Fisher weathers the storm, prepares for season with resilient squad

Hurricane Ida wreaked havoc on so many in South Louisiana. That was especially true in Lafitte, which took a massive hit from the storm.

Fisher High School took the brunt of that hit, with massive damage to its campus. The result was the school relocating to John Ehret High in Marrero for the last two years.

That the Gators continued to play football was a win, regardless of wins on the playing field.

Tevyn Cagins has done a terrific job of keeping his program together and guiding the Gators through figurative and literal storms.

Entering his fourth year, Cagins still has his team and school located in Marrero at a different location, still waiting for its main campus to be restored.

“It has been very hard, a real challenge, but if anyone could to it, this coaching staff, the players and the community at large can,” Cagins said. “We have very resilient people.”

While Fisher graduated some good players, there are a host of experienced seniors returning to provide real hope for the 2023 season.

Junior quarterback Nickson Thibodeaux (6-2, 195) returns to run the offense.

“Nickson is trusting himself more and he has put in the work to get bigger, stronger and faster,” Cagins said. “He will be a big prospect for us next year.”

Senior Lane Creppel (5-11, 180) returns at running back and linebacker while senior Isac Tamborella (5-10, 165) is back at running back and strong safety.

“Creppel is a senior with a lot of experience who does everything for us,” Cagins said. “He has started since his freshman year. He moved to play offense as well last year. He can play quarterback if needed. He plays shortstop in baseball.”

Senior Evan Phillips (5-9, 215) brings experience at running back and defense end as does senior Royce Mamalo (5-11, 195) at tight end and defensive end.

“Phillips has gotten a lot bigger and he is physical,” Cagins said. “Mamalo is solid and Tamborella is very strong.”

Seniors Lance LeBlanc (wide receiver/free safety), Jason Toombs Jr. (wide receiver/cornerback) and Kaleb Barient-Duplantis (5-10, 230), who plays up front on both sides of the ball, are also back.

“Lance is not very big but he has the biggest heart on our team,” Cagins said. “He had five interceptions. He wrestled at 106 pounds and was third in the state. Duplantis is a senior and a solid player.”

Other linemen include junior Julian Bourg (6-0, 167), Colby Doucet and Randy Lacrosse.

Defensively, junior Lance Defiore is the middle linebacker while Kale Parria mans an outside spot.

Other starters in the secondary are sophomore Sypher Tamborella at strong safety, along with cornerbacks Jaiven Lewis (5-6, 134 Jr.) and Damien Toups.

“We return every starter but one on defense so we expect this to be a very good unit for us,” Cagins said.

Jose Hernandez handles kicking and punting duties.

The Gators open at home against the Willow School before a trip to New Orleans to play Ben Franklin. Home games with Northeast and Albany are next before traveling to Patrick Taylor.

District 9-2A action begins at home against Thomas Jefferson before home games against Kenner Discovery and Jefferson Rise Charter. The regular season concludes at Houma Christian.

“We have some teams we can compete with,” Cagins said. “Willow School and Ben Franklin are 4A schools which can really help with power points if we can win. Kenner Discovery is very good. Patrick Taylor is a 3A school. Northeast beat us last year and Albany is good. They are all well coached in our league. The games are a coin flip anytime you step on the field.”

With a host of seniors and a return home, look for Fisher to have a better season in 2023. It is easy to pull for the Gators to do so, after all they have endured.

“This is the freshman class I started with at Fisher four years ago,” Cagins said. “We are a senior-heavy team. This is a season we have been pointing to. This team is capable of having a winning season and getting to the playoffs for the first time since 2016.”

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