Lewis begins new era at Terrebonne

It is a new era at Terrebonne.

Tyler Lewis starts his first season as the head coach of the Tigers.

Lewis, a former West St. John player and assistant coach, previously served as an assistant at Terrebonne and most recently coached at St. James. He succeeds Gary Hill, who served as head coach of the Tigers for 15 seasons.

Terrebonne reached the playoffs 11 times in 15 seasons under Hill, including a 5A quarterfinal appearance in 2018.

At West St. John, Lewis was part of a state championship team as a player and as an assistant coach so he has been part of being the best of the best and looks to bring that experience to Terrebonne.

Terrebonne are looking for a resurgence under Lewis after going just 1-6 a year ago in a season of difficulty following Hurricane Ida.

The Tigers will be young but there is talent on hand.

Five starters return on offense, led by senior quarterback Kyrin Robinson (5-9, 155).

Junior running back Jayce Johnson (511, 175) is also back to pace the running game.

At wide receiver, junior Kylan Billiot (6-4, 185) and sophomore Quincey McKay (6-2, 192) bring great size and talent to the position.

The offense line is a real strength with four starters returning, including center Wyatt Clement (5-10, 250), left guard Sean Pledger (6-2, 335), left tackle Derrick Johnson (5-9, 250) and sophomore right tackle Dane Winters (6-2, 255). The new starter is sophomore Zyon Simmons (5-10, 267) at right guard.

Six starters return on defense.

Up front, the Tigers are huge.

Junior Talan Bigham (6-3, 349) is a returning starter and he will team with freshman Julian Bigham (6-3, 349) to provide a mammoth pair of tackles. Junior Samuel Sneeze (6-1, 260) will man one end spot.

Anchoring the linebacker position is senior Joseph Firsella (5-10, 190) and he is joined by senior Kobie Jones (6-0, 235).

The secondary is a strength, with four starters returning.

That includes freshman strong safety Jalil Matthews (5-10, 170), junior weak safety Gregory Harding (5-11, 170) and senior free safety Aden Barnett (5-11, 160), along with junior corner Kavon Garner (5-10, 170). The other corner is junior Chartavius Clark (5-11, 160).

The kicker is senior Axel Munguia (6-0, 209) while the punter is freshman is Owen Oliver (5-8, 155).

The schedule opens with traditional parish rival South Terrebonne before road games at John F. Kennedy and Lakeshore.

District 7-5A play opens on September 23 at home against H.L. Bourgeois before a trip to Central Lafourche. Week six has the Tigers facing Ellender in a non-district contest before tough home games with Destrehan and East St. John. The regular season concludes on the road at Thibodaux and Hahnville.

With a new coach and with several starters back, including at quarterback, the Tigers have size and experience and confidence is high for better results and things to come in 2022.

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