Model Coach: Success for OCS’ Steven Fitzhugh takes a backseat to his character
by William Weathers // GeauxPreps.com Contributor
Opposing coaches would believe there are a myriad of reasons to loathe Ouachita Christian School’s football coach, Steven Fitzhugh.
That’s until you meet him, and his career’s worth of accolades and accomplishments pale in comparison to the down-to-earth person.
“With his constant success, I’ve told people it would be much easier to dislike coach Fitzhugh,” Vermilion Catholic coach Broc Prejean said. “And then you meet the guy, get to know him, and it’s impossible. He’s truly a good, Christian man and good person.”
Prejean, whose team defeated Ouachita Christian, 33-21, in last season’s Division IV select state championship, will never forget Fitzhugh’s show of sportsmanship in their first meeting in the 2020 state quarterfinal game in Abbeville.
The homestanding Eagles were trying to tie the game when a two-point pass attempt was incomplete, sending the Eagles from Monroe to the state title game against Calvary Baptist.
Instead of the obvious postgame celebration with his coaches and players, Prejean watched Fitzhugh head toward the field to comfort VC’s quarterback, Drew Lege.
“He did it immediately,” Prejean said. “It said so much about him. From that day on, he had a friend in me. In this profession that us as coaches develop relationships, he’s been one to develop one with.
“His number of wins are second to the kind of human being he is,” he said. “There’s a reason he has the success he has. I hold him in the same esteem as (St. Thomas More’s) Jim Hightower. Just a good, character person that are easy to follow if you play for them and easy to root for if you don’t.”
Fitzhugh, 55, has established one of the state’s more impeccable careers, spending his entire 32 years at Ouachita Christian, including his upcoming 27th season.
His 264-82 record ranks 17th all-time among the state’s winningest coaches, and based on his average of 9.7 wins a season, he could catapult to 12th on that list. He’s the state’s fifth active winningest coach, a group led by John Curtis’ J.T. Curtis (600), Hightower (482), Notre Dame’s Lewis Cook (407), and Archbishop Shaw’s Hank Tierney (331).
“I enjoy coaching,” said Fitzhugh, a native of Dallas. Hopefully, I’ve given back and made an impact like my coaches made on me. I’m blessed to have been at one place. That’s the continuity of our coaches and our administration.”
Fitzhugh has produced six of the school’s eight state championships with titles in 2000, ’11, ’12, ’14, ’19, and ’22. The school named its new artificial turf field in his honor in ’19.
“Thirty-something years go quickly,” Fitzhugh said. “I’m still enjoying every day, blessed to be around a great coaching staff and kids. We have kids who are not afraid of hard work.
“They love the grind, just great kids to be around,” Fitzhugh said. “I have no (retirement) timeline set. I’m going to keep going and enjoy every day the Lord gives me. It’s fun.”
Fitzhugh credits his former head coach at both Dallas Christian High and Harding University – Larry Richmond – for providing him the impetus to get into coaching.
Fitzhugh has tried to follow the same beliefs he believed made Richmond such an influential coach. He also credited his defensive coordinator in high school, Tony Felker, and Robbie Shackelford, a pair of coaches who also attended Harding.
“His positive influence, Christian attitude,” Fitzhugh said of Richmond, who ironically became the first head coach in OCS history. “He loved people and encouraged everyone. He loved the game of football. I also loved the game of football. He impacted a lot of folks.”
Sound familiar?
Fitzhugh was a 23-year-old assistant when he left Harding, located in Searcey, Ark., and joined OCS’ staff under head coach Micah Harper, serving as an assistant for four years until Harper’s retirement.
Harper, who led OCS to the school’s second state football championship in 1997 and more than 800 wins and six state crowns in baseball, was credited with being part of 15 state titles as a coach and athletic director. A member of the school’s Hall of Fame, he currently serves as its president, where he’s been at the school for 46 years.
After taking over the program in 1998, Fitzhugh struck gold three years later with the first of his six state titles, relying on a group of seniors he first taught as seventh graders to lead the way to the pinnacle in Class 2A.
“That was special,” he said of his team’s 28-14 win over Riverside Academy. “Those seniors were sophomores my first season and in the seventh grade when I taught them. We experienced a lot of first moments together. The state championship was really special.
“We had 11 seniors and eight of those guys changed positions, prior or during their senior year, to fit the needs of the team,” he said. “They sacrificed and set the standard for the players that came after them. It’s about what’s best for the team.”
One of his best examples of that team’s unselfishness was Brandon Hurley, a future LSU signee who went on to play offensive guard in college, switching to the offensive line after scoring 17 touchdowns the season before.
OCS remained a consistent winner under Fitzhugh, though, didn’t find itself back in the Superdome for another decade when the Eagles won back-to-back state titles in 2011-12.
The Eagles won the Class 1A crown 23-7 over West St. John and followed that a year later with a 20-8 triumph in the Class 1A final against legendary program Haynesville and its iconic coach Alton ‘Red’ Franklin.
“That’s what we’re always striving for as a football program,” Fitzhugh said. “Being able to play every game that we have the opportunity to play. It’s been special. We’ve been blessed. It’s hard to get there.”
OCS won the Division IV select state title 52-6 over Southern Lab in 2014 and, following a four-year absence from the championship game, put together an impressive stretch with four consecutive state title appearances – winning titles No. 5 and 6 under Fitzhugh in ’19 and ’22.
The most relevant fact during that impressive run was OCS’ ability to in clutch situations. The Eagles won four consecutive quarterfinal or semifinal games, all determined by either a successful two-point conversion or stopping the opponents’ two-point bid.
“We were blessed to have been on the plus side of that all four years,” he said. “It’s a hard road to get there. Every year is a blessing.”
OCS was involved in the seventh-highest scoring game in Prep Classic history, outlasting Catholic-Pointe Coupee, 67-22, and defeating Vermilion Catholic, 28-14, in ’22.
“It’s exciting when you match up with them because you know it’s only going to be about football, with both sides trying to accomplish the same things,” Prejean said. “It’s a great representation of what high school football is in my opinion. They’re incredibly disciplined, always incredibly prepared, and super aggressive. It’s easy to get your guys ready because they know they’re up against a giant.”
OCS rivals most schools in the state, regardless of classification, for stability in its coaching staff.
When Fitzhugh discusses continuity in his program, that’s a direct reflection of the men who have worked for him for several decades.
“It’s a good place,” Fitzhugh said of OCS. “It’s a great environment to be with your kids. It’s a great culture to be a part of.”
Four coaches – Sonny and Drew Vidrine, Tim Mosher, and Randall Bentley – have been with Fitzhugh for at least 20 years, and Robby Devinney for 10-plus years. Junior high coaches Kevin Washam and Labrian Wells have each coached for 20 years at the school.
“Our coaches work hard,” Fitzhugh said. “They put a ton of effort into it and study the game, prepare during the season. It’s the fundamentals of the game. Regardless of what offense a person runs, it’s going to come down to blocking and taking care of the football, running disciplined pass routes, catching the football.
“Defense, regardless of the scheme, you have to line up right, know your assignment, and be good tacklers,” Fitzhugh said. “People try to make it complex. It comes down to the basics of the game of blocking, tackling, and making the fewest mistakes.”
Despite the loss of 17 starters in ’23 from a team that was upset by Southern Lab (38-34) in the state semifinals, OCS went 12-2 and was back in the Superdome last season against Vermilion Catholic and its standout quarterback Johnathon Dartez, the Class 1A Most Outstanding Player.
Fitzhugh praised that group, one that had nine of 11 seniors starting for the first time, to reach the Division IV select state title game, where the Dartez-powered Eagles emerged victorious.
“They just did things right, and got better and better,” Fitzhugh said of last year’s club.
Prejean said Fitzhugh was outside the door to his team’s locker room to congratulate his team.
“He was waiting to tell our guys great job and to talk with me,” said the 37-year-old Prejean, now in his sixth season at VC. “It’s been a rewarding relationship between us. For 60 minutes, we have every intention to try and beat the Eagles. Leading up to that, he’s been a professional and friend. He’s exactly as he represents himself to be, and that’s a superhuman being.”
Fitzhugh relishes relationships with all of his players, past and present, but has been afforded the opportunity to coach all three of his sons, including his youngest Maddox who is senior wide receiver/defensive end this season.
His two oldest sons – Grant, a quarterback/safety, and Will, a running back/safety – were part of state-title winning teams during their careers, which started as the team’s ballboys in 2010.
Moreover, he’s also cherished the relationship with his daughter Ellie, a big part of the tight-knit family’s bond that enjoyed their father winning state titles in ‘19 and ‘22 when she was in school.
“It’s been a neat experience for our family,” he said. “Getting to enjoy those moments together.”
For the second straight season, Fitzhugh will enjoy coaching second generation players that will reach 14 this year – a group that’s he either taught their mothers or fathers.
He refers to them as “grand” students, a collection that includes senior quarterback Luke Vidrine, son of Drew Vidrine, the team’s offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach.
Prejean said there’s been no one better than Fitzhugh to model his career or simulate his program after.
“You have to look toward the more experienced guys that have done it for a long time,” he said. “If they’re still doing it and having success, they’re doing it the right way. It was easy to try and do some of the things those guys in Monroe were doing because they obviously had a lot of the puzzle figured out.”
OCS has an equal distribution of five starters returning on both offense and defense.
Vidrine, an honorable mention Class 2A All-State selection in ’24, completed 146 of 239 passes for 2,356 yards and 26 touchdowns and six interceptions. The three-year starter, who owns a career 24-4 record, also carried 65 times for 155 yards and eight touchdowns, averaging 178.8 total yards per game for an offense that averaged 41 points a game.
Senior offensive lineman Micah Mosher, a returning first-team All-State selection, is the team’s lone returning offensive lineman, while junior running back Jude Turner was the team’s second-leading scorer with 122 points. The 5-foot-11, 205-pounder rushed 80 times for 626 yards and 16 TDs and scored a total of 19 times.
Senior wide receiver Patrick Turpin led OCS with 41 catches for 649 yards and 10 TDs, followed by Turner (34-484, 3 TDs).
“Micah started every game during the playoffs as a freshman,” Fitzhugh said. “We’ve replaced four starting linemen each year with him. His leadership’s very big right there. Patrick literally never stepped off the field last year. He’s a playmaker and does a solid job, and Jude had a great year. I think he’s really going to turn some heads this year.”
Sophomore linebacker Cooper Thomas is the team’s leading returning tackler with 64 stops, six sacks, and five tackles for loss. Senior linebackers Hunter Traxler (58 tackles, 12 TFLs), Ridge Coats (52 tackles, 5 TFLs, 3 sacks, 3 interceptions and Eli Gray (53 tackles, 8 TFLs, 3 sacks) may be the heartbeat of the team’s defense.
Senior defensive end Landon Waller (50 tackles, 10 TFLs, 7 sacks, 7 QB hurries, two forced fumbles) is another key member of the Eagles’ interior line with Turpin (33 tackles, 3 interceptions) at cornerback.
Senior placekicker/punter Gavin Polk, an honorable mention All-State selection in ’24, was the team’s third-leading scorer with 80 points. He made 68-of-71 extra points and was 4-of-10 on field goals to along with a punting average of 36.1.
“We saw a lot of growth in them during the year, and we’ll be looking for great leadership from them this year,” Fitzhugh said of Traxler and Gray. “Cooper’s first game to start was first week of playoffs, and he got better and better each week.”
OCS will scrimmage Captain Shreve at 6 p.m. Aug. 21 at Ruston High and meet St. Frederick in the Bayou Jam on Aug. 30 at ULM at 1 p.m.
The Eagles open their 27th season under Fitzhugh on Sept. 5 at home against Caldwell Parish.
“They’re hungry,” Fitzhugh said of his team. “They love the game of football.”