By RYAN ARENA
L’Observateur

LAPLACE – As if West St. John/St. James wasn’t a big enough rivalry.
The traditional season-opening football game between the schools has always been among the biggest and most anticipated games in the River Region. But now, this rivalry game officially has a new name: The Railroad Classic, and the winner each year to gain possession of a trophy tailored for the annual game.
“We want to make this the biggest game in the River Parishes,” said West St. John coach Robert Valdez, who is 3-0 against the Wildcats in his tenure as Rams coach. “Be it here or there, we want to create a lot of excitement.”
The idea for the Railroad Classic, said St. James coach Dwain Jenkins, came from SJH assistant coach Eltonary Oubre, who played for the school in the 90’s.
“We were talking about the rivalry and how strong it was,” said Jenkins. “And he said that it would be great if we could play for something. And that’s where it was born from. The railroad tracks pass right by both schools and so it got its name.
“I called coach Valdez and he thought it was a great idea. Then I talked to the boosters and they said, ‘Let’s create a trophy.’”
That’s exactly what they did. The Railroad Classic trophy has a side for each school, with plates notating the years that each side notched a victory throughout the rivalry’s history.
St. James leads the series with 17 wins to West St. John’s eight. But the Rams have won each of the past three meetings, including a 2011 victory that saw West St. John make an improbable comeback with less than three minutes left.
“We’ve got some catching up to do,” said Valdez. “These rivalry games are why you coach. The community gets involved. It’s what makes this special.”
For St. James, the game carries a little extra meaning this season. The Wildcats have gone 0-19 over the past two seasons after an exceptional run under former coach Rick Gaille. It will be Jenkins’ first regular season game as the Wildcats’ head coach as he takes the helm from James Bell, and a win would provide a huge emotional lift to the SJH program and fanbase.
“When you look at the state of the program over the past two years, (a win) would be a breathe of fresh air,” said Jenkins. “It gives us a defined goal to kick things off, to have a fresh, strong start and begin the process of rebuilding this into a strong program once again.”
Adding to the excitement level is the fact that it’s been two years since these two teams have played. Last season, the West St. John/St. James game was cancelled because of Hurricane Gustav.
The game will also be televised on Cox Sports Television as its game of the week.
“It’s a big deal for both sides,” said Valdez. “We know they’re looking at this game as a springboard to get the ball rolling and back to where they want to be. We’ll get their best shot and their full attention. We know it.’
“But we’re not quite ready to let the trophy go yet. We’ve had a lot of success over the past couple of seasons and really established ourselves. We don’t want to give that up.”
For the Rams, the game will be one of only three home games this season.
The Railroad Classic moniker and hardware has added a lot of excitement already at each school. But one sentiment Jenkins and Valdez echoed each other on was that at the end of the day, players won’t need much more motivation than the fact they when one side lines up under the lights on that first Friday night of the 2013 season, the other will be opposing them.
“I don’t have to work hard to motivate them for that game,” said Valdez. “It’s West St. John and St. James. They know the stakes.”
Added Jenkins, “We’re looking to taste victory again. We have to start somewhere, and that would be a great place to do it.”