaw.  I can remember when that group was tough in La. for years.  Does any of those teams above have OOS games.  I know Curtis plays Bishop Lynch in the BOB.  

Part of it was Shaw moving up in class.  They were solid as a 4A school.

[Frosty4024]

4 hours ago, westbankeagle said:

O line has been okay but not what it has been in the past. They've had some big boys lately but a lot of them weren't great athletes, Just big bodies. Curtis generally gets a lot of transfers though and wouldn't be surprised if a couple O line guys show up in the off season. 

Will the ones they have actually block is the question...

QB is set with Guggenheim (But JC has played a 2QB system as of late so expect to see another.)

[westbankeagle]

7 hours ago, DevilDog said:

I am no expert on La. and thanks for the info. But what happened to the program at Shaw.  I can remember when that group was tough in La. for years.  Does any of those teams above have OOS games.  I know Curtis plays Bishop Lynch in the BOB.  

A few things. For one, shifting demographics. The school dropped from 650-700 boys or so to now around 400-450. Several new schools popped up after Katrina, plus the east bank schools started a much tougher push on getting west bank kids to come over to their side of the river. We had legacies like Kendall Bussey Jr, now of TAMU (father played for Raiders), go to schools like Newman over coming to Shaw. A lot of talent went to Rummel, DLS and Curtis. 

The coaching staff also became very complacent after they lost the 4A state championship 3 years in a row back in late 2000s. The nail in the coffin was moving up to 5A. They really lost the fire and just went through the motions, sinking the program further. 

Around the same time, rugby became very popular at Shaw and many of your "depth" players simply quit football to go over to rugby. For a while Shaw was nationally ranked in rugby, but the football team was fielding 50 kids. Rugby has since dropped off, and the numbers are slowly climbing again, but the damage was done. 

Now two years ago they brought in Tommy Conners, an alum and former D1 player, to get things back on track. Since then the numbers in the program have gone slightly up, the talent as well, and now we will have an on campus stadium for the first time ever. We still have a long way to go since we need to solidify a support staff, etc., but we're making some good moves. I honestly hope we drop back down to 4A to regroup for a few years before moving back up. 

[westbankeagle]

7 hours ago, Frosty4024 said:

Will the ones they have actually block is the question...

QB is set with Guggenheim (But JC has played a 2QB system as of late so expect to see another.)

I can tell you this, the past 4 years they have 1-2 good O-linemen and the others have been very poor but they still find a way to get it done. Their offense isn't designed to be in the backfield that long, so really the o line just has to hit their initial block well and the back or qb should be gone already. Curtis offensive units are highly efficient regardless of who is on the field. They execute their role quickly and many a good team have been caught sleeping if they aren't completely prepared for that high level of execution.

[DevilDog]

7 hours ago, Frosty4024 said:

Part of it was Shaw moving up in class.  They were solid as a 4A school.

Is the gap in La 4A to 5A like TX 5A to 6A.  I thought schools like Neville, Karr and Easton if I am not mistaken are all 4A powers and could hang with the best most years.  And Shaw was a power in 4A for years if I remember.   Are you hitting the BOB again this year.  I haven't been back since Lobo's vs. Byrd and vowed to never go back but intrigued to see Tx Privates in action on the road. 

[RedZone]

Shaw should actually drop to 1A or give up football entirely.

 

 

 

[westbankeagle]

Man the only thing you've brought to this thread is Calpreps. Im impressed. I didn't think your posting could get worse.

[westbankeagle]

1 hour ago, DevilDog said:

Is the gap in La 4A to 5A like TX 5A to 6A.  I thought schools like Neville, Karr and Easton if I am not mistaken are all 4A powers and could hang with the best most years.  And Shaw was a power in 4A for years if I remember.   Are you hitting the BOB again this year.  I haven't been back since Lobo's vs. Byrd and vowed to never go back but intrigued to see Tx Privates in action on the road. 

The top teams can sometimes compete between 4a and 5a but the depth is a lot more shallow. 4a is very easy to read. Usually only 2-3 outstanding teams any given year.

[RedZone]

Shaw should be playing the Louisiana Home Schools, the Blind and Deaf schools...etc.

There is not one class in LA Shaw could compete in.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[RedZone]

1 hour ago, DevilDog said:

Is the gap in La 4A to 5A like TX 5A to 6A.  I thought schools like Neville, Karr and Easton if I am not mistaken are all 4A powers and could hang with the best most years.  And Shaw was a power in 4A for years if I remember.   Are you hitting the BOB again this year.  I haven't been back since Lobo's vs. Byrd and vowed to never go back but intrigued to see Tx Privates in action on the road. 

In reality there is not much difference here between 4A and 5A.

The NOLA 4A schools, Monroe Neville, Bastrop, Carencro, Franklinton and etc can and do compete well with 5A.

Couple years ago 4A Franklinton gave 6A Abilene a great game in TX.