Lasting Impression: St. Martinville High Stadium to add Carroll Delahoussaye’s name
by William Weathers // GeauxPreps.com Contributor
Former St. Martinville High and LSU standout Garland Jean-Batiste was among those who felt the time to honor his former coach was beyond overdue.
For more than two decades, the sterling accomplishments of Carroll Delahoussaye – a two-time state championship coach – seemingly sat in mothballs, collecting dust outside the view of the adoring public that once witnessed his greatness.
During his 28-year head coaching career, 45 years in athletics at the school, plus his 10 years of public service, Delahoussaye was one of the state’s most recognizable figures and a beloved person in his hometown of St. Martinville.
For some reason, that didn’t translate in a timely fashion when it came for Delahoussaye to earn his flowers, a reciprocation of sorts from those in position to honor the 75-year-old former coach and parish councilman.
“We weren’t going to stop until it happened,” Jean-Batiste said. “That’s part of the mentality this man’s instilled in us. You don’t quit. You don’t let go. Don’t relinquish, and we did not and were not going to do that.”
Jean-Batiste and former St. Martinville player Jonas Fontenette, a member of the St. Martinville City Council, joined forces to get the idea of renaming St. Martinville Senior High’s football stadium in Delahoussaye’s honor across the goal line.
There actually was some resistance, not that Delahoussaye wasn’t worthy, but the effect it may have in signing off on such future St. Martin Parish football royalty.
Both players experienced Delahoussaye’s knack for creating a home environment at St. Martinville’s version of ‘Death Valley’ which extended outside to the mores rural areas such as Coteau Homes, Catahoula, Parks, and Cade – resulting in a melting pot of euphoria when the Tigers played.
“The community came together, and it was the place to be every Friday night,” said former St. Martinville linebacker Jimmy Poirier. “The talk of the town was what the Tigers were going to do that week. We had a ton of support, a very strong homefield advantage.”
Fontenette and Jean-Batiste made another push on Delahoussaye’s behalf on Oct. 1.
Jean-Batiste, a former FBI agent and owner of an aerospace company, decided to rely on a 57-year-old gospel song to drive home his point about his former coach.
“‘Let the work I have done speak for me’,” Jean-Batiste said, referring to the title of a 1968 tune from The Consolers. “Just look at his accomplishments. I went and researched every school in the state that has a stadium named after him. None of the coaches had the accomplishments of Carroll Delahoussaye. For me, it was a no-brainer.”
The measure passed, and St. Martinville’s home field will undergo a cosmetic makeover before the start of the 2026 season, adding Carroll Delahoussaye Stadium to its façade.
A celebration is planned before the team’s first home game next season.
“It makes me and my family feel great,” Delahoussaye said. “All of the calls and texts I’ve received from everybody, and congratulations. The most important two words I’ve heard are that it’s long overdue, that I deserved it. It makes me feel good.
“I’ve told the players that called that I wished I could put every single one of the players’ names on there,” Delahoussaye said. “All of them were a part of this, and it wouldn’t have happened without them. It took great administration, which I always had. I had great principals and teachers that always helped. The community was behind us so strongly. Anything we asked, they were always there to help us. It’s my name up there, but I wanted them to know that I’m representing them.”
St. Martinville had never advanced beyond the state quarterfinal round before Delahoussaye became the school’s head coach in 1975.
The former tight end at St. Martinville for head coach Charlie Cranford didn’t plan on attending college, much less becoming a coach, when, after three months as a welder’s helper, he had a change of heart.
“I had a good job, making good money and really liked it,” he said. “I decided that I didn’t want to do that all of my life. I went to talk to my parents about going to college, which was $60 a semester. When I went to register, they asked me for a major, which I had never thought about. They asked me what I liked and said sports and football. They mentioned a teacher/coach, and I said to shoot for that.”
Delahoussaye attended then USL (now UL-Lafayette) and found himself in the same circles as Kirk Crochet and Lewis Cook Sr., forging a bond that went on to include Larry Dauterive and continues to this day.
All four men would create their own coaching legacies at the high school level, where they’re among the state’s winningest coaches, combining for 1,093 wins, and are all part of the Louisiana High School Athletic Association’s Hall of Fame.
“In college, I knew he was going to be a coach,” Crochet said, who coached with Delahoussaye at St. Martinville in 1978 before a 28-year run at Loreauville led to 201 wins. “He knew he was going to be a coach, and all of his friends knew he was going to be a coach. He was destined to do that.”
An opening was created when St. Martinville’s head coach, Chester Gosnell, left for USL, leaving an assistant’s job filled by Delahoussaye for three years under head Tommy Holleman.
Three years later, when the Tigers were searching for a new coach, Delahoussaye waited patiently to move forward with a new coach when he learned he was in the crosshairs of the discussion.
“I just wanted somebody good that I could learn some football under,” he said.
When the school’s principal informed Delahoussaye that he would be the school’s new head coach, he questioned his own credentials.
“I told him he had to be kidding,” he said. “I had been there for three years and was 25. He told me the school board members were all in agreement, so I said yes.”
Delahoussaye said his debut was anything but a smashing success.
St. Martinville tied Loreauville and lost its next four games, leaving Delahoussaye with plenty of doubt about taking over a program with two returning starters and 29 players.
The Tigers, though, continued to progress and pushed Abbeville to the brink in the district championship game.
“We lost by one point,” Delahoussaye said, “and after that, it just took off.”
Delahoussaye’s intensity framed his approach to players.
He was a disciple of the physical brand of field position football with stout defensive play preferred by Cranford, a style Gosnell introduced to Holleman and assistant Gerald Harrington at St. Martinville after he spent time at Catholic-New Iberia coaching with Bobby Banna.
“That’s all I knew at the time,” Delahoussaye said. “My head coach and Coach Harrington were hard, and Harrington was a fiery little guy. That’s how I knew how to coach, and they gave me the opportunity when I was in school to coach about 10-11 JV players. I think that’s what saved me my first year of coaching.
“After we lost those four games in a row, most people would say they were doing something wrong, and I needed to change,” Delahoussaye said. “I didn’t know anything else. We just stayed with it, and the kids really came along. It was simple what we did. That’s why we were winning. We wouldn’t beat ourselves, and I just stayed with that philosophy, depending on the athletes we had. I was blessed to have outstanding running backs to do what I wanted to do to fit the program. We kept the best kids on the field, and they played hard.”
Jean-Batiste, who played between 1981-83, noticed the phenomena that were taking place before home games each fall.
St. Martinville’s success had caught fire in the community and helped to make Tiger Stadium a pit for opponents to play.
“It wasn’t just a football game on Friday nights; it was the weekly event of the city,” he said. “As an opposing player, it wouldn’t be surprising to see a figure hanging from one of the trees. Right before we ran out onto the field, Carroll would make us start hitting each other. That was kind of intimidating for the opposing teams because if we were hitting each other that way, what’s going to happen to those guys?”
Poirier, who played between 1982-85 before playing at McNeese State, recalled the droves of fans waiting to get into home games.
It was a tribute to the support Delahoussaye had established.
“It was truly a small-town environment, and they stood behind us on Fridays,” Poirier said. “It was a condensed version of Friday Night Lights. It was fun. Coach Delahoussaye created that. It happens when you’re successful and bring a community together.”
Delahoussaye witnessed the unifying pull the football program’s success had on the community.
“It brought the whole town together, which is something you didn’t see often, and it was all for the same thing,” he said. “That was because of what the kids had done. A young fan once made the statement that this was the only time you’d ever see all the people in one community pulling for the same thing.”
Fontenette, an all-state player, was part of a district championship team with fellow all-state selection Darrell Charles and 6-foot-7 quarterback Leonard Mitchell, who went on to star for LSU basketball. The Tigers lost to eventual state champion Lutcher in the second round of the playoffs.
St. Martinville made back-to-back trips to the quarterfinals in 1977-78, taking another step forward in 1980 with a loss to Minden in the semifinals – the first for the school.
“I began to think that we were good enough to do this,” Delahoussaye said.
Seven years after taking over the program, Delahoussaye finally broke through in 1981 with the school’s first state championship.
The Tigers (13-1) atoned for the previous year’s semifinal loss to Minden and advanced to the Class 3A state championship game, which was the first year of the Prep Classic in the Superdome in New Orleans.
“Everybody was so happy,” Delahoussaye said. “It was such a good time. It’s a small town. People see each other, and that was the conversation you would have. It just made everybody feel good and come together. That was accomplished by a group of 14-15-16-17-year-olds.”
St. Martinville defeated Franklinton, 14-7, in a manner that would become reminiscent of Delahoussaye’s teams.
Louis Mitchell rushed for a team-high 105 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries, and Jean-Batiste added 60 yards on attempts.
The Tigers outgained the Demons 248-244 and forced three turnovers. Team MVP Alvin Lasseigne had two interceptions, a fumble recovery, and two key passes broken up. He also added a 53-yard punt that changed the field position.
Jean-Batiste missed a significant portion of his junior season because of a broken arm, and upon his return, was utilized more at running back than linebacker.
His replacement – 150-pounder Jude Guidry – was a shining example of Delahoussaye’s ability to get players to play at a high level, regardless of their size.
With Franklinton inside of St. Martinville’s 10-yard line following a fumble recovery, the Tigers’ defense found themselves in a position to have to make the seven-point lead stand up during the game’s final tense moments.
During a timeout after the fumble recovery, Jean-Batiste recalled Guidry’s confidence in the defense.
“He ran to the sideline and said, ‘Coach, don’t worry about it, they won’t get in’,” Jean-Batiste said of Guidry. “Sure enough, the defense held. That was just the mentality he instilled in us. That mentality carried over to life as well.”
Said Delahoussaye: “That was kind of the mentality our kids played with.”
Jean-Batiste, the state’s MVP at linebacker in 1982 who lost only three games during his career, was part of a staggering line of talented players during the 1980s.
Delahoussaye estimated his team’s losing four to five games between 1980-85 and playing in the Superdome three times with two state championships.
Lasseigne was a state MVP on defense in ’81, while Dennis Alexander and David Dugas earned first-team all-state status. Poirier and Dexter Harrison were all-state choices in ’85, while linebacker Clifford Champ and running back James Jacquet were state MVPs in ’85 and ’88, respectively.
“He was a great motivator, just an outstanding coach,” Crochet said. “I coached under three Hall of Fame coaches: Al Tregle (Morgan City), Lewis Cook (Notre Dame), and Carroll, and all were fantastic, and I learned from every one of them. They all did different things with their own personality.”
Coaches from the Acadiana area often asked Delahoussaye to get a glimpse of his practices. One such coach, former Erath High’s Jacob Byler, dropped by one afternoon to see the Tigers’ first strings working against each other in practice.
“He said that really gets your kids ready for when they go against something on Friday,” Delahoussaye said.
Three years later, Delahoussaye had his team in contention for another state championship against Washington Marion.
The Tigers had lost to Northside for the district championship, and the potential for a rematch dissolved when the Vikings lost in their home semifinal to Washington Marion.
St. Martinville (13-2) jumped out to a 14-0 lead, only to have the Charging Indians pull even at 14-all in the second quarter. It was Porier’s 27-yard field goal that provided a 17-14 halftime edge.
“At halftime, the kids were so relaxed,” Delahoussaye said. “I just told them it was going to be a dogfight.”
Running back Troy Filer, the team’s Offensive MVP, had 175 yards and two touchdowns, and the team’s defensive MVP, David Jean-Batiste, helped combine for a 21-20 victory.
“Coach Delahoussaye instilled in us that every game,” Poirier said, “we were playing a good team and had a target on our back and to give your best because they’re bringing their best. We’re 15-16-17-years-old and had the attitude whoever it was across the field, we felt like we were ready to play. The bigger the team, the better the team, the more talented, we were like, ‘let’s bring it on.’”
Delahoussaye said the sight of an overflow crowd of his supporters in the Superdome and subsequent victory parades was heartwarming.
“The fans, kids,” he said. “They celebrated.”
A move to Class 4A the following season resulted in the Tigers’ third trip to the Superdome in five seasons, a 42-7 setback to John Ehret, which led 28-7 at halftime.
Delahoussaye, twice the state’s Coach of the Year in 1985 and 2000, led St. Martinville to the playoffs in 26 of his 28 seasons, 10 quarterfinal appearances, and six semifinals.
He would later coach two noteworthy players in undersized defensive back Jeff Landry and uber-talented wide receiver Early Doucet.
Landry, who held such distinguished political positions in the U.S. House of Representatives and was the state’s Attorney General, is currently in his first term as Governor.
“He was like a lot of our kids, he played with heart and determination,” Delahoussaye said of Landry. He waited his turn, went through practice for three years until he played. He was a good kid. He gives me more trouble now than when he was playing. We’ve got kids on the city council, doctors, lawyers, and regular people that work in town. It’s great seeing them be successful and having a good family.”
Doucet’s versatility lent itself to playing multiple positions for Delahoussaye, ranging from quarterback to wide receiver, the latter where he was regarded as the nation’s No. 1 wideout his senior year. After compiling 7,704 all-purpose yards and 79 touchdowns, he signed with LSU, where he caught 160 passes for 1,943 yards and 20 touchdowns – ranking in the school’s top 10 in all three categories.
He was a third-round draft choice in 2008 by the Arizona Cardinals and spent five seasons in the NFL, making 139 receptions for 1,491 yards and 7 TDs.
Delahoussaye retired following the 2003 season with a record of 246-92-1 – an average of 8.8 wins per season that ranks him in a tie with Haynesville’s David Franklin for 24th on the state’s career win list.
“We had a great run,” he said. “My wife (Janet) and I look through the albums, and we see all of the kids and their faces and the fans. That was such a fun time.”
Delahoussaye remained present, moving into the role of athletic director for another 14 years until 2017.
“We had a good mixture of kids,” Delahoussaye said. “With the surrounding country kids and the kids in the community itself, it was a good mixture. It worked out well for what we wanted to do. We always had a few exceptional players. It took somebody like Early to get to the NFL.”
One of the endearing qualities that made Delahoussaye extraordinary, Jean-Batiste said, was his adoration for his players. That may not have always been present during an exchange in practice or a game, but players always knew Delahoussaye wanted what was best for them.
“Not only did he cheer and love players,” he said, “but if someone shows that he cares for a kid, then you can coach him. If you show that kid love and care, you can coach that kid, and that’s what he did.”
Delahoussaye, who was assisted by Andy Lasseigne and John Sopko on all three teams that reached the Superdome, had a way with molding young boys into men, Poirier said.
“He made people stay in school,” he said. “Football was their reason to do something with themselves. He saw people that weren’t as fortunate as my situation. He kept kids in school, kept kids out of trouble, and got the most out of every person.”
The year after he graduated from St. Martinville, Jean-Batiste became aware of a show of Delahoussaye’s generosity. He said the mother of a football player, along with his brother, was on drugs and their father wasn’t present, leaving the two high school kids to live on their own.
“Carroll didn’t have to do this, but he would bring these kids to buy groceries every week,” he said. “He would do this for anyone. That’s the kind of heart and character that he exudes. He’s just a great human being. I remember kids getting into trouble when I was in high school. They were afraid to call their parents because they were arrested. They would call Carroll Delahoussaye, and he went and got them out of jail.”
The following summation was captured by St. Martinville mayor Jason Willis during a Nov. 6 post on the town’s Facebook page, congratulating Delahoussaye on his honor.
“Coach Del wasn’t just an outstanding head coach with an exceptional career – he was a mentor, a leader, and a life-changer for countless student-athletes,” he wrote. “His impact reached far beyond the field. He shaped young men with discipline, character, and confidence, leaving an imprint that will last for generations. His legacy of excellence, mentorship, and integrity has defined St. Martinville Senior High School athletics and continues to inspire pride throughout our community.”
Delahoussaye served three terms on the parish council, and if not for his being term-limited, his influence on St. Martinville could be ongoing.
Jean-Batiste thinks it is.
“It couldn’t have happened to a more deserving person,” he said. “I’ve said this before, outside of my immediate family, there’s no man who’s done so much for me in my lifetime than Carroll Delahoussaye. He’s not only a phenomenal coach, but just a stellar human being.
“His on-field accomplishments pale in comparison to what he’s done off the field,” he said. “In the community of St. Martinville, with the kids that he’s coached, he’s left a huge impact. Not only on the minds but in the hearts and souls of everyone he’s coached and everyone that’s seen him coached.”
Delahoussaye looks forward to sharing his night in nine months with as many of his former coaches and players as possible.
“It’s going to hopefully be like a big party at a football game like it used to be,” Delahoussaye said. “My name’s up there, but I wished they had a place for everybody. I want them to know, along with the community, that without them, this wouldn’t be going on. It took everything. It really did.
“There’s an old saying, ‘It was never a job’,” Delahoussaye said. “I never ever thought of it as a job. I was going to school that morning; I wasn’t going to work. I was very, very fortunate that it worked out that way.”