The football season hasn’t gone as well as Teurlings Catholic hoped it would, but that hasn’t stopped the Rebels from continuing to fight.
You are what your record says you are, but the 1-6 Rebels have remained competitive.
“When you look at our schedule, if you just look at the record and you’re somebody across the state up north or in New Orleans, you might think we have a really bad football team. We really don’t,” coach Michael Courville said.
“We’ve lost six games, but it’s to six teams that I think all can win state championships, or all will be there at the end. We’re fighting. We’re improving. We are getting better. It just hasn’t gone the way we’d like it to on the scoreboard.”
Last week, the Rebels nearly picked up their biggest win of the season against Lafayette Renaissance before falling 32-27.
“We’re a half inch away from beating a team that I think is very, very good in LRCA,” Courville said. “We have just taken some growing pains, and (suffered) injuries that really hurt us this year. But a lot of credit goes to our opponents because they’ve just been very good or elite, and we have been on the shorter end of the stick.
“But I’m really proud of our kids because they could easily have folded or quit or not shown up. It’s been tough, but they’re still here getting better and improving.”
Quarterback DJ Kelly, who was initially deemed ineligible by the LHSAA after transferring from Ascension Episcopal and sat out the first three weeks of the season, was granted clearance to play beginning in Week 4 against Lafayette Christian.
Courville said Kelly’s presence provided a jolt to the locker room.
“DJ has been an outstanding teammate,” Courville said. “He’s handled everything very maturely and not like a 17-year-old kid probably would or should. He gave us a spark. He gave us a boost.”
Courville cited Kelly’s arm strength, ability to extend plays with his legs and leadership qualities as his biggest attributes.
“He’s pretty elusive,” Courville said. “He’s pretty good in space and understands the right cuts to make you miss. He’s a bigger kid at about 195 pounds, so he’s a little tougher to tackle. He’s strong, physical and he throws a good deep ball.”
The Rebels, who will travel to face Westgate at 7 p.m. Friday, still have hopes of qualifying for the playoffs. With only two regular-season games remaining because of the closure of Comeaux High, Teurlings is ranked No. 22 in the LHSAA’s Division II select power rankings.
“If we were to get a win Friday against Westgate with their undefeated record, it’ll shoot us up the power rankings,” Courville said. “Our strength of schedule right now is high. It’s in the top three in our bracket and one of the better ones in the state.
“If we win the next two games, we are definitely in. I think if we split the next two, it’ll be close. I feel confident that we will get in, but there’s certainly no guarantee.”
