It’s August 1, which means that football season is here! On the first day of the month, we decided it would be a great time to do another story detailing our 2023 football season.
The South Terrebonne Gators are working hard to prepare for the new season. Truth be told, the Gators were the one team locally who were probably the most disappointed to see the 2022 season end.
After a tough start, South Terrebonne ended the year with 4-straight wins to go from 1-5 to 5-5 under 1st-year coach Aaron Babin.
The Gators have some new pieces, but there’s optimism in place that they can keep the train rolling and have another good fall.
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SOUTH TERREBONNE
2023 Record: 5-5
Season Result: Missed the playoffs in Division I Non-Select
Head Coach: Aaron Babin (2nd season with the team).
Returning Starters: 6 0n offense; 6 on defense.
Strengths: Offensive line play – South Terrebonne returns 4 of their 5 starters on the offensive line, which should give them an advantage as they look to break in skill guys around the rest of their roster. The Gators have moved from their traditional Wing-T during the Curlin years to a spread offense under Babin. Having those big guys up front opening up some holes will allow those youthful playmakers a chance to get their feet wet. That will also help quarterback Trey Pinell in his conversion from starting receiver to his new role under center.
Areas of Concern: Depth – South Terrebonne is not a roster with 100 kids like some of the other teams in our area. Man-on-man and first-11 versus first-11, the Gators probably like their chances. But one of the big challenges they are going to face in preseason camp will be to develop more players that can be relied upon to contribute on Friday nights. Last year, the Gators used a handful of guys as 2-way players. Expect to see some of the same this coming season.
Bold Prediction: It will not be a slow start in Bourg this fall. South Terrebonne started 1-5 last season with their only win coming against South Lafourche. This year, I expect the Gators to be far better equipped to handle non-district play with dates against Terrebonne, McDonogh 35 and Hammond in the opening 3 weeks before opening district with South Lafourche and Ellender. That’s 5 pretty manageable games on paper. I don’t think it will be another 1-5 start this go-round in Bourg.
Game of the Year: vs. H.L. Bourgeois in Week 9 – Look, I think there’s a pretty good chance that the Gators will be coming down the stretch in 2023 as a Playoff Bubble Team – especially in a loaded Division I Non-Select (that South Terrebonne shouldn’t even be in, but that’s another argument for another day) where you have to probably win 5-6 games to even have a chance to squeak in. Facing H.L. Bourgeois in Week 9 is likely going to be a must-win and it likely won’t be a gimme. We are going to preview the Braves in the coming days. That’s a team that’s also expected to be improved in 2023. For South Terrebonne, the game with Ellender is always a big one. Heck, the game with Vandebilt has become a nice, friendly little rivalry, too. But I think that Week 9 game with H.L. is going to have playoff implications and that’s one that I believe the Gators will absolutely have to have.
Schedule:
Sept. 1 – vs. Terrebonne
Sept. 8 – vs. McDonogh 35
Sept. 15 – at Hammond
Sept. 22 – at South Lafourche*
Sept. 29 – vs. Ellender*
Oct. 6 – at Lutcher*
Oct. 12 – vs. Vandebilt*
Oct. 20 – vs. Morgan City*
Oct. 26 – vs. H.L. Bourgeois
Nov. 3 – at Assumption*
*denotes district contest
