TDL: Two-A-Days - Lake Arthur Tigers

Lake Arthur, LA (KPLC) - The Lake Arthur Tigers enter the new season with bright eyes, as the Tigers are young at numerous positions. While an inexperienced team brings challenges, second-year head coach Tarius Davis is embracing it.

“The biggest thing we focused on this offseason was, ‘hey let’s change the culture.’ Let’s get the culture back around to Lake Arthur High football where we’re going to take pride in our program and every time we step out on the field,” said Davis. “We’re going to play with great passion and remember every day. There’s a purpose to what we do.”

That change starts with a new offense that the coaching staff installed in the offseason. The shotgun spread comes to town with an emphasis on getting the ball in the hands of players in space to make big plays. However, they’ll need to figure out who will run it. The quarterback battle will be between Ridge Savoie and Ethan Onellion.

“Both of them can go out there and sling it,” said wide receiver Aidan Duhon. “Both of them have an arm, but really it comes down to knowing the offense and good leadership.”

“They’re both good athletes. They can throw, they know how to get rid of the ball underneath and stuff like that, but once it comes down to it, it’s going to be a hard pick because they’re both really good and they both can play around anywhere around the ball,” said running back/linebacker Kayden Palfrey. “They’re really good players they can throw the ball and sling it.”

While quarterback is an inexperienced position, the players around him will serve as security blankets as they navigate through the season.

“On the outside, we got some size we got some speed you know so just getting the ball in the hands of our playmakers,” said Davis. “I think this year we’ll have a chance to make some explosive plays on offense.”

The defense returns two veterans at linebacker that will be relied upon to keep everyone on the same page. Junior Kayden Palfrey will play both ways this season and is confident in the defensive unit’s ability to adapt.

“I feel like we’re going to be alright. I feel like if the defensive line can step up in some holes keep the run game from getting too far, and if that comes down to it, us linebackers can take care of it as well,” said Palfrey. “If they do pass, we have some good defensive backs, real smart they know how to play the ball right and know how to cover. They know the game of football good.”

“So I think Kayden and Reggie at linebacker defensively their experience is going to be a plus for us and we’re going to build depth through numbers. We’re going to have some young guys that are going to have to go ahead and play for us because those guys are going to need to get a breather at some point,” said Davis. “Us asking them to do double duty is because we trust and believe that they can get the job done. "

The Tigers may be young, but they won’t go down this season without a fight.

”We just have to go out there like we’ve won every game. Confidence is going to be everything it doesn’t matter how many games we’ve won or how many games we’ve lost,” Duhon said. “We’re going to go out there and compete.”

Copyright 2021 KPLC. All rights reserved.