By RYAN ARENA
L’Observateur

LAPLACE – The last two seasons have been a nightmare for the St. James football program, as a once-traditional state power failed to win a single game under James Bell, tallying a final record of 0-19 under the coach.
But that was then. There’s a new head coach in charge these days as former Lutcher offensive coordinator Dwain Jenkins now calls the shots, and his hiring has invigorated a Wildcats fanbase that’s starving to see some positive progress.
“We’re trying to change the culture here,” said Jenkins. “What championship teams do and how they get there, stay there, those are things we need to learn. We’re a fragile team right now, one that needs to learn how to handle success.”
Though it may be only a spring game, the Wildcats breathed some fresh air into the hopes of the fanbase with a scrimmage victory over Miller McCoy, two touchdowns to one.
Jenkins’ comes to St. James with a strong pedigree. He’s the only assistant coach that Lutcher’s Tim Detillier ever ceded playcalling duties to, and was the offensive coordinator for Lutcher’s last two state championship runs. Detillier lauds him for his attention to detail, and Jenkins has made clear the importance of breaking the bad habits that led to two consecutive winless seasons.
More than anything, Jenkins wants to bring the community’s pride in the program back to where it was a few years ago, most notably when the Wildcats made a run to the Superdome in 2007; the team defeated John Curtis and laid claim to district championship honors that season before ultimately falling to the Patriots in the Class 2A state title game.
“The older players, a lot of them remember the St. James teams that made those deep playoff runs. But a lot of the younger kids don’t,” said Jenkins. “Even before the last two years, (St. James) would win district, but finish as a first or second round playoff team. They don’t know this program for what it was before.’
“For us, that’s a factor. Those runs built up interest in your program, and that builds up numbers.
Getting those freshman and sophomores to come out and play again, building that quality depth and getting people excited about us again is something that we need to do.”
The team will likely be led by a freshman at quarterback, albeit an imposing one. At 6-foot-2, 190 pounds, Lowell Narcisse made enough plays in the spring to take a handle of the job, as incumbent starter D’Kwan Sandolph will move to wide receiver. Sandolph is also likely to be leaned upon on defense and special teams.
“(Narcisse) has really showed the ability to grasp a lot of things in this offense,” said Jenkins.
“We’d kind of said during the spring that if Lowell is able to handle this and make strides, it would be best for the program to go with the freshman who will be here, in our system, for the next four years, over our senior.’
“We’re excited about Lowell. The other side of it is it gives us an opportunity to better utilize D’Kwan. Last season, you saw a number of plays where he’d make five, six guys miss and it would go for a seven-yard gain. Those things don’t show up in the box score, but he had the ability to turn nothing into something by himself. Putting him in the slot, it gives us a chance to see him make one or two guys miss, and all of a sudden it turns into a touchdown.”
Jenkins is excited about the prospects of his defensive unit, one that’s a bit more experienced than an offensive team that will start a number of freshmen and sophomore players. The defensive starters are slated to be seniors and juniors but for two sophomore spots, and Jenkins is particularly optimistic about the impact is front seven might have this season. Angelios Washington, Tevin Gros and Aquindas Steib have a chance to be a dynamic, playmaking linebacking unit. And everything could come together quite nicely should nose guard Jonta Jones hit his potential ceiling as a player. At 6-feet tall and 275 pounds, Jenkins said that Jones has a chance to be one of the team’s most impactful players.
“He has the potential to be a special football player,” he said. “He could be a guy that teams have to scheme for each week, teams making sure that they’ve got enough committed to block him … He’s one, but I feel like collectively, this has a chance to be a special unit for us. We’ve got a lot of potential there.”