Tigers to play S. Cameron in Creole on Thursday
By Chris & Laurie Mueller
It's finally here! The opening of the 2010 high school football season is this week. The DeQuincy Tigers will start their season on Thursday night, instead of Friday, as they travel to Creole to take on the South Cameron Tarpons. Game time is 7 p.m. in Creole at the new Tarpon Stadium.
The Tigers have opened the season with the Tarpons almost every year since the early 1990s and have had some big match-ups. The Tigers came out on top last year, 39-20, but the Tarpons have won 14 of the past 20 meetings between the two.
One huge difference this year will be the absence of longtime Tarpon head coach Parry LaLande, who spent 29 years roaming the South Cameron sidelines. Taking over for Lalande is ex-Pickering head coach James Marcantel, who had some success at that school.
Marcantel got a late start, being hired in June, and is fighting low numbers this year. The Tarpons have about 30 players and that includes 8th graders.
Marcantel has six starters returning on offense and six on defense from a squad that went 7-4 last year and 5-1 in district. The Tarpons made the play-offs but lost in the first round to St. Fredericks.
DeQuincy head coach Brad Kellogg begins his 4th year with only four seniors, but the underclassmen which includes 26 sophomores and 21 freshmen were very successful in middle school. So expectations are still very high here, especially given the steady improvement that the Tigers have shown with Kellogg at the helm.
The Tigers made the play-offs last season for the first time since 2006 with a 7-4 record and a third place district finish. DeQuincy lost to Newman in the first round of the playoffs last year. In 2009 the Tigers were 6-3 and barely missed the play-offs.
The Tigers will return 7 starters on offense and will run a wing T with CJ Carter as the featured back. Carter missed half of last season and is welcomed back by the coaching staff. Kellogg actually feels like his offense can be better than last season's despite losing the dynamic duo of quarterback Jacob Dietz and All State wide receiver Caleb Kellogg.
Sophomore Jaleel Bridges will step in at quarterback. Bridges is very athletic and can run and has a very strong arm. He played very well in the scrimmage with Lake Arthur and the Jamboree against Sulphur Junior Varsity.
Joining Bridges and Carter in the backfield are Dakota Marks and Patrick Dietz. The offensive line is not real big, but has looked good so far. Taylor Lucius, 235 pounds, will be at center. Jacob Helton and Dillon Thompson at guards, are returning starters. Tackles will be Aric Allain and Tyler Johnson. The wide-outs this year are Tyler Burgess, DeQuain Mathews, and Robert Rainwater.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Tigers will have a new co-ordinator in DeQuincy native Charlie Smith, who brings a lot of experience and success with him. Smith was in charge of the defense in Westlake a couple of years ago when the Rams finished second in the state.
Smith will employ a 3-4 defense and has seven starters returning. Up front will be junior Dillon Thompson at tackle, Dakota Marks at nose tackle, and Patrick Dietz at tackle, and Harlan Cole at tackle. Starting at the linebacker positions will be Brandon Brown, Aric Allain, Jacob Helton, and Kaleb Hollie.
The secondary has CJ Carter, Tyler Burgess, and DeQuain Mathews. Tyler Royer will be the place kicker and Matt Davis will handle the punting chores.
