Trahan ready to sing; VC senior to start game with National Anthem

If you have attended a Vermilion Catholic football game during the past couple of years, you have heard Rilee Trahan sing the "Star-Spangled Banner."
Trahan, a 17-year-old VC senior, will take her rendition to the next level this Saturday.
Like the football team, Trahan will have the honor of stepping on the field at the Superdome where she will be singing the National Anthem prior to the start of the Division IV State Championship game. Kickoff is set for noon.
"I'm not feeling it yet," Trahan said Wednesday of any nervousness.
Trahan did have some initial thoughts, moments after the Eagles' 33-8 semifinal home win over Cedar Creek last Friday.
"I remember my first thought," she said. "I need to find something to wear.
"I was extremely nervous about that aspect.”
Don't worry, that issue found a simple solution.
"I am keeping it simple," Trahan said. "I'm probably going to wear a maroon shirt and some boots."
The biggest thing that matters is the honor of being able to go out there and sing the National Anthem.
"It's such an honor," Trahan said. "I know that."
She is also proud too because of the circumstances.
"These boys have worked so hard to get us here," Trahan said. "I can hopefully set a tone for them at the beginning of the game. I feel a little bit of pressure to do a good job.
“Coach (Russell) Kuhns told me that if I can start it, they can finish it.”
The opportunity came after a simple request.
“The Monday before the (semifinal game) I put a bug in our principal’s ear,” Trahan said of VC Principal Mike Guilbeaux. “I didn’t think I would be able to. It was kind of ‘If you need someone, I can do it.’ I just asked if we won if they would consider me.
“He came up to me few days later and told me they did the paper work and I was in.”
Trahan has plenty of experience with the song. She has preformed the “Star-Spangled Banner” prior to several events, including the Giant Omelette Celebration in Abbeville. This is a much bigger stage and she understands that.
“I don’t think my brain is at the point yet that it has really hit me,” Trahan said. “I am going to stand in the middle of the field and I am going to sing the anthem in front of all of these people. It’s not there yet. It will probably hit me like a ton of bricks but it is not there yet. Singing the anthem this year during my senior year has just been magical for me.
“Now being able to bring that all the way to the ‘Dome with these boys is just a feeling I cannot even describe.”