by Taylor Williams
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| St. Martin's Episcopal Head Coach Frank Cazeaux |
March 30, 2010 - A common perception in football involves the mantra, “bigger is better,” an expression which is seemingly applicable to any contact sport. But while size, speed, and athleticism are the traditional building blocks of the gridiron dominators, occasionally there comes a winning team that isn’t necessarily the biggest, fastest, or most athletic. Take our beloved New Orleans Saints for example. Their offensive line is somewhat small by NFL standards yet still provided the consistent protection that allowed Drew Brees to dissect opposing backfield defenses. And their speedy running back/punt returner Reggie Bush, a Heisman trophy winner in college by virtue of his crazy speed and quickness, has had limited success as a tailback in the NFL, simply because he is no longer the fastest man on the field. Bush has revamped his entire running style to conform to the traditional north-south running style of power backs like Deuce McAllister, because the collegiate method of beating defenders to the outside simply doesn’t work on the professional level. And while the Saints undoubtedly have some of the more talented players in the league at certain skill positions (Marques Colston at wide receiver, Darren Sharper at free safety, etc), a thorough evaluation of the team does not reveal exceptional overall athleticism. So what allowed the Saints to put up big numbers all season and win the Super Bowl? As always with football, there are many factors at play, but the Saints are notable for their ability to leverage the strengths of their team. This took the form of the diversity of receivers for Brees, the depth and experience at all three areas of defense, and the aggressive play calling of Sean Payton.
The Saints represent the epitome of football success, and they have done so in an unconventional manner. Meanwhile, in Metairie, Louisiana, ten minutes away from the Superdome, the Saints of St. Martin’s Episcopal School have begun borrowing from this strategy to develop a successful program. Coming off a very respectable 8-3 season under rookie head coach Frank Cazeaux, the lesser known Saints of St. Martin’s have the blueprint for success embodied in their hometown heroes. This comes as no surprise to those who follow the program, considering that several prominent Saints players, including defensive end Will Smith and tight end Billy Miller have children enrolled at St. Martin’s. The school is fairly small, averaging around 50 students per class, and thus lacks the size and speed that characterizes the bigger, established teams. However, support and membership for the football team is on the rise, which Coach Cazeaux realizes is instrumental to the success of any program. As a former head baseball and junior varsity football coach at 5A state runner up Archbishop Rummel, Cazeaux has seen firsthand the differences and discrepancies that separate the big hitters from the lesser-knowns. These differences can definitely be defined in terms of size, speed, and athleticism, but in a game like football they don’t account for everything. Working with only his available resources in manner reminiscent of this year’s Black and Gold, Cazeaux has built a successful program in just one year and believes his team is “right around the corner,” when it comes to competing at higher levels. Led by junior linebacker Calvin Black and senior running back Parker Caronia (who rushed for over 1200 yards this past season), the St. Martin’s Saints are ready to get back to work with the goal of winning a playoff game for the first time in recent history. Much like the New Orleans Saints, who prior to this year’s Super Bowl season had won only one playoff game over the past two decades. No one expected the Black and Gold to be where they are right now, and now it’s time for the equally underrated Saints of St. Martin’s to pull off another shockingly impressive season in a highly competitive district. To figure out how to do this, they need look no further than the Superdome, just ten minutes down the road.
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