Allure of Home: Joshua Gast returns to St. Paul’s where he played, coached
by William Weathers // GeauxPreps.com Contributor
Joshua Gast saw a text message from a familiar number that came across his cell phone four months ago.
St. Paul’s had made it official that Gast would return to his alma mater as head coach after a total of four formative seasons at North Iberville High School.
Gast, 36, helped to bring back football to North Iberville – re-energizing the rural communities of Grosse Tete, Maringouin and Rosedale – which had been shuttered for 14 years. With the reopening of the school in 2022, Gast became a head coach for the first time, going through a two-year ramp up of sub-varsity action before guiding the Bears to a record of 19-6 and three state playoff victories, including the Division IV non-select quarterfinals last season.
“I was in a pretty comfortable place at North Iberville,” Gast said. “I loved the community; I loved the players I had and the trajectory going into next year. I felt we could contend for the (state) title next year.”
St. Paul’s found itself in the market for a head coach when longtime head coach Ken Sears stepped down on February 12, leaving the Wolves after a total of 36 years (27 as head coach) with the intention of coaching again somewhere else in the fall.
Gast had the rare opportunity to both play and coach under Sears. The 2008 graduate was a tight end when the Wolves won their first of three district championships, and he returned in 2013 and spent six years on Sears’ staff, coaching the team’s wide receivers during a span in which they won four more district titles.
In an effort to spread his coaching wings, Gast joined a first-year program at Liberty Magnet in Baton Rouge, calling plays for the Patriots which advanced to the Division II select state quarterfinals, before leaving to tackle the challenge at North Iberville, which didn’t even have a football on its campus.
Those two stops helped to build a resume under Gast that now includes a stable program ready to challenge the state’s top programs in Division IV with state-of-the-art facilities that now include a turf football field and brand-new locker room.
Yet, the appeal of returning home was too great of a pull to withstand.
Sears won 198 games during his near three decades at the Covington-based school, amassing 23 straight winning seasons with 21 straight trips to the postseason, including last year’s Division I select regional matchup with Evangel Christian Academy.
The Wolves (9-3) lost 34-14 and three months later were looking for a new coach.
“It was a total shock to me,” Gast said. “I played and worked for Coach Sears. I have a ton of respect for what he did for my journey in football. I’d just assumed he would be coaching there until he was 80 or whatever. That’s his life’s work there and really built St. Paul’s into what it is today. When news broke, it was a shock to me. I didn’t have any knowledge of that coming along. I was ready to roll full speed ahead at North.”
Gast was moved by the prospect of returning to St. Paul, and after discussing the proposition with his wife, interviewed for the position which he ultimately landed.
His first message of congratulations on March 12.
“The first text I got when I got to St. Paul’s was from him,” said Gast of Sears. “He’s been really gracious and supportive. Playing there was one of the most special experiences of my life. I know a lot of high school players say that, but I felt St. Paul’s was just different with the special bond and brotherhood.”
Sears, now the running backs coach and special teams coordinator at Ponchatoula, commended St. Paul’s for its hiring.
“He knows what the standard is,” he said of Gast. “He’s got to walk in his own shoes as head coach but is a very capable and bright young man. I’m excited for him and his opportunity. I’m excited for St. Paul’s.”
Gast was part of the era when St. Paul’s began building a tradition under Sears that’s still in place.
Sears said St. Paul was multiple on offense and Gast, while a tight end, could split out at wide receiver.
“He was a very good football player, a real good teammate,” he said of Gast. “We had some really good years when he was there playing for us.”
St. Paul’s won the schools three straight district championships – the first three in school history – to signify a new vision for the program under Sears.
The Wolves only experienced four losing seasons during Sears’ tenure and carry a 19-game district winning streak into the 2026 season. They’ve become an annual contender for district championships and advanced to postseason play 21 times in 27 years during Sears’ stay.
One of the highlights Gast recalled during his playing days was St. Paul’s first win over Covington in 32 years.
“I’ll never forget how much it meant to him,” Gast said of Sears. “We also won our first district championship, but I knew how bad he wanted to get to the Superdome.”
Sears directed St. Paul’s to six quarterfinal appearances and one trip to the semifinals.
Following college, where he attended both Millsaps and LSU, Gast began the next phase of his football career, joining Sears’ staff for six valuable years that came full circle with his hiring as head coach at his alma mater.
“The wide receiver position fell in my lap,” Gast said. “I felt it could be fun, a good experience. I fell in love with it. After a few years, I felt I wanted to give being a head coach a try and start calling plays. Going through that there gave me all of the confidence I needed to feel like I was good to go, coming back and have an opportunity to be successful.”
Liberty, formerly known as Lee High, reopened in 2019 with junior varsity football for two years and featured a high-powered offense led by eventual LSU signee Kaleb Jackson at running back in ’21 – the school’s first varsity season. Gast produced an offense that scored 40+ points five times before falling 63-35 to St. Thomas More to conclude an inaugural 10-2 season.
Shady Grove High had experienced its share of success in the 1990s until fiscal trouble closed North Iberville in 2009.
It appeared to be an unlikely alliance when the school reopened in ’22 and wanted to bring back football, necessitating a search for a football coach, which led to the hiring of Gast.
“It was an unbelievable leap of faith for me,” he said. “Going to a 1A school, I had never coached below 4A before. It was out in an area that I didn’t know anything about and a school that had been closed for 14 years. I thought, ‘What had I gotten myself into?’ But it was an opportunity to run the show.”
Two years of creating interest in football with a junior varsity team was a slow process for a program with great aspirations.
Gast put together a staff, implemented his philosophy, and North Iberville went 9-3, winning the school’s first playoff game in 17 years with a convincing 44-6 win over Oberlin at home.
“It’s been different everywhere I’ve gone,” Gast said. “Starting from scratch is kind of neat. It makes you get back to the basics, and you wind up coaching the same kids from their freshman year until the end. It’s neat to be in those building experiences.”
The synergy within the program continued.
North Iberville won 10 games in 2025, winning its first seven games of the season until a 50-28 setback to Ascension Catholic, the eventual Division IV select state runner-up. The Bears won consecutive home playoff games – Arcadia (53-6) and Elton (36-26) – until a loss to reigning state champion South Plaquemines in the quarterfinals.
“What we did there will always hold a special place in my heart, and I think the kids and community will build on it,” Gast said. “Think they’re going to continue to grow and be a premier program in the state. That was cool to be a part of. There were no footballs or facilities, but there’s a game field with turf and a beautiful locker room coming in this year. We took our time and stayed the course. It looked totally different by the time I left.”
Gast was among those in the coaching fraternity astonished when the news of Sears’ departure from St. Paul’s began circulating.
He was more than content returning to leading North Iberville for a third varsity season, a roster loaded with potential, until heeding the call from St. Paul’s, where his deep ties and knowledge of the program were considerable advantages. His coaching acumen, though, in a short amount of time was also appealing to the decision makers at St. Paul’s.
“Knowing the system and the way we did things at St. Paul’s, our expectations and standards,” Sears said of Gast. “Anytime you can get a guy like that on your staff, it’s a good fit. I think he’s going to do great things. He’s a very bright coach. I hated to lose him, but I knew he was seeking other opportunities.
“He did well and achieved where he was at,” Sears said. “Hopefully, he took some things from his time at St. Paul’s and applied them and developed into his own style of coaching along the way.”
Gast was rewarded for taking a chance, leaving St. Paul’s where he was comfortable, to chart his own path at both Liberty and North Iberville, experiences that would eventually serve him well.
“It was a traditional hiring process,” he said. “I applied, went in for a couple of interviews and got selected. I felt I had a little bit of a foot in the door having played and coached there. I felt like I wouldn’t have been the right guy without leaving and getting the full experience around the state, coaching at smaller schools and public schools. I felt like I experienced a lot more and it made me ready to come back.”
“We were in quarterfinals and had most of our playmakers coming back; I was very optimistic,” he said of this year’s North Iberville team. “There probably wasn’t another job in the state I would have even looked at except for St. Paul’s because it’s home for me and I know how special the place is. I love the leadership at St. Paul’s. It was something I had to look into and see if it was a fit for both sides. I’m over the moon that it was. It was tough to leave those guys. I’m really proud of all that we accomplished there, and I’ll still be rooting for them.”
The hiring process in March brought Gast back to St. Paul’s, where he believed he’d been back on campus approximately five times since 2019.
“It was a very weird feeling,” he said. “There was a lot of nostalgia that came back. It started to slowly come back to me and felt like home again.”
Gast leaned on input from both last year’s seniors and this year’s upcoming senior class before forming his own opinions.
“I told the team that I wasn’t here to flip this upside down,” he said. “I’m going to put my own spin on it, but I learned a lot from St. Paul’s. There’s a lot of good here. We’re already a successful program. We won nine games last year, and I want to keep this rolling. St. Paul’s has always been a contender.
“When I coached there previously, there were a couple of teams we went toe to toe with in the quarterfinals that went on to win state,” he said. “We were right there. In my hope coming back, it’s to just find the things that will move the kids mentally and to make those plays in those games in November and take us over the top. The potential of the community, the support is all there. I’m just hoping to get the stars to align for us.”
Gast peeled back on spring practice, conducting more of an NFL-style offseason training activities (OTAs) without pads. He also held several walk-throughs and team meetings to help install a new system.
Gast said the rapid nature of the team’s ability to adapt was in part because of their aptitude along with a coaching staff that didn’t experience a total overhaul. The defense will have Eric Rebaudo back as defensive coordinator, while the offense will look similar to the brand the Wolves ran when he was previously on staff, a spread attack that can be multiple and physical to control the clock when needed.
“I was pleasantly surprised at how fast we moved through everything,” he said.
Sears believes Gast’s previous experience, including the last four as head coach, will prove beneficial.
“Being a head coach and having that experience under your belt is certainly helpful,” he said. “I think he’s going to do some really good things there.”
It won’t take Sears long to assess the progress of his successor.
St. Paul’s, which opens the season at Destrehan, hosts the first of three straight games with Brother Martin and De La Salle, and will host three straight home games at Hunter Stadium that will feature the start of District 6-5A play with Ponchatoula.
“Just hosting the first one at home will be special,” Gast said. “I can’t wait for it.”
That was before he learned who his team’s first district opponent would be and the fact that after 36 seasons and 27 as head coach, Sears will enter Hunter Stadium as the opponent.
“I didn’t know exactly what his plans were, but I wished the best for him,” Gast said of Sears. “He’s still willing to coach and has a great track record. I’m happy he found somewhere that was a good fit for him. We’ll still get to see each other.
“It will be a weird feeling,” Gast said. “I’m used to being on the same sideline as him, and he’s used to being on the home sideline. It will be a special night, a full-circle night. I have nothing but respect for him. I know he’ll be bringing some fire and competition that night. I expect nothing less.”
Since he parted ways in February, it was Sears’ hopes St. Paul’s would continue to flourish.
“That will always be a special place to me,” he said.
Gast experienced the dynamic of coaching in a game against a well-respect coach and friend in last year’s District 50-44 shootout win over St. John of Plaquemine. Veteran coach Ron LeJeune had joined Gast’s staff at North Iberville, where he retired and went to St. John to serve as offensive coordinator.
“He helped me start the program at North Iberville,” he said. “That was a friendly rivalry that we were fired up for, and we had had some great battles.”
The emotions for a game in the fourth week of the season, where the opposing coach returns after nearly three decades to the very stadium he experienced some of the high points of his career, will easily surpass anything either coach has experienced.
“I tell my players to go about it as competition,” Gast said. “There’s a ton of mutual respect because you both want the same thing. You both want to win the football game. Coach Sears and I go way back, and I’ll have nothing but respect for him that night. We’ll exchange our pleasantries, and once the game starts, it’s on.”
Said Sears: “I hope he does great things and takes it even further. I know he’s a very capable young man, young coach. I’m sure the kids will respond well to him. I’m very proud of him.”