E.D. White Catholic looks to continue excellence in 2023

A consistently good football program, E.D. White Catholic won back-to-back state championships in 1968 and 1969.

While the Cardinals have been good on many occasions, that success has proven to be a bit elusive.

Kyle Lasseigne has done an outstanding job with the Cardinals, raising the program to a very high level, able to compete for a championship annually.

In the last three seasons, Lasseigne has guided E.D. White to a championship game (2021) and two semifinal appearances on the Select Division II level.

There are 11 starters returning with a heavy emphasis on offense, where eight starters are back.

It starts with senior Jake Sternfels (5-10, 180), who returns to run the veer offense.

The backfield returns senior fullback Jeffrery Diedrich (6-0, 220) and senior running back Andrew Duet (5-9, 180). The third starter is junior Ben Rodrigue (5-9, 160).

Both receivers return in senior wide receiver Paxton Lafont (6-4, 200) and tight end Phillip Hillman (6-0, 200).

Three starting offensive lineman return, including junior Zach Guin (6-0, 250), junior Hudson Oncale (5-10, 220) and senior Jacob Oncale (6-0, 220). The new starters are junior Tommy Bower (6-4, 260) and either junior Ben Blanchard (6-1, 240) or senior Foster Porche (5-9, 215).

The defense must replace eight starters.

The entire defensive line is new, including tackles Adam Talbot (6-0, 250) and senior Cohen Stagni (5-10, 220), along with ends Noah Benoit (6-2, 210 Sr.) and either Charlie Diedrich (6-0, 200) or junior Luke Trotti (6-0, 190).

At linebacker, senior Taylor Thibodaux (6-0, 210) returns to anchor the second level. He will be joined by Jax Triche (5-9, 180), along with junior Tyler Pritchard (5-11, 190) and MJ Sternfels (6-1, 180).

The secondary is where E.D. White has the most experience, featuring junior Luke Zeringue (5-10, 170) returning at cornerback and senior Matthew Escher (6-0, 180) returning at safety.

The new starter at cornerback will be either senior Ty Thibodaux (5-11, 175) or junior Evan Webre (5-10, 160) while the other safety is junior Nate Thompson (5-11, 180).

Ty Powell will handle kicking and punting duties.

The schedule opens at home against traditional rival Vandebilt Catholic before the Cardinals travel to Archbishop Hannan. Home games with Assumption and Woodlawn (Baton Rouge) are next before the Cardinals play at crosstown rival Thibodaux.

District 8-3A play begins at home against Patterson, followed by a trip to Donaldsonville. The Cardinals then host Berwick and Sam Houston. The regular season concludes at St. James.

If the Cardinals can solve their defensive issues early, there is no reason to believe that they will not make another deep playoff run, which is the norm.

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