By: RHETT MANUEL
Sports Editor
VILLE PLATTE – Homecoming is normally about alumni, having a good time and reliving memories.
And, if all goes well, your team gets the big win.
It’s much bigger than that for Sacred Heart tomorrow night as it hosts North Central.
The Hurricanes, who enter the game having more success than it has in a long time with a 3-6 record this year, will present a unique challenge for the Trojans.
Led by head coach Jacob Carruth, North Central has found a way to harness a team that has always been long on athleticism into something that has the potential to play spoiler to the Trojans’ homecoming plans.
But for Sacred Heart, the challege begins with themselves.
“Just getting better across the board,” Sacred Heart head coach Josh Harper said. “It’s about us, and not the opponent. It’s about the mindset in practice and if everything works out, hosting a home playoff game.
Just getting better at everything we do. North Central comes in with one of their better teams they’ve had in years. It’s not the same team we’ve played the past few years.”
The mindset of “it’s about us” tracks for Sacred Heart. It’s been more about the battle within rather than the battle with the opponent for most of the season.
It came to a head in last week’s 40-6 loss to Opelousas Catholic. Circumstances and injuries forced the Trojans into an uncomfortable spot fairly early on in the contest.
“The way the game flowed, there were some calls that took momentum out. We have so many kids out right now, and we’re still not a full go with Briggs (Ardoin),” Harper said. “We had early success, but we wore out. We couldn’t execute and score.
“We just need to finish drives. We have to move the ball and finish drives. I don’t know if we can pinpoint one thing. It’s the culmination of a few things.
Sacred Heart has battled tons of injuries all year. It seems like there’s rarely been a week where the Trojans have had its full allotment of players.
It’s been a gift and a curse. At times, it’s hindered them. On the other hands, it has forced Sacred Heart to cultivate depth where it otherwise wouldn’t have it.
“We have to find more depth,” Harper said. That’s crazy to say in Week 10, but someone is always going out. It’s just been one of those years. The last three or four weeks, we’ve found that depth. It’s about executing this Friday and getting ready for playoffs.”
The amount of injuries Sacred Heart has dealt with comes to the forefront in a game like Friday’s. They’d like to win, while maintaining health.
“The guys that are dinged up aren’t playing or we’ll limit them big time,” Harper said. “You want to get out of this game healthy. As soon as we can get guys out, we’re going to do that. We want to be as healthy as we can going into the postseason. But that counts on us putting North Central away early. We have to do our job early.”
June 20, 2026
