by Taylor Williams
February 17, 2010 - New Orleans has never been more alive than right now, in February 2010. With the Saints’ improbable victory in the Super Bowl coinciding with the start of Mardi Gras, the Big Easy has once again become the center of national media attention. As the gridiron offseason settles in, the Saints will undoubtedly be enjoying some serious rest and relaxation, with a fair amount of celebration thrown in too. However, colleges and high schools throughout Louisiana are doing the exact opposite as they prepare for another year of intense, gladiatorial action in the fall. Many teams are looking to next season as the vehicle for restoring their programs to greatness, or as the mechanism for reaching unprecedented success. One such program is Eleanor McMain, an uptown New Orleans 3A school whose gridiron accomplishments have been sub-par as of late. However, under the tutelage and leadership of coaches Kevin Roussell and Larry Williams, the Mustangs hit the .500 mark this year, a seemingly mundane accomplishment that nonetheless has serious implications. Losing some very close games to divisional rivals and narrowly missing a winning season, McMain players and fans recognized this as a momentous year for their squad. Led by their “sleeper” running back Darrell Sherman and dynamic quarterback Brandon LeBeau, McMain laid a solid foundation for their program to rebuild upon, simultaneously announcing to their opponents that they were a force to be reckoned with.
The Mustang offense retains the majority of its starters next season, including offensive tackle Calvin Hubble, and introduces a new set of young running backs in Joshua Rounds and Stanley Johnson. The biggest challenge will be replacing the defensive backfield, a solution to which may be doubling LeBeau as strong safety to capitalize on his athleticism and on the field awareness. Doing so would allow the Mustangs to retain their traditional cover 2 backfield formation, accompanied and bolstered by a solid set of linebackers in the 3-4 formation. Regardless of how the coaching staff addresses these issues, they know their players now possess the confidence to transition successfully. McMain’s ability to continue this turnaround next season also affords the individual players the opportunity to boost their standings amongst college scouts. Coach Roussell, a longtime coach at Forshey High School, has worked with the big D1 coaches before, including former LSU and current national championship coach Nick Saban. Coach Saban ingrained in him the philosophy that every school should be given some attention in terms of recruitment, a belief which resonates deeply throughout Roussell’s program. As a result, we may be seeing some of these names emerge out of nowhere on the college scene in the next couple years. A key factor in accomplishing this however, will be McMain’s ability to win. Plain and simple, winning programs draw more attention and more support, both internally and externally. Now that the Mustangs have had a solid taste of mediocrity, posting a winning season is a very plausible goal. And when that happens, the competitive environment that is Louisiana high school football will add yet another contender. So let all us New Orleanians enjoy this brief sense of unity that the Saints have brought us, because come next fall, we’re back to serious competition.
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