Rivalries are what makes football great, no matter what level. Saints-Falcons in the NFL is the big one for the Who Dat Nation. This Saturday a great rivalry in the SEC takes place as LSU hosts Florida. The night before the SEC Showdown, one of the best rivalries in Louisiana high school sports will take place on YurView and CST as the Lutcher Bulldogs visit the St. James Wildcats.
The Mississippi River separates these two River Parish schools, but during game week, the locals say the Mississippi River becomes as wide as the Atlantic Ocean.
This game is talked about 365 days out of the year in St. James Parish. And on game day, school is let out early so the tailgating can begin.
St. James leads the all-time series 22-18-and-1. But Lutcher won the biggest game played between the two schools, as the Bulldogs defeated the Wildcats in the Class 3A championship game 41-14 in 2015. Lutcher would repeat as state champs in 2016 as they defeated Amite 40-36. That was the eighth state title for Lutcher.
Just how big is the St. James-Lutcher rivalry? The Southern University band will be on hand to perform at halftime.@StJamesWildcats @lutcherfootball @SU_HumanJukebox
See story. pic.twitter.com/I1gQJkGlsq
— VSN Louisiana (@VSNLouisiana) October 9, 2019
St. James hasn’t won a state title since 1979, but the folks who live in Vacherie believe this year might be the year. The Wildcats are 5-0 after beating previously unbeaten Assumption 35-7 last week. The win vaulted St. James to the top of the Class 3A poll according to the Louisiana Sports Writers Association.
St. James is led by quarterback Shamar Smith who has thrown for 618 yards and has rushed for 517 yards. He’s accounted for 14 touchdowns.
The battle-tested QB of the Wildcats has freakish skills, with 4.4 speed and has great moves in the open field. Southern Miss, Louisiana Tech, Colorado State, Houston and Colorado are some of the schools who have offered him.
Navy commit Sean LeBeouf is the team’s second leading rusher, with 362 yards on the ground. LeBeouf has a great combination of speed and power.
Shazz Preston is the leading receiver with 20 catches for 286 yards and four touchdowns. Preston is only a sophomore, but he has such a high ceiling, the likes of LSU, Texas A-and-M and Arkansas have already offered.
St. James is giving up 12 points a game on defense and they get after the quarterback. Senior defensive end Chase Geason has seven sacks, while Saivion Jones has four sacks and six tackles for a loss. Jones just received an offer from LSU.
Blessed an honored to earn an offer from Louisiana state university🙏🙏! pic.twitter.com/NAOexlBw7B
— Saivion Jones (@SaivionJ) October 6, 2019
Linebacker Lamon Lewis leads the team in tackles and the defensive secondary is led by J’Kory Ester and his five interceptions.
For the Lutcher Bulldogs, they come in with a 2-and-3 record. Fourth-year head coach Dwain Jenkins, who led Lutcher to a state championship in 2016 in his first season, is looking for his team to be more consistent.
In the season opener, Lutcher committed six turnovers in the second half and lost to Amite. The next week, they committed 13 penalties in a two-point loss to St. Charles Catholic.
Lutcher is getting good play from quarterback Mekhi Patterson. The junior signal caller has thrown for 938 yards, seven touchdowns and only one interception. Rasuan Storks has rushed for 453 yards and nine yards a carry.
Rashon Williams is the big play receiver, with 15 catches for 312 yards and two touchdowns. The coaching staff is high on freshman D’Wayne Winfield, who has 11 catches for 191 yards.
The defense features a couple of three-year starters in the defensive secondary, Rhett Whitney and Tre Stewart. But they have some youth on the defensive line as they start three sophomores, Dorrian Williams, Ty Cooper and Carter Poche.
Even though on paper St. James looks like the better team, in a rivalry game, as you know, throw the records out, because anything can happen.
So join us live Friday at 7 PM on YurView Louisiana, YurView Florida or CST to take in one of the best rivalries Louisiana high school football has to offer, Lutcher vs. St. James! The game will also be streamed live on YurView.com.
