2011 schedule - MediaSpan

THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2011
FOOTBALL 2011
AMERICAN PRESS
5
BARBE
Cutrera starts new era at Barbe
BY SCOOTER HOBBS
AMERICAN PRESS
Strolling onto the Barbe
practice field this August, it
was tough to put a finger on,
but ...
Something was definitely
different.
Something was missing
and ...
Well, of course.
District
3-5A
Although short
in stature, former
head coach Jimmy
Shaver was hard to
miss for the last 29 years as
Barbe head coach, his small
frame casting a huge shadow
over 28 playoff appearances
during his tenure.
But this season the perennially
successful Bucs will go
where no Barbe team has
been in almost three decades
— to battle without Shaver
pacing the sidelines.
New head coach Mike
Cutrera learned from the
master, so to speak, and will
guide the 2011 Barbe team
instead of Shaver.
“He’s not a big man,”
Cutrera laughed. “But he
must have had pretty big feet.
I didn’t realize how big Coach
Shaver’s shoes were to fill.”
Cutrera is certainly no
novice, having paid his dues
with 24 years on the Barbe
staff, all of them of course
working under Shaver.
A Barbe lifer, he also
played for Shaver at the
school.
“The football hasn’t
changed,” Cutrera said of his
first head coaching job. “But
there’s a lot of other stuff, the
adminstrative stuff, all the
paperwork.”
But at some point, it will
be mostly about football,
negotiating the always-tough
District 3-5A minefield.
“Early on, we’ll rely heavily
on defense,” said Cutrera,
who has an experienced
group on that side of the ball.
“And our offense will come
around.
“We’ve got to develop an
offensive line, which is coming
around. We’ve got good
Mike Cutrera is the first new head coach at Barbe in 29 years. He and the Bucs will attempt to repeat as district
champions and advance further into the playoffs this season. Pictured with Cutrera are, clockwise from top left,
Steven Benjamin, Spencer Hancock, Connor Fry and Zack Cart.
skill people and we’ve got a
good kicking game.”
The head coaching shoes
aren’t the only large ones to
fill.
One of the hottest battles
is at the all-important quarterback
spot — especially for
the Bucs’ high-octane attack
— where junior Ryan Nolan
and sophomore Kennon
Fontenot are dueling it out to
replace Jared Foster, now a
preferred walk-on at LSU
after throwing 30 touchdown
passes last season.
“They both bring good
things to the table,” Cutrera
said. “We feel comfortable
with either one of them.
“We’ll be alternating until
one or the other really steps
up to take over.”
Neither will be left out of
the offense. Cutrera feels that
both quarterbacks are athletic
enough that if there’s a runner-up
in the quarterback
derby, he’ll find his way back
onto the field contributing at
another position, probably
running back or wide receiver.
BRAD PUCKETT / AMERICAN PRESS
That would add to an
already talented and experienced
group, led by wide
receiver Trey Quinn, who
made all-state as a freshman
last year, and massive tight
end Desean Smith (6-6, 227),
also an all-district returnee.
They were the two leading
receivers in the district last
year — Quinn with 47 catches
for 985 yards, Smith with 36
for 472 yards.
Senior running back Tre’
Goodly, used mostly at receiver
last year, was fifth in the
district with 28 catches for 340
yards.
Dylan Todd, Courtney
Galentine and Kade Demarie
are also ready to step up, with
the Bucs figuring to fill the
airways again this season.
“We’ll tweak a few things,”
Cutrera said of the spread
attack Barbe has used in
recent years. “But we’ll be
doing mostly the same
things.”
The biggest concern is up
See BARBE, Page 7