The Jena Giants are coming off the greatest season in school history where they made the trip to the Superdome in New Orleans for the first time in program history.
Even though the Giants came up short in the state championship game, it was still a season to remember for a lifetime. All that did for the fans and players was make them eager to get back to football as fast as possible. Now, football season is finally back. The Giants have already played a scrim-mage and given fans a look at this year’s team. This Saturday, the Giants will once again travel to Monroe to take part in Bayou Jamb.
But before getting into the matchup at Bayou Jamb, let’s discuss what you’ll see out of the Giants this year. The Giants will have to replace a lot of offensive production from last year’s team.
At quarterback, junior Jonas Jenkins takes over the offense and will look to add a new dimension with his arm and legs. Junior Kaeden Kittlin will replace Sedrick Wilson in the backfield at running back, and at wide receiver, junior Brittain Johnson will look to replace Zadrien Cooper.
With the departure of two of the best tight ends in school history, the Giants will look to seniors Cruz Humphries and Nolan Williams to fill that void.
The Giants return senior running back Daniel Hatcher, who ran for more than 1,800 yards last season and will look to move up the school’s career rushing list throughout the season. The Giants will have a lot of size along the offensive line, led by seniors Maliik Wilson and Zy Harrison.
On defense, the Giants return a lot of veteran experience and will look to start the season better than they did last year, when they had to break in a lot of new starters. The Giants return veteran starters Carter Nichols and Logan Thompson in the secondary.
The Giants also return almost their entire linebacking corps from a year ago in Cash Richerson, Kayson Dean, Hayden Deville and Brian Evans. The Giants will have three seniors with plenty of experience along the defensive line in Eli Estes, Trent Tingle and Parker Durham.
Jena will play one of the most difficult schedules in school history this year. It will be difficult from the start, as in Weeks 1 and 2 the Giants will face teams that were also in the Superdome last year.
In Week 1, Division IV non-select runner-up Mangham will come to Guy Campbell Memorial Stadium in what should be one of the best matchups in the state that week.
In Week 2, the Giants will travel to Sterlington for a rematch of last year’s state championship game. The Giants will also have Westgate, Marksville, Bunkie and Leesville on the schedule. If you’re a Giants fan, you should be excited, because the Giants will have a fun matchup nearly every week.
In district play, Caldwell and Vidalia left the district while Grant returns. As it has been in recent years, the district will come down to Jena, Marksville and Bunkie.
Marksville returns a lot of talent and is determined to knock off the Giants, led by senior quarterback Devin Lavalais, a Tulane commit. Bunkie has lost a lot of talent over the last two years and will lean on some new starters, including quarterback Austin Fitzgerald, who takes over the offense.
This past Friday night, the Giants traveled to Northwestern State University in Natchitoches to scrimmage Pineville and Natchitoches Central. The Giants played well on both sides of the ball.
There were a few mistakes that always happen early in the season, but nothing to be concerned about. The Giants played a quarter against each team. The only touchdown of the scrimmage for Jena came from Kaeden Kittlin, who scored on a 9-yard touchdown run.
Kittlin finished with 57 yards on 11 carries. Daniel Hatcher had six carries for 35 yards in the two quarters, and Ronald McGinnis had 33 yards on six carries.
This Saturday, the Giants will play in Bayou Jamb at 3 p.m. against Oak Grove, at ULM’s Malone Stadium.
The Oak Grove Tigers are a great football program, like the Giants, that relies on its run game and physical play to overwhelm teams. It should be a fun matchup. Tickets purchased ahead of time at Jena High School are $12, with all proceeds going back to the school. Tickets purchased at Bayou Jamb will be $15.
If you’ve been living under a rock this offseason, then you’ve missed news of all the improvements made at Guy Campbell Memorial Stadium. Thanks to the Girlinghouse family, the stadium has a new jumbotron screen that will let fans see replays, highlights and live stats as they watch the game.
Also new is a band concession stand that will accommodate more fans and offer ice cream to help fans cool off in the early-season heat. There’s also a new pavilion on the visitor side near the end of the field by the fieldhouse that will feature reservable tailgating spots, with the proceeds going directly to the football program. All of these improvements were made by dedicated volunteers who gave a lot of time and sweat in the summer heat to get the stadium ready for the first home game.
Jena High School will also debut the Jena Giant Network this season, which will offer a live stream for fans to watch games from anywhere. Austin Whatley and Brant King will provide play-by-play calls for the broadcasts, while Jena High School students will help produce them. The app can be found on Amazon Fire Stick, Apple TV and Roku on smart TVs. To watch on a phone, open a web browser and go to www.jenagiantnetwork.com.
At Bayou Jamb, the broadcast will be audio-only, as Bayou Jamb will not allow video broadcasts for fear it could hurt attendance. The broadcast can still be found on the network, with live stats available while listening.
With all of this said, football is back, and it’s going to be a fun year.
