THIBODAUX, La. (WGNO) — E.D. White head football coach Kyle Lasseigne delivered a powerful postseason statement after his team’s 14-7 loss to University Lab in the 2021 Division II state championship game.
“We play with the kids that walk through our door and what we attempt to do is take those kids and mold them. Put them through some torturous situations to see how they’re going to react but we’re never going to do it differently. I’m not going to sacrifice my program. I’m not going to sacrifice my integrity and one day the underdogs are going to raise the trophy. Raise the trophy with the kids that walked through the door. Write that down.”
Seven months later, Lasseigne, a 1988 graduate of E.D. White, elaborated on that statement and how it describes the culture and expectations that now surround his winning football program.
“What kids understand when they walk through the door is that they’re going to have to work hard to go compete against people that we play. They understand that concept. That’s why I’ve got 110 kids per day on campus working out, trying to get better, and trying to compete against guys with some D-1 talent. We finally have a little bit of D-1 talent. We don’t have it every year. I’m just proud of the fact that we go compete no matter what.”
This fall, E.D. White returns 14 starters from a 2021 team whose first and only loss of the season came in the state championship.
“It’s not something that we consciously talk about all the time but it’s something that obviously built some confidence in our team, in our kids, that we can play at that level,” says ED White head football coach Kyle Lasseigne.
On offense, E.D. White brings back seven starters with UL commit Matthew Broussard headlining what head coach Kyle Lasseigne calls the “best offensive line he’s been a part of.”
The Cardinals also return their top athlete and All-District selection, Matthew Melancon.
An effective playmaker on offense, and a D1 talent on defense.
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“I remember walking into a meeting with the offensive coordinator and telling him, ‘get the ball in Matt’s hands.’ We need to eliminate some 15-play drives and maybe go four or five plays and score. Matt can do that for us. Great talent, going to be a great player on the next level. Fast, just fast, and last year became physical. I think we’re going to move Matt to safety. He’s going to play a little safety for us, but hopefully we’ll get him on offense as well,” says Lasseigne.
Melancon is one of seven returning starters from a defense that held opponents to around 7 points per game in 2021 and didn’t surrender its first touchdown of the season until their sixth game against Lutcher.
“We like to out-work people. We like to make people work for yards. Whenever you make people do that, it’s going to break a lot of teams,” says ED White senior defensive end Nathan Johnson.
“When you look at the season and you look at how many big plays they gave up, it’s not many. When I say big plays, I’m talking 30-plus. We probably didn’t give up five of those all season long,” added Lasseigne.
Production needed for what Lasseigne calls a brutal schedule in 2022.
The Cardinals will hold their scrimmage against defending Class 5A state champion Zachary and open the 2022 season at Vandebilt Catholic.
E.D. White will also play games against Assumption, Woodlawn of Baton Rouge, Thibodaux, and Sam Houston.
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