By RYAN ARENA
L’Observateur

ST. JAMES — This week marks the official beginning to prep football season in the River Parishes — and it starts with a doozy.

West St. John will travel to St. James 7 p.m. Thursday night to open the Wildcats’ new home stadium, as SJH attempts to wrest control of the Railroad Classic rivalry game trophy from the Rams, who have won four straight in the annual showdown.

“You’re going to get the best out of both schools when West St. John and St. James meet up in any sport,” said Valdez, who has guided WSJ to state semifinal games over the past two seasons. “We’re going in there with a young, inexperienced group and we’re going to have (St. James’) full attention.”

The Rams topped the Wildcats last season, 35-7, but St. James improved plenty as the season went on, finishing 6-7 and advancing to the Class 2A quarterfinals after two winless seasons in a row.

That run was keyed by quarterback Lowell Narcisse and a young core of players whom are largely intact entering this season.

“Hopefully, Narcisse doesn’t take a page from Xavier Lewis’ playbook,” Valdez quipped, alluding the East St. John quarterback’s strong performance in Thursday’s 24-6 ESJ jamboree win over WSJ. “We need to play physical football. There will be a lot of excitement and emotion and we’ll need to set the tone early on.”