Howard looks to turn around MCHS football

Since he graduated from the University of Lafayette less than 20 years ago, Eric Howard has coached at different high schools throughout the state and worked his way up the coaching ladder.
Now, after a season serving as defensive coordinator at DeRidder High School, Howard has the opportunity to move closer to home and run the Morgan City High School program as he was named head football coach and athletic director earlier this month.
“I was very, very fortunate the Morgan City job came open. For me, it was pretty much coming home,” said Howard, a Chackbay native and Thibodaux High grad.
Howard visited Morgan City High School late last week and met with the team. He said things went great and a lot of students attended the meeting.
Once he takes over full-time at the school in January, however, Howard said he will be hitting the Morgan City High School halls looking for more players.
“Recruiting is probably going to be my biggest asset,” he said. “I believe this generation of kids, I can motivate really, really well, and so I believe I’m going to get them all out here to play.”
Howard will replace former Morgan City High School Head Football Coach and Athletic Director Scott Tregle, who resigned his position last month following the Tigers’ final game of a 3-7 season. In three years leading the Tigers, Tregle finished with a 9-21 mark.
Morgan City Principal Mickey Fabre said Howard was chosen from a pool of about 50 applicants.
“He has a military background, which I like the military aspect of it,” Fabre said. “He comes from a successful program. Knew a lot about football. He just wanted to talk football and just had a lot of energy, a lot of enthusiasm. I think having a guy like him in here is going to give us a spark.”
Howard spent the last four seasons as an assistant coach at DeRidder High School. The Dragons finished a combined 27-18 during his four years there, including district championships and postseason berths three out of those four seasons. In his first season, DeRidder advanced to the Class 4A quarterfinals where it fell to Neville.
As the new Morgan City coach, Howard inherits a program that has not qualified for the postseason since 1998. He said he wants to turn the Tigers around quickly.
Howard said his Morgan City team would be centered around its defense, which will feature 4-2-5 and 3-4 looks.
“We’re going to be an extremely aggressive, physical defense,” he said. “As a matter of fact, our team is going to be built upon defense. I was a defensive guy. I feel like if you can get lined up and you can stop people, you can do a lot of good things in 4A football.”
Offensively, Howard said Morgan City would feature big plays.
“We’re going to do whatever it takes to generate big plays, whether it’s lining up and running the football or if it’s passing,” he said. “I will tell you we’re going to be more of an intricate passing team. We’re going to have a lot of different looks when it comes to passing. Running game wise, we’re going to line you up in about a thousand formations and see what you can do.”
As far as the district, Howard is familiar with most teams the Tigers will be facing in District 7-4A a year from now. The new district will feature South Terrebonne, Assumption, South Lafourche, Vandebilt Catholic, Ellender and newcomer E.D. White.
“I’m very familiar with South Lafourche,” Howard said. “I actually coached there for a year under (then-coach) Terry Farmer, and so I’m pretty good on the makeup of the kids there. I’m from the Thibodaux area, so I know plenty about E.D. White and Vandebilt, which don’t scare me any.”