Touchdown Live Game of the Week - Kinder Preview

LAKE CHARLES, La. (KPLC) - The Kinder Yellow Jackets are heading into week four of the high school football season sitting at 3-0 for the first time since 2014 after beating the Rosepine Eagles this past week 34-0. Now they move forward, getting ready to take on the St. Louis Catholic Saints and one of the best defenses in the area as they try to keep their undefeated season alive.

Kinder fell this past year to the Saints on the road 45-14, and the new head coach of the Yellow Jackets Justin Reed made it known that his team will need to be more physical coming into this year’s matchup.

“They’re just a good, tough, sound physical football team,” said Coach Reed. “I know they returned almost all their starters from their defense last year and they pretty much shut us down, so it’s going to be a challenge for us, we’re going to have to really prepare the right way and make sure we’re focused on the little adjustments that we make week to week and this game is no different, it’s just going to come down to who’s the tougher team Friday night, but I think our kids are excited about it.”

Back in the early 2010′s, Kinder was a perennial power in SWLA, and the players on the team this year believe that they have a chance to get this program back to where they think it belongs.

“We really built a foundation around our new head coach (Justin Reed) and he’s really brought our program up and this team is really special,” said Kinder offensive lineman Ty Sonnier. We have a good relationship with the team and we’re ready to go to work.”

“I remember being a little kid watching how good they used to be going to state, just the energy that came along with it and we moved away from it for the past it seemed like the past four or five years, but I’m happy to see that it’s actually coming back to where it was, and I’m just ready for Friday night,” said quarterback Landen Rice.

District 3-3A can be argued as one of the most competitive in the entire area, and Coach Reed understands that this is the point of the season when his team will be truly tested by the best teams on their schedule.

“This part of the season when we get in the district is very tough, it’s no secret that this is a tough district and you know, and we kind of talked to the kids about climbing the mountain headed towards the playoffs here and we’re going to start that climb this week,” said Coach Reed. “As far as when it comes to district play, I’m just looking for them to play one play at a time, focus on the present, and not look at the clock at all, just play until they tell us that we have to go home.”

Kickoff for Kinder’s game against the Saints is set for 7:00 PM as the Yellow Jackets will look to move to 4-0 on the young season.

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