RESERVE, La. — East St. John finished the 2020 season with a 7-2 record and an upset win over number 2 seed John Ehret in the Class 5A playoffs.
A program-defining win in the eyes of head coach Brandon Brown.
“Coming into the program we talk about changing the standard and re-writing the narrative. The perception at East St. john is that we just couldn’t get to that next level and that’s what we are trying to do with our program, take it to the next level and just create a new narrative. That moment was a big moment for our fans, for our community, and ultimately for our players. Our players are starting to believe in themselves and change that standard,” says East St. John head football coach Brandon Brown.
Running Back Cortez Fisher and Wide Receiver Kylon Harris headline a group of nine returning starters on offense.
Coach Brown says there is an open competition to replace Quarterback Marcus Jackson.
“Our Quarterback battle right now is led by George Smith. George has done a tremendous job for us. He started at defensive back for us a year ago but going into the offseason he wanted that ownership. He wanted to take over this team. So, we made a position change and he’s been doing a really good job and he’s got some young guys behind him, and they’ve all been pushing each other and working extremely hard this summer,” says Brown.
Seven battle-tested starters return on the other side of the ball in 2021, making the East St. John defense one of the toughest units in district 7-5A.
“We have a pretty good linebacker corps led by Freddie Jones and Elijah Frank. In our secondary, we return a two-year starter in Mekhi Brumfield who is going to be a junior. So, we’re looking for great things from him. Upfront, games are won and lost up front and, so you lose guys like Jackie Marshall, but you return two or three of your starters in Rayquan Williams, Jacorey Robertson, and Durell Daigre Jr. So, we’ve got guys that have been around the ball club for a while and have really been contributing to the team and they’re all back,” says Brown.
The Wildcats open the 2021 regular season at home against the John Ehret Patriots and close it out with road trips to Destrehan and St. Thomas More.