'Jacks finish undefeated at CCHS tourney

Despite a heat index well over 100 degrees, Central Catholic’s annual 7-on-7 tournament was the place to be Saturday.
In addition to the host Eagles, Patterson, Morgan City, Franklin, Jeanerette, West St. Mary, Highland Baptist, South Lafourche and Northside were in attendance. The CCHS practice field was a buzz with two 40-yard fields with games going simultaneously and, for the first time, lineman drills.
“The day went great,” Central Catholic Coach Tommy Minton said. “The coaches were very satisfied with the work the teams got. It was good competition. Most coaches felt they got better.”
Patterson finished 4-0, while Northside and West St. Mary were 3-1. Central Catholic went 3-2, while South Lafourche was 2-3 and Morgan City was 2-2. Franklin and Jeanerette were 1-3, and Highland Baptist went 0-4.
“We had a quarterback separate himself from (the) pack Saturday,” Patterson Coach Marvin Dantzler said. “Dillan Giandelone threw the ball better than I’ve ever seen him. He threw good balls and made good decisions, but the competition isn’t over yet.”
Morgan City enjoyed the competition despite being shorthanded.
“We did pretty good considering we didn’t have our whole squad,” Morgan City Coach Scott Tregle said. “We had some young kids step up and play pretty well. We even played well in our two losses.”
Tregle said he thought his squad would have beaten Patterson if not for a few crucial dropped passes.
Coaches also marveled at how well the tournament was run.
“Central does a great job with their tournament,” Tregle said. “It takes a lot of people to keep everything moving smoothly. I would like to have a tournament at Morgan City High next summer. Hopefully we can put on a first-class tournament, too.”
Dantzler also said he thought the tournament was top notch.
“The competition was real good. … We saw a variety of teams,” he said. “They also had everything there to combat the heat, which was tough.”
Minton says the kudos for the tournament has to go to Chet Sternfels of Advanced Physical Therapy.
“He puts this thing together and makes sure everything is spot on,” Minton said. “I think they go back to when David (Fuhrer) was head coach. Sponsoring this thing is great for local high school football.”