Delcambre’s Rogan Saunier and Cullen Bouton stop a Catholic High player from scoring in the final seconds of the game earlier in the season. By stopping the TD, Delcambre beat Catholic HIgh. (Photo by Rachel Trahan)
Delcambre wants to continue magical year
DELCAMBRE - The 2021 Delcambre Panther football team may not be a team of destiny, but it will go down in history for many different reasons.
For one thing, there was the upset win over Catholic High in the fourth week of the season, the first time that DHS beat CHS since the 1990’s
Secondly, there is the fact that Delcambre finished the regular season with a winning record for the first time since joining the Class 2A ranks in 2011 and for the first time as a Class 2A school. DHS was briefly a member of Class 2A in the 1980s.
Finally, the Panthers are their highest seed ever since the LHSAA went to seeding in the late 1990s. They go into the playoffs as the 20th seed and will be on the road at 13th seed Winnfield in the first round Friday night.
“It was a good season, a successful season,” Delcambre coach Artie Liuzza said. “Of course, we would have like to play that first game and get off to a better start than we did, but we had a winning season and a good season in the playoffs.”
The Panthers (5-4) take on the Tigers (6-4), with the winner facing the winner of No. 4 seed Avoyelles and No. 29 seed Bunkie. If Delcambre wins and Avoyelles wins, the Panthers would host the Mustangs in the second round.
Liuzza said that Winnfield reminds him of an opponent the Panthers beat earlier this season.
“They remind me a lot of Catholic High, except with a better offense,” the DHS coach said. Delcambre beat CHS 21-14 in overtime.
Liuzza also said that for Delcambre to have success against Winnfield, his Panthers will have to do a couple of things.
“We can’t turn the ball over, and we have to be able to control the ball,” Liuzza said. “We have to be able to sustain long drives that lead to touchdowns, and we have to be able to get them off the field when we are on defense.”
The Panthers enter the game behind a solid rushing game.
The Panthers are led on offense by their quarterback Parker LeBlanc, who leads the team in rushing.
He has 142 carries for 808 yards on the ground. He has also thrown for 450 yards.
LeBlanc leads the team in rushing because he usually has the fresher legs. In nine games, he has played on defense once this season against Franklin.
The Panthers’ other three running backs all play defense, so they rotate in the backfield to stay fresh.
Miguel Hernandez (59-675), Rogan Saunier (60-375), and Cullen Bouton (51-366) are the Panthers’ other rushing weapons.