Plenty VC fans watched the Eagles fly high

There is no official number to say how many people were at Saturday’s game cheering on the Vermilion Catholic Eagles, but the unofficial number is close to 2,700.
Eagle Nation II filled almost four sections in the bottom of the Superdome and there were fans in the higher section. Ten years ago, VC fans, known as Eagle Nation, had a big turnout for the Kentwood, VC finals.
Eagle Nation II wore its maroon and white to watch the Eagles play St. Frederick. It turned out to be a blow out, VC winning 63-18.
Vermilion Catholic Principal Mike Guilbeaux did not have an attendance figure either, but he does know there were a least 1,500 VC fans because that is how many tickets were sold at the school last week.
“I know the crowd was tremendous just looking up from the bottom on the field into the stands,” said Guilbeaux. “It is hard to say what the numbers are. Is it more than 2,000? Yeah. It is closer to 2,500 to 2,700? I would say that is an estimated, ball park number.”
The school made $1 for every $13 ticket sold at the school. Before the Eagles left for New Orleans, the school made $1,500 to help pay for expenses.
The school was also reimbursed by the LHSAA for its mileage at $5 per mile. In the next week or two, the LHSAA will be sending all of the schools who participated in the finals a check. The larger the school, the larger the check.
Guilbeaux said all Class A and Division IV schools in the state finals will be getting a check for $5,500.
The school will make at least $7,500 for its trip to New Orleans.
“Despite how much we make, it is the experience for the school, students, community and the people that were supportive us. You can not put a price on that,” he said.
Guilbeaux said with all of the financial donations the school received in the last week, VC will make a profit from its trip to New Orleans.
Looking back, Guilbeaux, a principal at VC for three years, said he is grateful for all of the help and volunteers who made the trip to the Superdome an easy trip. A couple of days after winning in the semifinals, Guilbeaux met with parents, staff and coaches and each one took on a responsibility.
“People were coming into the school and ask what we needed,” he said. I would not change anything. The thing that made it work well, everyone had their little responsibilities and they carried out those things instead of one person doing everything.
“We had people in the community taking responsibilities for different things. My advice for anyone who goes through this, allow different people to take charge of different things because it works well. It worked for us.”