By Malcolm Butler
This weekend players from 14 area high schools will get an opportunity that may only come once for the vast majority of them.
They will get a chance to play in a Division I college football stadium.
Joe Aillet Stadium will be the venue on Friday and Saturday for seven games spanning a 30-hour time frame with two games Friday and five more on Saturday.
The games won’t count towards the regular season records, but the experience will be one that the student athletes will remember for a lifetime.
“I think it’s valuable for both teams to get out there and put your kids in a situation that as a Class 1A football program that you don’t get to be in. And then to have the game-day experience to see what Louisiana Tech has to offer and what the stadium is all about.
“I think obviously the environment and them being on campus and seeing what the University has to offer and just being in a college stadium is a great experience for all of them,” said St. Frederick High School Coach Andy Robinson. “We played in a college stadium in the playoffs last year when we played at Southern (University) against Southern Lab in our semifinal game.”
Robinson’s Warriors will kick things off Friday night at 5:30 p.m. against Mangham.
Ruston High School Coach Jerrod Baugh said it’s a win-win for everyone, the high school teams and Louisiana Tech and the City of Ruston.
“Probably what it does for Tech is there are some kids who may not have been on their campus to see some of the new (facilities) that have been built.,” said Baugh.. “ I know they have some new dorms. I know some people may not have seen the baseball field since it was finalized, and the new softball and soccer fields. I think it’s an opportunity for all of those kids and their parents to get on campus and see all of the new things that they have done.
“And then some of the new stuff in Ruston. Even since I have lived here the past seven or eight years, the new businesses that have come to town. There may be some people who even went to Tech but haven’t gotten an opportunity to come back through for one reason or another. It’s a really good opportunity for the City of Ruston and Louisiana Tech to be able to get people in town.”
Baugh and the Bearcats will cap things off Saturday night when they face West Monroe at 7 p.m.
LA Tech officials
“We shared with our own football team a few weeks ago that out of 1.1 million high school students, only 6.5 percent will get an opportunity to play in college.,” said Tech VP and Director of Athletics Eric Wood. “So whether or not they are one of those 6.5 percent, the opportunity to be in The Joe in a college atmosphere on a college campus was really important to us.”
“When the Bayou Jamb is over and everyone goes back to their respective schools and their respective towns, we want them to speak about the Bayou Jamb just like our players here go back to their high schools and say we had a great time,” said Bulldog coach Sonny Cumbie. “It was a great event. And we can not wait to go back next year.”
Cedar Creek will face Evangel Christian at 5 p.m. on Saturday night. Cougars head coach Matt Middleton knows his players are looking forward to stepping on a college field in their hometown.
“I think it’s a big deal,” said Middleton. “The facilities at Tech are really nice. They have really changed since I was a GA there twenty years ago. They have decided they are going to catch up with the rest of the country. I think the facilities are really nice. I think it’s a really big deal for the kids. I think the atmosphere will be really cool. So yeah I think it’s a big deal. A lot of these kids will never have a chance to play on a college campus. It’s only a small percentage that ever get to play college athletics so I think it will be a big deal to a lot of them.
“I think the biggest thing for me is that others get to come to Ruston. And to see how great of a city and an area we have and what all is involved and how it has grown. It’s cool for us and I hope it stays here. I’m partial to it. It will be a really great venue.”
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