St. James looks to continue success under Valdez

When thinking of St. James football, one cannot help of thinking about Rick Gaille.

My friend and late colleague spent 19 seasons as head coach the Wildcats, guiding them to a 169-72 record and three state championship game appearances. Upon departing St. James, he spent the last seven years working with us here at CrescentCitySports.com, on WGSO Radio and at WHNO-TV.

Current Wildcats head coach Robert Valdez understands and embraces the legacy Gaille left at St. James.

“We going to have Elaine Gaille here and honor Rick at our first game,” Valdez said. “He deserves the recognition for everything he meant to St. James High and our school system. He touched so many lives.”

Dwain Jenkins did a fine job at St. James before departing for his alma mater Lutcher. These days, the St. James program is under the guidance of another very good coach.

Entering his third year at St. James, Valdez has done a fine job with the Wildcats, who reached the Class 3A quarterfinals a year ago.

St. James must replace several key players who graduated, including Glenn Brown, Chase Davis, Jason Dumas, Kyren Harris, Sean Preston, DeWayne White and, most notably, Demarcus Williams.

The Wildcats return just seven starters from a year ago, including five on offense.

That group is led by junior quarterback Shamar Smith (5-11, 185). The backfield for the Wildcats should be dynamite with Smith, along with a pair of outstanding running backs who return in senior Dontaz Sterling (5-9, 210) and junior Sean LeBouef (5-9, 180).

“LeBouef and Smith are juniors while Smith is a senior,” Valdez said. “They give us a 1-2-3 punch. They are seasoned and solid. We are counting on both of them this season to do big things.”

There are two starters returning on the offensive line, including senior Daniel King (5-11, 225) and sophomore Greg Rounds (5-9, 220). The other starters up front are seniors Rahlik Fleming (5-9, 220) and Deontae Brooks (6-1, 305), along with junior Donald Nelson (6-3, 290).

“We are rather young up front,” Valdez said. “We are not as big as we would like to be but they are familiar with the system. Daniel King is the only full-time starter back. We moved Rahlik Fleming over from defense to play center.”

The wide receivers are all new starters and are all juniors, including Tyshone Williams (5-9, 185), Logan Gravois (5-10, 170) and She’N Joseph (5-10, 170).

“This is a new group,” Valdez said. “Gravois got some time last year and he will play the slot. We expect good things from him. Tyshone Williams has given us a spark. We have some freshmen there who could be good in the future. That position will be by committee.”

Only two starters return on defense.

Junior linebacker Lamon Lewis (6-0, 210) is outstanding while junior defensive back Tyler Steib (6-1, 185) may be the best player.

“It’s going to be interesting for us with so little experience,” Valdez said. “Steib has played and played well and will be good. Lamon Lewis is a team captain and should be consistent for us. We lost our entire defensive line from a year ago. We are tall up front.”

Also expected to start at linebacker are seniors Deandra Harry (6-0, 190) and Arum Joseph (5-11, 195), along with sophomore Kaleb Brown (5-9, 205). Steib is joined in the secondary by senior Tai’Rhys Smith (5-10, 175) and junior Brad Batiste (5-10, 170).

Up front, the Wildcats have nice size with seniors Craig James (6-5, 220) and Jaheim Jones (5-11, 250), along with junior Chase Geason (6-4, 230) and sophomore Savion Jones (6-5, 215). Junior DeAndre Keller (6-1, 270) should contribute as well.

“James played basketball for us,” Valdez said. “DeAndre Keller just transferred in from St. Charles Catholic and we expect him to contribute. Geason has size. Jones plays hard. We will have to rely on our team speed.

The kicking game is solid with freshman Alec Mahler (5-8, 165). As an eighth-grader, Mahler connected on 9-of-18 field goals, including a 42-yard effort, and he was 30-of-32 on extra points. Mahuler averaged 31 yards per punt and had seven downed inside the 20 and he has a great future.

The season opens with a traditional rivalry and a tough matchup at home against defending Class 1A state champion West St. John on Aug. 31. St. James won a 36-33 thriller last year as Valdez returned to Edgard to oppose his former team.

Things do not get any easier in week two as the Wildcats travel to St. James Parish rival Lutcher on Sept. 7. St. James won a tough 13-7 game over the Bulldogs a year ago. Another tough road trip follows to E.D. White Catholic in Thibodaux. St. James won a 27-21 marathon which went three overtimes a year ago.

Week four has St. James taking on Wossman at home. The Wildcats beat Wossman 19-0 last season in north Louisiana. The final non-district contest is at St. Amant. The Gators defeated St. James 41-27 last year.

“It is a brutal non-district schedule,” Valdez said. “I wonder what our athletic director was thinking? I am the athletic director! Seriously, we like playing that level of competition and it is important to play regional rivalries. West St. John may be better than last year. There’s a lot of pride in the communities in that game. Lutcher is a huge rivalry. You might as well shut down the whole parish when we play. E.D. White is good with Brandon Legendre. Wossman is huge. Then, we go to “The Pit” at St. Amant, one of the toughest places to play in the state.”

District 10-3A action begins on Oct. 5 at home against Donaldsonville before the Wildcats head to Metairie to face Haynes Academy. A showdown with defending league champion and Division II state runner-up De La Salle follows at St. James before the Wildcats host Lusher. The regular season closes with a bang at home against traditional power St. Charles Catholic. The Comets and Cavaliers each defeated St. James a year ago.

“Donaldsonville is a rivalry and it came down to the wire with them last year,” Valdez said. “De La Salle has become a monster. They just reload. Lusher has a new coach and they are up and coming and St. Charles Catholic is so well coached. If you are not disciplined and prepared, they will beat you.”

If the defense can mature early, it should be another very good season for St. James. The Wildcats won close games a year ago and will have to do so again against a formidable schedule but the Wildcats are used to winning.

“I really believe that we don’t have the luxury of sustaining injuries,” Valdez said. “If we stay healthy, we can compete. We have a lot of pride and tradition in our community. We will make mistakes and we will make plays. When the game slows down, we have to be prepared to make a run at it. We have to try to find ways to win games early. We want to be ready to make a run in the playoffs.”

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