Earning their stripes: Jeanerette emerging as contender in Division IV non-select bracket
by William Weathers // GeauxPreps.com Contributor
There was more than three decades in between Jeanerette’s last appearance in the state quarterfinals until its encounter with Haynesville in 2023. The Tigers enjoyed it so much that they made a repeat trip a year ago, falling to General Trass, 36-34, two steps short of the school’s first trip to the Superdome.
With three straight state playoff appearances, including back-to-back trips to the quarterfinals, there’s no denying the trajectory of Jeanerette’s program, which has become a consistent winner since dropping down to Class 1A/Division IV four years ago.
The Tigers (3-0), which began the season unranked, have been amongst the fastest risers in the Class 1A rankings over the course of the first three weeks of the season, reaching No. 3 going into Thursday’s home game with Iberia Parish rival Loreauville at 7 p.m.
“We wanted to figure out who would play certain positions from what we lost last year,” said Jeanerette’s seventh-year head coach Clifford Paul, whose team went 9-3 last season. “As a staff, we did a great job of filling in people for those spots.”
Jeanerette’s simply been dominant to surge from an unranked team to begin the season to its current No. 3 ranking behind No. 1 Haynesville and No. 2 Opelousas Catholic.
The Tigers have outscored their opponents by an average of 40 points, shutting out White Castle, 50-0, last week.
“My staff’s been putting in the work to get the kids to this point,” Paul said. “We’re excited about that No. 3 ranking. We treat each week as a business trip. They’ve stayed focused. The first couple of years we were winning, the kids were excited. Now, it’s something that’s automatic. We automatically get out there and perform.
“We started the season where we’ve filled in with certain kids at certain positions,” Paul said. “As a whole group, we’ve played decent as a team. I think by Week 5 or 6, we want to be getting to where we want to be during that stretch into the end of the season.”
Jeanerette has the makeup of a team on the cusp of achieving big things this year.
The Tigers return one of the state’s top defensive players in Class 1A with senior tackle Javonte Williams, a first-team Class 1A All-State selection. They also have junior Greg Green, the anchor of the team’s offensive line, returning after he earned first team All-State honors.
The team has an equitable makeup with eight seniors and a dynamic junior class of 10 players.
Paul, a 1989 graduate of Jeanerette, returned to his alma mater in 2019, where lagging roster numbers made things difficult in Class 2A.
The Tigers had four straight losing seasons, including a low of 0-10 in 2021, before moving to Class 1A a year later and have seemingly been on equal footing since.
“With the change to divisions, it gives us a better opportunity to compete,” Paul said. “The good thing for us is that our number of players has gone up. We’re still a small single-A school, but we’re getting more kids out for football, which helps us with our numbers.”
Jeanerette went 6-5 with a first-round playoff loss in ’22, establishing a playoff culture that’s remained the past two seasons, where the Tigers were among the state’s top eight teams in the non-select divisions.
Their aspirations are now even higher.
“That’s what we’re hoping for,” Paul said. “We’re fueled by a large junior class. That’s the fuel of the team.”
Jeanerette announced its arrival as an upper echelon team with a third-place finish behind Covenant Christian and Central Catholic of Morgan City in the race for the District 7-1A championship.
The Tigers took off in the postseason, following a first-round bye, defeating Grand Lake (46-24) before running into red-hot General Trass (36-34) which lost to eventual state champion Haynesville.
“We took from that game that you can’t take people for granted,” Paul said of General Trass, a No. 12 seed. “Our motivation now is everybody we play has a shot of winning. We can’t take anybody lightly. We went into the offseason to not slack on the weights, to not slack in conditioning.”
Jeanerette turned to sophomore Aaron Tillman to lead its spread offense after the graduation of Zyon Colar.
“He was a running back as a freshman,” Paul said. “Coach Steve Simon’s done a wonderful job of preparing him to come in and take over the quarterback role. He’s done a wonderful job since he’s been at quarterback. He can run and throw. His job is to manage the game, and he’s done a wonderful job.”
Junior Devin Duhon, who rushed for more than 1,200 yards with 20 touchdowns, has been the team’s central figure in the backfield, where he’s been joined by freshman Destin Smith.
Junior Morris Walters is a receiver with four touchdown receptions to his credit last season.
“Devin’s been an asset to us,” Paul said. “If you miss a tackle, he’s going to break it. We’ve had a freshman in Destin Smith come up in the early part of the season and caught our attention.”
Former Jeanerette head coach Zeb Simon has been a part of the staff and is now the offensive line coach – an area the Tigers place a great deal of emphasis on.
“Coach (Steve) Simon has done a wonderful job of preparing the kids for different fronts, how people are going to attack us,” Paul said. “Coach Zeb Simon is a wonderful teacher.”
With the return of Green, the Tigers’ line has adopted a bit of a chip on their shoulders because of their slight-of-build statures. Paul said the group has been fierce competitors, such as junior center Thaddeus Clay, sophomore guard Josiah Abraham, junior guard Mitchell Colbert, and a right tackle combination of junior Dylan Walters and senior Braylon Gilbert.
“We like to establish the run,” Paul said. “Our run game dictates everything on offense that we do. The offensive line has put in more work than anybody for the simple fact that they’re undersized, and a lot of people don’t respect them because of their size. They have a point to prove.”
The 6-2, 240-pound Williams, who has picked up scholarship offers from Stephen F. Austin and Sacramento State, had 94 tackles with 14 tackles for loss, six sacks, and two forced fumbles last season. He was the District 7-1A co-Defensive Player of the Year, and Charles, who has garnered interest from McNeese State, Stephen F. Austin, and Sam Houston, was the team’s leading tackler in ’24 with 102 tackles, three sacks, two forced fumbles, four interceptions, and four defensive touchdowns.
Senior defensive end/linebacker Raymond Jack benefits when teams try to run away from Williams, Paul said.
“He can play anywhere we put him,” Paul said of Williams. “He’s an impact player that can play defensive end and linebacker. You have to gameplan for him. You have to know where he is at all times. He fuels the defense.”
The Tigers are also talented in the back half of their defense with junior free safety Jaiden Ward and junior safety/nickelback Nysir Jackson.
“This group of kids believes that they can win,” Paul said. “They believe in their teammates. They believe in the coaching staff.”