Coaching is in his blood: Ross Currier has No. 1 Jewel Sumner pointed in right direction
by William Weathers // GeauxPreps.com Contributor
The mission statement for Jewel Sumner’s football program can’t be any more defined.
It sits on a wall in the office of 11th-year head coach Ross Currier, a constant reminder to the players that greatness is expected but comes at a hefty price.
Winning a district championship was the first standard the Cowboys arrived at for the first time in 20 years last season, with a 10-2 record. The second half of the program’s desired objective is to win a state championship, something the school has yet to experience.
“You have to talk about it with the kids,” Currier said. “They can see that we’re not that far away. We want to try and get to that step. … That’s the ultimate goal. They’ve accomplished district and feel they can compete again this year as district champs and try and make a run in the playoffs.”
Jewel Sumner achieved its share of distinction this week, becoming the No. 1 team in the Class 3A rankings according to the Louisiana Sports Writers Association. The Cowboys (3-0), who were ranked eighth in the preseason, have made a rapid climb to No. 6 and No. 4 before the top three teams – St. James, Sterlington, and Madison Prep – all lost last week.
Jewel Sumner, which remained unbeaten with a 28-7 win over Loranger, received four of 11 first-place votes and 115 total points, just ahead of No. 2 St. James (113) and No. 3 Sterlington (111).
“It’s a tribute to them and how they’ve been playing the last few years,” Currier said. “We’ve been building and building, and we were pretty successful last year, and we’re trying to build on that. We still have a lot in front of us, some tests coming up. They’ll embrace it.
“Our goal is to try and get better each day,” Currier said. “We talk about 1%. (improvement). You’ve got to get better at something. They’ve been doing that, and I’m pretty sure they’ll continue to do that. This is the first time we’ve been No. 1 since I’ve been the head coach. It’s an honor.”
Jewel Sumner caps a three-game homestand Thursday with Livonia at 7 p.m. The Cowboys travel to Division II state runner-up Franklinton on Oct. 3 and open defense of their District 8-3A championship at Springfield on Oct. 10.
“We kind of embraced being the underdogs, but I guess we’re not the underdogs now,” Currier said with a laugh. “We talked about that going into the season. I think last year we snuck up on a couple of people, but this year we knew we would have a target on our backs. So far, we’ve handled it very good. I think we’ll continue to handle it.
“Since this (senior class) has been sophomores, about 70% of them have been starters,” Currier said. “They’re used to winning. They won in middle school and JV. They embrace having the target on their backs. They know what they have to do.”
Stop if you’ve heard this story before.
A small rural high school in Tangipahoa Parish becomes the backdrop for an eager, innovative coach who not only captivates the high school he works for but also cements his coaching legacy.
Before Ross Currier took over Jewel Sumner in 2015, three years after serving as the school’s defensive coordinator, that popular surname had become a household name in other parts of the parish with their respective brand of winning football, combining to win five state championships.
Donald Currier, the father of Ross, embarked on a 31-year career at now-defunct Woodland in Amite, West Feliciana (formerly St. Francisville), Amite, and Franklinton, putting together a 254-111-1 record (69.5 winning percentage). That mark ranked No. 22 at the start of the season on the state’s all-time wins list, and Donald Currier won three state championships at Amite, including Ross’ senior season, and made a total of six trips to the Superdome.
David Currier, the uncle of Ross, logged the same number of years in coaching at Kentwood and Bowling Green, and his career record of 264-112 (70.2 winning percentage) ranked him No. 18. In 26 years as head coach, he guided the Kangaroos to a pair of a Class 1A state titles in 1997-98 and five trips to the Superdome.
“Just watching them and seeing how they did things has helped me as a head coach,” said Ross Currier, now 42. “I knew they knew how to win. I’ve gotten a lot of stuff from both of them. I kind of always wanted to build my own program. Kentwood had success under my uncle, and my dad was successful at Amite and Franklinton. He built that at Amite.”
Ross looks back at his career path, one he thought he might venture off the coaching sideline. He was a ball boy for his dad, witnessing the height of Amite’s success, and went on to become a standout safety for the Warriors before walking on and playing for Southeastern Louisiana, which had rekindled its program under coach Hal Mumme.
“They tried to convince me to do something different,” he said of his father and uncle. “In the back of my mind, I always knew I wanted to coach, just being around it my whole life. I was always on the sidelines and always got to see it. I got to see their success.
“Everything was football,” he said. “On Friday night, it was always about football. When I went to Southeastern, I started in nursing (major), but in the back of my mind I knew that I didn’t want to do it that long. I went into kinesiology and started coaching and haven’t looked back, and I’m glad I did.”
Donald was under the assumption that his son was going to try out for the baseball team when he went to Southeastern.
“The next day he calls his mother and said he went out for football,” he said. “They were just starting the program and got excited. That was his real love, so he walked on and played for a couple of years. It really helped him. Sometimes you’re hesitant to see your son go into coaching. He’s going to do what he wants to do. He was in it the whole time, and that’s what he enjoyed.
Donald recalled a state semifinal game at Cecilia, where Ross was an 11-year-old ball boy exposed to colorful language on Cecilia’s sideline.
“He learned new languages over there,” he laughed. “He had never heard so much cussing in his life.”
When the younger Currier was asked for a list of schools to do his student teaching and complete his degree from SLU, Jewel Sumner wasn’t one of them.
His coaching journey, though, began at Jewel Sumner in the community of Tangipahoa, where the one red light town boasts a population of less than 500 residents. The rural way of life was appealing, and he’s embraced the town’s charm since 2007, a place where he’s helped change the fortunes of the town’s football team.
“I thought it was a place where I could build something, and we have,” he said. “The community’s embraced me. I feel like we’ve kind of placed the program on the map where it should be. One of my goals was to build a program, and I think we’re doing that right now. God’s put me in this position. I think He’s put me here for a reason.
“I know everybody in the community,” he said. “On Fridays around here, everybody’s coming out to the game. Our principal (Christopher Fussell) said the last two weeks we’ve had unbelievable gates. It’s a testament to the kids being successful. People want to see us play, and they like what they’re seeing, and they keep coming. You root for everybody around here. It’s a country school. It’s kind of grown on me, and now I just love it. It’s second nature.”
Three years after taking over Sumner’s program, Currier opted for an offense that he had a long history.
The Wing-T was an approach both his father and uncle ran versions of during their historic careers, and it became apparent to Currier that it would be a perfect fit for the Cowboys.
“We’ve been that way since 2018, and it’s been the best move that’s ever happened,” he said. “Everybody’s used to playing a spread. A lot of teams don’t know how to line up (against the Wing-T). We’ve given people fits that have talent because they don’t know how to stop it. We do a good job of running it with a great offensive coordinator in Zach Kellem. That’s one of the keys to our success, going to that system.”
Not only did Ross Currier have invaluable resources to draw from to introduce the concept, but Donald said his son went to school on the subject for further insight into what’s become his team’s preferred method of operation.
He approached coaches such as the late Rick Gaille at St. James and former Abbeville coach Brent Indest (now of Lakeshore) for their knowledge of an offense that had long been staple of their success.
“They were like mentors for him to learn from,” Donald said. “We had to go against the Wing-T when we played St. James, and it was always tough. We played Abbeville one year, and Brent was running it, and it was tough to go against. We prepared more for the Wing-T than any other offense. We had great respect for that.
“But Ross has taken it a step further,” Donald said. “He’s got a great offensive coordinator in Zach Kellem, and before that, it was Blake Wilson. Ross will double-wing it and run a lot of speed sweep with the Wing-T. It creates problems when you can run a speed sweep with the wing.”
Ross, who faced the offense during his playing days at Amite, said he adopted elements of the offense from his father’s ability to run the jet sweep and mix in some misdirection with lots of formations, and his uncle’s double wing set.
“I’m more like them,” Ross said of his philosophy that mirrors some of the hallmarks of his father and uncle. “Both prided themselves on being in the weight room, being physical, and I’ve taken that same approach. Priority No. 1 for them was being in the weight room, and that’s our top priority in our program. The Xs and Os are great, but at the end of the day, if that guy you’re lined up across is that much stronger than you, there’s not much you can do about it.”
Donald credited Ross’ expertise on the defensive side of the football to his playing days at SLU, where Mumme brought in defensive guru Woody Widenhofer, the owner of four Super Bowl rings, as the defensive coordinator with the Pittsburgh Steelers, to coach the upstart Lions.
“He must have picked up a lot from him because he didn’t pick it up from me,” he said. “Defending the spread, he does a really good job. The spread was just coming along when I was getting out. Now everybody can throw the ball and throw it effectively to skill.”
Donald’s been the biggest fan of his son’s team, one that didn’t enjoy success in the beginning.
Sumner went through three straight losing seasons before making the playoffs for the first time in 2018. There were some rather forgettable games with 50-0 and 46-7 losses during a 1-9 season in ’17 that tested the patience of a seasoned veteran such as Donald Currier.
“There were some lean times,” he said. “It was tough to sit and watch. Ross was so depleted for a couple of years. I felt for him.”
Ross remained undeterred. Sumner put together three winning seasons in a four-year stretch and won its first playoff game in 2020 against Iota. The Cowboys advanced to the second round of the Class 3A playoffs and lost to Amite in ’23 before going on to capture their first district title last season and falling to Bunkie in the Division III select quarterfinals and finishing with a 10-2 record.
“When I first took over the kids, we were hopeful of winning,” said Ross, who is 60-50 at the school and was the District 8-3A Coach of the Year. “Now we go into games and expect to win. That’s probably the biggest change. The culture of the community, the culture of the kids. … They’re used to having success, and that continues to build.
“I felt like we had everything in place, but until you start to see the wins come into place, it’s hard to get the kids to buy in,” Ross said. “We’ve been very successful over the last five to six years and have won a lot of football games. We’ve been right there competing for a district championship for the last three or four years, and last year we were able to get over the hump. That meant a lot.”
Sumner’s risen to the top of Class 3A this season with 14 seniors providing leadership on a 55-player roster. There was also enough disappointment following the loss to Bunkie to carry over this offseason to fuel this year’s team, which has defeated St. Helena (41-18), Kentwood (29-14), and Loranger (28-7).
“Bunkie had been kind of blowing people out, and physically we were right there with them,” Currier said. “We had a chance to win it and threw a pick-6 late in the game that gave them the lead. We came back and were two points away. The kids knew how close we were. They responded the whole offseason and summer to get to that point again and try to go beyond that point. In the school’s history, we’ve never been beyond the quarterfinals.”
Seniors Jamohn Dyson and Jeremiah Brooks, a pair of 1,000-yard backs a year ago, are the team’s leaders on the ground once again. Dyson, an honorable mention choice on the coach’s all-state team, has 47 carries for 398 yards (8.5 per carry) and six touchdowns, and Brooks has 203 yards and 2 TDs on 31 attempts. Sophomore Jah’Kahri Brown has also added 159 yards and a TD on 20 attempts.
Senior Elijah Neyland, last year’s tight end, is the starting quarterback and has the luxury of playing behind a veteran offensive line with four of five starters back. Seniors Ashton Broussard (center) and Caeden Stearns (tackle) return, along with juniors Luis Moreno (guard) and Jaydon Beese (guard).
“He could have been our starting quarterback last year,” Currier said of Neyland. “He’s picked up where we left off, and we kind of figured he would. He has great size (6-foot-4). He’s a great baseball player, throws a great ball, and does a good job of managing the offense. He doesn’t turn the ball over, and that’s what you need in the Wing-T.
“We figured we would be pretty solid on offense because we had a lot coming back,” Currier said of his offensive line. “Those guys know what they’re responsibilities are. They come back to the sideline and say what the defense is doing, and it helps as a coach is calling plays when they understand all of this.”
Senior defensive lineman Collin Mack, a three-year starter, was the team’s second-leading tackler in ’24 and has been active and productive again. The Cowboys also have an experienced linebacker group with seniors Makialley Robbins, Michael Hamilton, and Dyson.
“I think we’re headed in the right direction,” Currier said. “Rome wasn’t built in a day. It’s a process. You usually don’t have teams that come out of nowhere and go win a state championship or go to the semis. You start by winning playoff games, and you’re consistently in the quarterfinals.
“Once you get to the quarterfinals, you have a chance to go to the Dome,” Currier said. “The key is playing Thanksgiving week, and that’s what we’ve been preaching. If you’re playing Thanksgiving week, you’ve got a shot.”