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June 26, 1940 ~ August 22, 2023

ABBEVILLE — Memorial services will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, December 16, 2023, at St. James Church in Esther honoring the life of Valla Mae Broussard Legè, 83, who died Tuesday, August 22, 2023 at her residence. She will be laid to rest at St. Paul Cemetery with Reverend Emmanuel Fernandez officiating the services.
Valla was a devoted homemaker, wife, and mother. She enjoyed sewing, cooking, painting, but most of all family gatherings.
She is survived by her two daughters, Denny Mouton, and Susan Hebert; three sons, John Ricky Legè, Jude Terry Legè, and Patrick "Blue" Legè; seven grandchildren; and nine great grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Lonnie Legè; son, Bobby Joseph Legè; parents, Edmar Broussard, Jr. and the former Lillian Vallot; and sister, Faye Choate.
The family requests that visiting hours be observed at St. James Church (Esther), 21125 La Hwy. 333, on Saturday, December 16, 2023, from 10 a.m. until time of services. A rosary being prayed at 10:45 a.m.
Condolences may be sent to the family at www.vincentfuneralhome.net.
All funeral arrangements are being conducted by Vincent Funeral Home of Abbeville, (337) 893-4661.

Vermilion Parish has elected Eddie Langlinais as its new sheriff. Langlinais, who hails from Delcambre, won the election by securing 60 percent of the votes. Lance Broussard had 40 percent.
Langlinais had 7,965 votes and Broussard had 4,971 votes.
Langlinais will take office on July 1, 2024, becoming the fourth sheriff of Vermilion Parish in the last 60 years.
During the last two decades, Mike Couvillon has served as the sheriff, while Ray LeMaire was the sheriff from 1984 to 2004. Before LeMaire, Euda Delcambre was the sheriff from 1964 to 1984.
Following the election results, Langlinais expressed gratitude to God for giving him the strength to endure the three-year campaign.
“I thank God for allowing me the opportunity and the strength to endure a three-year campaign to become the next Sheriff in Vermilion Parish.
“I thank my family for their unwavering support and for standing by me through a difficult and long campaign as I pursued my lifelong dream to serve my parish as sheriff.
“I want to express my gratitude to my campaign team, volunteers, and supporters who have been with me since the beginning and have dedicated their time and energy to assist with the campaign.
“I am also thankful to retired Sheriff Ray LeMaire and outgoing Sheriff Mike Couvillon for their endorsement, trust, and belief in me to carry on their legacy.
“Lastly, but certainly not least, I want to extend my heartfelt appreciation to the voters. On behalf of my family, campaign team, volunteers, and supporters, we sincerely thank you for choosing me as your next sheriff.”
Langlinais has an extensive career in law enforcement, starting in 1981 with the Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Office. He later worked for the Vermilion Parish Sheriff’s Office before joining the United States Marshal’s Office, where he retired in 2015. However, in 2019, he returned to his roots and resumed his duties with the Iberia Sheriff’s Office.
“I am extremely humbled but also very excited and proud to be able to serve as Sheriff of Vermilion Parish,” Langlinais said. “It has been a long campaign journey, but it has also been a great life experience to meet so many people, and it affirms what people say: “Vermilion Parish has so much to offer, and the people there are just good people.”
“As I promised in my campaign, I will waste no time and hit the ground running to bring many changes and improvements to the office of sheriff, change that the employees and public will notice, but more important, change that the criminals will notice and fear.”
Sheriff Mike Couvillon was happy with who the voters elected.
“I am very proud that the voters in Vermilion Parish have chosen the experience and qualifications over all else for the next sheriff in Vermilion Parish. Knowing that I will leave the sheriff’s office in capable and trustworthy hands brings me great comfort. I am excited to hand the keys over to Sheriff-Elect Eddie Langlinais as I know and trust that we are leaving it in good hands”, said Sheriff Mike Couvillon.

The Vermilion Catholic Eagles’ offense in 2023 is known for its speed and aggression.
Head Coach Broc Prejean openly acknowledges his desire for the offense to score quickly.
Unfortunately, this puts a strain on the Eagles’ defense, as they have little time to rest on the sidelines.
In their recent second-round Division IV playoff 48-12 victory over Delhi Charter, the VC offense executed Coach Prejean’s game plan perfectly by scoring rapidly and frequently.
Despite the challenges it poses for the defense, Prejean emphasizes the importance of being explosive and keeping opposing teams off balance.
“That is always our game plan,” said Prejean. “It is tough on our defense, but we want to be explosive and keep teams on their heels.”

The Eagles scored seven touchdowns.
• One scoring drive only took 10 seconds.
• Another scoring drive took 12 seconds.
• A third scoring drive took 26 seconds.
• A fourth scoring drive took 34 seconds.
• A fifth scoring drive took 90 seconds.
• A sixth scoring drive took 2 minutes and 10 seconds.
•VC’s final touchdown drive also took two minutes off the clock.
On the other hand, Delhi Charter marched 99 yards and ate up 9:30 minutes on the clock to score a touchdown.
Despite trailing 6-0 in the beginning of the game, the Eagles quickly responded with a touchdown in just 30 seconds of game time.
The touchdown was scored by VC tailback Ty Williams on the second play from scrimmage, as he ran 20 yards to reach the end zone.
VC’s second touchdown drive took a bit longer, lasting two minutes, but resulted in another score.
This time, it was VC running back Joe Langlinais who ran up the middle for an 11-yard touchdown, putting VC ahead 13-6.
Dane Richoux then successfully kicked the extra point, bringing the score to 14-6.
The Eagles secured their fourth touchdown in just 90 seconds, with VC quarterback Jonathan Dartez running five yards for the score. Richoux’s successful extra point extended the Eagles’ lead to 21-6.
Despite the Gators’ efforts to get back in the game by completing a 99-yard touchdown drive in 9 minutes and 30 seconds, reducing the deficit to 21-12, their hopes were quickly dashed in a mere 11 seconds.
On VC’s first offensive play following Delhi’s score, Dartez connected with Ross Dartez on a bubble screen. Remarkably, Ross managed to break a couple of tackles after the catch and sprinted 53 yards for a touchdown, giving the Eagles a commanding 28-12 lead as the first half came to a close.
“Ross Dartez’s run after the catch was probably one of the biggest plays of the year,” said Prejean. It was individual effort after that surge.”

The Eagles began the second half with possession of the football and capitalized on it by scoring their sixth touchdown.
Dartez threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Andrew Prejean.
Once again, the scoring drive was completed in a mere 34 seconds. However, the relentless Eagles were not satisfied with just one touchdown.
On VC’s second possession in the second half, they swiftly scored on the very first play. Jyrin Bessard dashed around the left side and sprinted an impressive 56 yards for another touchdown.
This scoring drive was completed astonishingly in just 12 seconds. Jonathan led VC with 13 carries, accumulating 130 yards and scoring once.
Ty also contributed with four carries, gaining 102 yards and scoring once. Jonathan showcased his prowess in passing as well, completing six out of nine attempts for 192 yards and four touchdowns.

The Vermilion Catholic Screaming Eagles took advantage of theif bye in the first round of the playoffs to get as healthy as possible, physically and mentally.
VC gets back into action tonight when the Eagles take on Delhi Charter in a home regional playoff game.
“We soaked them in ice baths all last week,” VC head coach Broc Prejean said. “We got in some workouts, some light workouts, and focused a little bit on football but mostly the healing process. Emotionally, I think it was a big thing for us to kind of reset and re-evaluate and just process the 10-week season that had come before us, and be appreciative of how well we’ve done in it. We told them go all the way up until Sunday, and then Monday come ready to go after it in the playoffs.”
The Eagles went 10-0 in the regular season for the second straight year and extended their regular-season win streak to 25 straight games. VC enters the postseason as the No. 1 seed in the Non-Select Division IV playoffs for the second straight year.
Prejean said his team is as healthy as can be expected at this time of year.
“I don’t think anybody we’re going to play or who is still playing football is full strength,” Prejean said. “That’s just the nature of it. But for our guys, I think last week was big and I think we’re as close to August as we could be right now.”
Delhi Charter (5-5 overall) is the No. 17 seed and beat No. 16 seed Slaughter Community Charter (6-5) in the first round, 26-22.
“They’re explosive,” Prejean said. “They’ve got a heck of a running back in No. 20 (Deandra Young), who’s close to a 1,600-yard rusher. They’re in a split-back veer. The only resemblance around here to that is Acadiana, so we all know that’s a tough thing to deal with it.
“They’re going to run it more often than they throw it, there’s no doubt. It’s tough if they’re able to keep the chains moving and keep your offense off the field, which is what they’re designed to do.”
Young rushed for 165 yards and two TDs in the win over Slaughter Community Charter after rushing for 1,539 yards and 10 TDs in the regular season, averaging 9.68 yards a carry.
The split backs are usually two yards behind the quarterback in the Gators’ veer offense.
“They do have some exotic packages where they’re going to overload certain sides and bring tackle over and things that are unique to the veer, but it’s just how fast it hits and the trust that you have to have in each other,” Prejean said of defending the veer. “One guy misses his assignment and it’s 70 yards later (before the next defender sees him). That’s what the veer is designed to do. The veer is designed to make you undisciplined and try to make you try to make a play that maybe isn’t asked of you, and then the next guy is put in a place where it’s almost impossible to make the play.
“Staying assignment-oriented, trusting their reads is big for our linebackers, and feeling out the down blocks and the pulls and knowing what that possibly and probably means for where the ball is going.”
That discipline on defense has been a strong point for the Eagles this year, Prejean said.
“It’s what got us here, there’s absolutely no doubt about it,” he said. “Our kids are warriors and they’re great athletes in their own respect, but absolutely assignment football and understanding that we’re putting them in good position is what they do, and they take advantage of that.
“I’ve been very proud about that with this group. They talk it all the time. They want to be a hundred percent on assignment, whether it’s offense, defense or special teams. That’s not easy for teenagers to do. It really isn’t, week to week, to be challenged with new assignments to take up, but they’ve answered the bell so far.”
Prejean said he’s loved the way Allen McLain and Joe Langlinais have played linebacker. Ethan Landry has been a jack of all trades.
“We’ve asked him to spin up, we’ve asked him to spin down, we’ve asked him to play on the line, we’ve asked him to do everything, and he’s done it with a smile on his face,” the coach said. “Ty Williams has been a splash player. I think he’s the guy that stands out the most when you watch our defense, just because he makes some incredibly athletic plays in space. And I’m really proud of our DBs. People have tried to challenge them all year and they’ve done a tremendous job.”
VC’s offense is led by quarterback Jonathan Dartez, who leads Vermilion Parish in both rushing yards (1,509 yards, 23 TDs) and passing yards (1,096 yards, 14 TDs). Tyjh Williams has another 853 yards and 14 touchdowns on the ground, while Luke McLain and Joe Langlinais also have carried the ball.
Prejean expects Delhi Charter to try to stop the VC run game first.
“On defense, similar to what we’ve seen the past few weeks, I think they’re going to be stop-the-run conscious, and they’re going to load the box up and play a lot of man coverage, and that’s something we’re going to have to find answers for throughout the night Friday,” Prejean said.
The coach said he wants his team to not be discouraged if a play doesn’t go for a big gain.
“Just understand that it’s going to be methodical in the run game and we’re just going to keep hammering away at the nail until it drives through and hopefully we get that big run,” Prejean said. “And then understand that there’s going to be times that we’re going to need a wideout to win a one-on-one matchup, and we’re going to need the quarterback to throw a good ball and we’re going to need (the receiver) to come down with it.”
The receiving corps is led by Ross Dartez, who has 23 catches and a parish-leading 455 yards and four touchdowns. Jyrin Bessard (10-16, 3 TDs), Dane Richoux (8-104, 2 TDs) Hudson Hebert (12-96, 2 TDs) and Ethan Landry (7-94) also contribute regularly.
Prejean said the passing game has been effective.
“We know we have it, and it’s not necessarily a conscious thing, but we know that it starts with the run first for us” he said. “If we can establish the run, then the pass game opens up. That’s been our approach, and when the pass game has opened up we’ve been ready to make the calls and make the plays, and it’s been good.”
Prejean said offensive line coach Brodie Savoie has had the answers up front.
“We know going into each week against what particular fronts, what runs we want to take, and what’s available to us, which keeps our kids in good positions where they can be successful,” Prejean said.
“We knew that at some point this year, that was going to be people’s response to us, just putting as many as they possibly can (in the box) while still covering our wideouts.”
The coaches go through it with the players from Monday through Thursday, showing them all the different possibilities of defensive alignments they’ll likely see during the game.
“And then our kids studying that at night, getting on their charts that we give them, has been critical to that (process),” Prejean said.