Stakes are high when SHS travels to O.C.
By: RHETT MANUEL
Sports Editor
OPELOUSAS – There’s a lot riding on this week’s District 6-1A road trip for the Sacred Heart Trojans.
First, there’s the biggest elephant in the room – the winner of this matchup with Opelousas Catholic remains in the hunt for the district championship.
Secondly, this is the time of the year where big wins matter more than ever. A win against the Vikings can potentially vault the Trojans into a top-10 seed in the Division IV Select playoff bracket.
Lastly, and perhaps least important but the most tantalizing, is the revenge factor after Opelousas Catholic came into Soileau-Landry Field and handed the 2021 Trojans their lone defeat of the regular season in a 14-6 game.
It all lines up to give what was already a strong matchup even more juice.
“It’s one of those games where it’s a lot on the line,” Sacred Heart head coach Josh Harper said. “It’s just getting focused on what the team has to do. We know what’s on the line. But, it’s about keeping the kids focused and not stress that stuff.”
There’s plenty to stress besides the district and playoff ramifications.
“I’ve been here eight years, we haven’t beaten them since I’ve been here. It’s a great football team and good staff,” Harper said.
It’s an O.C. team that will offer no surprises. It returns the vast majority of last season’s district title-winning team, including reigning district MVP Chris Brown and quarterback Mark Collins.
That fact, and a system that Sacred Heart is familiar with from earlier this year, give Harper a lot to work against.
“They’re big and physical and tough,” Harper said. “We know what it’s gonna be. We just have to play our game. We threw four interceptions (last season) and lost a 14-6 game. We have to read our keys. We’ve seen this before; they run a flexbone like Catholic.”
To top it off, it’s an O.C. team that played an insane non-district schedule that included Southern Lab and Oak Grove.
“They’ve played a great schedule,” Harper said. “They’re battle-tested and we are too. It’s going to be a physical, hard-nosed game. And those are the ones you like.”
Unlike last week, when Sacred Heart let its foot off the gas and let Westminster back into the game before coasting to a 40-14 win, the Trojans will have to keep the pressure on Opelousas Catholic for 48 minutes
“We started off really well, and the kids kind of relaxed a bit,” Harper said. “They kind of took the foot off the petal. Coach Blaize does a good job (at Westminster.) He made a few offensive adjustments, and we didn’t counter them. They got momentum going into half.
“We made adjustments and it helped us. We made a few bone-headed mistakes, but once we played our football and took the game over we wore them down.”
Sacred Heart is slowly getting healthier, as well. Senior Briggs Ardoin will miss this week’s game, but senior Blake Hebert returned last week to give the Trojans more stability.
“Blake back is huge for us,” Harper said. “He gives us speed and athleticism on defense and some speed on offense. But you’re definitely more comfortable knowing you have a guy who’s been through the fire for three years.”