News 25’s 25 Teams in 25 Days: St. Stanislaus Rock-a-Chaws
What’s new at stop number 11 on News 25’s 25 Teams in 25 Days? Well, a lot. St. Stanislaus has new players and new coaches, but when it comes to expectations, it is same old, same old for the championship hungry Rock-a-Chaws.
“So, defense, we’ve been breaking down the huddle on vultures because we’ve been flying around. We’ve been putting in some work. We’ve got all new coaches, so they’re bringing new things to the table and everybody is getting better. In the weight room, we’re bringing new things. We’ve got iPads in the weight room. Some big new players. Big, big dudes that are going to help us a lot up front.”
SSC acting brand new heading into the 2022 season and there’s no real mystery about who the aforementioned big dudes are. International newcomers Bruno Dall and Ilias Rida, both towering from Germany, and then JJ Aboagye from England, adding more than 300 pounds to the d-line. Running back/ outside linebacker Chandler Chapman said, “The closer it gets to the season, the better it’s feeling because we’re building. Every day we’ve got a new coach coming in. Every day we’ve got a new player coming in. We’re just getting better and better every day.”
Two-way standout Chandler Chapman is technically one of those new guys returning from a year away in Slidell. As for the new coaches, the Rock-a-Chaws have five and a dozen total as perhaps the largest staff they’ve ever had.
Other fresh weapons on offense include Wide Receiver Ethan Galloway from Bay High and the guy that’s going to get him the ball, Quarterback Hudson Osborne from Baton Rouge, an unlikely connection to a St. Stanislaus great sixth-year LSU QB Myles Brennan. “No clue anything about it until I came here. I came and visited the school, and I just loved it immediately. It’s definitely a high standard here. Myles Brennan threw for 60-something touchdowns his senior year, so that’s definitely a goal of mine. But you can only do that with having so many games, so you have to go 15 games – around there – to beat those records and that’s what we’re aiming for this year.”
St. Stanislaus is now another year removed from its lone state crown in 2009 with Dylan Favre and those South State titles in 2014 and 2015 with Brennan, but that standard is still the standard.
The only problem is SSC hasn’t gotten out of the first round since 2017. “Bunch of people are doubting us as our past years since Myles haven’t been the most spectacular, but we’re definitely underdogs that people are going to have to look out for.”
“We always make it to the first round. We get stuck right there. But now we’ve got the players. We’ve got the coaches. We’re going for the state championship.”
Head Coach Nate Encrapera said, “We talk about it all the time about wearing the ‘S’ on your chest, and that’s not a right. That’s an obligation. It means your life and your responsibility has expanded greatly. So, I think we do enough talking about what it is to be a Stanislaus player, and then they can understand why those teams were so successful and were able to make those runs deep in the playoffs.”
Last season, the Rocks posted an overall record of just 4-6 with a district mark of 3-2 in their first run through Region 8 Class 3A en route to their ninth consecutive playoff appearance, culminating with an 11-point loss at Morton. “I think there’s a lot of pride and a lot of celebration in that aspect. But at the same time, you can’t say, you can’t just be content in getting there. So being able to make noise at the end of the season, that’s where as a coach I have to do a better job and we’ve got to do a better job preparing those guys for those high-pressure games in November and hopefully in December.”
For the Rocks that all starts with their annual summer reading assignment this year, ‘Extreme Ownership,’ all part of developing their triangle of performance, leadership, and character.
This season, SSC returning about three-fourths of its starters and counting on its nine-member senior class to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Winning a gold ball depends on it. “A state championship is definitely what we’re aiming for and what is expected here.”
“That has always been the expectation here. When you walk through the school, it’s championship expectations. So that’s what we’re going to live up to. That’s our goal. That’s what we’re going to live up to.”
“It’s a lot easier to hear the pretty lie than the ugly truth, and we’re going to tell each other the ugly truth. We’re going to give ourselves an honest assessment of where we are as players and as people, and I think at the end of the day that’s going to make us better and force each other to have higher expectations.”
Stanislaus going tough right out of the gates, opening with a road game at D’Iberville on August 26th.
Here’s some coaches picks from fifth-year Head Man Nate Encrapera, favorite Bay St. Louis meal, he says he can’t pick one, Jeff picks for him and chooses his dad’s favorite, 200 North Beach. Favorite play call is anything with five-man pressure on defense, two over four or three over three. All time favorite coach is Chuck Noll.
