Rammin’ Into the Season with West St John High School: Coach Tyler Lewis

The West St. John High football season has officially kicked off! West St. John High School is located in Edgard, La in St. John the Baptist Parish and the Rams’ football team is led by Head Coach Brandon Walters. Recently, I had the pleasure of interviewing The Rams’ Defensive Back Coach Tyler Lewis who had the following to say:

It’s a great honor to be back home at my old high school, “West St. John High.” I thank Head Coach/Athletic Director, Brandon Walters (whom I once was coached by) for bringing me back to be a part of the staff. Our staff consist of a lot of guys who played and graduated from West St. John. I spent the last two years at Terrebonne High School, where I was the Defensive Back Coach. To leave there was a hard decision for me to make. There are some talented athletes there. My heart was truly into the student athletes but to return home is a pleasure! An opportunity not many would pass up. I would like to thank Terrebonne for two great years. I will miss it all but now about the Mighty Rams.

This year’s team is a special group of kids. We returned back to the Class 1A, where we compete in District 8. Competing against teams such as Houma Christian, Covenant Christian Academy, and Varnado High School, just to name a few. Our pre-district schedule is a nice one as well, where we compete against St. James, South Plaquemines, Bonnabel, Plaquemine High, White Castle and KIPP B.T. Washington.

I am excited to see what we will bring to the table this season. We are known as a school that stays in the playoffs. We have been to the state championship 8 times and won it 3 times in school history. This year’s team has a set a goal of getting back to the dome, but not just getting there, winning it too. We are well overdue for a state championship but we will take it one game at a time. People will see a good bit of our guys going both ways as well. I expect the special teams to be a big part of our success too.

Offensively, we have a Sophomore Quarterback, who is very athletic and new to the starting position, but he is well-protected by a big experienced offensive line, naming 4 of the 5 as seniors. Returning for us are Seniors: OT #62 Calieb Batiste 6’3 285, C #63 Brett Bailey 5’10 250, G #51 Kyree Throne 5’10 190, OT #53 Jayuan Pierce and Junior G #74 Hauron Robinson 6’4 305. We are led in the back field by two Junior Running Backs #1 Kylan Duhe and Niko Roy, who also starts LB for the team. We have a big WR core as well. Starters would include SR #6 Aason Moll 6’4 185, SR #3 Alyjah Borne 5’10 160, SR #5 Kameron Ursin and SO #7 Trent Grow 6’3 185.

Defensively, we are a solid group that plays big and fast. I believe we have one of the best, if not the best defensive line in 1A. We are big up front and fast on the end. Starting on the defensive line for us are SR #9 Covan Barnes, DE 6’1 225, SR #52 Kelon Gardner, DT 5’11 250, SR #30 Horace Lewis, DT 6’2 290 and JR #15 Jonathan Porter, DE 6’3 220. Just last week Jonathan Porter led the team in week 1 with 4 tackles, 4 assist, 2 sacks, 2 tackle for loss, 1 force fumble, 1 fumble recovery and 1 defensive TD. Our linebackers are SO #33 Zyron Wilson and recently named SR Niko Roy. We bring back an experienced defensive back core which includes: Senior Cornerbacks #10 Dontrell Davis, #4 Tre Thomas, Safeties JR #11 Jeremiah Downing, #3 Alyjah Borne and FR #23 Wantrell Williams.

One of our biggest rivalry games we face this year was last week against St. James High School. This rivalry game has been going on for years between us. It is named “The Railroad Classic.” We fell short losing 36-33. It was a hard one to lose but we have moved on and we’re now focusing on our next week’s opponent.

I truly believe that this team can be very successful if these young men continue to work hard toward the team goal, stay healthy throughout the season, and continue receiving the support from the community.

Go Rams!