2011 schedule - MediaSpan

THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2011
FOOTBALL 2011
AMERICAN PRESS
9
SULPHUR
BRAD PUCKETT / AMERICAN PRESS
Sulphur quarterback Brice Gardiner passed for nearly 1,500 yards as a junior last season. This year he and the Golden Tors look to earn their
first winning season in four years. Pictured for the Tors, from left, are Gardiner, Holden Rogers, coach Harold Fusilier, Shaun Thierbach and
Mickey Hill.
Tors look for return to winning
BY WARREN ARCENEAUX
AMERICAN PRESS
SULPHUR — After a topsyturvy
5-6 season that started
and ended with three-game
losing streaks, the Sulphur
Golden Tors are hoping a few
standouts’ return to health
will help bring consistency
back to the program, which
has suffered through two
straight losing seasons and
not finished with a winning
record since 2007.
Last season the Tors lost
running back Brian Walker,
who had consecutive 100-yard
games early in the season and
standout linebacker Holden
Rogers for most of the season
because of injury. The Tors
opened with a three-game losing
streak before winning
four straight, but they lost the
final four games
despite a forfeit by
Acadiana in the
first game of that
streak.
Fortunately for Sulphur,
District
3-5A
both Walker and Rogers are
back this season.
Unfortunately, inconsistency
also made a return in the Tors’
preseason scrimmages. The
first was a lackluster showing
against Washington-Marion,
the second a better performance
against DeRidder.
“We improved in all phases
of the games against
DeRidder,” said Sulphur head
coach Harold Fusilier. “We
had struggled offensively
against them in the past, but
we threw well and ran the
ball well. Our offensive performance
improved greatly.
Defensively we played well
most of the time, but we gave
up a few big plays due to poor
tackling.”
Walker will lead a backfield
with depth and experience.
“He is speedy with a lot of
movement, very quick and
shifty,” Fusilier said. “Kendall
Daigle and Nick Truett ran
well. Daigle has more quickness,
but both are hard-nosed
runners. Sophomore Kilo
Fradieu is shifty, has kind of a
waterbug style.”
One of the highlights last
season was the development
of quarterback Brice
Gardiner, who finished the
season with 1,488 yards and
18 touchdowns, including 631
yards in the final four games
of the season.
“Gardiner has been excellent
this fall,” Fusilier said.
“Last year he had a lot of
growing pains because he did
not play much on the junior
varsity level. The improvement
late came from all of the
benefits of playing time. He
was more comfortable, had
more confidence.”
Gardiner will have a new
target in DeQuincy transfer
DeQuian Matthews, who
caught 41 passes for 693 yards
and 12 touchdowns last season.
He will join of group of
targets that includes Shaun
Thierbach, Gary Blanchard,
Chandler Roberts and Robert
Dowling.
Fusilier said a self-assured
attitude on the field is critical
to the success of the receiving
corps.
“We will have several kids
in there and can be a good
receiving unit, we just need
confidence,” Fusilier said.
Not much is new along the
offensive line, where four
starters (Jon Head, Jack
Bergstedt, Felix Wilson and
Curtis Killian) return. Senior
Jacob Atkinson is slated to
fill the fifth spot.
“Wilson is going to be one
of our better players,”
Fusilier said. “Head has the
most experience, and Killian
played a lot last year.”
Fusilier said the Tors are
tinkering with a new look on
defense.
“Spread offenses have
changed what we want to do,”
he said. “We will still play 4-3
based on formations, but are
experimenting with 4-2-5,
which lets us take out a linebacker
and send in a defensive
back for more athleticism.”
See TORS, Page 11