Playoff feel different for Cecilia, Notre Dame

• By BOB ARDOIN
• Special to The Advocate
• Published: Dec 4, 2008 - UPDATED: 7:12 a.m.

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What has become renewed playoff excitement at Cecilia High this week is another chapter in annual expectations for Notre Dame-Crowley.

No. 10 seed Cecilia (10-2) plays a Class 3A semifinal football playoff game for the first time since 1995 on Friday night when the Bulldogs travel to play sixth-seeded Lutcher (10-2).

For No. 1 seed Notre Dame (11-0) , which hosts 13th-seeded Redemptorist (10-2) at Crowley’s Gardiner Stadium, it marks the eighth time in the last nine seasons NDHS has played in a semifinal.

Cecilia coach Terry Martin said Cecilia’s glory years of the 1990s, that included a 1995 state championship, have been relived to some extent by the Bulldogs supporters.

“We have a lot of those people who are still around, but we’re doing it now with totally different (players),” Martin said. “I guess the Cecilia fans are used to being successful, so it’s satisfying to them to see these players doing so well.”

Lewis Cook, Jr. in his 12th season at NDHS, said advancing to the late playoff rounds is something that has become almost traditional at the school.

“I don’t know if expectations make it any more difficult (at NDHS), but it maybe puts more pressure on the kids to keep achieving at that level,” Cook said.

Cook pointed to last year when the Pioneers were 11-0 and lost to eventual champion Parkview Baptist in the regional round, saying “We were undefeated and after that loss, the kids felt that they didn’t accomplish anything.”

Martin said there have been some lean seasons at Cecilia since 1999 when the team last reached a quarterfinal.

“There have always been expectations for this program,” Martin said. “There have been years when the team probably had the potential to get to the level we are now.

“After going to the state championship game for a couple of years and then winning it in 1995, the program’s followers were getting used to being successful.”

This year Martin said the Bulldogs have advanced because of their defense and running game which features three backs.

Running backs Marcus Wiltz, (1,263 yards), Justin Zenon (647) and Orry Landry (404) will again be the keys to moving the football against Lutcher, Martin said.