Kaplan: ‘Crazy fun’

Kaplan High School has been hectic the last three days but it is what KHS Principal Dr. Janet Guerrini called, “Crazy fun.”
This week the school has been preparing to host a Class 3A semifinal game tonight.
The 13-0 Pirates play host to the No. 7 Amite Warriors in the semifinal round.
The winner of that game will advance to the Class 3A state finals next Saturday in New Orleans.
The school administration expects anywhere from 2,000 to 3,000 people, so they have been planning for the big game this week.
“It has been crazy fun,” said Guerrini. “We have been trying to think of everything that could possibly happen. We are trying to take care of things before the game like having more police, more barricades, where to park everyone and where to put everyone in the stadium. Do we have enough rest rooms?”
Another worry is parking, because of the weather. It rained Wednesday night and she plans to park people on the grass in front of the school and on the side of the school by the softball field.
Portable lights will be located in front and on the side of the school to help with parking.
Tickets are on sale at the school for $10 each. Season ticket holders still have to purchase a ticket, but they will be allowed to sit in the spot that they sat in all year.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m., but the gates will open at 5 p.m.
The school will continue to sell tickets during school hours.
Before noon Thursday, the school had sold 300 tickets.
Assistant principal Ward Courville said his advice to anyone who wants to attend the game is to go early. Courville expects people to begin lining up at the gate at 4:30 p.m. and the gate will open at 5 p.m.
“The earlier you get here, the better chances you will have to sit in the stands,” said Courville.
Fans will not be allowed to stand on the track around the football field. The barricades will prevent the fans from standing on the track.
Guerrini said the North Vermilion and Erath community reached out to help. Volunteers who painted the Erath field went to Kaplan Wednesday to help paint the KHS endzone.
North Vermilion is loaning Kaplan two golf carts to help shuttle the elderly people back and forth to their cars.
“These are communities coming together, which is great,” she said.
Guerrini is also being proactive when it comes to tailgating before and during the game. She already called Amite’s principal and warned the principal that drinking alcohol will not be tolerated on campus. Last year, Lutcher’s fans left beer bottles and whiskey bottles, along with food, in the school parking lot after the game.
‘We are not having that again. Anyone caught drinking will be asked to leave,” she said.