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EDGARD — Under Friday night lights on the West Bank of St. John the Baptist Parish, West St. John held on against Varnado in Week Six for a 12-6 win. It was the Rams’ first win of the season, but head coach Greg Johnson said the season record doesn’t paint the full picture of how far the young team has come since Week One.

“Our goal as a staff is to just keep making improvements every week, and we have made tremendous improvement the last couple of weeks,” Johnson said. “Against Varnado, our defense played lights out. We had a great preparation week. We talked to our kids about how there are some times where adversity is going to hit you in the game, and we’re going to have to stand strong. That’s what happened Friday. Going into the fourth quarter, we had to finish strong. It was a test of character. I think it was a good lesson on how to compete for four quarters and stay committed to the task.”

The motto this season has been “next man up,” even for the second and third team players. With injuries impacting the team and only four seniors playing at the moment, the Rams are relying heavily upon the freshman and sophomore class. Keimyren Weber, Jayce Farnell, Kailen Edwards and Brandon Jones are among the underclassmen who have stepped up to the challenge.

West St. John has also dealt with an ongoing LHSAA investigation that has left some players sidelined for the time being, but Johnson said the season is proceeding as normal.

This week, West St. John (1-4) will host Riverside Academy (5-1).

“We are doing great despite everything that has taken place the last couple of weeks with the team. Everybody is uplifted, tuning to what they have to do as a team,” Johnson said. “We are just trying to get the kids prepared. We have a lot of young kids on our team, and we have to keep the standard and keep the tradition alive.”