Antonio Jack of NISH, left, and Josh Boutte of Westgate. - Lee Ball / The Daily Iberian

They say dynamite comes in small packages.

Of course, battleships have a lot of firepower too.

And when it comes to football, size isn’t always a gauge of a player’s impact on the game — the top players come in all shapes and sizes, from massive linemen to diminutive receivers and running backs.

A look around the Teche Area shows that to be the case, from players like Delcambre senior Hagan Landry (4-9, 140) and starting quarterback Robert Primeaux (5-6, 155 pounds) to Franklin freshman Leo Gradley (6-4, 321) and everywhere in between.

New Iberia has its own group of Mighty Mites at running back, including Nick Robinson (5-3, 150), Tyler Archon (5-7, 175), Donnell Washington (5-5, 140), Xavier Berard (5-5, 165) and Antonio Jack (5-foot, 115 pounds), who also doubles as a receiver for the Yellow Jackets.

Jack said when he first started playing football at age 6, coaches and players for other teams thought he was too small to play. That inspired him to prove himself and be treated the same as other players.

“I go out and give it my all,” said Jack, one of NISH’s top receivers.

His parents initially were concerned but once they saw how tough he was those concerns were erased.

“I’d get right back up,” said Jack. “If I got hurt, I didn’t cry or anything, I got back up and went right back at it.”

NISH coach Rick Hutson last year had players on both extremes in Jack and 6-4, 400-pound lineman Jalon “Juicy” Hill. Jack said he’s known Hill since they played youth football together.

“I’ve kind of picked at Antonio through the years about ordering his uniform from the toddler section of the athletic magazine, but he’s got a good sense of humor about it, and we have a lot of fun with it,” said Hutson. “The other day I finally figured out how tall he was — he was 5-none.”

All joking aside, Jack is a football player, not just someone on the roster.

“You always hear, ‘Well, he’s too small to play football,’” said Hutson. “Well, when a guy’s 5-foot tall and weighs about 115 pounds and he’s playing 5A football, that shows you that size is not always a limitation. He makes up for it by being extremely quick, and he’s real strong too. He’s had to overcome a lot in terms of he’s had to wait his time to get his turn. He got some big touches last year and he’s had a bunch of big plays this year, so I’m real excited for him.”

Jack got into powerlifting as a freshman on Hutson’s recommendation. His sophomore year he won regionals and was fourth in state in his weight class. As a junior he won regionals and state, and is currently second in the nation in his weight class (114 pounds). He’d like to break all the regional records after breaking the regional squat record last year.

On the field, Jack said he had to prove himself as a member of the scout team. Though it was tough waiting for his turn to play, he knew he’d get his chance.

“I proved myself when I was on scout and went against the varsity defense and they saw what I could do against the varsity,” Jack said.

And the fans love Jack, who brings a burst of speed to the Jackets’ offense.

“I think he’s one of our fan favorites,” said Hutson. “Kind of like the Darren Sproles aspect of it in New Orleans. He’s kind of like that.”

Josh Boutte, one of the area’s biggest players at 6 feet, 5 inches tall and 320 pounds, says that until he got to Anderson Middle School he was average sized. He’s developed into a U.S. Army All-American as a senior. Representatives of the U.S. Army All-American Bowl scheduled for Jan. 5, 2013 in San Antonio, will be in New Iberia Friday to honor Boutte by officiallly announcing his selectionto the game at the WHS pep rally in the afternoon.

“About when I was a seventh-grade student I grew to about 6-2,” said the Westgate High senior offensive tackle who has committed to sign with LSU in February.

It was a bit of a surprise, given that his mother is about 5-4 and his father around 5-6. There is some family history of greater height, though. His cousin Travis Thomas, who’s about five years older than Boutte, is around 7 feet tall and played in the band at Westgate.

Though he’s widely considered the best line prospects in the state and one of the top linemen in the country, it wasn’t always that way for Boutte. His mom, Marla, didn’t let him play football until seventh grade, and he said he wasn’t that good when he first started.

“I guess through coaching and work I’ve been able to improve,” said Boutte, who adds that his size is an advantage. LSU’s coaches plan to play him at guard.

Boutte got a lot more national attention after some standout work at the Rivals 100 Challenge in Atlanta over the summer, where he played well against some of the top defensive line prospects in the country, including three pancake blocks on the first day. Among the other schools that have recruited Boutte are Arizona State, UL-Lafayette, Michigan State, Mississippi State, Nebraska and Tulane.

“It was a good experience,” Boutte said of the Rivals 100 Challenge. “I had no kind of idea what it was going to be like.”

Talking to Boutte off the field, one would have little idea what he’s like on the field. 

Polite and soft-spoken when not playing, he loves the physical side of football once he steps between the lines.

“The way coach (Ryan) Antoine puts it, once you step on the field it’s a battle. The guy I’m playing isn’t my friend once we start playing,” said Boutte.

“He gets along with everybody,” said Antoine. “You can clown around with him, but once he steps on the field, he doesn’t have any friends.”

Antoine said that is a product of his desire to dominate opposing players, something he learned from coach Brandon Small, who’s been Boutte’s offensive line coach the past four years..

“He does have a nasty streak,” said Antoine. “His job is to dominate you and destroy you. When he grabs you his job is to finish you.”

Going up against players at practice like defensive linemen Torrance Benjamin, Duval Jackson and Tay Thibodeaux has helped both Boutte and the defenders improve, said Antoine. The WHS coach also had another big man on his squad the past couple of seasons when he was at West St. Mary, offensive and defensive lineman Jerald Hawkins, a 6-6, 285-pounder now on the LSU football team.

“Jerald is more of a finesse type guy, more technique-oriented,” said Antoine. “He’s a little more athletic. Josh is more of an aggressive type. He puts his hands on you and you can’t get away. He has a chance to take his game beyond Saturday (playing in the NFL on Sundays).”

A 3.2 GPA student heading into his final season at WHS, Boutte has become a more vocal leader this season. Between plays, Boutte can be heard barking out “Huddle!” to gather the offense together. That’s no accident.

“This year I felt I needed to be a leader for my team,” he said.

The team has grown despite struggling through the first part of the schedule. Westgate nearly won against Central Lafourche on Oct. 12 before falling in overtime, and has won two straight, beating District 7-5A rival Thibodaux 33-21 and non-district foe Carencro, ranked 10th at the time, 27-20, this past weekend.

“Despite the fact that we’ve lost seven games (this season), we came together like a brotherhood,” said Boutte. “It’s helped me become a better person. Coach Antoine reminds us it’s not always about football. Next year I’m looking forward to Westgate building on the foundation we’re putting down this year.”

Boutte does extra work to improve himself, working on pass blocking with Antoine in the mornings, moving side to side to improve his hip work, and then running sprints and hurdles to do the same. In fourth block the football team hits the weights, and right after that it’s time to practice.

He said he’s looking forward to college. He’s made friends with LSU tackle Chris Faulk, and knows a few other players on the team as well.

Antoine can understand Boutte’s desire to get to college. The WHS coach played at Louisiana Tech, though he was on the smaller end of the scale than Boutte as a 5-8, 190-pound defensive back his freshman year. But there are ways for small players to make an impact, he said.

“I wasn’t the biggest cornerback,” said Antoine. “I wasn’t the strongest. I wasn’t the fastest.

“But having a goal in mind, and working to achieve it helped; making sure nobody’s better than you. I also was a student of the game. Don’t let anybody say they’re better than you. Even the smaller kids. We try to give them the kind of mindset that, ‘I can be just as good as a big guy.’”

And Boutte helps with that, he said, by accepting everyone on the team as an equal, said Antoine.