Slidell enters second season under Scobel with high hopes

Slidell showed that it could be competitive in District 6-5A a year ago.

Now, there is stability and that figures to figure prominently in 2022.

Highly respected Malter Scobel took over the program as Interim coach in 2021 for Larry Favre, now the principal at Slidell, and now Scobel is the permanent head coach.

“They made it official in December and we started in January,” Scobel said. “It is more for the kids and they all which way the program is going. I was an Interim head coach at Hammond and it was tough without having a permanent title.”

Scobel has previous experience as a head coach at Covington and at Hammond and in five seasons, Scobel has a 26-26 record.

The Tigers were competitive in 2021, going 4-6 with some very tough losses, including a one-point loss to Archbishop Rummel.

Most encouraging is that all four wins came in District 6-5A and the Tigers look to be in the hunt for the district title in 2022.

“Ponchatoula was the best team and St. Paul’s was right next to them,” Scobel said. “They were by far ahead of everyone else. Everyone else was close. We feel we can be more competitive than last year.”

Offensively, the biggest loss is running back Tamaj Hoffman, a first team All-District player last season who is now at Delta State. Hoffman also played some on defense.

The new starting running back is junior Trevel Watts (5-7, 185) while senior Austin Bates (5-10, 190) is the fullback.

“Tamaj was our go-to guy, going both ways as an all-district player,” Scobel said. “He will be tough to replace.”

Most importantly, senior quarterback Luke Guidry (5-11, 175) returns to lead the offense.

“Having Luke back is huge,” Scobel said. “He had a tough competition in the spring and earned the job. Only having three starters back on offense, it is important to have our quarterback returning.”

Also back is senior wide receiver Jahyde Williams (5-11, 160).

Williams will be joined by senior Mason Stringer (5-7, 150) and sophomore Ramelo Howard (6-0, 160).

“Jahyde will be very versatile for us,” Scobel said. “He can play inside and outside for us. We have some experience but we will lean more toward running the ball.”

Up front, senior Ronnie West (6-0, 265) is the only returning starter.

He will be joined by senior Spencer Goertz (5-10, 250), along with four juniors in Mehki Gill (6-1, 275), Xavier Ratcliff (6-4, 330), Joshua Haaga (6-0, 270) and Jahki Owens (5-11, 235).

“We will be big up front,” Scobel said. “We have to be able to possess the ball, control the clock and not turn it over and play good defense.”

The strength of the Tigers is on defense, where eight starters return.

The stars are senior linebacker Kendall Carter (5-10, 205), a first team All-District performer a year ago, along with senior defensive back Cameron Ducre (5-8, 160), who is also a very good kick return man.

“Kendall is outstanding and he will play some running back as well,” Scobel said. “He did not play in three of the six games that we lost last year.”

Also returning at linebacker is senior Jordan Miller (5-10, 170) while the other linebacker should be senior Jake Fiore (5-10, 175).

Joining Ducre in the secondary are seniors Will Davis (5-9, 180) and Elijah Harrison (5-9, 165), along with juniors Dwayne Mills (6-0, 175) and Jordan Jacobs (6-2, 170) and sophomore Austin Buell (5-8, 150).

“We have four players back in the secondary so that should be a strength for us,” Scobel said. “We also have some size up front.”

The defensive line features returning senior starters Gavin Dassau (6-1, 215) and Cole Koretzky (5-11, 215) at the end spots while the tackles include sophomore Isaiyah Gallien (5-10, 250), junior Jerimiah Charles (6-0, 360) and senior Rayquann Benson (5-11, 265).

Senior Mia Decker (5-5, 135) is back as the kicker.

The schedule opens with a bang, on October 1 in New Orleans against Jesuit, which reached the Division I state championship game last season.

After a road trip to Central, the Tigers will entertain Bogalusa.

“All three are playoff teams from a year ago,” Scobel said. “Jesuit just missed winning a state championship. Bogalusa has a really good athlete at quarterback and Coach Cyril Crutchfield is a state championship coach. Sid Edwards does a great job at Central and they have Hutch Gonzales running their offense now.”

District 6-5A play begins on September 23 at home against St. Paul’s before a trip to Mandeville. Next are games at Hammond at home against Ponchatoula. After hosting Covington, the Tigers close at Fontainebleau and at home against Northshore.

“The top two will come down a little but I still think Ponchatoula is the team to beat with St. Paul’s right with them,” Scobel said. “Covington is experienced and tough and Northshore was much improved last year. Craig Jones will have an impact on Mandeville. Fontainebleau is improved. Hammond has skill. There are no easy games. I think it will be a little more of a level playing field.”

With a good defense and a year of working under Scobel under their belt, the Tigers will be a factor in what figures to be a very competitive district in 2022.

“We don’t have big numbers,” Scobel said. “That is always a concern. We did not have all our starters for the first four games last season and we lost three of those four. When we got everyone together, we won four of five. If everyone is playing, we can compete for a district title. We’re bigger, stronger, faster.”

Click here for more CCS Prep Football team previews (including archives of past season previews).