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ST. MARTINVILLE – It pained St. Martinville Senior High coach Vincent DeRouen to throw a herd of inexperienced players into the fire last season.

A combination of injuries and other attrition forced DeRouen to use 17 sophomores. Most had little to no varsity experience, and it showed. The Tigers lost five out of six games ahead of a Week 10 win. Defense was its Achilles’ heel as opponents scored an average of 36 points per game.

“We’re going to have good athletes,” DeRouen said. “A lot of kids with experience who have been there and done that. Towards the end of last season, they started accepting coaching and we improved.”

10 Tigers who cracked the starting lineup last year return on defense. Many weren’t on the first string when the season began. Defensive ends Konnor Wiltz (6-2, 240, Sr.) and Landon Rhone (6-1, 315, Sr.) are large, quick and talented. Linebacker Kohen Clues (6-0, 190, Jr.) led the team in tackles.

The only new starter is free safety Armani Davis, a 6-foot-3 1/2, 190- pounder who is considered one of the state’s best freshmen. Davis played with the Louisiana Bootleggers 7-on-7 team and was applauded on social media by recruiting expert Jerit Roser for a “filthy TD grab” in February.

“We’ve been waiting on him,” DeRouen said of Davis. “He can fly. He’s been looking like he belongs on a varsity field since the sixth grade.”

Defensive back Marcus Eichelberger, who made all-district as a junior, will play on the next level. The Tigers sent receiver Cullen Charles and running back Steven Blanco to UL. The backfield will have only its third starting running back in nine years as Blanco and Travien Benjamin were four-year starters.

Juniors Julien Stewart and Tylen Benjamin are the projected starters at running back. Benjamin is the younger brother of Travien Benjamin, who played at Southern University and is now on staff as the SMSH running backs coach.

SMSH has another promising freshman in receiver Jamion James, who will combine with returning starters Makharee Narcisse and Kervin Fontenette Jr. to give new quarterback Khyrie Francisco options downfield. Tight end Lyndon Williams (6-2, 250, Sr.) is a blocking specialist.

“It will be hard to replace Blanco,” DeRouen said. “Hopefully two guys can get the job done. The quarterback is a big kid (6-2, 200) who runs well. He’s a track kid. We made him play defense last year. We wanted to get him on the field.”

Last year’s quarterback, Kaden Zenon, was the district MVP. Francisco has similarities to former quarterback Tanner Harrison, who rushed for over 1,000 yards and led the Tigers to the state semifinals as a senior.

The offensive line, which returns four of five starters, may be the biggest in the area with Bobby Harris (6-1, 315, Jr.), Willie LeBlanc (5-8, 300, Sr.), Jaylen Turpeau (5-9, 250, Jr.), Kendric Toussant (6-2, 415, Jr.) and Kobe Phothisack (5-9, 330, Sr.).

“We basically put a junior varsity team on the field and they were shocked,” DeRouen said. “They weathered the storm and became pretty good players.

“Last year, our defense was a liability. We had a lead in almost every game. We could score on everybody, but we couldn’t stop anybody during the regular season.”

The Tigers, who finished 4-8, upset No. 7 Leesville in the first round of the playoffs as a No. 26 seed before losing 25-23 to No. 10 Jennings in a game where they held a 16-7 lead in the first quarter.

St. Martinville Tigers 2024 Schedule

Week 1 – Cecilia, 9/6

Week 2 – Lafayette, 9/13

Week 3 – Breaux Bridge, 9/19

Week 4 – Parkview Baptist, 9/27

Week 5 – Woodlawn-BR, 10/4

Week 6 – Westgate, 10/11

Week 7 – Jeanerette, 10/18

Week 8 – Erath*, 10/25

Week 9 – Abbeville*, 10/31

Week 10 – Kaplan*, 11/8

* – District 5-3A Opponent

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