No place like home

By: RHETT MANUEL Sports Editor VILLE PLATTE – Current Sacred Heart head football coach and athletic director Josh Harper is going home. But one thing is for certain, Sacred Heart is better off eight years later with him having been there. Harper confirmed his decision to accept the football head coaching position with his alma mater, Marksville High, with the Ville Platte Gazette on Thursday after social media announcements by both Sacred Heart and Marksville on Wednesday afternoon. Harper has been Sacred Heart’s head football coach for the past eight seasons and has led the girls’ basketball program for the past five years. He came to Sacred Heart after two seasons as an assistant at Marksville in 2013 and 2014 under mentor J.T. Dunbar and had played for him in the 1990s. His move to his alma mater comes a couple weeks after longtime Marksville assistant and last season’s head coach Jimmie Hillman accepted the same position at Bunkie High. “(Marksville athletic director) J.T. Dunbar calls me, who coached me in high school and as I grew up, asked me if I would go talk to him and the principal,” Harper said. “I went and talked to them, listened to what they had to say and it was something that I felt I had to do after talking to my family, writing down pros and cons and praying on it. It felt like the right time.” Harper went 48-36 in eight seasons and led the Trojans to Division IV quarter-final appearances each of the past two seasons. Perhaps more important than the wins and losses was the stability Harper brought to a football program which had cycled through three head coaches in four seasons after Dutton Wall’s retirement in 2010 and prior to his arrival. Matt Fontenot was at the helm for a season in 2011, Doug Guillory led the team in 2012 and 2013 and Gary Adkins was the head coach in 2014. “When I got here, there were several coaches in several years here and I felt that in my time here, I built it up and put in a foundation. I think I’m leaving it better than when I got here.” The search for Harper’s successor at Sacred Heart has begun immediately, according to Sacred Heart’s social media post. “I hope to have a hand in (finding the successor) because I want to make sure Sacred Heart goes into good hands,” he said. Harper will finish the year at Sacred Heart and officially begin his duties at Marksville after that, though he will guide the Tigers through the spring football practice session. Sacred Heart will continue to hold a special place in Harper’s heart. When the school took a chance on him eight years ago he was given a valuable opportunity to cut his teeth and run a program for the first time. That experience will prove invaluable in his next chapter. “Being a coordinator at Marksville, I didn’t realize as an assistant all the stuff that went into being a head coach,” Harper said. “When it comes to dealing with parents, players, being the athletic director and helping manage the other sports and dealing with administration. The community and them seeing you as a leader. The experience at Sacred Heart helped me. I wouldn’t be prepared for Marksville if it wasn’t for here. “In the past four or five years, you look at our athletic programs (and) Sacred Heart is on the rise. We’re in a better place now. Looking forward, I’m comfortable at Marksville because of Sacred Heart. This is one of my dream jobs, I’m prepared and not nervous for it.” Eight years in one place gives any coach the chance to build memories that last a lifetime. It isn’t any different for Harper, who has a multitude of memories to draw from. “One of my fondest memories was coaching that first year and getting the opportunity to coach with Glen LaFleur,” he said. “Learning from him and how old school he was. It was a great learning experience. “And I love these kids. There are great kids at this school and they’re all so respectful. I just love everything about this school. It’s a great school and community. I’ll always be rooting for them, for sure.” It’s unquestionable that Josh Harper has done the hard work to re-establish Sacred Heart’s football as one that can compete with most teams on a weekly basis. Much of that has to do with the culture he’s instilled, the stability he’s supplied by staying for as long as he has and developing a love for the school and the community. But, how does Harper hope to be remembered in the history books now that his time at Sacred Heart has a finish line in sight? “I hope they remember my work ethic,” he said. “I want them to remember my self-discipline, the high standards we built and the spirit of excellence we built.”