It's been quite some time since Wampus Cat fans have been able to cheer on the black and gold, but Friday night it's time to kick off the 2010 season with the Leesville Jamboree at home against LaGrange of Lake Charles.
Jamborees aren't quite a regular season game, but it's enough to whet the appetite of voracious Leesville fans hungry to get a look at the second squad under head coach David Feaster.
The junior varsity will take to the field at 6 p.m. Friday night for two 10-minute halves. The freshmen team will follow with two eight-minute halves before the varsity teams square off in the finale with two 12-minute halves. Admission for the contest is $6.
If last Friday is any indication, there may be good times ahead for the Cats in 2010. "We're pleased with what we accomplished in the scrimmage," Feaster said. "Conditioning was the biggest issue."
The heat on the turf at Louisiana College proved to be taxing on the team, but that's not altogether a big worry for the staff.
"It's my decision not to push them too hard in August," Feaster explained. "One, due to heat-related illness and two, I want them to enjoy football and if you push players too hard too early, they seem to wear down and not enjoy the game too much. We want them to have fun and be ready to play around Thanksgiving."
Although Leesville came out ahead of Captain Shreve last week by one score, it could have been much different had the Leesville staff decided to press ahead with their primary offense. Instead, Feaster decided to work on a few different things after the Cats scored quickly on two long Levander Liggins runs.
In all, Liggins carried the ball only four times but rushed for 172 yards and two scores. He also caught a short TD pass from Zack Squyres.
"We bascially ran ISO left and ISO right with Liggins and he was able to get outside," Feaster said. "He's playing a high level of football right now and we could have run the ball all night on them. We wanted to do some different things, mainly because you aren't going to run the football so easily on every opponent."
One concern from the scrimmage is the health of three-year starter Logan Morrison at center. He'll likely miss the jamboree and the season-opener at West Monroe with a knee sprain, but the staff was able to single out a few players who will providing depth from watching game film.
Dylan Gaskill, a 6-2, 225-pound junior, will step in for Morrison at center. Gaskill had been tabbed as a key backup for all five positions along the line. In addition to Gaskill, the staff noticed junior transfer Marshall Smith, who just moved into Leesville, will give the Cats some added depth at receiver and defensive back.
"Dylan knows all the blocking schemes so he can step in with no problem," Feaster said. "What we have to do now is get other guys ready as backups this week. You can never have enough depth."
With the Gators coming into town, that depth will provide a key aspect as far as game results are concerned. LaGrange has quite a few starters playing both ways, while Feaster likes to have 22 starters designated with a few players stepping in both ways depending on situations.
"We'll have our 22 players and seven or eight others who will play extensively," he said. "LaGrange has a tough task of having a lot of those guys go both ways. That can really be tough at the beginning of the season."
Defensively, the Cats had a few key performers banged up against Captain Shreve, but they should all play Friday night. Shreve moved the ball late against the Cats, but again conditioning had a large influence on those touchdowns. Early on, the defense was able to stymie Shreve.
One result Feaster was not pleased with defensively, was his squad's inability to hold on to the football. "We had at least four interceptions dropped against Captain Shreve," he said. "We need to do a better job of that."
One year ago, the Cats hosted LaGrange in the jamboree and struggled. The Gators came away with a 16-0 victory in a dominating performance. The Cats managed just 54 total yards in that game, while LaGrange had 179. Of course, that came just a little over a month after Feaster met with the team in taking over the program.
The Wampus Cat Gridiron Club announced there won't be a tailgating party prior to the jamboree Friday night, but that will resume in week three at the first home against against Sulphur.
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It's been quite some time since Wampus Cat fans have been able to cheer on the black and gold, but Friday night it's time to kick off the 2010 season with the Leesville Jamboree at home against LaGrange of Lake Charles.
Jamborees aren't quite a regular season game, but it's enough to whet the appetite of voracious Leesville fans hungry to get a look at the second squad under head coach David Feaster.
The junior varsity will take to the field at 6 p.m. Friday night for two 10-minute halves. The freshmen team will follow with two eight-minute halves before the varsity teams square off in the finale with two 12-minute halves. Admission for the contest is $6.
If last Friday is any indication, there may be good times ahead for the Cats in 2010. "We're pleased with what we accomplished in the scrimmage," Feaster said. "Conditioning was the biggest issue."
The heat on the turf at Louisiana College proved to be taxing on the team, but that's not altogether a big worry for the staff.
"It's my decision not to push them too hard in August," Feaster explained. "One, due to heat-related illness and two, I want them to enjoy football and if you push players too hard too early, they seem to wear down and not enjoy the game too much. We want them to have fun and be ready to play around Thanksgiving."
Although Leesville came out ahead of Captain Shreve last week by one score, it could have been much different had the Leesville staff decided to press ahead with their primary offense. Instead, Feaster decided to work on a few different things after the Cats scored quickly on two long Levander Liggins runs.
In all, Liggins carried the ball only four times but rushed for 172 yards and two scores. He also caught a short TD pass from Zack Squyres.
"We bascially ran ISO left and ISO right with Liggins and he was able to get outside," Feaster said. "He's playing a high level of football right now and we could have run the ball all night on them. We wanted to do some different things, mainly because you aren't going to run the football so easily on every opponent."
One concern from the scrimmage is the health of three-year starter Logan Morrison at center. He'll likely miss the jamboree and the season-opener at West Monroe with a knee sprain, but the staff was able to single out a few players who will providing depth from watching game film.
Dylan Gaskill, a 6-2, 225-pound junior, will step in for Morrison at center. Gaskill had been tabbed as a key backup for all five positions along the line. In addition to Gaskill, the staff noticed junior transfer Marshall Smith, who just moved into Leesville, will give the Cats some added depth at receiver and defensive back.
"Dylan knows all the blocking schemes so he can step in with no problem," Feaster said. "What we have to do now is get other guys ready as backups this week. You can never have enough depth."
With the Gators coming into town, that depth will provide a key aspect as far as game results are concerned. LaGrange has quite a few starters playing both ways, while Feaster likes to have 22 starters designated with a few players stepping in both ways depending on situations.
"We'll have our 22 players and seven or eight others who will play extensively," he said. "LaGrange has a tough task of having a lot of those guys go both ways. That can really be tough at the beginning of the season."
Defensively, the Cats had a few key performers banged up against Captain Shreve, but they should all play Friday night. Shreve moved the ball late against the Cats, but again conditioning had a large influence on those touchdowns. Early on, the defense was able to stymie Shreve.
One result Feaster was not pleased with defensively, was his squad's inability to hold on to the football. "We had at least four interceptions dropped against Captain Shreve," he said. "We need to do a better job of that."
One year ago, the Cats hosted LaGrange in the jamboree and struggled. The Gators came away with a 16-0 victory in a dominating performance. The Cats managed just 54 total yards in that game, while LaGrange had 179. Of course, that came just a little over a month after Feaster met with the team in taking over the program.
The Wampus Cat Gridiron Club announced there won't be a tailgating party prior to the jamboree Friday night, but that will resume in week three at the first home against against Sulphur.
