BY DAVID FOLSE II

Sports Editor

EDGARD-What can you say about a team that has won state championships in back-to-back seasons?

Well, if you ask West St. John Head Coach Laury Dupont, he will tell you that they are YOUNG, YOUNG, and YOUNG.

The two-time defending Class 2A state champs wrapped up their first week of fall camp this week as they ready themselves for a new season in a new classification, 1A.

“We are pretty satisfied at where we are at,” Dupont said. “The biggest and the hardest work starts next week when we put the pads on. Condition wise I think that the kids are in pretty good condition.

“Of course we have to play against harder teams that are going to platoon against us the entire year, so we have to be in better condition than the other teams to compete against these guys.”

Dupont said that the conditioning of his squad was the biggest worry that he and his staff had coming into fall camp, but through the first week of fall camp, has not been disappointed with the team’s overall condition and shape.

“The biggest thing that we were worried about heading into the first week was how the kids were going to come in condition wise,” Dupont said. “We feel pretty good about it. The thing that we have to worry about next week is getting our special teams into good condition next week for the jamboree and get set there.

“It takes time to put your special teams in and work on it. Then once you get it in, you just have to keep it in your practice schedule and make it like a normal routine.”

While St. Charles Catholic must replace Tyrell Fenroy and East St. John must replace Ryan Perrilloux, the Rams have a huge hole of their own to fill in All-State running back and Louisiana Tech signee Patrick Jackson.

“Patrick was a really good running back,” Dupont said. “He was a great running back in high school. We have some good ones coming up in Bartholomew, Josh Johnson, Holloway and others. That is not our major problem.

“If I had to pick out a major problem on our football team, I would say that it is our depth, particularly on the offensive and defensive sides of the line of scrimmage. We may have to play a lot of younger kids.”