Big sophomore class dominates CCHS 2017 lineup

By his own admission, Central Catholic head football coach Tommy Minton is not a patient person, and one day, this preseason, he was frustrated things weren’t going as fast as he would like.
However, his son and senior Cade Minton helped put things in perspective.
“He said, ‘Dad, you realize that only three starters on the offensive are old enough to have a driver’s license?” the elder Minton said, laughing while retelling the story.
“That kind of helps puts things in perspective for you,” Minton added. “We’re young team, but I think we’re a talented team, and I think we’re going to be a good football team.”
Such is the case for the Eagles this year, who graduated a large, experienced senior class that led the team to a Division IV semifinal berth in 2016 and will turn to a big group of underclassmen that is heavy on sophomores to fill starting roles this season. While the Eagles will have 10 seniors, Minton said several will be starting for the first time. In all, the Eagles return seven starters from a year ago, but some of those starters are at new positions this year.
On offense, the Eagles will be a “physical run game type offense” that also features play-action passing, Minton said.
“The theme that we tell our kids up front and running backs running the football: we want to impose our will on the opposing defense, and we want to be the more physical of the two teams on the field,” Minton said.
Defensively, the Eagles will run a 3-3 stack and play more zone than in the past.
“The game is changing,” Minton said. “A lot more spread offense, and people trying to go fast with fast tempos, so you don’t have as much time to get your defensive calls in at all, so you want to make things very simple for your defense where they can execute, and you want to put kids (in and) make sure, No. 1, they’re lined up at the right place.”
In addition to Minton, who will focus on special teams, this year’s staff will feature Coby Minton (offensive coordinator and offensive line), Cory Brodie (defensive coordinator, wide receivers and linebackers), Trey Smith (H-backs, cornerbacks and free safeties), David Irwin (defensive and offensive lines), Terrance Johnson (quarterbacks) and Bryson Barbier (running backs and strong safeties).
While the Eagles lose District 7-1A champ and defending Division IV runner-up Ascension Episcopal, who is moving up to 2A this year, the district does return Lafayette Christian, Vermilion Catholic, Gueydan, Centerville, Hanson Memorial and Highland Baptist. Minton said he thought that Lafayette Christian and Vermilion Catholic, along with Central Catholic, would be the prohibitive favorites to win this year’s league crown.
“Our district always has teams in the select bracket that are in the semifinals and finals, so no doubt, it’s a tough district,” Minton said.
As for the Eagles’ nondistrict schedule, the squad will open the season at Class 2A Pine High School before hosting Class 3A Archbishop Hannan. The Eagles also will travel to False River Academy, and later in the season in Week 7, it will host Vandebilt Catholic.
Below is a position-by-position breakdown of the 2017 Eagles:
Quarterback
Minton said sophomores Taylor Blanchard, Ryan Miller and Davidyione Bias are fighting to replace three-year starter Blake Byrne, who graduated a year ago after earning second-team All-District 7-1A honors.
“They’re all competing and doing a great job, and we’re trying to use them all to their strengths, and we’re just going to see how that position plays out,” Minton said.
Running Back
The Eagles will return senior running back Chris Singleton to lead their ground game. Singleton was an honorable mention Louisiana Sports Writers Association Class 1A All-State pick as well as a second-team Louisiana Football Coaches Association All-State Class 1A selection in 2016.
In 2016, he rushed 211 times for 1,424 yards and scored 24 touchdowns, despite missing two-plus games due to injury.
“Chris has had an excellent, excellent off season. …. He’s bigger, he’s stronger, he’s faster,” Minton said. “He’s going to be a really, really good running back.”
The Eagles did lose a significant contributor from the backfield a year ago in senior first-team All-District 7-1A utility selection Bailey Badeaux, who now is a member of the Pearl River Community College football team. However, the Eagles also return Bias, who saw time at running back a year ago.
“As a sophomore compared to his freshman year, he’s way, way ahead of the ball game,” Minton said. “He’s looked good out there.”
Minton said he felt that running back was a place where his team had a lot of depth as the team also has junior Hunter Daigle, sophomore Phillip Guarisco and freshman Dayshon Pete and Hugh Hamer.
At the fullback/H-back position, the Eagles are working senior Dominic Skipper and sophomore Andrew Duval as well as sophomore J.C. Hebert and freshman Caleb Menina.
Wide Receiver
The Eagles’ wide receiving corps took some hits from graduation with losses such as Ja’len Johnson, who now is with the University of Louisiana at Lafayette as a defensive back, Greg Leger and Samarick Paul, a first-team Class 1A Louisiana Sports Writers Association All-State selection a season ago who is with East Texas Baptist University now.
This year’s corps will be led by DeDe Gant, who saw much of his time on offense as at quarterback where he started in two of the Eagles’ three playoff contests a year ago after Byrne was injured. Minton said Gant is the team’s “big-play threat,” noting his speed, and good hands.
“The easy thing would have been to just put him at quarterback this year, but then I’d have felt like if we did that, we didn’t have threat on the outside to stretch the field,” Minton said. “We have a lot of possession-type receivers with great hands that block hard, work hard, but he’s the true big-play threat we have out there.”
The team’s other two starting receivers this year will be junior Brooks Thomas and senior Cade Minton, who both have starting experience.
“With the type of offense we run, those two guys do something that is very, very underrated that a lot of people don’t see from the stands: They are little bulldogs blocking on the perimeter for us. … They’re like gnats,” Minton said. “They aggravate the heck out of people, and they are both good route runners and they both have good hands as possession-type receivers.”
Minton said sophomore Grant Stansbury and senior Tyler O’con will play at wide receiver, while freshman Ross Thomas and sophomore transfer Kyrie Willis are others to look for.
At tight end, sophomore Nathan Hebb will start, while senior Cooper LeBlanc also will play.
“One of the things we’re doing because of such a strong running game is we’re using the tight end in the passing game more off of play action and giving him a chance to get open in the seams,” Minton said.
Offensive Line
The Eagles suffered losses on the offensive line due to graduation, including two-time Louisiana Sports Writers Association first-team Class 1A All-State selection Thomas Garber and second-team all-district selection Mitchel Lemoine.
However, Minton said this year’s group will have “tremendous size” upfront.
“I’m really, really excited about the potential of this group,” Minton said. “They’re young. We got several first-year starters up there, but I think it can be a good O-line over time. It can be a physical group over time.”
S e n i o r E t h a n Whittington is a returning starter and is pegged as right tackle, while sophomore Kaden Scott will make the switch from defense to the starting right offensive guard position this season after earning second-team all-district honors on the defensive line in 2016. Senior Cade Booty, who served as a sixth offensive lineman a year ago and as a blocking tight end, will be the team’s center. Last year’s starting center, sophomore Michael-Anthony Hill, will play left guard this year, while sophomore Grant Cheramie will start at left tackle.
Others who will help on the offensive line are sophomores Austin Ganaway and Collin Kovac and freshman Bently Alcina.
Defensive Line
While the Eagles lost second-team all-district defensive lineman Jesse Fontenot to graduation, the line does return senior Isaiah Skipper, who will play defensive end, and Jason Burgess, a sophomore defensive end who started a few games a season ago. The team’s nose guard will be sophomore Korey Kincaid. Senior Braxton Alcina also will see as much playing time at defensive end as the starters, Minton said.
Others in the defensive line rotation are Ganaway and senior Cy Colgin.
“Any of our offensive linemen are all good enough athletes that we can flip them over to the D-line, if needed, if we get in a pinch where we need depth,” Minton said.
Linebacker
While the Eagles lost some seniors from a year ago in District 7-1A Defensive Most Valuable Player and Class 1A All-State selection Greg Leger, along with first-team all-district selection Blake Hidalgo, three players who started last year, LeBlanc, Dominic Skipper and Hebb, return. LeBlanc will play at the MIKE position, while Dominic Skipper will hold down the SAM spot and Hebb at the WILL slot. Skipper was a second-team all-district selection a season ago.
“Got a lot of experience with them,” Minton said. “They’re all good tacklers. I expect them to be the glue that holds the defense together.”
Backup linebackers this year include Duval, Menina, Hebert and freshmen Ethan Majewski and Zac Bennett.
Secondary
The most notable loss from the defensive backfield from a year ago is Johnson, who has signed with the University of Louisiana at Lafayette after finishing his senior year as both a Class 1A first-team all-state selection by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association and the Louisiana Football Coaches Association.
This year’s secondary includes Daigle and Guarisco at the two strong safety positions, while Bias and Singleton will work there, too. Minton noted Pete and Ross Thomas also have showed good things at strong safety, as well.
The team’s starting free safety will be junior Bryce Grizzaffi.
“Bryce played as a freshman, didn’t play last year,” Minton said. “Now, he’s back out as a junior, and he’s been a nice addition to the secondary. He’s got good ball skills, and he’s going to help us back there.”
The team’s two cornerbacks will be O’con and Gant, while Miller also will play in the secondary. Gant was as second-team all-district selection in 2016.
Others in the mix for playing time are Minton, Brooks Thomas and Stansbury, while Hamer is someone Minton said he could see helping the team in the future.
Special Teams
Guarisco will handle this year’s place kicking duties, while Booty likely will be the team’s kickoff specialist. O’con will handle punting, and senior Tyler Longman will return for his third season as the team’s long snapper.
O’con will replace Garber, a second-team all-district selection a year ago.
As for kickoff and punt return men, the Eagles will look to Gant, Grizzaffi and Brooks Thomas on punt returns and Singleton, Gant and Bias on kickoff returns.