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With less than a month to go in the regular season, James Bewers sits down with Beau Chene boys soccer coach Chad Vidrine about the Gators' season, as well as what changes the coaches association would like to see in post-season play. Caitlin Jacob

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Prior to last year, it had been since 2012 that the Beau Chene boys soccer team didn’t reach the semifinals.

That four-year stretch of dominance — reaching the finals once and the semifinals three times — is why the 2016-2017 season felt so foreign to the Gators. They endured a losing season (10-15-4) and earned the No. 12 seed in the Division II playoffs. Beau Chene bowed out in the second round of the playoffs after an 8-1 defeat to Woodlawn-Baton Rouge.

But the struggles last season can be explained. Young players were forced into the lineup due to injuries and illnesses to more experienced players, including to then-junior John Morgan Eaglin, an All-State performer and one the Gators’ top goal scorers.

Moreover, Beau Chene coach Chad Vidrine said it seemed like his players became complacent last season, and the leadership he sees this year wasn’t there.

“We have really good leadership, really good team atmosphere. It’s a little different,” Vidrine said. “I think that’s some of the things we lost last year. Maybe we got too complacent from our semifinal runs and finals run that we had. We had that success for four years in a row, so some of the kids maybe though it was just going to happen automatically. … It was not something we were used to, not something we like, and I think the boys worked harder not to get that.”

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Now, because of how last season played out, Vidrine believes his younger players are ahead of schedule. After Tuesday’s district-opening victory against Westgate, which is ranked No. 11 in the Class 4A power rankings, the Gators improved to 14-5-4 on the year. Beau Chene is ranked second in the power ranking, behind only Holy Cross.

The intangible of leadership is not the only thing that’s improved this season. Beau Chene has made significant jump in its defending, complimenting an already strong offense.

Unfortunately for the Gators, Eaglin has been sidelined by another injury. But senior Landon Guidry and sophomore Adrian Eaglin, John Morgan’s brother, have picked up the slack.

“Our defending is way stronger and our goal keeping,” Vidrine said. “We’ve solidified that area because that was definitely an area of weakness last year.

"Attacking-wise, we were always good attacking for the last 3-4 years of getting goals. Any way we can, depending on the (opponent) and what they were giving us, we could possess. We’re not known as a possession team, like an (Episcopal School of Acadiana) is, but we can get goals. We have two or three of the higher scorers in the state.”

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“Between Landon and John, they’ve been All-State five times already, and they’re both seniors. So they’re used to scoring a lot goals,” Vidrine continued. “His younger brother, Adrian, is one of the up-and-coming players on our team that’s just fantastic.”

Wins against teams like Westgate will go a long way in Beau Chene’s hope of earning at least the No. 2 seed in the playoffs. Vidrine believes Holy Cross, which beat the Gators 5-0 last weekend during Élite Invitational de Louisiane, is “in a zone by themselves.” His hope is that Beau Chene ends up on the opposite side of the bracket to avoid Holy Cross as long as possible.

And Westgate isn’t the only team that can help boost Beau Chene’s power points within district, which includes St. Thomas More, Carencro and Sam Houston.

“I’ll still say every year we have the most competitive district in Division II,” Vidrine said. “STM, nobody is fooled by their record. They’re the two-time defending state champs. What we saw last month to last weekend, they’re 10-times better already. They may not have a lot of wins, but they’re coming back. They’re going to be one of the toughest teams in the playoffs to face.

“Westgate has had a tremendous season so far. … Normally, we don’t say that about Westgate, and it’s a great thing because it’s more competitive for us. Plus, power point-wise, they’re huge this here.

"Carencro is rapidly improving from the beginning of the year, and they’re going to be a hard, hard game for us. Sam Houston, we beat them last week, but they’re got more wins this year than the last five years combined.

"So it’s a really good district, and it really prepares us for the playoffs. I think you’ll see at least four of our teams in the playoffs.”

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