Head Coach Malter Scobel is getting ready for his 30th season as a high school football coach. On Friday, July 21st, Gridiron Football held its inaugural Gridiron Football Media Day event, and the second attendee that morning was none other than Malter Scobel and the Slidell High School Tigers. He brought three young men along with him to our media day and they got some pretty great coverage. Slidell High is looking to do some impressive things this coming season with Coach Scobel at the helm. He began coaching back in 1993 at Archbishop Shaw, where he was formerly a student and player as well. He has coached in multiple Louisiana state championship games for a couple of different schools, but he is aiming to take the Slidell Tigers back to the Superdome. Slidell hasn’t won a state championship in nearly 80 years, dating back to the 1944 and 1945 seasons when they won back-to-back state titles. Coach Scobel made it very clear in his interview that he thinks Slidell has everything it takes to get back to Superdome ready football when the time comes in December.
Head Coach Malter Scobel and the Slidell Tigers are looking to pick up where they left off last season after the Tigers won the district championship and nine games in 2022. Scobel gave some very points on how they fare in the district and in the state of Louisiana.
“I think our district is going to be a much more competitive group. We have a lot of teams that have a lot of kids back with a lot of talent. You know, last year I thought it was even for the most part, but I don’t know if the talent was as good. A lot of teams have a lot of kids back, so Covington is gonna be really good, Northshore, Mandeville, Hammond, Ponchatoula, etc. I think it’s gonna be a very competitive district. And I think they’ll even go farther into playoffs. Statewide, I mean, I think you have your elite teams. You know, Zachary, Acadiana, West Monroe, Westgate, Neville, etc. You know, I don’t think those programs have changed much and they are all still the staples of our state.”
Malter Scobel spoke very highly of the three young men he brought with him to the Media Day event. He aims for them to play a huge role for the Tigers this coming season. He spoke about his time with them this summer and how special they are to their team:
“Jalen Anderson, who’s a returning starter and a First Team All-District defensive end. He’s going to be playing tight end ,running back, and also fullback. Also, we’re gonna have to play some guys two ways. He’s just a he’s a hard working kid. You know, he believes in what we do and leads by example. And he’s earned the right you know, he doesn’t miss and he comes to everything. So he’s just done the right things. Dwayne Mills is going to be a three year starter for us in the secondary, cornerback for two years and this year he’ll probably play some free safety and down safeties. He returned kicks and is another kid that just does not miss. He comes to everything makes good grades, both of those kids are honor roll kids. So, true leaders that you want in kids, along with never getting in trouble. And then Riggs Knight is a returning starter offensive lineman and another kid. Well, we have makeup days for kids that do miss and he will still come in. He just comes to workout, never misses, and is a true leader for my football team. And as a vocal leader, he’s done a really good job during the summer, echoing the coach’s expectations when the coach isn’t around.”
The three All-District players have also worked on getting stronger in the weight room as Jalen Anderson has bench pressed 325, squatted 500 pounds, and power cleaned 325 pounds. Riggs Knight has bench pressed 325 and squatted 390 pounds. Finally, Dwayne Mills has squatted 250 pounds, power cleaned 250 pounds, and squatted 400 pounds in the offseason.
Coach Scobel preached heavily of consistency for his team. He thinks if his Tigers can stay consistent in their district and this entire year as a whole, then things for his football program will only continue to improve for the coming years.
“You know, I think if we can just continue to be a consistent program, everything will run its course. We had a really good year last year, but we’ve got to consistently do that, to get some respect in this state, like it was a while back. So that’s really the goal, just to have a consistent playoff district championship program that can eventually compete with the elite teams in the state.”
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