MICHAEL KIRAL

PHOTO: RIVERSIDE’S DAVEY CLEMENT, the pitching coach of the 1995 state championship team, looks to return the Rebels to the playoffs in 2001. (Staff Photo by Michael Kiral) RESERVE – When Vince Lombardi became head coach of the Green Bay Packers, the legend goes that he opened the first practice by taking out a ball and telling his players, “Men, this is a football.” New Riverside head baseball coach Davey Clement may not have gone that far when he took over the Rebels but he did have the team start working on the little things again. “This year, even with a lot of seniors, I wanted to get back to the basic fundamentals,” Clement said. Clement returns to Riverside after coaching St. James the last three years. He was the pitching coach on the Rebels 1995 squad that captured the Class 2A state championship. “There was not that much of an adjustment,” Clement said on returning. “I know everybody out here. Guys I played football with and coached with are still here. It was hard to leave St. James. I really liked the people and the support I was getting.” With Clement are coaches Ryan Lousteau, a senior on the 1995 team, and Kevin Perret, a senior on the 1994 team. Both went on to play college ball, Lousteau with UNO and Perret with Nicholls State. “Just being around the sport and learning under different coaches will help them help us,” Clement said. “They’ve made my job so much easier.” Also helping is the success the three have had at Riverside in the past. “For me and coach Lousteau, going through that year (1995), we got to see what the kids had to go through to win it,” Clement said. Clement sees a lot of similarities between that team and the 2001 version of the Rebels. For one, both teams were expected to contend for the state championship the year before and fell short. Last year, Riverside went 14-13 and lost to University in the bi-district playoffs. Riverside returns 12 players from that team, including six starters. Bradley Hodges is the center fielder and lead-off hitter. Britt Waguespack is projected to bat second and play second. First baseman Sean Delaneuville and shortstop Brandon Delaneuville, both all-River Parishes selections last year, will bat third and fourth. They are followed by right fielder Joel Levin, left fielder Jared St. Amant and catcher Blake Duhe. Brandon Delaneuville, Levin, St. Amant, Duhe and Derrick Louque will also see action on the mound. The pitching was solid for the Rebels in the preseason with the pitchers combining to walk two batters in 10 innings in the scrimmages. “We want guys to have to beat us,” Clement said. The schedule is a difficult one again this season. The Rebels are playing in the Toot Ganier Classic this weekend at Lutcher and host their own tournament next weekend against Bishop Sullivan, Mansfield and St. Charles Catholic. Games against E.D. White and Ascension Catholic follow before the Rebels close out the pre-district tournament at the St. Charles Catholic Tournament. District 9-2A figures to be one of the toughest in the state this year. Newman is the top-ranked team in the preseason poll and Ridgewood is right behind in second. “We are trying to get ready to face the best pitching and the best hitting,” Clement said. “We have to get ready for the playoffs. The only record I worry about is our playoff record.” Expectations are high again this year as the Rebels are ranked fourth in the preseason Class 2A poll. The season got off to a good start with Riverside capturing the Christian Life Tournament, defeating St. Charles Catholic, Christian Life and Redemptorist along the way. “I really expect us to go a long way,” Clement said of his expectations for the team. “I expect us to play for a state championship. If we do the little things and make the routine plays, put the ball in play, we will be fine.”