VC preparing for homecoming

Vermilion Catholic will look to get off to a fast start again this week when the Screaming Eagles take on Centerville for homecoming on Friday.
The Eagles scored on all six of their first-half possessions in a 42-8 road win over Jeanerette this past week. That included a one-play scoring possession and two two-play drives.
The defense did its part, pitching a shutout until the final series of the game, when JHS scored against VC backups as time ran out in the second half.
“Early in the year we had difficulty getting off to fast starts, and lately it’s kind of been the reverse,” VC coach Broc Prejean said. “We’ve been really pleased with that. I thought that first quarter, specifically, was as good as we can play. I think we had a great gameplan and we just executed at a high level.”
Five players scored for the Eagles — Andrew Prejean, Jyrin Bessard and Ross Dartez on passes from Jonathan Dartez, and Tyjh Williams and Jonathan Dartez on the ground — Dartez twice on QB keepers.
Williams had a game-high 121 yards on eight carries (15.12 yards a carry), while Jonathan Dartez passed for 185 yards and ran for 80. Five different players had pass catches.
“We keep saying that’s who we want to be,” Broc Prejean said. “We want to distribute the ball. We want to make you cover all five of our skill guys, and we think we did a pretty good job of that Friday. We’ve just got to look to continue that.”
The defense held a potent Jeanerette offense with a lot of big, athletic skill players to 202 total yards.
“(They’ve got) a lot of speed and athletes all over the field, and I thought we were up to that challenge,” Prejean said. “Credit to the defense.”
The Eagles (7-0 overall, 3-0 District 7-A) moved up to No. 1 in the LSWA Class A poll this week and are No. 2 in the Division IV select power points (see story, page 10).
Centerville (4-3 overall, 0-3 district) will bring a big, physical team to Friday’s game at VC.
“They’re a football team that likes to run hard at you, and they’re willing to throw the ball around a little bit,” Prejean said. “They played Hanson fairly tight last week, so we’re going to expect them to come in here and definitely give us their best shot.
The Bulldogs spread the field out a little more than in past years and have a quarterback they feel confident can distribute the ball down the field, Prejean said. Centerville looks to run about 60 percent of the time and throw it about 40 percent of the time.
Defensively, the Bulldogs have some size up front. Defensive end Jamari Ayrow (6-foot-2, 230 pounds) stands out.
“No. 10 for them (Ayrow) has been a problem for the district for a few years now,” Prejean said. “He’s a tough guy to deal with. He’s super physical. He plays some tight end. He plays some wideout. He plays wildcat running back, and then he spins around on defense and he lives in your backfield. They definitely have some guys that present some challenges for us.”
The Eagles are working to stay focused in practice for homecoming week.
The message is to try to get better each week as the Eagles prepare for the playoffs, the coach said.
“You try to keep it as routine as possible,” Prejean said. “There’s always a few distractions that pop up during homecoming, but it’s all in the spirit of community building and appreciating the traditions that came before you and the people that came before you, so we’re happy to do that.
“You just focus on making sure your kids know to get rest and during the week keeping it about football on their end and get to Friday and make sure that when 7 o’clock comes around, that’s all we’re thinking about.”
VC has done a great job focusing on game games and avoiding distractions this year, the coach added.
“It really has been impressive, this group’s ability to be mature athletically, and be consistent at practice,” Prejean said. “It’s a difficult thing for a teenager to be able to do, in general. I’ve been tremendously impressed with them. That’s a credit to their parents and the upbringing that they’ve had to understand that they’re committed to something and they’re going to be all in on it.”