North Iberville High School is looking for a successful year for their first Varsity season in 15 years. This was a school that had recently opened back up in 2022 after sitting unused for a decade. As they brought they school back, they brought their football team back as a Junior Varsity team. As the players were able to age, this is their first varsity season in 15 years. This has already gotten off to a promising start as they started their season off right with a victory over Central Private to move their record to 1-0 on the season.
“Pretty much like everyone else, we were out there weight training, speed, and conditioning. This is our 3rd year having a program, we had two years of JV, so we spent a lot of time going over X’s and O’s.”
Coach Gast when asked how they prepared over the summer
“One blessing we have kind of had since we had started this program is that we haven’t lost many guys, so I’ve really been coaching the same group for three years. When I was coaching strictly Varsity you dont get that much, you coach a guy for 1-2 years and once he gets to that Varsity level, he’s gone. These guys have all kind of been in the system for three years so this Spring we just wanted to preach physicality. We got out there and did the full Spring, 10 practices, and we hit- we hit a lot, and we hustled hard. Like I said it’s time to take that next step and that’s what we are focused on.”
Coach Gast when asked on how they prepared during the Spring
“One of our Senior leader’s Mekell Toussaint, he’s a middle linebacker, a real sideline to sideline guy and our leader on defense. He also plays running back for a splash series and we’ll mix him in at running back this year too. We lean on him a lot he’s kind of our short yardage running back and fullback. “
North Iberville Head Coach Josh Gast
As described as the leader of the defense, Mekell Toussaint is looking to have a big year as the anchor of the defense along with being the splash of momentum that his team needs on offense. He has already been making splash plays for the team early in the season with his big touchdown in the 36-26 victory against Central Private.
“We kind of label our defense as a 3-3 stack but we’re never truly in that because we move guys around a lot. I’d say we’re a team that has a lot of speed on the defensive side. Our linebackers are all ‘4.something’ guys when they run their 40s so it allows us to be versatile. We’re never really lined up in the exact same way all of the time”
Coach Gast when asked about the defensive scheme
The North Iberville Bears remained true to the identity that Coach Gast desrcibed them as, they were able to utilize the speed of their linebackers to make plays accross the field in a rainy game against Central Private.
“We got Jaylen Mims, he’s an OLB and Slot Receiver for us. He was our leading receiver last year, he’s a junior. It’s something about him, he just makes big plays right when you need them. He strips the ball intercepts the ball and just makes plays when you need them”
Similiar to Mekell Toussaint, Jaylen Mims is also a key player for the team as they use him on both sides to make game changing plays. He was able to start his season off on a good note as well, as he also scored a touchdown in the first game of the season.
“Offensively, we run a spread-usually 3 or 4 wide, but we have the ability to go into the Power I and kind of keep our same system rolling.”
“At first, I kind of reached out to some teams and struggled because we were so early on just trying to get that done. Then, I think because we are the new team on the block, everybody started calling me looking to schedule, so we filled it up pretty quick. We start off with Central Private, then we decided to play a 4A game against Livonia, because that’s right next to us and it’ll probably be a big game and get everybody excited about the season. From what I heard in the community, that used to be the big game back in the day before the school closed down so we decided to keep them on the schedule. We got a district with White Castle, Ascension Catholic and Saint John.”
Coach Gast when asked about the schedule
The North Iberville Bears are looking for a solid season for the first season in almost two decades. They play in a good division with plenty good competition. This is a season where North Iberville can reestablish themselves in this new division as threats with results to grow from after this season. Many of their key players will be able to return next year as well.
“I love the administration at our school, we’ve got a great set up at North right now. She(Jillian Dotson) love’s sports and supports us big time, no nonsense and that’s what we need when reopening a school. Someone who communicates well and is clear about the expectations of the school. I think our players, as leaders of the campus have bought into that and we’ve got a good thing going over there and I’m happy to be a part of it.”
Coach Gast when asked how he felt about the process of football being brought back
“To be honest, I didn’t really know what I was getting into when I first went and interviewed for the job. I kind of had to learn about the area and the community sold me on it. The people out there, they go to the board meetings, rooted for the school to get reopened, they are very passionate about it, they throw big tailgates, class reunions, and they include everybody and everything. It’s like the school never closed. They’re super excited and they filled up the stands for our JV years.
Coach Gast when asked about the community.
The North Iberville Bears are looking for a great first season since 2007, a season where they show improvement, win games, test out the scheme on a varsity level, and help grow the young boys involved into men as they try to grow on a weekly basis. They started their season off 1-0 as they look to play said rival team, the Livonia Wildcats this upcoming week.
You must be logged in to post a comment.