SMU signee: Joey Guedry playing in Louisiana All Star game

[Stampede]

All-Star coaches enjoy experience

By WILLIAM WEATHERS
Advocate sportswriter
Published: Jul 21, 2006


Advocate staff photo by Arthur D. Lauck
Brusly's Chris Butler runs a practice drill for the West earlier this week.

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It doesn’t take long for either of the head football coaches in this year’s Louisiana High School Coaches Association All-Star football game to extol the virtues of the event.

Taking into consideration that today’s edition — the 69th annual — will be the event’s finale, their observations are both poignant and heartfelt.

“To meet the other kids you’ve coached against is just an awesome experience,” said East All-Star coach Brad Bradshaw of Bastrop, who last served as an assistant in 1999. “It’s just real rewarding as a coach to have this opportunity.”

Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at LSU’s Tiger Stadium.

“It’s always been a pleasure,” said West All-Star coach Mike Mowad of Breaux Bridge, who also served as an assistant in the game in 1996. “I love our association (LHSCA), I love working with young kids. I love the camaraderie with our coaches from other schools, exchanging ideas. Everything we have is on a positive note.”

That goes for the past three days leading up the game where the East holds a decided 39-27-2 advantage in the series, including a 21-14 victory a year ago.

Aside from the stifling heat that has been a staple of most practices, the six practice sessions — some of which where held at LSU’s Indoor Practice Facility — have provided each coach with enough reason to believe the game can be competitive with enough intrigue for everyone.

“Both sides have a great bunch of kids that want to be in this game,” said Bradshaw, who guided Bastrop to a 14-0 record and the school’s first state title in 76 years with a 41-12 win over Breaux Bridge.

Said Mowad: “They’re all good athletes. They wouldn’t be here if there weren’t. Therefore you try to mold them into a team, mold them into your philosophy as a coaching staff.”

Translation for the West: run the football.

The West features three offensive lineman in excess of 300 pounds with an array of running backs led by SMU signee Chris Butler of Brusly.

Class 2A All-Stater Al Lewis of Red River will start at quarterback and alternate with DeQuincy’s Tate Woodward.

“We’ve got some big hogs up there,” Mowad said of his offensive linemen. “Hopefully with the running backs we have we can control the ball a little bit.”

St. Louis place-kicker/punter Ross Thevenot, a Tulane signee and Class 3A All-State choice, gives the West another weapon, Mowad said.

“It’s a football game,” said Mowad, voted the Class 4A Coach of the Year. “You try and avoid the big plays. When they have the ball try and make them work on every down. When you have the ball, control the ball.”

Class 4A All-State linebacker Jeremy Fontenette of St. Martinville headlines a West defense that also features linebacker Trae Fitzgerald and defensive lineman Casey Broussard of Sulphur — a pair of Class 5A honorable mention choices.

The East has the greatest concentration of local/area selections with 15, including three (Toren Dixon, Jonathan Hollins and Darrell Glasper II) of Class 3A state champion Redemptorist.

“All the kids from Redemptorist have stood out,” Bradshaw said. “The work habits of the cornerback (Glasper) are just tremendous. The defensive end (Hollins) plays hard and is a great football player.”

St. Amant quarterback Joey Guedry will start and direct the East’s I-formation offense with help from West Ouachita’s Tommy Toomey.

They will hand off to either Ferriday’s Montago Tennessee, Hammond’s Matt Betts and Parkview Baptist’s David Armstrong. Class 3A All-State wide receiver Kendrick Walls of Capitol, a Southeastern Louisiana signee, will team with Dixon, a Rice signee and Hunter Perryman of Woodlawn to form a solid receiving corps.

Hollins is part of an East defense that also has Class 3A All-State selections Stephen Hundley and Lance Meche — both of Notre Dame of Crowley.

“I think both sides should be good defensively,” Bradshaw said. “It’s just a matter of who’s going to make a play offensively and not turn it over.”

Story originally published in The Advocate

[Stallion]

you meany Chris Butler not Joey Guedry,

[mrydel]

you meany Chris Butler not Joey Guedry,

tomayto tomahto

[Ponymon]

The West features three offensive lineman in excess of 300 pounds with an array of running backs led by SMU signee Chris Butler of Brusly.

Who is Chris Butler and when did he sign with SMU? He is not on the signing list on the home page.

[Pony Up]

He signed late, in March or April. Seems like a pretty impressive athlete.

[mrydel]

I bumped the info on him on the Recruiting board.

[PonyPride]

OK, you beat me to it. Thanks.