25 Teams in 25 Days: D’Iberville Warriors

Day one of 25 Teams in 25 Days brings us to D’Iberville high school. The Warriors are led by 4th year head coach Josh Ladner, who’s career is trending upwards. Not only did the D’Iberville football program increase their wins from three to six in the span of a year, but the 2024 season put an end to their two-year playoff drought

“The playoff berth was a step into the right direction,” said Head Coach Josh Ladner. “It’s not where we obviously hope to attain to be, but I think the biggest thing was our defense. We had given up so many points the first two seasons. We finally had a veteran defense that came back and some added leadership with Coach Broussard, and it really paid off, so we hope to build on that even more this year.”

“Defense wins games, I’m telling you,” said senior linebacker Caleb Triplett. “ We had a good front box. For me personally, we had the best box in the state, I’m just saying. This season me and Steven basically take control of the defense. The d-line plays a big part in it. We’ve got connections, better chemistry, so it’s going to be a rough time for the offense.”

Lucky for the Warriors, the majority of their defense is back. Coach Ladner says the veteran experience is something they’ve lacked in the past and sees it as a huge advantage.

“The leadership. Year to year we were so young. We were inexperienced,  we were old, but inexperienced, then we got young, and now we’re older and experienced, so I’m just hoping to reap the benefits of that,” said Ladner.  

The Warriors won’t just be befitting from the same defensive scheme, but a huge advantage is the return of their quarterback, Jordan Walley.

He’s had the greatest off-season I think any player has ever had here at D’Iberville. We might’ve had the best off-season as a result as a team because of his leadership,” said Coach Ladner. “He just leads by example. He doesn’t say a whole lot, but he’s had the entire off-season to focus on his position whereas last year we kind of threw him in as needed, but this year he’s really solidified himself as the starting quarterback and the leader of our team, so I think that’ll pay off for him this year for sure..”

“Coach Ladner built this program from the ground up to ninth graders all the way to twelfth graders, so this year we’ll have everybody ready to compete,” said junior quarterback and defensive back Jordan Walley.”  I know one hundred percent that we’re going to do great on both sides of the ball. In an offensive way we can move the ball in different ways and be very versatile. On defense, we’ve got a big team and it’s going to be really hard to run past us.”

With everybody knowing their role and knowing what to expect on both sides of the ball, opponents aren’t just going up against their skills, but also their chemistry.

“Just motivating each other and keeping each other going. Sometimes it’s hot out here, but we keep each other going through conditioning and practice,” said junior defensive end Julian Morris. “We’ve got a whole bunch of different guys and different people that contribute to the team.  All of us really work together and that’s all it’s been, straight work..

“I love it. That keeps me going,” said senior linebacker Steven Ramsey. “When I see everybody working just hooping and hollering in the locker room and the weight room,  it just gets me going because I know everybody’s on one page and we’re all just working towards that one goal.”

With the same goal in mind, this 2025 season they’re buying into the saying “believe”

“It’s just the word believe”, said Coach Ladner. “It’s on everything we have and on all our shirts. If we can just keep the faith and keep that warrior spirit, I really believe God  is ready to bless us with a great season. They believe they can beat just about anybody and they believe they can win championship and they believe they can go all the way, so if we can match our actions by that belief, then I think we could do some special things, but we’ve still got a lot of work to do.”

 They’ll continue working as week one is quickly approaching. The Warriors aren’t scared to let you know they’re ready for August 29th.

“I’m really excited,” said Walley. “I’m ready to hit somebody.”

“I can’t wait, ” said Morris. “We’re going to show them. All of that talk, we’re going to show them.”

“I love game day. Game day is different for me,” said Ramsey. “I’ll go to school locked in with headphones on just ready to go. Game day is going to be great and all of you need to come out here and enjoy. Come out to Warrior Stadium!