Eunice coach wary of VC talent

The Vermilion Catholic Eagles (7-0, 4-0 in district) face their toughest challenge yet - 4A’s Eunice High School.

But Russell Kuhns, the head coach of the Eagles, is not making any major changes to how the team prepares.

“We go into every week ready for a challenge,” he said. “This is no exception. They’re a bigger school, they have a lot more players and a lot more depth.

“We’ve got an advantage going in,” he added. “We’ve played bigger schools and we’ve been in dogfights against them. We’ve played hard in these conditions.”

VC is back after a 55-8 road win over previously undefeated Highland Baptist. The Eagles’ win left them as the only undefeated team in their district, and leaves them in good standing for a possible district title.

Eunice, meanwhile, is back after a big win over Rayne last week. And, going from Rayne to VC isn’t going to be any easier.

“They’re a great offensive football team,” Eunice head coach Paul Trosclair said. “They are a very versatile offense and an aggressive defense.”

Eunice is having a better-than-expected year after losing a large number of seniors at the end of the last season. The Eunice coaches weren’t sure what they would be left with for the 2013 season.

“We’ve done better than we thought we would,” Trosclair said. “We lost a lot of good guys. A lot of experience went with them. We ended up going with a total revamp of the team. We had a three-year starting quarterback, and now we have a sophomore first-year starter. Overall, it’s just been a pleasant surprise.”

Of all the surprises Trosclair has had over the year, the defense’s bounce back from losing eight starters has left him proud.

“The biggest surprise of the season has been our defense,” he explained. “We only had three returning guys, and with the exception of the fourth quarter against LaGrange, every game has really been outstanding.”

Now, how that defense matches up against VC’s offense remains to be seen.

“Their offense will be our biggest test,” Trosclair said of VC. “When you play a spread team that can also run the football well and has more than one guy that can catch, it’s a challenge to defend.”

The Eagles will host Eunice Friday night and it will be a televised game - VC’s second one of the year. The first was in the Eagles’ victory over Erath. This one will be aired on Cox Sports Television. Trosclair says the TV game could have an effect, both positively and negatively.

“I think the guys get excited knowing a lot more people will be watching them,” the Eunice coach said. “The only problem with a TV game is the TV timeouts. They can interrupt the flow of the game and slow it down.”

Kuhns feels his Eagles will be just as excited. “I don’t see it being any sort of distraction for them,” he added.

The Eagles have spent the week preparing for this 4A opponent, and it could be an exciting game as they look to remain undefeated in the regular season, a feat they achieved two years ago.

And, speaking of history, the Eagles will also be seeing the reunion of their state championship team from 10 years ago, who will be there to celebrate and help cheer on the current crop of Eagles players.

The televised game is set for a 7 p.m. kickoff. After this week, just two more games remain. One will be against Hanson Memorial, the other against Ascension Episcopal.