New coach has No. 5 D'ville offense rolling

• By SCOTT HOTARD
• Advocate sportswriter
• Published: Sep 29, 2009

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Thirty minutes before every kickoff, Donaldsonville High School coach Terence Williams reminds his players it’s almost game time.

He doesn’t scream or stomp, like some coaches might. The pimples covering his forearms say enough.

“Here come the goose bumps,” Williams tells the team.

Week after week, the 38-year-old from Baton Rouge proudly proves to the Tigers his excitement is no facade and dares his players to match it.

Really, it’s no facade. Williams loves what he does.

“I think I have the greatest job in America,” he said.

Four games into his tenure as Donaldsonville coach, it’s easy to see why.

Including a shockingly lopsided 44-6 victory over West St. John last week, Donaldsonville (4-0) has outscored its opponents by a 156-32 margin.

When they start District 7-2A action Friday, the Tigers will be ranked No. 5 in the Louisiana Sportswriters Association’s Class 2A poll.

Donaldsonville, which lost in the second round of last year’s playoffs, moved up one spot in Monday’s rankings to enter 2A’s top five for the first time this season.

Not a bad debut thus far for Williams, a Belaire graduate who went 16-7 as Leesville’s coach the last two years.

“Being able to come home,” Williams said, “that was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up.”

In taking the Donaldsonville job, Williams, who commutes from Prairieville, inherited a team with 13 returning starters.