Ultimate role player

Published 2:00 am Sunday, August 18, 2019

DELCAMBRE — Delcambre coach Artie Liuzza loves players like Colt Saunier.

“Colt’s a guy who’s been in and around Delcambre football his whole life,” Liuzza said. “When I got here he was a freshman. He’s been to every practice, every strength and conditioning session, he works hard, he’s very disciplined. He takes everything the coaches say and does it to the best of his ability.

“To me, that epitomizes a high school athlete.”

Saunier’s not the biggest player on the Panthers, not the strongest, not the fastest but maybe is the hardest worker on the team and most definitely the one with the most heart.

“It’s all bout work ethic, heart and dedication,” Liuzza said. “Whatever he’s going to do, he’s going to do it to the best of his ability and that’s all you can ask of the young man.”

A third generation player for the Panthers, Saunier is following in the path of his grandfather and father, who both wore the orange and black of Delcambre football.

“It’s in the blood,” Saunier said. “It meant a lot to come out here and put in the pads and play for the town. Especially playing for my teammates, it’s like playing with brothers.”

And playing football for Delcambre has been one of the highlights of his young life.

“I’ve been very blessed to play for Delcambre,” Saunier said. “I’ve played a role on the team, no matter what it is and I’m getting better at it each year.

“It’s been a joy to play here.”

Saunier has a couple of key roles on the team.

He’ll get his carries on the offensive side of the ball but a lot of his value comes from the fact that he is a tremendous blocker.

He’s a great technical blocker,” Liuzza said. “He’s a smaller guy but he’s able to use that to his advantage in beating guys to the block and taking on bigger defenders.”

He also gets some time on defense and special teams for the Panthers.

“Right now we’re trying to work him in at the strong safety spot and he may be able to get into the starting lineup there,” Liuzza added. “He’ll definitely play on all the special teams for us.”

Perhaps that’s Saunier’s niche on the team, the ultimate Swiss Army Knife kind of guy — does a little bit of everything for the Panthers.

“The first two seasons I played I wasn’t that big,” Saunier said. “My role was the play in the scout team and help prepare the varsity prepare for Friday nights.

“Now it’s mainly a blocking role, I’m not that fast, but I’m doing what I can to help the team succeed. In the end, as long as we get a W at the end of the day, it’s all fine by me.”

With his final year coming up fast, Saunier would like to see Delcambre have some success on the field and be a part of that success.

“I’d like to make the playoffs and possibly get a couple of rounds deep,” Saunier said. “That’s all we can ask for and maybe get a home playoff game in the process.”