Sacred Heart: Trojans look to move forward with new leadership

By: TRACEY JAGNEAUX
Sports Editor

With the start of the 2015 football season, the Sacred Heart Trojans are moving forward with a new head coach and a new attitude. The Trojans will be guided this year by first year head coach Josh Harper.
Harper brings with him a renewed sense of confidence that will hopefully put the Trojans in position for a playoff appearance.
“Our goal this season is to build character and become more disciplined in our approach to the game,” said Harper. “I have only been on the job for about three full weeks, so we have not been able to put all of the packages on offense and defense in.”
“But, I feel that if we have confidence in what we are trying to accomplish, things will fall into place.”
The Trojans will need that character and confidence going into this upcoming season, as their schedule is filled with a number of teams with great football traditions.
Sacred Heart will begin non-district play with an up and coming Iota squad that is hungry to get back to the days of glory.
The Trojans will face off against traditional playoff contender Port Barre.
Rounding out non-district schedule, Sacred Heart will travel on a Thursday night to face off against Houma Christian, a team that the Trojans scrimmaged last fall.
District play for the Trojans is not for the faint of heart. Sacred Heart will play in district 5-2A, arguably the toughest district in the state for any class.
The Trojans open district play against Jeanerette. The Tigers have been down the last few years, but have a plethora of athletes at their disposal.
A Thursday night date with long time rival Opelousas Catholic in Opelousas follows the Jeanerette game. The Vikings are coming off a 10-2 season and a quarterfinal playoff appearance.
The vaunted Notre Dame Pioneers come calling in week six. Notre Dame was a semi-finalist in the Division II playoffs last season and is a perennial power no matter what class they reside in.
The Loreauville Tigers will travel to Ville Platte in week seven. Loreauville is another team that has loads of talent every year and are playoff contenders.
A trip to West St. Mary in week eight will still bring its challenges to the Trojans. West St. Mary, like Jeanerette, is a team that has a number of athletes and can put up big numbers on offense.
Division III state runners-up, Catholic of New Iberia will host Sacred Heart in week nine. The Panthers are coming off of one of the best seasons they have had in a long time. Coach Brent Indest will have Catholic running on all cylinders by that time.
In the final district contest for Sacred Heart, the Delcambre Panthers will come to town in what could be an important district game. The Panthers are coming off a four win season in 2014.
“It will be a challenge for us,” stated Harper. “But if we can stay healthy and continue to improve every day, I know we can compete. The coaches have seen a tremendous amount of improvement and positive attitude. As long as we can continue to grow in those two areas, we will be ready for any challenge we may face this year.”