Conquerors make home debut Sunday

There will be many firsts in this inaugural season for Houma Conquerors players.

Unfortunately, the first Southern Indoor Football League game was a 46-27 loss on Sunday to the Texas Pirates for Houma’s team.

But no matter what happens this season, one of their highlights is certain to be this Sunday’s 5 p.m. home debut at the Houma-Terrebonne Civic Center against the Austin Turfcats.

The game is especially thrilling for the former Bayou Bucks players and those who played high school football in the Tri-parish area.

For some, it will be the first time family members will have gotten the opportunity to watch them play football.

“My wife has never seen me kick a football,” said Chris Stropolo, 29, a former Buck kicker from 2002-04. “It’s going to be exciting to have her and my daughter there.”

“I have a four-year-old daughter, Katelyn. She knows daddy plays football,” said Jonathan Carter, 24, a former Terrebonne High center from 2000-02. “But I’ll be real excited on the 26th because that will be her first time seeing me play football.”

The Conquerors anticipate playing in front of a rabid crowd reminiscent of the Bayou Buck days.

“A lot of people from the surrounding area will be glad to see football back in Houma. I think we’re going to get a lot of support,” said Kevin Johnson, 31, a former Thibodaux High running back from 1994-97.

“I’m not expecting a sold-out civic center, but I know for the fans that will be there, they will make some noise and bring all that excitement they had with the Bayou Bucks,” said defensive end/linebacker Charles Phillips, 25.

“I’m looking forward to meeting some friends in Section 202.”

Phillips and fellow defensive end/linebacker Tim Bingham played at H.L. Bourgeois from 1998-2001.

After playing at different colleges (UL-Lafayette for Phillips and Nicholls for Bingham), they rejoined in 2007 for the Lafayette Hurricanes of the North American Football League.

Like the rest of the team, the duo said a chance to play football in Houma was something they could not pass up.

“I’m still trying to live the dream and do what I love to do: play football,” Bingham said.

“I didn’t get the chance to try out for the Bayou Bucks the first time because I was still at UL-Lafayette,” Phillips explained. “I’m from the area and I feel like this is my last opportunity to play football here. Everything happens for a reason.”

For many Conquerors, Sunday’s loss to Texas was the first time in years that they had put on a helmet and shoulder pads.

Carter had not played organized football since 2004. Johnson has been out of action since 2005 and Stropolo since 2006.

Former Bayou Buck Tim Betts, a two-time All-American at Troy University who spent a year with the Tennessee Titans, said he had not fastened on a chin strap since the Bucks’ last game.

“It’s been five years since I played indoor football,” said Betts, 31. “I still had the desire to play football. Now, I actually have the opportunity to do something I love. It may not be on an NFL level, but it’s still on a professional level.”

Besides Johnson who played two years for the Alexandria Rangers, the other former local prep stars have a combined one game of indoor football experience.

Bingham played one indoor football game against the Bucks on June 19, 2004, with the Waco Marshals.

The Bucks won 74-0.

“There was an indoor team that was going around picking up players, and I signed up,” he said. “We all just got together that day and played. That was fun and I always wanted to do it again. I went out there and tried to hit anybody I could hit and have fun.”

Despite the lack of experience and continuing to practice outdoors, the players expect only needing to make minor adjustments to adapt to indoor football.

“The game is quicker. Quarterbacks don’t make seven- step drops,” Phillips said. “Pursuing the ball as a defensive lineman, you will get a lot of tackles that way.”

“At the end of the day, it’s all football.” Carter said. “I believe if you get your body in shape and go 100 percent every play, there’s not much of a transition. It’s a mind thing.”

Betts has had to learn the hard way there is a difference between being in shape and being in “football shape.”

A month into practice, his body was aching, and he was still trying to get acclimated to the different training rigors.

“It’s been good for me because I had been gaining weight. I’ve lost 12 pounds. I came in (to camp) at 264 pounds and now I’m at 252,” he said. “The coach’s (Franklin Thomas Jr.) comment the other day was, ‘We’re starting to see the old you.’ He knew I had to get some rust and weight off, and I’m starting to feel better.”

Playing for the Conquerors is a second job for most of the players. After working at their regular occupations, they travel to the East Houma Recreation Complex on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights for practice from 7 to 9 p.m.

Players said the long days put in are worth it to play the game they love, but it is obviously demanding.

“My day starts at 6 a.m. and it doesn’t end until I get back home to New Orleans around 11 p.m.” said Stropolo, an industrial electrical supply salesman for Wesco Distribution Inc. in Metairie.

While the players hope to use their opportunity with the Conquerors as a steppingstone to the higher ranks of football, they also believe the team can be a special one.

Despite an 0-1 start, they still see themselves as a championship caliber squad. They hope Sunday’s home debut will catapult them in that direction.

“I’m expecting to bring a championship to Houma,” Phillips said. “The people of the area, we need something to call our own.”

“I hope the fans buy into this team because we have a lot talent,” Betts insisted.

“If you take the roster and look at all the players who have professional and college experience, we have way more talent than the old Bucks.”

Houma Conquerors running back Kevin Johnson, one of several former high school football stars from the Tri-parish area on the team, is anxious for Sunday’s home debut against the Austin Turfcats at the Houma-Terrebonne Civic Center. For many of the players, Sunday’s loss to the Pirates was the first time they had suited-up in several years. * Photo by KEYON K. JEFF