ST. MARTINVILLE — St. Martinville Senior High is sailing into Week 1 with confidence after topping 5A Lafayette High 25-17 in the Kiwanis Jamboree last Thursday.

Harvey Broussard hauled in five receptions for 133 yards and a score for the Tigers, who host parish rival Cecilia this week.

“Harvey had a brilliant game, which is what we expect from him,” SMSH coach Vincent DeRouen said. “He’s coming into his own. He understands what we want from him a bit more.

“He and (quarterback Tanner) Harrison have improved in the small nuances of the game. The proper alignment, for instance. Tanner is reading defenses more and understanding how to be a complete quarterback.”

Harrison completed five of six passes and added 38 yards rushing yards with a score.

“Tanner and I had a connection,” Broussard said. “We’ve been practicing it over and over, and it finally clicked at the jamboree. Tanner has improved a lot. He’s outstanding. I’ve improved with my speed, catching the ball and my overall confidence level.

“We’ve been wanting to keep the passing going. We have (Steven) Blanco to run the ball, but we’re also a strong offense when it comes to throwing the ball.”

Coming into the jamboree, DeRouen was concerned about special teams and the Tigers allowed a return for a touchdown.

“Special teams came back to haunt us badly,” he said. “We gave up a touchdown on special teams. And then they kept driving because on fourth down, their punter kept it and ran for a first down multiple times.

“It was a brain cramp on our part. We just try to practice on it, clean it up and keep our guys’ minds on what’s going on.”

Cecilia, which went 7-2 in 2020, lost 12-10 to Carencro last week. The Bulldogs have six returning starters on offense and five on defense.

“They’re good on film,” DeRouen said. “They’re a formidable opponent that does some really good things. We just have to bring our A game. We can’t come in with brain cramps in the kicking game like last week and expect to be good. We’re excited about it. The kids are excited about it.

“It’s a parish and a friendly, family rivalry. It’s for bragging rights. We want to get some good footing against a real good team. We’re going to have to do some good things.

“They’re real explosive with big-play potential and their quarterback (Alex Soileau) does a good job of putting the ball where he’s supposed to. We have to be a lot more physical in the secondary and tackle well when they do catch the ball.”