Right Place, Right Time: Steven Thomas Takes the Reins at North Iberville
by Robin Fambrough // GeauxPreps.com Contributor
What happens when an assistant coach who experienced success on Louisiana’s largest high school football stage moves to a smaller one as a head coach?
Steven Thomas is finding out. Call it an opportunity that was years in the making. More precisely – the longtime defensive assistant/coordinator at Class 5A power Zachary made the call to become a head coach for the first time at Class 1A North Iberville.
The Bears are 2-0 heading into Friday’s home game against Class 4A Assumption (1-1).
“I knew I wanted to be a head coach at some point,” Thomas said during a break at an NIHS preseason practice. “I’ve coached at large schools, but I did not want to be the head coach at one.
“A small school is what I wanted, and when this job opened up, I knew it was the right place and the right time.”
This is no leap of faith for the 50-year-old Thomas, who knew the rural area where the school is located, thanks to a stint as an assistant coach at nearby Livonia.
The Iberville Parish school is nestled in Rosedale. A bayou runs between the roads that lead to Airline Highway and Pointe Coupee Parish near Livonia.
Despite a 10-3 record last year, North Iberville’s path to football success is not as direct as the roads near the school.
In 2009, the high school portion of North Iberville was shut down, and students were bused to Plaquemine High. The athletic lineage runs deep. Several athletes from the area starred at Plaquemine, including two LSU signees, in the years that followed.
North Iberville was reborn as a STEM magnet high school in 2022-23.
Joshua Gast coached the Bears to back-to-back top-six playoff seeding positions in their first two varsity seasons as a Division IV nonselect school.
NIHS was a No. 6 playoff seed and beat Elton at home before losing to traditional power South Plaquemines in the quarterfinals.
Then Gast got a job offer that was too good to pass up. He moved to his Covington-based alma mater, Class 5A St. Paul’s.
Enter Thomas, a Bishop Sullivan graduate in the 1990s before the school changed its name to St. Michael. An unsuccessful first semester of college led to a stint in the U.S. Marine Corps.
Though discipline found in the military ranks plays a role in Thomas’ approach, his list of coaching mentors is most notable. He coached under David Swacker at St. Amant, then Benny Saia at Dutchtown before he was hired by a first-year head coach looking to make a name for himself at Livonia — David Brewerton. Soon Livonia forged a berth in the LHSAA’s Prep Classic and a runner-up finish in 2013.
When Brewerton moved to Zachary, Thomas followed and was the defensive coordinator for the Broncos’ initial championship success.
By that time, the seeds for a possible move to North Iberville were planted years before during Thomas’ time at Livonia.
“People ask how can you go from a 5A school to a 1A school,” Thomas said. “Logistically, it’s about the same, believe it or not. At Zachary, I was responsible for about 40 players. Here, our entire roster … and it includes seventh- and eighth-graders … 45 players.”
When the Iberville Parish School System opted to make North Iberville a STEM high school, the move was definitive for more than just academics. A commitment to its sports programs was included. Like the other Iberville schools, the Bears have an artificial turf field and a revamped stadium.
There’s a new weight room and locker room in line with other parish schools, including 1A rivals East Iberville and White Castle. Impressive for a school with approximately 150 students.
“He was looking for the right situation. In fact, he talked about it, saying, ‘If the right job ever came open,’ and it did,’ Zachary’s Brewerton said. “What Steven does is this … he takes an old-school mentality. He’s a hard-nosed guy and an ex-Marine. Along with that, he finds ways to play new-school football with it.”
The construction of Thomas’ staff is notable too. Hunter Edgens moved from Central to become offensive coordinator. Chris Raymond is the son of LSU assistant Corey Raymond. The 31-year-old Edgens takes on the offensive coordinator’s role for the first time.
Marcus Hill, a longtime head coach at North Iberville and its forerunner, Shady Grove, is part of the group, providing an important link between past and present.
Enhanced facilities do not overshadow the small-town differences, obstacles, and feel. Preparations for the Bears’ season-opening 34-15 road win over Fisher were complex.
A COVID outbreak took several players in and out of the mix during game preparations for a team that relies on multiple two-way players. Younger players who would play on the JV or middle-school level at other schools got pressed into service too.
Predictably, the Bears handled the lineup shuffles. Senior running back Jeremy Favorite ran for 193 yards on 15 carries and scored four touchdowns in the win.
As a junior, Favorite ran for 1,813 yards on 145 carries and scored 21 TDs for NIHS. As the clock ran out, players commemorated the win by dousing Thomas with water from a nearby cooler.
“Coach Thomas has been great,” Favorite said. “He’s a great person and a great coach. He’s giving us a lot of tips about what it takes to be successful and win championships.
“He was part of a runner-up team at Livonia and then won championships at Zachary. He’s boosted the confidence level for all of us.”
Favorite isn’t the only NIHS player attracting attention. Safety B.J. Melancon is a Kansas State commitment and another top player for the Bears as they look to find their niche in the Division IV nonselect hierarchy that includes north Louisiana powers Oak Grove and Haynesville.
“He (Thomas) brings a different personality and culture,” Melancon said. “He’s got a lot of experience and has good intentions. We bought in.”