Acadiana Sports Network
Join Ragin' Cajuns basketball great, Eric Mouton and Charlie Jaubert every week for the Acadiana Sports Network Podcast. The guys will cover all high school sports and bring you some great stories from the amazing you athletes from the area.
Acadiana Sports Network
Week 3 Acadiana Sports Network Podcast
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Everybody can tell you who scored. We care about who mattered, and week three is where fall sports in Acadiana start to feel real. We open with UL Lafayette Fan Day buzz and what it’s like being up close with the coaches, players, Ragin’ Jazz, and the people who keep Cajun Nation moving. We also talk what we’re hearing about leadership, competition in position rooms, and why a quarterback who can lead through imperfect moments changes the ceiling of a season.
Then we head straight into the gym. Volleyball in Acadiana is loaded, and the early scrimmage scene already shows who’s sharp, who has depth, and who might surprise people once jamborees start. The heart of the show is our Coaches Corner with Westminster Opelousas head coaches Tonya and Keith Leon. They break down their summer plan, their senior-led culture, how they schedule up to prepare for the playoffs, and the standard they’ve built after multiple deep postseason runs.
We finish with Friday night football scrimmage talk, a reality check on the brutal Louisiana heat, and a fantasy football segment with Josh Thomas that gets honest fast: don’t panic-draft, know your league, build depth, and win your title during the season on waivers and smart moves. Saints fans, we see you too, and we talk how to draft with your head instead of your heart.
Subscribe, share the show with an Acadiana sports fan, and leave a quick review so more people can find the stories that don’t always make the headlines.
Welcome And Why We Cover Everyone
SPEAKER_05And welcome in Acadiana Sports fans. Welcome into the Acadiana Sports Network Podcast. We are here, the Evangeline State Bank and Trust Company, your community, your bank, your future, our sponsor, and also from the BarCheck Spine and Joint Studio. We are here for week three of the Acadiana Sports Network Podcast. And boy, things are starting to heat up. Joined here by my partner, Charlie Jobert, as always, and then our producer, Chris Logan, behind the camera. And we are up for a big week as boy, everything is about to get cranked up in the Acadiana area from high school sports to college sports. The Raging Cajuns are getting ready to start football, volleyball, cross country, and we've got a lot to bring you tonight. But we want you to know that every week we'll celebrate the athletes, coaches, and communities that make Acadena special. We'll cover the championships, the big performances, and the unforgettable moments, but we'll also shine a light on the stories that don't always make the headlines. The teammates who make everyone around them better. This fall we will honor offensive linemen who win in the trenches, volleyball player whose first touches change a match, the runner who stays with the pack and allows his team to win, and the swimmer who finds one more reach at the wall to also help themselves and their team win. Because around here, we believe every athlete deserves to be seen, every coach deserves to be heard, and every sport deserves to be covered. This is the Acadena Sports Network podcast where we celebrate the people behind the performance. So let's get this thing started.
UL Fan Day And Season Buzz
SPEAKER_05Charlie Jobert, how are we doing tonight?
SPEAKER_02Doing real good. Coming off of that uh UL fan day was very exciting.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, I know everybody was at uh at Blackham Coliseum, and uh they're gonna play a basketball game there this year at Blackham Coliseum. It was a little before my time. Some people you played at Blackham said, no, I did not.
SPEAKER_02I was Andrew Tony.
SPEAKER_05I was Cajun Dome. That's right. I was in the stands watching Andrew Tony light it up. My dad had season tickets, and we were in Blackham Coliseum. So if you know, you know the red dots, and that was one of the best home atmospheres uh in America at that time. And now move to the Cajun Dome. Cajun Dome actually they transformed it into more of a basketball arena, and it's really a great place to watch basketball as well. So we got a lot to cover, a lot to talk about tonight, and uh we've got interviews coming up with um Tanya and Keith Leon, Westminster Opalousis, a little fantasy football boy. Everybody's been talking about their drafts and getting ready for a little bit.
SPEAKER_02Got my trophy. Got my trophy here.
SPEAKER_05That's a weak trophy. Was that last place? Last place. And of course, you had to host since you were last. We're gonna get into that.
SPEAKER_02We're gonna get into all that.
SPEAKER_05And man, I know you I know you did a nice job and do a good job when when your uh your league comes over there and and had a good draft. So we're gonna talk a little bit about fantasy football. A lot of people gearing up for the NFL as well. We got the Saints, we'll talk a little bit about. Uh we also have an interview with Josh Thomas, who is a fantasy expert and pretty much runs your league, right? That's correct. With with the big trophy, not the little trophy. He has all the big trophies, yes. The big trophy. And then boy, uh, with everything going on, high school football. There's a lot of scrimmages tonight. We're gonna talk a little bit about that. I had a chance to go watch some volleyball this weekend at Southside for the uh referee scrimmages with some big time teams there. So we'll talk a little bit about that. And um, so we're gonna get right into it. The LOS Seth Rosenwig Cajun Corner, where we talk a little bit about the raging Cajuns. And over the weekend you had a chance to go over to Fan Day, which was a great time, and we saw a little video and some interviews. So great job out there, Charlie.
SPEAKER_02Thank you. It's a it's a great experience where you get to rub shoulders with, you know, kind of the you know, the big wigs. Uh got to meet uh the interim AD, Trey Frazier, uh, of course, got to talk to Coach Michael Dezimo, um, co-offensive coordinator Tim Leger, uh the U UL volleyball coach Christy Gray. So I kind of made my way around talking to people, trying to get a little a little bit of in inside information. Uh each coach kind of comes out and you know says what they've been working on, what they're excited about for the season, and you know, pumping up the fans is almost like preaching to the choir. They're there already, but you know, saying, bring out your family, bring out your friends, we gotta fill the Cajun gnome, we gotta feel Earl K Long, we gotta fill Cajun Field. So uh very exciting. So they just spend, you know, 10-15 minutes kind of talking to the crowd, and then all the football players, all the raging jazz, cheerleaders, soccer, um, volleyball players are all sitting at tables and you kind of just go and visit with whoever you want to visit with, have them sign the poster, sign a t-shirt, sign whatever. So, I mean, it's it's an awesome opportunity to be face to face with, you know, uh I'm still a fan, you know. There's a lot of kids there and stuff, you know, meeting meeting these guys, but uh uh I'm still a fan and uh I get still get a little star-struck, you know, got to meet uh that big kite uh tight end uh Kate Jensen, got to meet Lunch Wharf uh Winfield. So uh exciting for me, and it uh I think exciting for the everyday average fan.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, and that's a that's a great thing, you know, especially for the youngsters who that is their goal, you know. Right now they they're they're shooting for the stars and they want to play and be a raging Cajun one day, their hometown. Um so they get to go shake hands, get autographs, and get everybody fired up. As if everybody wasn't fired up enough about everything happening at UL and also with sports in the Acadiana area, it's great that they did open it up. And um, you know, September 5th, you hungry? Lunchtime? It's almost lunchtime. I cannot wait to see lunch at the helm taking snaps for for um from the beginning with the ones, the guy's special. And you mentioned Coach Tim Leger. I had a chance to coach with Tim Leger at St. Thomas More when I was there for eight years. He was a football coach. Um, and uh I just said, describe lunch for me. Describe lunch. He said, first, he's a competitor, he's a resilient teammate, um, and and a playmaker. I mean, at the quarterback position these days, you have to have a playmaker, and lunch is definitely that. He doesn't need everything to be perfect to lead, and that says a lot. You really you seldom hear that. A lot of leaders and people want everything perfect. Well, when everything's going good, everybody's talking great, everybody's in a couple of things. You've got to be able to push through adversity. And that adversity comes. So it says it doesn't have to be perfect for him to lead. He keeps working, keeps believing, and when his opportunity comes, he attacks. And that's the kind of quarterback teammates want to follow. So man, I know Cajun Nation's excited, and I think everybody in the Acadiana area is excited to see a little raging Cajun football.
SPEAKER_02I would yeah, use that one word, dynamic. Uh, you know, certainly the definition of a dual threat quarterback. I got a chance to ask him about the quarterback room because there's some, you know, some local talent in there. Um the kid from Turlings, uh, Munos, and Sam Altman from St. Thomas More, and and he talked really highly about the quarterback room and those guys and how uh each person, you know, they get along great, but in the end, they're competitors, they're pushing each other to get better, and uh, you know, it takes that quarterback room to to to push you. And that leader's gonna emerge, and that leader is gonna be uh Lunch Winfield uh game one for sure.
SPEAKER_05Yes, September 5th, Lamar, and then September 12th, on the road to the Coliseum. I want to see the USC Trojans, and I'm efforting an interview right now with a young man from Abalousa Catholic, Roderick Tezano, big-time wide receiver who committed and is going to USC. I think I talked to Matt Citron, our principal, and said he's probably going to red shirt this year, probably needs to put a little weight on and get adjusted to big-time college football when you go to USC. So a uh a high recruit, definitely highly recruited out out of wide receiver U, Keon Coleman first. Now Roderick Tezano going to USC. So um I get a chance to visit with him. Uh I'll post that up on social media. And then, you know, you had a chance to track down some some dancers and some uh dancers for the J Raging Jazz and the Sparklers over at St. Thomas Sports. We're trying to give a little love to absolutely to those groups that are they they work just as hard. I'm telling you, they are in their training, lifting, conditioning, and doing a great job with their own. That's what of course I meant.
SPEAKER_02I mentioned in in my interview, I didn't I didn't want to throw any sport under the bus. No, let's not do that, but I just said I know you guys work as hard as a lot of these other guys in these other sports, you know.
SPEAKER_05And they do. I've witnessed it. Um and anytime there's a conflict when with with with the sport and dance and cheer, they get it. Let's go. You got to go. That's right. That's right. They deserve it. They work hard, and we'll cover them, and I'm sure we'll get uh once the competition season rolls around, we would love to cover all of the awards that all of the dance and cheer team gets. So please send us those, send us those stories. We would love to have
Volleyball Powerhouses And Sleepers
SPEAKER_05them. I had a chance this weekend to go over to Southside. Coach Julie Dawson welcomed me, fed me, got some interviews. We had some big-time teams where they do a referee training scrimmage, and uh Southside, Notre Dame, Iota, St. Thomas Moore, Westminster Opalousis, Lafayette High, St. Louis came from over in Lake Charles, and they're really good too. They were really good. Uh Ash was there, Acadiana was there, Beau Shane was there, and Westminster Lafayette was also there. And man, that's some big-time teams and some big-time talent in the Cadiana era.
SPEAKER_02There's five or six teams there that you know are elite powerhouses, always strong, but there's some sleepers in there that's gonna surprise some people, like Beau Shane's gonna surprise some people this year.
SPEAKER_05Beauchane is really good, and um I had a chance to talk to Layla Dyer, who's a new coach at Opaloosa's Catholic, first year high school coach. She's coached some club ball. And if you recognize that last name, Dyer, Derek Dyer, her dad, was a quarterback at UL. Oh, okay. Played for the Rage and Cajuns. I think he came from Neville, came down and played and um great athlete, great quarterback. So his daughter is at O.C. And O. C. actually scrimmaged Beau Shane and played him tough, ended up losing that match, then scrimmaged uh Cadiana and split with 5A school of Cadiana and then beat St. Ed. So keep an eye on the Appaloosis Catholic Vikings this year when we uh when the volleyball season rolls around. And they start all of their jamborees next week. I think Wednesday, Thursday will be a lot of the jamborees. So we're going to be efforting some of those results, and we want to bring those results to you right here. And now we have our first interview of the night. We have our Ligio Insurance Coach's Corner, where we were able to tech uh to catch up with the husband and wife tandem over at Westminster Opalousis, an absolutely great program that's always in uh the state tournament this year, of course, staying at the Cajun Dome. So we had a chance to catch up with Westminster Opalousis head coaches, Tanya and Keith Leon.
Westminster Summer Work And Leadership
SPEAKER_05All right, joined by Keith Leon and Tanya Leon, head coaches at Westminster Christian Academy and Opalousis. How are you guys doing?
SPEAKER_07Doing good, doing good. Uh thank you. Yep, thanks for having us, Eric.
SPEAKER_05Absolutely. We want to talk a little bit about uh first of all, talk a little bit about uh the summertime and what you guys did over the summer uh getting ready for this fall.
SPEAKER_07Yeah, we we kind of uh did a uh lighter summer than we normally do. So we didn't do any volleyball until we went to team camp. So that's all we did was work out. And we went to uh Cap in uh Bro Bridge, and he did a great job with the girls this summer. You know, we just worked them hard in the weight room and just getting them ready for uh getting them ready for the season.
SPEAKER_05That's it, and then talk about how you guys ended up last year, how many seniors did you lose, and maybe talk a little bit about this senior group um heading into the fall. I know y'all are high and excited about them.
SPEAKER_07Yeah, uh last year we thought we had a good chance to make it to the finals, and uh, you know, we had one senior, Layla, which she was a big outside. She's a big miss. Uh she was an all-state player, um, big on the outside, but you know, we we got six seniors you know this year that's gonna probably come up and take her place uh and and handle it in a good way. Um we had uh last year we had an injury going into the state tournament. I don't know if y'all heard about that, but we had a uh our center uh right before state tour or ACL. So right before we went to state, you know how that happens, you know, you just don't know what's gonna go on. But uh we felt bad for her because Marley had toured the year be two years before that, she tore another uh ACL. So she has two ACL there. So uh she would have been a senior this year, but she's gonna sit it out and just be our manager this year. So but she would have been a big plus for us. But we got some other setters that'll uh set the tone for us. We got Aiden McGee and uh uh which is a senior, and Jules uh Argelle, which is a sophomore, and then we have another sophomore, Chloe, that'll fill in some slides here and there.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, and uh let's talk a little bit about Coach Tanya. If you want to chime in, maybe talk a little bit about um the gelling of this team and bringing them together and what y'all have done in the offseason to do that.
SPEAKER_06We have a really good um senior-led team. Actually, most of our players they do a really good job of meeting themselves, keeping each other accountable. Um you know, but they they all work hard together, you know, they they expect a lot from each other. Um, I think that's gonna help us to go really far this year.
SPEAKER_01All right, Charlie Jobard jumping in.
SPEAKER_02I know um sometimes you guys get matched up with some big, big uh 5A schools, four A schools in these tournaments and stuff, and uh, I've been hearing hearing talk that they don't want to get matched up with y'all because y'all are so strong.
SPEAKER_07Yeah, well, I I hope I hope that's true. I mean, we had a good offseason. We did some team camps and you know, we competed well. You know, I I could say, you know, we beat these teams, you know, like STM and we beat Turlings, but the thing is that's off season, you know, people are preparing for the season. So I know when we play them in regular season, they're gonna come for us. So that's right. We're gonna have to be prepared. They got great coaches over there, and they're gonna prepare their team in any way possible to beat us.
SPEAKER_02So I know sometimes yeah, districts, divisions, and you know, 1A, things like that might be a little weaker. So uh, what do y'all do scheduling-wise to kind of prepare for that playoff run?
SPEAKER_07Well, I I try not to play, we we try not to play any teams in division five. We either play in division one, division two, division three teams, and and try and even four teams just to prepare ourselves for the uh for the for the playoffs. I mean, that's what we look forward to is the end of the season, not what we do at the beginning, you know.
SPEAKER_05And let's talk a little bit about your senior group, maybe talk um mention a few of them. Let's let's see how many do you have to begin with, and then what are the what do these young ladies bring as far as leadership goes to this team?
SPEAKER_07Well, we have uh we have six, and uh also she's been a four-year starter for us on the outside, so she's really our uh vocal one on the court, and she's gonna lead everybody on the court. Um then we have uh Isabel Guy, which she was an all-state player last year. Uh she's on Liberal uh DS, you know, and then we have Kennedy Reshor, which is another DS, which she could be in Liberal for probably most teams in the area. She's that good. Um we have Sophia, uh well, she's a big right side, lefty right side for us. Uh she did a great job last year for us.
SPEAKER_06She actually um for us too. She had an injury.
SPEAKER_07Yeah, she has a terror in a labor.
SPEAKER_06She's having a you know, she's kind of backing off a little bit.
SPEAKER_07And we got Aiden as a setter, and then we got uh Sarah Abrams, which uh she came to us like two years ago. We we coached her. It's funny, it's a funny story because we coached her at uh Caracol Catholic two years ago and her family decided to move to New Mexico and then you know they had a death in their family, and they decided they were moving back. And we get a call from like, right, we're moving back and we're gonna be living in sunset, and we wanted to go to y'all, you know. So it's it's a it feels good to have somebody, you know, that really wants to play for us. And uh she's she's one of those girls, she's uh if she's on the bench or she's on the court, she's a big hype girl, you know. Um so we're excited to have her as a senior because she's gonna keep everybody pepped up no matter where she's at, you know.
SPEAKER_05Yes, indeed. And and here at Academia Sports Network, we're all about the great stories, and it is a great story for you two to be coaching together. We're joined by Keith and Tanya Leon, the head coaches at Westminster. Christian, talk a little bit about your background and how y'all ended up being the coaches there at Westminster and kind of a two-part question, and then talk about the tradition and what y'all built over there on the volleyball side at Westminster Opalousis.
SPEAKER_07Yeah, so we're gonna I'm gonna go way back. So this is probably 30 years ago. Uh we started in '96. We both started coaching at uh Carigue Catholic. My boss had told me, I was in college, my boss had told me I needed, you know, they needed somebody to coach at uh Carico Catholic. I was like, sure, you know, I'll go try it out, you know. So when I got there, me and Tanya met and we just started coaching volleyball ever since then. And then uh we coached there for I don't know, 16 years or so, and then we we we hopped an OMP and you know, we did a few other things, but uh but we always been coaching together 18 years of club ball. Uh it's just like a good cop, bad cop type deal, you know. If I get a little intense, she kind of calms me down. If she gets a little intense, you know, we kind of we kind of work well together. So it's nice. I mean, how many uh uh wife and husbands that you see you know that get to coach together. So um when we were coaching two of the girls in club ball, we had uh Chris Chris Horton and uh Shannon, they came up to us and they've been after us for about two years. Y'all really have to come to Westminster. I was like, I don't know if that's what I want to do, you know. Um so we did it. Uh I went for the interview, we both went for the interview uh because I wanted to make sure it felt right for her, and and then we we went the next year, you know, and then it was like eighth season, and and it was uh the first year was a tough season because um when we got there they were all like, hey, our coach didn't tell us to do it this way. So we had to explain to them it's it's our way, you know, and they adapted, yeah, tried and it's gonna be our way, and they adapted, and you know, um we just kept them close knit and you know, and just kept working hard with them.
SPEAKER_06And you know, they all they're all so close on or off the board. Um you know, they go they go everywhere together, you know, they're gonna night, whatever. They just they love each other and that means a lot to me and kids. And it also I think makes a big difference in in making good teams. I think that there's a lot of teams that have a lot, a lot of athletes that maybe just don't get along as well, or they're not playing for each other and they're just playing for themselves, and that doesn't work out. Normally that doesn't work out. So I think that's helped us along the way.
SPEAKER_05No doubt. Yes, you can have all the talent in the world. You got to get them to play together. So so quickly, Keith, talk a little bit about the tradition y'all have built in those eight years. I know your ultimate goal is to end up at the Cajun Dome and to win one, but talk a little bit about how y'all y'all have ended up in those eight years.
SPEAKER_07You know, uh, so our first year, you know, we made it to the regional rounds, which, you know, always your goal is to to do well at the playoffs and make it to the state. And, you know, we played uh century Catholic the first day, the the first one. We almost made it. You know, we we went five sets with them and lost them in a fifth set. I think it was like 16, 14 or something like that, and we just missed the quarterfinals. You know, uh second year we get there, we end up making it to the quarterfinals. We play uh Lewis McGee and um our girls were shells. I mean, they really were first time in a big place, and you know, you can see the big eyes. I think we lost uh four sets to one.
SPEAKER_06Um we didn't have any club girls, so they weren't used to that kind of you know, arena or yelling or something.
SPEAKER_07Yeah, so um, you know, a girl started playing club ball and starting to get some more work, and you know, and we keep our kids, you know, you know, close knit and all that. So the next year we're like, you know, okay, we got a good shot. We uh we make it to the semifinals and we lose uh five cents to ESA. Um so it's a it's a trail. And then the next year, you know, I was like, yeah, this could be our year, you know, girls, but we gotta you know, you gotta stay focused. And we made it we made it to the uh championship, um, lost to uh country day and five. Um and the following year we did the same thing. Made it to the championship, lost to country day and three, I think that year four. Five, it was five, three. And then um you're after that we took them down to the water and they just five. Um but I mean I gotta say our group girls, you know, with small schools for the yeah, you know, country days and two-way school, they're bigger than us. And they gotta, you know, I mean the all of us they just got a lot more to pick from. But I think our girls work hard, and and every time we play them, we give them a run for their money. And last year we uh we ended up making to the semifinals. Like I said, uh kind of threw off our office a little bit.
SPEAKER_06You know, we just get it together, but I think everybody did their job.
SPEAKER_07You know, I mean it happens. I mean, when you make it to the playoffs, anything can happen. I tell my girls that all the time how good you think you are, you know, anything can happen because everybody wants to be there. So everybody's gonna fight for that. So um and then you know, now this year I think we're a more proven team. Uh, I think we, you know, uh we were just talking about the other day. We we almost three deep in every position, which is crazy for us. I mean, we never had that much talent, you know. So we we got 15 girls on our varsity, and any one of them could play at any time.
SPEAKER_05Man, that's huge to have that kind of depth. Well, look, we appreciate y'all's time. We definitely look forward to covering Westminster Opalousis this fall. Thanks for your time and good luck this season.
SPEAKER_07Uh, thanks for having us. Appreciate it.
How Westminster Reaches The Dome
SPEAKER_05All right, that was the Liggio Insurance Coach's Corner. And a great interview there from the husband and wife team, Tanya and Keith Leon from Westminster Opalousis. They mentioned Aiden McGee as one of their seniors.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, that's that's our that's our our buddy uh Pat McGee. That's Pat McGee's daughter, who uh Pat McGee firm that that sponsors our volleyball segments. Uh yeah, his daughter's a senior over there, and and like you know, Tanya said, they they were one injury away from from uh hosting uh hoisting up that trophy last year, and and you know, they're loaded again this year, six seniors. That's crazy. Um and like I had mentioned in that interview, there's a lot of big time teams that do not want to see Westminster Opaloosas, you know, pop up on their schedule in a tournament anywhere because I mean they're they're taking down all the big dogs this year.
SPEAKER_05Yep, they're going after them and uh they're gonna make a run. We'll cover all of the other teams in the Acadena area too once we get into volleyball season and of course their jamborees next week. So that was the Pat McGee firm volleyball segment. Swimming, we will be catching up with some swimmers next week. The Cola Swim Report. Uh they're about to start their seasons. I know all of those swimmers, we had a chance, there's some on our social social media pages with some great interviews from some from some great, great swimmers, and we definitely gonna continue to cover those swimmers as their season gets started.
Heat Advisory And Scrimmage Roundup
SPEAKER_05Uh on the football side, we do have scrimmages tonight. What's the forecast? You want to give us the white tail properties uh Blake Charles forecast?
SPEAKER_02Well, I mean, I was checking my phone and they kept uh kept making these noises. Uh it kept saying heat advisory and it not just today, going in. It was already forecasting for tomorrow's heat advisory. So a lot of scrimmages tonight and tomorrow night. Um I mean it was 98 degrees at most of these kickoffs. I looked through seeing seeing how far it's gonna drop maybe by the end of the games to 87. So starting off at about 98, heat index about 105. Still uh a little breeze that's gonna make it a little tolerable, maybe. Um and again, uh I'm mentioning these things for like the fans. Like, you know, not necessarily the kids in the in the uniforms and the equipment and the helmets. I mean, it's brutal for the fans, even uh in the stand. So uh a tough one tonight. Again, they can't have all the scrimmages because all the scrimmages in one night because there's just not enough referees. So tomorrow night I'll I'll go ahead and announce that uh if you want to catch a scrimmage tomorrow night, and again, it's a great place where the referees are practicing, you know. You got Acadiana is gonna be at Alexandria. Arca's gonna be playing Lorville. That's gonna be a pretty good little scrimmage. Cecilia at Kaplan. Uh Gator and Centerville's at Highland Baptist. That's a nice little trio, probably all playing each other like kind of little rot round robin. New Iberia at St. Ed's. New Iberia taking on a big team right there, maybe seeing what they got going on. Port Barry at Oberlin and uh North Central at Avoyal. So that's tomorrow night scrimmage. If you uh you know you couldn't get out tonight to watch a scrimmage and you want to catch one tomorrow night. Scrimmage and jamboree is a little different. Scrimmage, you know, if you make a bad play, maybe the coach will come out on the field and kind of talk, talk them up. You know, controlled scrimmage. Yeah, controlled. You know, next next week when you play a jamboree, the coaches are gonna stay on the sidelines. No, that's exactly right. So the jamboree is a little more game-like than the scrimmages.
SPEAKER_05And also tonight you're gonna go check out in Opalousis at Donald Gardner Stadium VC at OC.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, talk to both coaches this week. They're excited to kind of see what they got. VC was actually had a had a um article posted today that more people voted to see them make a deeper playoff run than any other team in the Cadiana. No one more surprised about that than head coach Brock Prejong. Indeed. Yes, indeed. Uh I mean, he knows he's got a talented group, but you know, you're one injury away when you're a small school like that, you know, kids playing both ways. Uh it it everything's gotta go right for you to make a deep playoff run. So, but both coaches, both teams uh excited. You know, I'm I teach at Opalousis Catholic. The kids were all talking about it like it. I mean, the stands are gonna be filled for a scrimmage. You know, everybody's excited to go see some football. And and it's not like in practice you're just kind of wrapping up, trying not to hurt anybody. Yeah, you're gonna have to tackle them tonight. You're gonna have to put them on the ground. Those running backs are not just gonna stop when you touch them.
SPEAKER_05Yep, and then uh new head coach at Opalousis Catholic, Kent Mason. Yeah. Excited to see what his team is gonna have, too. So we'll mention Blaine Barrio right now, Blaine Barrio Law Firm. Phone number 337-989-1212. And if you're in pain, call Blaine.
SPEAKER_02You know, any kind of little accident, whatever, you know, someone uh a distracted driver, uh maybe maybe a big truck, 18-wheeler, heard at work. That's it. Anything can come up. You can call Blaine.
SPEAKER_05I know you you go back all the way to high school? All the way to high school. Blaine Blaine and I went to St. Thomas More. He's a couple of years younger than me. Uh got to know him real well, and um he's a good guy, does a great job with what he does, one of the best around. So if you're in pa in pain, call Blaine 337-989-1212. And you're gonna be dealing with him.
SPEAKER_02It's not this like mega law firm where where you you don't know who you're gonna be talking to. You're gonna be talking to an associate. Yep. You you you never meet the big guy. When you go deal with Blaine Barrio, you're gonna be working with Blaine Barrio.
SPEAKER_05Ain't no doubt about it. So we'll uh bring you a little bit more about the scrimmages. Also, cross-country about to get started, and you know, heat, acclimation, and the train are so important with keeping these high kids hydrated. I know they'll probably take hydration breaks for a long, a long while into the football season to make sure those kids stay healthy.
Fantasy Draft Strategy With Josh Thomas
SPEAKER_05But right now, we're gonna switch gears, get to our football segment, and not just football, fantasy football. I know everybody's excited about it and people have been blowing you up about a little fantasy football.
SPEAKER_02Absolutely. You know, you you love the Saints and you you wonder like how many of these Saints players can I get on my league and my team and all that stuff. Stick with your head, not your heart. So we're gonna go to the expert, uh Josh Thomas, and see what he has to say.
SPEAKER_05Had a great interview with him. Here we go. All right, joined here by Josh Thomas as we do a little fantasy football review and talk about man, fantasy football. I know it's huge in the Acadiana area. I know my partner here, Charlie Jobert, is a part of a league. I am not a part of a league, but thinking about getting into one, I know there's a lot of different options. So we are joined by Josh Thomas today, a fantasy football expert, right, Josh?
SPEAKER_04I mean, first off, I mean, calling me a fantasy expert, you know, you know, that might be a little generous. You know, I've been doing it for a long time, you know, and I am the reigning, you know, champ um, you know, in our league, you know, and I've had my name on the trophy more than anybody else. So at least for one more year, I guess I could pretend that I know what I'm talking about.
SPEAKER_05There you go, man. As far as the raging rookies, you dominate that league. I know. So let's talk about a little bit about your league. I know there are so many leagues in the Acadiana area where guys and girls get together and um you know have a great time with it, and it's really competitive. So talk a little bit about the raging rookies first, Josh.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, I mean, um this is actually our 15th uh season of the Raging Rookies. We're we're a 10 team uh keeper league, you know, and most of us uh in the league have been doing it together for for the whole 15 years. You know, at this point, you know, it it's really become uh about a lot more than just fantasy football. You know, draft night for us, you know, is a is a fun night, you know, that we all look forward to every year. We get everybody together still, we put the big draft board up, uh, you know, we eat, there's a lot of trash talking, you know, and everybody pretty much leaves thinking, you know, they have the best the best team. Uh I think, you know, after 15 years, you know, there's there's definitely a lot of history there. You know, you remember you remember the championships, uh, you know, but you also remember the terrible trades, the horrible draft picks, uh and all the times somebody's talked way too much trash and then you know finished at the bottom. Uh so it you know, it's just a lot of fun. That's I think that's probably what what kept the league going this long. You know, it's competitive, but at the end of the day, uh, you know, it's really just an excuse for us all to get together and and have a good time. You know, it pretty much consists of uh, you know, family of mine and and really close friends um that that we kind of started with back in the day. Um and so we have a lot of fun with it and it it does get competitive and um and so yeah, it's just a fun time.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, and and I know everybody in your league wants to win. I know you guys have some trophies and different things like that, but what what happens if you lose in your league?
SPEAKER_04Yeah, so one thing we we've done probably I think it was the last 10 years, uh, is kind of made sure that nobody wants to finish last. You know, when we first started the league, you know, since I have I was the commissioner, I kind of started the league. I used to host the draft every year. Uh, and I would have everyone come over to my house. I cook for everybody, and then I'd have to clean up, you know, everything afterwards. But after a few years, we kind of started noticing um, you know, a problem. You know, we found that, you know, somebody was kind of having a terrible season and knew they weren't gonna be maybe making the playoffs. They kind of started checking out. You know, yeah, they they wouldn't they wouldn't care as much, they weren't working the waiver wire, they weren't paying as much attention, um, you know, because they really I guess didn't have anything left to play for. And so we we kind of decided we needed to give everybody, you know, a reason to kind of stay competitive uh all the way through. And that's kind of when we came up with the with this rule that we had that you know whoever finishes last, uh, they pretty much have to host the next year's draft. They gotta cook for everybody, they gotta clean up after everybody leaves and everything. And and to tell you the truth, I mean the rule, the rule really works. Yeah, you know, you might be eliminated from the playoffs, but when you're staring and having to cook for nine guys and and and have everybody over and clean up in August, you know, suddenly that week 13 waiver wire pickup kind of becomes important. Uh and actually, we just had our draft. Charlie, you want to tell us whose house it was at this year?
SPEAKER_01Well, I I as as people know, it's uh Charlie Joe Brett jumping in here that that you've got your name on the trophy the most often at the top, and I might have my name the most often at the bottom. I host a lot and people start calling in like with menu requests, what they want me to cook and whatnot. So, Mr. Thomas, as our fantasy football expert, um, what kind of advice do you have for people that might be drafting this weekend?
SPEAKER_04Yeah, so uh, I mean, I guess the biggest thing, you know, I tell people, you know, whether they're new to it or not, really is, you know, don't just strictly draft off the ranking sheet, right? Like uh the ranking sheet's really useful. You know, I use them too, but like fantasy football is really about finding value where you can. You know, if there's a run on quarterbacks or tight ends, you know, you don't have to panic and just take one that you don't really love just because everybody else is doing it. You know, you can kind of wait, pick up some running backs or receivers that fall to you. Uh, but probably one of the biggest uh advantages, especially in our league, because we've been doing it a while, is just is knowing uh knowing your league, knowing who you're drafting against. Uh, you know, we've been playing together for a while, so I know certain guys are gonna reach for quarterbacks early. I know certain guys like really love rookies. Uh I know there's certain players that somebody's probably gonna take, you know, way sooner than what their ranking says. Uh and you you normally can use all of that, you know. I I like to for myself, I like to always make sure I add a lot of depth at running back and receiver. Obviously, we know every year injuries are gonna happen, players are gonna disappoint, you know, and somebody, you know, you draft in those later rounds, round 10, round twelve, is is probably gonna end up starting for you at some point. Uh and so a lot of times it's you know, you can't just think, oh, well the first eight, nine, ten rounds are over, and it it doesn't really matter at that point. You know, I think the last thing I would probably say is you know, you don't you don't win your fantasy league at the draft, right? Like you can definitely hurt yourself there, but championships are usually won during the season. You know, you gotta work that waiver wire, you gotta make some trades, you gotta pay attention to to injuries and opportunities. Uh, and sometimes really you have to be willing to move on from guys that you were just wrong about and draft it and and let them go and quit playing them. Um but you know, the draft kind of gives you that starting point, but what you do with the team after that is usually what wins the league.
SPEAKER_01Well, I usually go with my heart. You know, I love the Saints part of a proud who that nation. I usually just pick a bunch of Saints. Is that a pretty solid move, or would you say the Saints have limited people you should draft?
SPEAKER_04Yeah, I mean, there's some obviously worth uh drafting. I mean, obviously, uh I actually uh went with Chris Olave uh you know in the third round of our draft this year. Uh, you know, a big reason for that is is what we saw um, you know, once Tyler, Tyler got in there and started playing last year with him. You know, Olave finished the season with like 100 catches for 1,100 yards and nine touchdowns. And and most of that with Shaw and 10 games that they played together. I mean, he had like 66 catches for I think 780 yards and six touchdowns. You know, in the last four of those, or last three of those games, um, you know, he finished with 24 catches, 350 yards, and four touchdowns. And that's pretty that's pretty impressive considering you know, Tyler was just a rookie and and learning how to play quarterback in the NFL, you know. Um so obviously, you know, there's some upside there. I think I think they're gonna come, they're gonna come back, they got some chemistry this year. Tyler got another season um you know under him now in the same offense. And and I think it can only get better. Um I think the big thing with with you know Saints and stuff is you know, you can't just reach on Saints because you're a Saints fan, right? Like that's hard to do around here because like everybody wants the Saints on their fantasy team. You want to be able to pull for them on Sunday at the same time that you're pulling for the Saints. Uh but fantasy football really doesn't care who you're pulling for on Sunday. You know, so if a Saints player falls to you and the value's there, obviously take them. Uh, you know, I think there's some others that you know later in the draft are are good upside picks that that could pay off uh for you. But you know, drafting Saints players as fantasy, you know, you know, draft fan draft Saint players at fantasy football value and not Saints fans value is what really you should know.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, you gotta definitely uh select if you want to win with with your head and not your heart. So that definitely that is definitely how you win leagues. So I'm gonna keep an eye on my partner here, Charlie Jobert, as he competes in the Raging Rookies. And we'll be back in touch with you, Josh. We'd love to kind of hear how the season's going and get maybe some more advice during the season. So we appreciate your time here on the Kitty and the Sports Network, and uh we'll be back in touch with you.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, I appreciate it, guys. Have a good one.
SPEAKER_05All right, Josh. Thanks.
Tailgates Sponsors And The Hogs
SPEAKER_05All right, great interview there. And wulda, coulda, coulda. Yeah, maybe next year, maybe this year. Maybe this year. Why not you? Why not us?
SPEAKER_02This trophy stays on my mantle right there by my TV. You know, you get it for a year when you lose the league. And when it's not up there, my wife's like, Where's the trophy? I'm like, Well, I don't lose every year. She likes the trophy. Yeah, she wants the trophy all the time.
SPEAKER_05And I know there's a lot of people out there ready for some fantasy football, ready for some NFL. So gonna be a great season. Everybody's really excited. So we've got some great giveaways. We've got some sponsors. We're gonna be sending you out doing a little tailgate, and hopefully we can me and Chris can join you every now and then. But let's talk first about our tailgate sponsor.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, when when we go and hit four or five tailgates, we're basically gonna rank them. I'm gonna come up with the best tailgate. I'm gonna give them a nice gift certificate to Mikey's Specialty Meets and Crawley, uh, so they can kind of replenish, replenish the old ice chest or whatever, get ready, uh, get ready for the next week's tailgates. That's a great little store out in Crawley, got all kind of stuff uh in there. Anything you would need for a get-together, football, you know, anything on the weekend, you barbecue in a great little uh spot, Mikey's Specialty Meets and Crawley.
SPEAKER_05Yep, and our studio sponsor here, Barcheck Spine and Joint, David Barchek, outstanding uh at what he does, and his wife, a big time member of the swimming community, Ms. Colleen Barcheck, another one of our Cola uh swim team, and she is our swim sponsor, swimming actually getting started September 8th on Tuesday at Earl J. Chris Pool. So we're gonna bring you all of those results as well. So the Barchecks, thank you so much for your sponsorship.
SPEAKER_02And they yeah, they do they do a great job. I know I I had a compressed disc injury from a fall, uh, and they, you know, they brought me in, they have the x-rays and everything right there in the uh in in on house and showed me how my discs were all compressed. And after two or three months of of treatment, another x-ray showed me how they had all kind of gotten back to normal. So uh they do a great job in there, and they got, I would say, probably two or three chiropractors in there. Uh so you're not gonna see David every time, but you're gonna see somebody that's gonna take care of you.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, no doubt about it. And we'll um we have some of our awards for other sports that we're gonna talk about next week as they are coming up, but one big one that we are really excited about. We talk about recognizing those that normally don't get that recognition. The quarterback don't throw for all those yards, the running back don't run through those holes for 300 yards and s and touchdowns without the hogs.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, and when I went to Fan Day, I I got to meet all the UL linemen, and I told them about our segment where we celebrate the hogs, and they were all fired up about that. And uh quite a few of those guys were like, Oh, I've been following you stuff on social media and stuff too. So shout out to the uh the hogs, uh the Cajun hogs, basically. Yeah, when we give uh a lineman of the week at the game of the week, basically, that's gonna be the hog, and that comes to us from uh Cajun Family Tradition. So they you know they put out the uh tasso and uh sausage and roux and different things like that. Uh y'all ever had Cajun Family Traditions?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, they're in this area. They're they're in the wholesale and not a church point. I was gonna say maybe um we'll get some product for y'all next time y'all come in. Charlie would be excited about that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That was a nice Carly Judy shirt you had on in that picture, too, earlier. Oh, well, thank you. Uh one of my buddies got that for me.
SPEAKER_05Speaking of her, local fight this Saturday, right? Saturday. So wish her good luck, man. Hopefully she can go get it as she continues to rise in the UFC.
SPEAKER_02Man, we look we're a little MMA hotbed here in Lafayette, so that that's a whole nother story. That's a whole nother show, maybe.
SPEAKER_05We can do that. We can talk a little bit about that. And then our championship sponsor, and we're bringing our producer Chris Logan again to talk a little bit about Evangeline Bank and Trust.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, um Mr. Wayne over there, the whole crew over there can really come in and and help you, help your business. Uh personally, they they help me. Uh the Chris Logan Media Building here, uh helped by Evangeline State Bank. Uh so um, you know, you can go and see them, they're mainly out of They got a location in Lafayette right off of Congress Street, Crowley, Opalousis, and a very great local community bank. So if you want to stay local, Evangeline Bank is who you need to go and check out. No doubt.
SPEAKER_02No stock options, no uh no Wall Street. You you you walk in there, even the Lafayette location, you're dealing with someone that's gonna know your name.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, whenever we worked everything up for the building here, we did it on uh on a handshake. There it is. Awesome. We did it on a handshake. And uh never had that in a while. And it was it was good. Good stuff, good people on that for sure.
SPEAKER_02That's our championship sponsor, our number one sponsor, so we appreciate you guys.
SPEAKER_05I mean, we're in the you know, the bar check spine and joint studio here with lights on us. We're looking good. If we if we didn't have this, we'd be in the back of my pickup truck doing this. Uh that's correct. So, Chris making us look good. We appreciate it. Hopefully, we look good. We appreciate it, and uh, we appreciate all of our sponsors and and all of those people when we told them about what we're doing. We're just so excited, you know, the cross-country swimming. Those sports that normally don't cross country with swimming, volleyball that normally don't get that recognition. The hogs normally don't get that recognition. That's what we're about. We're about some great stories, and there are so many here in the uh uh Acadiana area. So we're proud and excited to be able to bring them to you. And boy, we're about to start getting some results with the jamborees getting started next week. Cross country's gonna be out there running, swimming's about to get into the pool, and volleyball, football, jamborees. We want to cover and bring those stories together.
SPEAKER_02I want to re doubt reach out to some football coaches uh this week upcoming week and just ask them how their scrimmages went. So that'll be a good uh talking point next week, also.
SPEAKER_05Yes, and um last commercial, Charlie, Southern Home.
SPEAKER_02Well, our fantasy football expert, again, we've reached out to a lot of our friends, uh Josh Thomas, uh fantasy football expert slash uh sponsor, uh friend of the show. Uh he has a great company, uh, mainly home renovations, you know, those little to-do lists that you have, you know, honeydo lists, two major renovations, uh just kind of an overall handyman, can do a little bit of plumbing, a little bit of electrical, uh anything you need done. So he kind of says, no job too big, no job too small. Uh so Josh Thomas uh with Southern Home, you need anything, any kind of uh repair done at your house, call him, he'll give you a free estimate, tell you exactly how much it's gonna cost, tell you exactly when he can start. You know, a lot of a lot of uh contractors can't tell you those things. So let me uh give you his number. It's 337-652-9880, Josh Thomas with Southern Home.
SPEAKER_05And we want to continue to do some interviews with coaches and with kids. The number of views we've gotten on some of the kids that we've put out there, some of these athletes, you know, on all of our social medias from Facebook to Instagram, the views have been really something to see. And also talking about it.
SPEAKER_02The big big D1 prospects, I I imagine you know it's got to be circulating through some other coaches. You know, they might be verbally committed somewhere, but there's some other coaches out there on there on their wish list.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, yep. And uh the Ligio Insurance Coach's corner next week, who we got?
Next Week Preview And Final Thoughts
SPEAKER_02Shane Savoie, offensive coordinator at uh St. Thomas More, been there over 25 years. If I could tell you the amount of jobs he's passed up, he just he just loves St. Thomas More. He went to school there, he played quarterback there. Um he just loves the Cougars, basically. And um, you know, one day, one day that that the patience will pay off, I believe, one day. Um, but he he leads that probably the most prolific offense in the area. Uh he goes and speaks all at all these uh coaches clinics all over the country. Run and gun offense. He says run and gun and gun some more and then run a little bit. So uh he he'll be able to break down uh the offense. I mean, produces D1 quarterbacks every year. Yep. Um so he'll be able to talk to us about he's got a little quarterback battle, you know, going on with some some younger kids, but uh I I love it whenever he he'll pull up a sophomore or something like that, and then you got a three-year starter uh uh on your your hands, they're going to Georgia Tech, they're going to old mess, they're they're going, you know, some big time programs.
SPEAKER_05No doubt. When you talk about these big-time programs, that competition brings out the best in everybody, and it starts with competing with your own teammates. You gotta you gotta put the the best out there and they open it up to everybody in some of those spots. You gotta be ready to go. And a lot of times in big time programs, you gotta wait your turn, junior and senior, before you can get on that field, and not just at St. Thomas More and a lot of the big time programs we have in the Acadiana area. Speaking of that, Pick'em getting close now, the Dr. St. Pierre Dentistry Pick'ems. Y'all better start doing a little research, guys. I'm telling you.
SPEAKER_02Oh, oh, I'm I'm getting I'm getting into it. And game one, you know, turtling St. Thomas More. So we'll we'll get we'll get some good inside information from both of those coaches because we hope to have Coach Corville on also.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, me, you, Chris, and Dr. St. Pierre will throw in some Pick'em support. Really looking forward to that. We'll have a lot more next week as things start getting ramped up. We got scrimmages, we got jamborees, we got swim meets, we've got cross country, we've got the raging cajuns about to get going. So we appreciate those that tuned in. You can catch us on all of our social media for sure. And we want to leave you with this, athletes, before we go, remember this scoreboards are turned off, records are broken, championship banners eventually fade and collect dust. But the impact you make on your teammates, the way you represent your family, and the way you serve your school, the example you leave in your community, that's gonna last forever. Thank you for joining us on the Acadiana Sports Network podcast. I'm Eric Mouton for Charlie Jobert, our producer Chris Logan. Everyone talks about who scored. We'll keep talking about who mattered. Go out, make an impact, and bring us great stories. We'll see you again next Thursday at six o'clock.