St. Martinville Tigers
2023 Record: 4-8
District: 5-3A
Head Coach: Vincent Derouen
Note: Khyrie Francisco moves from free safety to starting as quarterback.
The St. Martinville Tigers are determined to build on their 2023 season's progress as they head into the new year. Last season, the Tigers finished the regular season with a 3-7 record, including a three-game losing streak late in the year. Despite these struggles, they managed to advance to the playoffs and reached the second round.
Looking ahead, the team recognizes that closing out games will be crucial for achieving deeper postseason runs.
“We want to play late into the season,” head coach Vincent DeRouen said. “We don’t want to just be a first or second-round team. We want to be among the upper echelon teams, and that’s what they do.”
“It means a lot to finish," senior Lyndon Williams said. "You can’t win a game without finishing. We’re going in every day trying to get better at finishing games.”
The Tigers, who were extremely young last year, will return 16 starters, bringing valuable experience back to the squad. The main focus will be replacing quarterback Kaden Zenon. The team has found their answer in Khyrie Francisco, who is moving from safety back to his natural position under center.
“He was working with trainers in the offseason,” senior Makharee Narcisse said. “He did off-the-field work with guys that played quarterback. We’ve built good chemistry.”
Coach DeRouen praised Francisco’s dedication and football IQ. “He’s a student of the game. We expect great things from him because he has a good football IQ. We just have to get him into the quarterback mentality and not the free safety. If he can avoid contact, we want him to do that because we want to protect him.”
St. Martinville will open the 2024 season against the state runner-up Cecilia Bulldogs, setting the stage for a challenging start to the year.
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