Bruised Vandy surviving early season schedule

Football’s a game of preparation.

From film study to countless hours of practice, the nature of the sport is repetition and readiness.

One thing a team can never scout, nor be ready for is injuries.

So far this year, Vandebilt Catholic has learned that the hard way.

With district play looming, the Terriers have been constantly adjusting their depth chart to acclimate to the string of injuries that have plagued some of the team’s most talented players.

“We’ve had our share (of injuries),” Vandebilt coach Laury Dupont said. “Unfortunately for us, two of our better athletes are the ones that we’ve lost. … When you lose your two leaders, that hurts. We’re constantly adjusting.”

The first rash of injuries the Terriers experienced started at arguably the most important position on the field, quarterback.

Incumbent starter Sam Lirette was sidelined for the early portion of the season with a shoulder injury.

That forced the team’s All-Star standout Elijah McGuire to shift from part time to full-time quarterback duty.

Lirette has since returned to the field. His arrival was just in time, as now McGuire is sidelined with a broken toe.

His absence has left a huge void in the Terriers’ big play ability on offense.

“Him being gone changes the whole tempo of our offense,” senior linebacker Seth Ward said. “Usually we’re a big-play offense. Him being out, that’s got to help the other team’s defense, because they don’t have to key on him.”

Dupont said McGuire is expected to be sidelined for close to a month with the ailment, though his teammates suspect he may be back sooner, maybe even for the team’s Oct. 7 district opener with South Terrebonne.

“I think he’ll be here in two weeks,” senior receiver and defensive back Beau Smith said.

“We hope he’s back for South Terrebonne,” Ward added with a laugh. “We’ll need him.”

With McGuire out, it would be easy to point to the Terriers’ offensive line and ask them to step up.

The problem is they’ve been just as nicked as the rest of the offense.

Dupont said junior starting center Chase Doiron is already out for the season with an injury and other players along the line are suffering the season’s normal bumps and bruises and are thus not at 100 percent.

“I know I can’t get hurt,” offensive tackle Dylan Lapeyrouse said. “I just can’t, I can’t get hurt.”

Like on offense, the Terriers’ defense has also been without its best player all season.

Ward, a returning All-State linebacker has missed the first four games with a high ankle sprain.

Another Ward has filled the void at linebacker, Seth’s little brother Dylan Ward.

But the impact hasn’t quite been the same as when big brother is on the prowl and Vandebilt’s run defense has sometimes struggled as a result.

“You won’t be as good a football team without an All-State kid in the lineup,” Dupont said. “That goes without saying.”

If the injury bug on the Vandebilt depth chart isn’t bad enough, it’s also struck the coaching staff.

Dupont underwent early season surgery for a neck and back ailment.

The surgery forced the coach to miss a couple games. Even now, he’s relegated to the press box on Friday nights.

Dupont said, overall, he’s feeling better, adding the toughest part of the injury was having to be forced to stay indoors.

“The two weeks at home was a hard deal,” Dupont said. “I’m not a big soap opera guy, although I do like one soap opera. To be home for two weeks, it became very boring.”

Despite the turmoil, Vandebilt has survived and is ready to move forward.

The Terriers started the season 0-2 with a close loss to E.D. White and a sound defeat at the hands of St. Charles Catholic.

“They have a chance to win it all,” Dupont said of St. Charles. “On tape, I haven’t seen anyone as good as them. They are ranked No. 1 for a reason.”

But from the 0-2 start, Vandebilt rebounded and scored a 17-14 road victory over a solid Plaquemine team last weekend.

They built on that momentum this past Friday and beat St. James to improve to 2-2.

Ward’s expected back in the lineup soon, maybe even this week when the Terriers take on Belle Chasse.

With McGuire soon to follow, Vandebilt knows their best days for the 2011 have yet to come.

Who knows? The players believe the injuries may even turn out to be a positive.

Now when district play rolls around, the full roster will be ready for game action if their number is called.

“The injuries have kind of forced us to come closer as a team, because we lost our two best players,” Smith said. “Everyone had to step up and do their jobs just a little bit better.”

“It’s helped having those guys play, because now the younger kids have experience,” Ward added. “When we all get back later in the season, they’ll be ready in case they have to come in again, they’ll have that game experience.”

Either way, it’s been a pretty crazy year at Vandebilt.

But all of the team’s goals are still possible with district looming.

“We’ll be OK,” Ward said.

“We want to try and go undefeated throughout district,” Smith adds. “We still feel we can do that when we get everyone back.”

Vandebilt standout Elijah McGuire gets stretched on the sidelines after experiencing early season cramps. McGuire’s now got bigger problems than cramps and is currently sidelined with a broken toe. CASEY GISLCAIR