Ryan Perrilloux’s journey at East St. John coming to an end

By DAVID FOLSE II

Sports Editor

RESERVE-All great things have to come to an end sometime.

Michael Jordan retired, John Elway hung up his cleats, Cal Ripken Jr. finally said goodbye.

Great athletes can’t go on forever.

You can chalk up Ryan Perrilloux on that list now.

At least his high school career that is.

With the East St. John baseball team’s 6-0 loss at the hands of the Rummel Raiders on Wednesday night, it did not only mark the end of the Wildcats 2005 season, but it also signified the end of Ryan Perrilloux brilliant athletic career at East St. John High School.

One of the most highly-decorated athletes in the history of the State of Louisiana, East St. John Athletic Director Larry Dauterive and Principal Debbie Schum dedicated a substantial piece of the Wildcats trophy case to the outgoing senior as a memorial to his great accomplishments.

Sad about seeing his high school career come to an end, Perrilloux said he is excited about what the future will bring.

“I’m mad that it is over but on the same front happy as well,” Perrilloux said. “Now I have some brief time to relax and get ready for college and other stuff like that.”

Perrilloux said that he has enjoyed his time in Reserve and at East St. John.

“It has been a great experience,” Perrilloux said. “I almost didn’t even come to East St. John but I am glad I did now. Since I have been at East St. John is has just been a wonderful time. Being close to home and being around friends and family has been great.

“I’m going to remember everything about my time at East St. John High School. I am not going to forget anyone. This is definitely going to be a time that I am going to cherish because my family has been here, my friends have been here aroundand it has been great. Now I am moving on to a new place where I am going to have to make a lot of new friends and meet a lot of new faces.”

While he hopes to soon be starring for over 91,000 people up the road in Baton Rouge on Saturday nights, Perrilloux said he will miss one thing about his high school athletic days.

“I’m going to miss the football on Friday nights the most,” Perrilloux said. “There is nothing like playing on Friday night.”

Taking a different look at one of her students that a coach and other media outlets may have not done, East St. John Principal Debbie Schum said Perrilloux is not only an outstanding athlete, but a great person as well.

“People around the country know about East St. John High School now,” Schum said. “And a lot of that has to do with Ryan’s exploits on the football field. Athletically this has been our best year that we have ever had in all of our sports. Part of that is because Ryan has been a member of the football team as well as the basketball and baseball team.

“His natural talent has made a significant difference not just to football, but to all of the sports here at East St. John High School. It has also helped our program grow. The incentive for students to participate seems to go up when we get more attention about what our program does. In turn, students begin to realize that athletics don’t happen without academics. You have to have both. The kids on our campus I think have been able to see what that is like.”

One of the main responsibilities of a principal is promoting the good things about their school, something Schum said Perrilloux has been a valuable asset for.

“It’s a great opportunity,” Schum said. “It sends a sense of pride to the students that go to school here. That sense of pride builds in every avenue. It builds not just in the athletic arena, but in the academic arena too.

“Students start performing, they know that they have to meet a certain standard to be able to participate. Not only that, but when schools have a generally positive attitude about the program whether it be sports or academics, then students sort of step up to the level of competition. Just the sheer fact of the number of awards that he has gotten gives our students a sense of pride. People from all over the nation know where Reserve, Louisiana is now and that is a lot thanks to Ryan Perrilloux.”