By GEORGE MAHL

Most of the upcoming week in the area high school football line-up features typical, early season, non-district games.

However, one game with great interest locally is the St. James High School versus East St. John High School battle in Reserve. This game figures to be an offensive shootout from the beginning. East St. John came out storming against Lutcher Friday night by scoring 21 first quarter points. While St. James held a 28-6 lead early in the second half against West St. John.

“They (St. James) run the Wing-T offense like Lutcher does. It may be tough to stop their running game early,” said ESJ head coach Larry Dauterive.

In their jamboree game against Hahnville, St. James was able to run the ball well on several occasions in the second half. St. James coach Rick Gaille said it may take a little while to figure out the East St John offense.

“East St. John has got two really good athletic quarterbacks (Ryan Perilloux and Dominick Thomas). We have got to try and figure out what we can do to stop them early,” Gaille said.

Gaille believes the play of his special teams will play a crucial part in the outcome of the game.

“If we are going to win, then we have to improve our kicking game and we also have to continue having good kickoff returns,” he said.

White Castle vs. Riverside

The Riverside Academy Rebels are hoping to chalk up their first win of the season when they host White Castle High School Friday night in Reserve. The Rebels played tough, but came up short in their home opener against Karr High School. After trailing 17-6 at halftime, the Rebels turned things up defensively, but fell short 17-14.

“I think our guys grew up in the second half. Our defense picked a play and executed it,” said head coach Mickey Roussel.

Senior quarterback Scott Poirrier led the Rebels toward a productive second half versus Karr.

“Scott was definitely the engineer of the offense. He had to step up because T.J. Cancienne(running back) was out about for two weeks,” Roussel said.

White Castle is a 1A school that, in the past, has played against some 4A and 5A schools.

“They have got some good players at the skill positions,” said Roussel.

The coach said he thinks the intensity in which the Rebels play will be a key factor in whether or not they are victorious.

“If we come through healthy and play the way we are supposed to, we will be in that number at the end of the season,” Roussel said.

West Jefferson vs. Hahnville

Hahnville High School will look to add another victory, coming off a convincing 65-14 thumping Friday of Sarah Reed High School.

The WJHS Buccaneers began the season with a new coach and a fresh attitude. Former Archbishop Shaw High School head coach Hank Tierney now leads West Jeff onto the field.

“I think they are getting better every week. They have a lot of talent on both sides,” said Hahnville coach Lou Valdin. “West Jeff does things on offense that our guys haven’t seen before.”

The HHS Tigers goal is to make West Jefferson drive the length of the field and get them into second and long and third and long situations.

“We need to make them play a long field and win the kicking game,” Valdin said.

Lutcher vs. St. Amant

Lutcher High School takes to the road this week against St. Amant High School. The Bulldogs played tough but lost Friday to East St. John.

“If I can get the same good effort out of my guys against St. Amant then we will be OK,” said LHS coach Tim Detillier. “Field position will be a key factor in the game.”

This will be the third consecutive game in which the Bulldogs will have faced a larger school.

“It is only making us better when we can schedule bigger, tougher schools,” Detillier said.

South Terrebonne vs. West St. John

West St. John High School can expect a similar team to St. James when they play the South Terrebonne High School Gators.

“The only thing different will be they wear green uniforms,” said Rams head coach Laury Dupont. “They are going to come out with a Wing-T offense like St. James did against us. They are a run-oriented team.”

The Rams will likely have to stop sweeps in order to gain a victory.

“We have got to shut it down and not turn the ball over like we did last week,” Dupont said.

Grace King vs. St. Charles Catholic

The St. Charles Catholic Comets will play the second of three consecutive home games to start the season when they host Grace King High School Friday. The Comets are coming off a 17-0 victory over St. Paul’s School.

“They (Grace King) are a very well-coached team. We have got to be prepared because they are a 5A school,” said Comets head coach Frank Monica.

The GKHS Fighting Irish are coached by former Archbishop Rummel High School assistant Elmo Steinert.

Monica believes improving on the mistakes his team made last week is one of the keys to victory.

“I also think that we need to accumulate some first downs early in the game to get an offensive flow going,” said Monica. “We’re a young team. We’re learning how to win consistently.”