Dane Charpentier knows his team did not live up to the expectations — whether that is his own, the program’s or anyone’s else’s.
The former Teurlings Catholic multi-sport star, and son of longtime former head football coach Sonny Charpentier, fully understands that going 4-6 in the regular season and losing in the first round of the playoffs is not acceptable.
“Last year was below the standard of what we want for a season here at Teurlings,” said Charpentier who is entering his third season at the helm of the Rebels. “We didn’t do a good enough job of being detailed orientated as we needed to be and that applies to both the players and coaches, including myself.”
Charpentier spent the offseason reflecting on what he needed to do help bounce back from last year’s disappointing season, and that started with taking a look at himself and how he coached.
“You look in the mirror first,” Charpentier said. “I tried to figure out what are some of my own practice habits and what we can change and how can we make it that these things don’t bite us in the butt so to speak.”
Charpentier and his staff made it a priority during the summer and fall camp to promote fierce competition. Charpentier believed that approach helped them find out “which kids can decide wins and losses for us.”
Senior quarterback Sammy LeBlanc is one of those players and one of three returning starters in the Rebels’ spread offense.
“He won a lot of games as a JV quarterback and he was thrown to the wolves a little bit and played against a really tough schedule,” Charpentier said. “He is a real tough competitor and he is going to throw on the line out there for us. He is a really good leader for us.”
LeBlanc will have some playmakers to help him put points on the scoreboard which includes junior running back Larkin Spring, wide receivers Peyton Hebert and Devin Chavis and senior tight end Noah Fontenot.
The offensive line meanwhile has question marks as the Rebels must replace multiple starters including all-state tackle Thomas Perry who has moved on to play for LSU.
Charpentier though has confidence in the group and believes that center Christian Foti is about to have a “big year.”
The defense meanwhile could be a strength.
Senior R.J. Tripp has moved from defensive end to inside linebacker and is joined in the middle of the defense by fellow returning starter Bradley Boudreaux.
“Both of those guys are extremely bright kids, extremely athletic and sure tacklers and I think that is the strength of our defense,” Charpentier said.
The entire secondary though will be filled with new starters but despite that amount of inexperience, Charpentier is “excited about what they can do.”
So what kind of expectations does Charpentier have for his Rebels after experiencing a rare losing season in 2018?
Finish every single play and every single game.
“My expectations is simple,” Charpentier said. “We expect to be in every game this year just like we were last year. The difference is that we expect to finish the games this year. We expect to finish strong.”
Teurlings Catholic Schedule
9-6 Comeaux at Teurlings Catholic
9-13 Teurlings Catholic at Archbishop Hannan
9-20 Teurlings Catholic at Opelousas
9-27 Notre Dame at Teurlings Catholic
10-04 Teurlings Catholic at Breaux Bridge
10-11 Carencro at Teurlings Catholic
10-18 Teurlings Catholic at St. Thomas More
10-25 Westgate at Teurlings Catholic
11-01 Teurlings Catholic at St. Martinville
11-08 Teurlings Catholic at Northside