Sports

Rhett Manuel

Rhett Manuel

Ranking the parish football uniforms

Rhett Manuel
Thursday, September 2, 2021
It’s time I accept my crown and wear it with pride. I’m a uniform guy. Always have been, always will be. To me, the fabric a team wears is as important to the fabric of sports as the game themselves. It’s famously said, almost to the point of cliche, “Look good, feel good, play good.”
A Mamou receiver, Jerez Edwards, leaps up to grab a pass against the Panthers. (Gazette photo by Rhett Manuel)

A Mamou receiver, Jerez Edwards, leaps up to grab a pass against the Panthers. (Gazette photo by Rhett Manuel)

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All out effort

Rhett Manuel
Monday, August 30, 2021
MAMOU — It was missing two teams in Ville Platte and Basile. It may have even been missing that preview of the Tee Cotton Bowl that fans may have been anticipating heading into Week 1. But, Friday’s Evangeline Parish Jamboree held at Mamou high didn’t lack for effort.
A Pine Prairie defensive player wraps up a Lake Arthur offensive player during the team’s scrimmage played last week in Pine Prairie. (Gazette photo by Rhett Manuel)

A Pine Prairie defensive player wraps up a Lake Arthur offensive player during the team’s scrimmage played last week in Pine Prairie. (Gazette photo by Rhett Manuel)

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The jamboree goes on

Rhett Manuel
Thursday, August 26, 2021
Things aren’t going to plan with the Evangeline Parish Jamboree, but the show must go on. Originally scheduled to be five teams -- Basile, Mamou, Pine Prairie, Sacred Heart and Ville Platte -- the jamboree will be played with three of the five teams.
Sacred Heart wide receiver Hayden Droddy runs toward the goal line in the Trojans’ scrimmage against Bunkie. (Gazette photo by Rhett Manuel)

Sacred Heart wide receiver Hayden Droddy runs toward the goal line in the Trojans’ scrimmage against Bunkie. (Gazette photo by Rhett Manuel)

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SH scrimmages Bunkie

Rhett Manuel
Thursday, August 26, 2021
BUNKIE -- It was up-and-down. When it was going well, it went really well for Sacred Heart during last Friday’s scrimmage against Bunkie. The defense didn’t allow a score throughout the evening and the offense was dangerous in spots behind starting quarterback Caleb Hood.
Sacred Heart Trojans

Sacred Heart Trojans

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Checking under the hood

Rhett Manuel
Thursday, August 26, 2021
It’s hard for Sacred Heart head coach Josh Harper to contain his excitement about the potential of this year’s Trojan team. He’s fond of reminding them that “the sky’s the limit”. And if all goes well for Sacred Heart this season, there’s no reason to believe that as false bravado.
Pictured is Ville Platte High School head football coach Jorie Randle as he leads a recent practice inside Bulldog Stadium. Randle and his Bulldogs look to get back to their winning ways this season. (Gazette photo by Rhett Manuel)

Pictured is Ville Platte High School head football coach Jorie Randle as he leads a recent practice inside Bulldog Stadium. Randle and his Bulldogs look to get back to their winning ways this season. (Gazette photo by Rhett Manuel)

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That winning feeling

Rhett Manuel
Thursday, August 26, 2021
Question marks haven’t been unfamiliar to the Ville Platte football program in recent years. It last had a winning season in 2012 under then head coach Tracey Jagneaux, with 2016 being the last time it finished .500 under current coach Jorie Randle.
Pine Prairie Panthers

Pine Prairie Panthers

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The buzzword is...

Rhett Manuel
Thursday, August 26, 2021
PINE PRAIRIE -- In what will be his first full season at the helm, Pine Prairie head coach Richard Clark is clinging heavily on to one particular buzzword heading into the 2021 football season: confidence. For outsiders familiar with the Pine Prairie football program, it’s a bit of a strange pull.
Mamou Demons

Mamou Demons

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Deep horizon

Rhett Manuel
Thursday, August 26, 2021
MAMOU -- The Mamou Green Demons only played three games last season due to Covid. They finished 1-2, respectable considering how young they were. So, it’s with that limited scope that Mamou returns one of the biggest numbers of returning starters in Evangeline Parish.
Basile Bearcats

Basile Bearcats

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Just like novocaine

Rhett Manuel
Thursday, August 26, 2021
BASILE -- “It’s like novocaine. Give it time. It always works.” Those words, famously said by Denzel Washington as Coach Herman Boone in Remember the Titans, were about the split-back veer offense. It’s an accurate statement. The veer is simple, blunt and effective in its job.
McNeese senior quarterback Cody Orgeron puts his hands out to receive the snap while offensive linemen Hayden Shaw (75) and Nick Holiday (77) jump up to block Cowboy defenders Isaiah Chambers (40) and Joey McNeely (55) during a fall camp practice. (LSN photo by Raymond Partsch III)

McNeese senior quarterback Cody Orgeron puts his hands out to receive the snap while offensive linemen Hayden Shaw (75) and Nick Holiday (77) jump up to block Cowboy defenders Isaiah Chambers (40) and Joey McNeely (55) during a fall camp practice. (LSN photo by Raymond Partsch III)

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McNeese looks to return to championship ways

Raymond Partsch III
Thursday, August 26, 2021
LAKE CHARLES -- The McNeese Cowboys were able to get back to normal playing a spring schedule, and now the program is looking to get back to its championship ways. "I think it was big for us," McNeese head coach Frank Wilson said. "We were beyond a normal spring because we actually played games.
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