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Photo by Ethan Trangmar
Josh Sagrera (4) has played multiple roles in helping the Eagles reach the Division IV
semifinals.

Josh Sagrera helping Eagles in multiple aspects

BY Neal McClelland
Special to The Meridional

Vermilion Catholic senior Josh Sagrera is many things, offensive star, defensive star, legacy, a key cog in the Eagles’ football machine but perhaps most importantly, according to head coach Broc Prejean, he’s a “DUDE”.
Now while Sagrera may not be to the level of dudeness that Jeff Bridges character Jeff Lebowski made famous in the 1998 classic movie “The Big Lebowski,” he’s still a DUDE to Prejean.
“He is a DUDE!” Prejean said of Sagrera. “His teammates have the utmost respect for him as a competitor and a person.
“He will lay every ounce of himself on the line for his team. He represent the best qualities of our team, hard-nosed, passionate and tough.”
Not an easy praise to live up to but Sagrera shows it almost all day.
“He shows up every day and just goes to work,” Prejean said. “He is reliable, which as a coach is possibly the greatest quality a player can possess. He’s been playing running back and linebacker and I’ve been waiting for him all year to look at me and say he’s tired, but I think I’d have better luck finding water in the desert.”
Sagrera is one of those players that you have to drag off the field and even then he just might fight you, kicking and screaming all the way.
“There are kids that you tell to run 10 sprints and you turn around an they’ve run 15,” Prejean said. “That’s Josh.”
Sagrera is a third generation Eagle. His dad, Craig, was a 1991 graduate who was a running back and defensive back and his grandfather, Wayne, played defensive end, tight end and punter from 1957-60 when the school was still Mt. Carmel.
In fact, school and family means so much to Sagrera that instead of a class ring, he received the pewter football from Wayne’s letterman’s jacket that he put on a chain which hangs from his rear view mirror.
The VC senior takes it all in stride as the Eagles play host to Ouachita Christian in the Division IV semifinals Friday night, with the winner heading to the LHSAA State Championship which will be held at Turpin Stadium on the campus of Northwestern State University after Christmas.
On the year, Sagrera has carried the pigskin 47 times for 284 yards and four touchdowns. He averages 6 yards a carry.
“It feels nice to be back in the semis,” Sagrera said. “Last year I feel that we were cut short and we all felt like we wanted to go further. Obviously the big goal is to get to state but I’m very happy where we are right now.”
The two-way player said that he’s happy with what he’s been able to do this year both on offense and defense, but unlike most starting running back who watch the stats and the ball every time, Sagrera is content to play his role for the Eagles.
“I would love to get the ball every down, but in the end, if we have one more point than the other team and we’ve won the game, that’s the most important thing,” Sagrera said.
As for Friday night, Sagrera is happy to be home for the semifinals.
“I remember my freshman year how hard it was to drive four hours then get out and try to stretch and warm up; so I know that being home they are going to have to make that drive and try to warm up from that long drive,” he said. “I think that it will be a good advantage for us.”
The VC senior also wants to experience one other thing before graduation, he wants to be in the state championship game, something that the Eagles haven’t done since 2013.
And while ideally Sagrera would like to rush for 250 yards and four touchdowns against Ouachita Christian, he’ll be more than contest to take the win and move onto the finals as long as he’s part of the team.
“We were in the semis two years, the quarters last year, so to make the finals would be a dream come true,” Sagrera said. “The dream would be to win the state championship. The stats don’t matter to me. To win with these guys that I’ve played with all my life would be the greatest way to go out.”

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