Broussard, O’Brien to be inducted into Abbeville High Hall of Fame
The Abbeville High Athletic Hall of Fame Committee is proud to announce its two new hall of fame inductees for 2023.
The new inductees are Matt Broussard and the late Jason O’Brien.
The two will be recognized Thursday night at an induction banquet held in Magdalen Place, and then again at halftime of the homecoming football game on Friday.
Matt Broussard
Matt Broussard was the perfect student-athlete.
He had the grades (4.0 grade point average in high school), and the athletic ability to excel in three sports.
Matt’s athletic career began in Abbeville’s Babe Ruth baseball program, but also soon included Abbeville pee wee football and biddy basketball programs as well.
With baseball as his main focus in his youth, he played on All-Star teams in the local Babe Ruth program for several influential local coaches, such as Bobby Neveaux, Kelly Richard, Jesse Faulk, Darren Duhon, Jeremy Picard, Chris Gautreaux, and his father Karl Broussard. He also credits Gayle Frederick, Irby Luquette, Bradley Palombo, Larry Winters and Glenn Hebert as having huge influences on his early playing career and development.
He was the starting catcher on the 1995 Bambino World Series champions from Abbeville. He started at first base for the 1996 state, 1997 state (where he was named MVP of the tournament) and regional and 1998 state and southwest regional champions as well.
Once at Abbeville High, Matt started and excelled all four years in baseball, earning all district and all parish honors all four years as a catcher and first baseman and first team all-Acadiana and first team all-state honors his senior year.
In football, he was named first team all-district his sophomore and senior years, first team all parish his sophomore, junior and senior years, as well as first team all-Acadiana his senior year as an offensive lineman. He was a member of the 2000 state semifinal team that hosted John Curtis in Abbeville in the program’s first appearance in the semifinals.
He also threw discus in track, earning all district honors his junior year. Matt was also voted the academic student of the year his senior year in 2001.
After high school, Matt attended UL-Lafayette, where he played two years of baseball for Tony Robichaux and the Cajuns. He graduated Cum Laude with a degree in Marketing before going onto Texas Woman’s University, where he earned his doctor of physical therapy degree.
Matt worked in physical therapy for 13 years, eventually moving into the operations side. He now leads operations for the state of Alabama for Behavioral Health Group. He currently resides in Daphne, Alabama where he enjoys fishing, cooking, traveling, and coaching his boys in various youth sports.
Matt attributes much of his success in sports and life to the sports programs he was fortunate to be a part of growing up and the many mentors he had along the way. He was also fortunate to have a group of fellow athletes growing up that stayed together all the way through high school including Ryan Duhon, Josh Collins, Justin Luna, Jason Mitchell, Coy Durke, Byron Dozier, Jared Trahan and many more. Most of all, his parents, Karl and Diane, played the biggest role in shaping who he became as an athlete and a person.
On being selected to the AHS Hall of Fame, Matt says “I’m truly grateful for all the people over the years who believed in us and supported us. Without the help of so many, none of these things would have been possible. I’m honored to share this with all of the great coaches and teammates I’ve had.”
Matt is the son of Karl and Diane Broussard. He has one younger sister, Jenna Broussard Caho. He is married to the former Kristen Price of Marietta, GA and has three sons, William, Grant, and Lucas Broussard.
Jason O’Brien
Jason O’Brien was one of the reasons why Abbeville High was known as Linebacker High in the early 2000s.
Under the leadership of then-head coach Brent Indest, the Abbeville Wildcats had stud linebackers such as Jermain Wiltz, Jason Mitchell and O’Brien.
Wiltz and Mitchell, both starters, helped lead the Wildcats to an 11-3 season in 2000.
Wiltz graduated, then O’Brien stepped up and filled his shoes when he was only a sophomore.
O’Brien played alongside Mitchell, who graduated and signed a football scholarship with the University of Tennessee.
Without Mitchell, O’Brien stepped up his game in his junior year. He earned all-district honors at middle linebacker in his junior year. He had 91 solo tackles and 36 assists. He became the third straight Wildcat linebacker to earn Vermilion Parish MVP honors.
O’Brien continued his success his senior year and finished with 89 solo tackles, 16 assists and six sacks.
His football skills earned him first-team all-state honors and parish MVP honors for his second straight.
On Friday, Sept. 22, O’Brien will be inducted in the Abbeville High Atheltic Hall of Fame.
Coach Indest said O’Brien was special.
“Jason was truly like a son to me,” said Indest. “I remember for Hurricane Lilly; we took him with us to Arkanasa to my sister’s house. He was one of a kind.
“As a player, he and Jermain Wiltz were the best two linebackers I have ever coached. Nick Saban once told me that if he were 20 pounds heavier, he would have signed him at LSU.”
O’Brien was a two-sport athlete at AHS. When football was over, he ran the hurdles and was a leg on the 4x100 relays. He reached the Class 3A state track meet in both events.
O’Brien signed a football scholarship with Northwestern State. He played four years at safety and earned all-conference honors his final two years.
He earned his bachelor’s degree from Northwestern in 2007 and was hired as the city of Abbeville’s Parks and Recreation Director.
Unfortunately, tragedy struck when O’Brien died on December 26, 2011.
He left behind three sons, Jason Jr., Jaidyn and Jyrin.s
