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Chris Thomas returns ... along with nearly everyone else. - (Scott Threlkeld / The Times-Picayune)
Unlike many high school coaches, Salmen?s Jerry Leonard isn?t one to downplay his team?s chances.
If he thinks the Spartans should be a state championship contender, he?ll say so.
And even if Leonard weren?t so inclined, it would be hard for him to contain his enthusiasm about Salmen?s prospects for being just that.
?It?s a long time between now and December,? he said. ?But I really like this group.
?If we can avoid injuries, which any team has to do and especially if we can jell as a group, then the sky?s the limit.?
Leonard?s confidence is well-founded.
The Spartans return 18 starters from last year?s team, which started with two overtime losses but finished 7-5, and shared the District 7-4A championship with Franklinton and Lakeshore before being eliminated in the second round of the playoffs by Breaux Bridge.
And that was a Salmen team which was uncommonly shy on senior talent, especially compared to the previous three seasons when the Spartans entered the playoffs seeded sixth, fifth and second.
This team has at least 10 players Leonard sees as capable of playing at the next level, plus junior running back Chris Thomas, who gained 1,646 yards and scored 18 touchdowns last year as a sophomore.
?Last year was our rebuilding year,? Thomas said. ?It was a learning experience for us.
?We?ve got our swagger back, now. We all know what we want and we?re eager to get the season started.?
At 5-foot-9, 190 pounds, Thomas is a low-to-the-ground runner with a knack for following his blockers ? sometimes.
?It?s a challenge blocking for him,? senior center Scott Landry said. ?He bounces all around the holes sometimes, because he?s so aggressive.
?But if you make the cutback lanes for him, he?s going to score.?
Thomas might have trouble matching last year?s rushing total, but only because junior quarterback Raymond Crochet is back after having to share time, which Leonard acknowledges might have hindered his progress, and he has a solid group of receivers, led by senior Chuck Baker, who is drawing comparisons to 2010 All-Stater Jamal Robinson.
?We?ve got four or five guys who can catch it,? said junior receiver Deonte? Cooper, another returning starter. ?Any of us can get into the end zone.?
The defense will begin the season minus returning All-Metro linebacker Sterling Doss, who is out with a knee injury until at least the third week.
But there?s plenty of experience elsewhere, led by senior linebacker Emmanuel Terrell, an All-District pick at defensive end last year, and senior cornerback Henry Glover, another returning All-District selection.
?We feel like we can be as good on defense as we were two or three years ago and maybe take it one step further,? Glover said. ?We?ve got a lot of speed and power in the linebackers and defensive backs.
?We?ll make big plays and stay with teams for the whole four quarters.?
The schedule is the same as last year, which means opening with a revenge game against local rival Northshore and then, for a different reason, an even bigger one against Riverside.
Bill Stubbs, who coached Salmen to their three state championships, is the Rebels? new coach.
?I know Riverside has a lot of significance to a lot of people, but honestly not to me,? said Leonard, who was an assistant under Stubbs and his successor. ?It?ll probably get blown up all out of proportion, and that?s the way it goes sometimes.
?I guess that comes with the territory.?
In fact, to the players, the Franklinton game looms larger. The Spartans haven?t beaten the Demons since 2008, including the humiliating 60-0 ?Snow Game? in the 2009 semifinals.
?I don?t think any of us will be happy unless we beat Franklinton before we?re out of here,? junior linebacker Joey McLeod said. ?But all of our games seem big to us.?
And that, Leonard said, is the way he wants it ? challenging opponents, such as Karr and St. Paul?s ? and high expectations.
?We aim to be good,? he said. ?I don?t know of any program?s whose goal is to be mediocre.
?Now I will be the first one to wholeheartedly tell you that football teaches a lot of life skills. But you play the game to win, and that?s what we?re trying to do.?
Source: http://highschoolsports.nola.com/news/article/-2591556679909248043
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