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Written by Ken Trahan, President--NewOrleans.Com/Sports | Monday, 23 November 2009 15:22 Prep Sports
Saddled with a subpar playing field all season long, the Edna Karr Cougars will not play their state quarterfinal game at Behrman Stadium. Instead, fourth-seeded Karr has secured Hoss Memstas Stadium in Harvey for their Friday night showdown against fifth-seeded Salmen (9-2) in the 4-A state quarterfinals. Game time will be 7 p.m.
Karr coach Jabbar Juluke says he would like to play at home at Behrman Stadium, which is close to the school, but that he owes it to his players to have a suitable playing surface. “We would love to play at home but we simply cannot take the chance of having a total mess again,” said Juluke.
The Cougars last played on their home field against O. Perry Walker as a road team in week six as Behrman Stadium is home to the Chargers as well. On a playing field more suited for cows, the Cougars slopped their way to a hard-earned 12-6 win over Walker in double overtime. “It was hard to do anything in those conditions. The field is always bad, anyway. On that night, it was unplayable.
Behrman Stadium is not a turtleback surface so the water doesn’t drain when it rains. It just sits and builds on the field, making it a total mess. We had a bad playing field when we hosted Higgins in week two (a 14-12 Karr win) and barely survived,” said Juluke. “If it doesn’t rain, the field is okay. It rains in New Orleans. It’s a crime. Our kids deserve to play there. It is our home field and close to our school. We want to play there. We really do but it is not fair to our kids. They have worked hard.”
Since then, Karr has moved home schedule home games against Sarah Reed (38-0 win in week seven) and Warren Easton (33-20 win in week nine) away from Behrman Stadium to other sites. The Cougars played Reed at Hoss Memstas Stadium and played Easton at Pan American Stadium. The Cougars also faced Archbishop Shaw (28-7 win) as a road team at Memstas Stadium so the Cougars are very familiar with the stadium and its artificial playing surface. “It’s an excellent field and you don’t have to worry about it being bad even if the weather is bad,” Juluke said.
It has been a stellar season for Edna Karr. The Cougars have rolled to an 11-1 season, including impressive playoff victories over Riverdale (52-0) and Vandebilt Catholic (46-9) to reach the 4-A quarterfinals . Of course, they would like to make a stellar season special.
In the top-heavy 4-A classification, the Cougars face one of the powers of the class in the Spartans of Jerry Leonard. Juluke admires the Salmen coach and program. “Coach Leonard does an outstanding job with them. They have a lot of talent with speed on both sides of the football. They can run and throw. They are sound in every phase. They were very close to the ‘Dome last year. We know we will have to play well to have a chance to win,” Juluke said.
The Cougars actually trailed 9-6 at halftime at Vandebilt Catholic a week ago before roaring back, scoring 40 unanswered points to post a relatively easy victory.
“Vandebilt Catholic came out and played very well. They had a good game plan to keep our offense off the field. We only had two possessions in the first half. Our defense held them to just three field goals and we blocked a field goal and scored to stay close.
We did not panic. We knew we would get the ball to start the second half. We scored on the first possession and then stopped them and scored again to take the momentum. We actually scored on the next four possessions. It’s a sign of our maturity. We were behind and beat St. Paul’s and Jesuit. We trailed when we lost to McDonogh 35. We know it is a 48 minute game. We understand how to keep our composure when we are behind,” said Juluke.
While the offense grabs most of the headlines, the Karr defense is what has been superb recently, yielding only 16 points in their last three games. “Our defense is playing extremely well. Hal Legania (defensive tackle) and linebackers Dwayne Mitchell (Minnesota commitment), Devon Francois and Javon Allen—they are the ultimate leaders. They want to go out and make the play. They are doing everything possible to give us a chance to win the game.
Of course, the offense has grabbed most of the headlines this season, led by quarterback Munchie Legeaux, a commitment to Colorado. “Our offensive line is playing very well right now. They are giving us an opportunity to run the ball and pass it. Munchie is playing well right now. We have a good rhythm going since losing to 35. We have been efficient. We have to maintain it.” Legaux’s primary target is fellow Colorado commitment Keenan Canty.
“We are going to find out how good we really are now. The competition is tough. All of the teams remaining are very talented and well coached. It’s about who makes the least amount of mistakes. We have to come out and play hard and have some good fortune along the way.
We are in it to win it. We believe we can win it all. You start out at the beginning of the year to win it all. We are closer to our dream becoming a reality. We want to play hard and play our best and find out how good we are. We feel we have the ability. It is about execution. Rankings and records mean nothing. All of that goes out the window at this point. We just have to put it on the field and play our best against Salmen,” said Juluke.
At least he knows that the Cougars will have a good playing field to put their product on Friday night.
