Erath senior receiver Christian Pillette wants to help Bobcats to best playoff finish ever in ’23

ERATH — Star receiver Christian Pillette is looking to make his senior season memorable.
While he put up big numbers in 2022, leading all Vermilion Parish high school players in receptions (44), receiving yards (843) and receiving touchdowns (8), Pillette has his eyes set on a bigger goal.
“We’re looking to make something big,” he said. “We’re looking to do something Erath has never done before, just get to the second round and get through it, and keep working.”
He knows the way to do that is to “just step up more and become the leader that I should be,” he said. “I’m just preaching it to them every day, day in and day out, leading by example.”
Erath reached the second round this past season for the first time since 2016 before falling to unbeaten West Feliciana. The team was disappointed with the finish.
“We had a couple of things that hit us, and we all noticed that we weren’t on track,” he said. “That’s the main thing this year, is getting back on track. We all have the same mentality.”
Pillette and senior quarterback Lynkon Romero are team captains this year, head coach Eric LeBlanc said. He’s looking for them to help the Bobcats make headway in the playoffs.
“Once you get to the playoffs, it’s one game at a time, so it’s a little bit different than in-season,” he said. “In-season, you’ve got that next game to look forward to and learn from. When you get to those five in the playoffs, it’s win or go home.”
One way the coaches can help them get to that point is to make sure they take care of business in the regular season so they have a better power ranking and aren’t facing one of the top seeds early on.
“I think those guys felt the same way, so that’s why this offseason’s been nice, because they know where the mistakes were last year and we know as a team, and we’ve been working every day to correct those mistakes,” the coach said.
Pillette and Romero, meanwhile, have developed stronger chemistry both on and off the field.
“We’ve been working out, we hang out whenever we can,” Pillette said. “We went to a couple of camps together. I got to know him way closer than I ever have.”
That will “most definitely” help the two on the field, he said.
Romero passed for 1,653 yards and 16 touchdowns and ran for 477 yards and a dozen touchdowns as a junior.
“Our relationship is great,” Romero said. “We’re always hanging out, talking. We throw a lot during the week. We have that connection on the field, but also off the field with our friendship.
“I have full, hundred percent trust in him, and I know he has 100 percent trust in me too.”
It’s something the coach has noticed, too.
“They worked their butts off this offseason,” coach Eric LeBlanc said. “Mentally they’re ahead of where they were last year. I’m expecting them to continue to grow.
“They bonded together more with the senior class and the junior class because they feel this year could be special if they have some good days out there on Friday nights.”
Pillette said the seniors are close as a group.
“We have a great group, by far,” he said. “Go Bobcats.”