Blast From The Past: North Iberville Drums Up Support in Community With First Playoff Appearance in 17 years
by: William Weathers // GeauxPreps.com Contributor
Students at North Iberville High School had the day off of school Monday in observance of Veteran’s Day.
The Bears’ football team, in preparation for their state playoff game, arrived Sunday to watch film of their first-round opponent Oberlin. A day later, while the majority of the student body slept in and enjoyed a day off, players were back on campus at 8 a.m. for a 2 ½ -hour to begin putting together a game plan for the school’s first state playoff game in at least 17 years.
“Stuff can get monotonous when you get to Week 11,” North Iberville football coach Joshua Gast said. “You keep telling them to refocus and you’re going to remember this month for the rest of your life. Just buy in and they’ve done that so far.”
The two rural communities of Rosedale and Maringouin – both less than 700 residents – made Sunday’s film session anything but ordinary with a tailgate and pep rally for the team. They’ve pleaded with Gast to open the gates to the stadium at Marcus Hill Sr. Field earlier than normal.
The excitement is already at a fever pitch and No. 5 seed North Iberville (8-2) has to wait until 7 p.m. to kick off Friday’s Division IV nonselect state playoff game with No. 28 Oberlin (3-6).
This marks the third home playoff appearance in the history of North Iberville (which was formerly Shady Grove) and first since 1998, a 14-6 loss to Basile.
Moreover, the Bears are in search of their first home playoff victory, falling to Southern Lab in 1987 in second round action, and Basile more than a decade later.
“You see the signs and the balloons and our schedule’s posted around town,” Gast said. “It’s like a movie. It’s what you kind of hope for in small-town football. You see the school spirit and community support.”
Three years after reopening the school and fielding a two-year junior varsity program, North Iberville has made its mark in a relatively short amount of time. The school was closed by the Iberville Parish School Board in 2009, but persistence throughout the community helped result in the school’s revival and reopening in 2022 with grades 7-12.
North Iberville fulfilled its obligation for the past two years, building with junior varsity teams that were 4-3 and 9-1. That set the stage for a full-fledged return in 2024 where the Bears won their first six games, finished third in District 8-1A and received a Top 5 seed, and could be at home for the first two rounds of the playoffs.
Another pep rally is set this week, and tailgating will commence under the Friday Night Lights for the tight-knit community along Hwy. 77.
“In Year 1, maybe it’s ahead of schedule,” Gast said. “We didn’t even have a football on campus. We got our shoulder pads the day before our first (JV) game because there were issues across the country with supply chains. We were lucky to even have a season. It was a slow process. But going into this season we really hoped to be hosting a playoff game. We felt we had that potential.
“Looking from the outside I’m sure people think these guys must be really excited just to have made the playoffs,” Gast said “Our community, players and staff, we’ve always had goals a little higher than that. That we could build if everybody just bought in. I’m really proud of the regular season we put together and looking forward to what we can do in the playoffs.”
Take a Leap of Faith
Gast grew up in Madisonville in St. Tammany Parish and attended St. Paul’s in Covington where he later coached for six years.
He took an assistant job at Liberty Magnet in Baton Rouge under then-coach Dray Trosclair. The Patriots, led by eventual LSU signee Kaleb Jackson at running back, went 9-1 in the regular season and advanced to the Division II select quarterfinals against St. Thomas More.
That was about the time rumblings of North Iberville reopening began to circulate and Gast was contacted about interviewing for the opening as head coach.
For a guy from the bustling Northshore area, finding North Iberville High proved challenging. The area lacks landmarks and the Tiger Truck Stop on I10 near Grosse Tete, two caution lights in town, amid plenty of sugar cane fields, can lead to confusion.
“When I first drove there, I wondered if I was lost,” he said.
Gast was drawn in by the community’s passion to breathe life into the school that many of them previously attended. He was intrigued by the support for having a community-based school instead of having its high school students bussed to Plaquemine High for daily one-hour round trips.
Gast decided to get out of his comfort zone further to reach his goal and became a head coach for the first time.
“It was definitely kind of a leap of faith for me,” he said. “I knew I wanted to be a head coach, and moving to Baton Rouge and taking the Liberty job was kind of the first step in that. I went to a private school as a student and coached there for six years. I really liked the opportunity at Liberty, took a leap of faith there, and same thing moving to North Iberville.
“I had never been around 1A football,” he said. “I probably couldn’t name 10 1A schools in our state which is sad. I kind of lived in a bubble, I guess. The schools I knew were 5A schools on the Northshore and the (New Orleans) Catholic League teams. I started learning Baton Rouge-area schools and started learning 1A schools, how to share players on offense and defense. It was definitely culture shock and a leap of faith, but I’m very happy it all worked out and blessed to be there and surrounded by the coaching staff I have. It’s worked out well.”
Because of his offensive background, Gast would call plays and hired veteran head coach David Masterson, a former head coach at both Northeast and Tara, to run his defense. Marcus Hill Sr., the head coach for 12 years at North Iberville before its closing, is on staff along with former Istrouma head coach Jeremy Gradney, who helped the Indians resurrect their program after a school closing, former White Castle coach Mike Calamia (defensive line), Mackey Williams from Port Allen and former Liberty offensive lineman Darrien Dunn.
“We lost three kids over two years,” Gast said. “You see the same exact kids for three years straight. At St. Paul’s, you may work one-on-one with a kid for a year or two. Before that, he’s with JV and freshman programs and doesn’t learn the fine nuances of the system. I’ve been working with the same exact starters for the last three years. They’ve been able to build chemistry and learn what I expect in the film room and now they’re at the point where they finish my sentences, and we talk ball well together. That’s a huge advantage.
“At St. Paul’s, kids came from everywhere,” Gast said. “Liberty is a magnet school, and kids came from everywhere. Here at North Iberville, everyone’s from 5-10 minutes away from the school. Everyone knows each other and they rally around the team. It’s a really cool experience.”
Fast Start to a New Season
Gast mentioned the less-than-ideal conditions he walked into, trying to revive a football program without any footballs.
The building steps for North Iberville’s program are all around. The Bears don’t dress in a traditional locker room, instead, they try and squeeze all of their 40 players into a small hallway with hooks before hitting the practice field.
“Our athletic facilities have been sitting in a time capsule for the past 20-plus years,” he said. “We don’t spend all day in the locker room. We’re out on the field.”
Help is on the way.
The Iberville Parish School Board, which has artificial turf fields at all of its member schools, approved $4 million worth of upgrades for North Iberville’s athletic facilities starting in January. That will include new bleachers and an artificial turf field, surrounded by an all-weather track, and a new weight room.
“We’re looking forward to that,” Gast said.
The ramp-up to its first varsity season began with a vision each player could latch onto and help build a foundation that would be sustainable.
“The kids didn’t have predecessors, they didn’t have people come before them,” Gast said. “Half of the battle for us as a staff was convincing these guys to buy in and believe in themselves. I told them after the jamboree if my biggest battle this year is to get you guys to believe in your own potential, then I’m here for it. I believed in them, and we scheduled a pretty tough preseason. We got beat up a little bit and that was good for us. It got us to work harder going into the start of the season.”
North Iberville scrimmaged against Class 2A Independence and faced Northlake Christian, also a 2A program, in its jamboree.
The Bears’ roster of 40 players, including just six seniors, opened Sept. 6 at home against Central Private on a rainy night that produced nothing but rainbows in a 36-26 victory.
The school also recognized Hill with the naming of the field for his long-time impact on the school and community.
“Most of the state played through some bad weather and it stormed the whole night,” Gast said. “We still had a huge community turnout. That was in part because it was our first varsity game back and we also honored Coach Hill. The atmosphere was still electric despite the rain. That was neat to get our first win that night.”
Bragging rights were on the line when North Iberville visited Class 4A Livonia of Pointe Coupee Parish and secured a 43-20 victory.
The Bears improved to 5-0 with three straight wins over Ben Franklin, Centerville, and Vinton by an average of 38 points before embarking on the start of district play and a trip to Plaquemine to face St. John.
Running back Jeremy Favorite’s 8-yard TD with 1:16 to go lifted the Bears to a 32-28 victory in their first league game. The Bears saw an 18-point lead late in the third quarter evaporate when the Eagles rallied for a 28-26 lead with 2:03 remaining in the game.
Quarterback Justice Roy, who passed for more than 200 yards, completed four passes for 40 yards on the game-winning drive which took 57 yards to finish and was capped by Favorite’s score.
North Iberville dropped a 44-43 decision to White Castle and 56-14 to Ascension Catholic – the district’s top two teams – in consecutive weeks. The Bears answered with consecutive wins over East Iberville (32-6) and Ascension Christian (41-13) to close the regular season.
“I was so proud of the way we found a way to scratch and claw and win at the end,” Gast said of the win over St. John. “I think we ran out of gas late against White Castle. We were knocking at the doorstep to win. We wound up giving up an 18-yard two-point conversion and wound up losing by one point.
“We learned a lot in both of those games,” Gast said. “We were a little outmatched against Ascension Catholic. I was still proud of the kids for fighting through the whole thing and then proud of them for finishing the season strong with the last two wins.”
‘It’s Kind of Surreal’
Gast said it’s the objective of his spread offense to strike a 50-50 balance between run and pass.
That formula hasn’t quite worked out as planned, but the team’s 8-2 record is a testament to finding something that works and emphasizing it until someone stops it.
“We don’t try to do one over the other,” he said. “It depends on what defenses are giving us.”
Favorite and Mekell Toussaint have provided the Bears with a productive 1-2 running tandem to complement Roy at quarterback.
Favorite is the team’s leading rusher with 119 carries for 1,175 yards (9.87 yards per carry) with 16 touchdowns, and Toussaint has rushed 75 times for 842 yards (11.23 yards per carry) and 10 TDs.
Roy has completed 95 of 178 passes for 1,425 yards with 18 TDs and five interceptions. He’s added 393 yards and 3 TDs on 56 rushing attempts.
Junior Jordell Baise, who made a recent unofficial visit to UL-Lafayette, is a standout offensive guard and defensive end.
Of the Bears’ 320 total yards a game, 180 comes from the ground game.
“He’s kind of our leader,” Gast said of Roy. “He’s a very poised quarterback and solid runner as well.”
Roy is surrounded by a talented wide receiver corps with BJ Melancon (40-688, 12 TDs) and Corey Domino Jr. (21-227, TD) with Favorite (11-119, TD) and Toussaint (9-126) providing solid targets out of the backfield.
Baise is the “disruptor” of the defensive line and North Iberville features several other two-way players such as Toussaint at middle linebacker and Domino at free safety.
The Bears also have Chris Armster teaming with Toussaint in the middle of the defense which has helped to limit opponents to only a touchdown in four games this season.
“It’s kind of surreal,” Gast said of hosting Friday’s state playoff game. “It’s hard to be patient to get to this point. It’s definitely a long process, but the vision was always there.”