After defeating Patterson 40-0 in the 2024 season opener on Saturday, the Jeanerette Senior High School football team will take Week 2 off to relax and refocus.

The bye week won’t be a time for the Tigers to put their feet up, however, as head coach Clifford Paul said he plans to keep the momentum going ahead of a Week 3 home game against White Castle.

“We have a whole extra week to prepare for White Castle in Week 3,” Paul said. “I think that’s going to be good for us because after this long week, we will have a lot of time to recover. We tried to get a game (for Week 2) but couldn’t find one.”

Being unable to find an opponent is going to be a common problem as Jeanerette continues to improve. While the Tigers struggled in their final seasons as a Class 2A team, the move down to single-A ball has coincided with Jeanerette’s resurgence on the football field.

According to Paul, the change in culture can be summed up as the “J Way.”

“The ‘J Way’ is that we’re a unique group of people that, for a long time, has been battling everybody else,” he explained. “Now, we have finally taken ownership in Jeanerette and we’re playing for our team and our community.”

That change in focus was evident last season when the Tigers went 10-3, losing in the Division IV Non-Select quarterfinals to Haynesville. On Saturday, against Patterson, Jeanerette picked up right where they left off in 2023.

The game began slowly as neither team looked capable of stringing together a cohesive drive downfield. The Tigers found the endzone for the first time early in the second quarter as Dominick Lewis recovered a missed punt for a touchdown. Morris Walters scored the team’s first offensive points with a 45-yard touchdown reception from an inch-perfect pass from QB Zyon Colar.

Devine Duhon scored his first touchdown of the night in the dying seconds of the half, scoring off a 90-yard rush to improve the Tigers’ lead to 20 just before the break.

Duhon scored his second of the night less than three minutes into the second half off a 20-yard rush. Touchdowns by Colar (2-yard QB keeper) and JoaQuinn Charles (70-yard pick-6) ended the ballgame for Jeanerette with a statement win in Week 1.

With a successful 2023 season in the books and the 2024 campaign already off to a good start, Paul said his team hasn’t yet found its ceiling of success.

“We can do better. I have 22 sophomores, nine freshmen and eight eighth graders, so that’s going to be the bulk of my team for the next few years,” Paul said. “I think our future is really bright.”

The Tigers will return to action on Thursday, Sept. 19 when they host White Castle (0-1). The Bulldogs ended the 2023 season with an 8-3 record, losing to Welsh in the second round of the Division IV Non-Select playoffs.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.