Sophomores, juniors step up for Erath Bobcats in place of missing starters

ERATH — Though his team has been saddled with three excruciatingly tough losses to start the season, Erath High School head football coach Eric LeBlanc couldn’t be more proud of the way his players responded to adversity in a narrow 25-23 loss at Catholic High of New Iberia this past week.
“The first thing we talked about after the game is I’m super proud of the kids,” LeBlanc said. “We already had one of our major kids down and we had a couple more go down during the game, and another one that had already missed (playing time). We had five guys that we felt like were pretty important to the team that weren’t available to us during the game.
“We had some sophomores that stepped up in the game that played their butts off, and I was as pleased as I think all the other coaches were that we were still in that game at the end, down to the last minute.”
LeBlanc said that though the Bobcats made a couple of mistakes at the end that need to be fixed, he wanted to be sure to talk about the team’s effort, because it’s right where it needs to be for Erath to win games.
The coach said every sophomore and junior backup player who steppeed on the field in place of normal starters made exactly the kind of effort he is looking for. The team has other sophomores and juniors joining several seniors in the starting lineup.
“We’ve had unfortunate events that happen that put us in those situations, but I think we’ve got some resilient kids,” LeBlanc said. “They’re fighting now. We had a great practice yesterday and I think they want to win just as bad as anybody else.”
LeBlanc said earlier this week he would have to see if any of the players who missed last week’s game are available this week, but noted it would be hard for a player to get on the field if he didn’t get at least a couple of days of practice in.
The Erath coaches are looking for the same effort from their team this week when the Bobcats travel to Abbeville to face unbeaten Vermilion Catholic.
The Eagles have wins over Catholic High of New Iberia, Ascension Episcopal and Loreauville on their resumé, three teams getting votes in the latest Class 2A statewide Louisiana Sports Writers Association polls. Loreauville is No. 10 with CHS just behind and AES right behind the Panthers in the voting.
Not that the Bobcats would need extra motivation this week anyway, given the rivalry between Erath and VC.
“We’re 0-3, but I don’t see a lack of motivation from the coaches or the kids right now,” LeBlanc said. “That’s where we need to be.
“It’s kids that want to win. It’s coaches that want to win. It’s another week for us. It’s another game.”
LeBlanc said that Vermilion Catholic players are very well-conditioned.
“We see that on the field,” LeBlanc said. “They don’t have a lot of kids on the team, but the ones they have are going to play. They play fast. They play aggressive. I expect a good game.”
Erath quarterback Lynkon Romero continues to lead Vermilion Parish with 560 yards passing through three games, including four touchdowns.
Romero also has five touchdowns on the ground, and the Bobcats have five players among the top 10 in the parish in receiving yards.