The difference between this spring and 2025 was like night and day for Cecilia football coach Cody Champagne.
Last May, Champagne was making his debut as the Bulldogs head coach, and the former offensive coordinator made do with only a couple of holdovers from Dennis Skains' previous coaching staff.
"Oh, man ... last year, it was like, OK, there are only three of us left," he said. "Let's just get through the spring."
Champagne and his assistants capped off this spring in much more comfortable fashion with a scrimmage against Lakeshore, a program that the No. 13-seeded Bulldogs eliminated on the road in the 2025 playoffs in traditional high-scoring Cecilia fashion (54-42).
"I thought it went well," Champagne said. "Lakeshore had some kids out with their baseball team going to the semifinals. They had their quarterback (Brody Loudermilk). We were able to push their defensive line around some."
The Bulldogs are experienced upfront with three returning starters on the offensive line, headlined by 300-pound three-year starter Ethan Journet. Receiver Ashton Ruffin, the younger brother of former Cecilia star Ellis Stewart, landed his first scholarship offer from Southern after the spring game.
"He's going to be a problem," Champagne said of Ruffin, who hit a growing spurt during the offseason and is now taller than 6-foot-4.
Junior quarterback Layne Champagne will throw to Ruffin and four-star 91 commitment Braylon Calais, who is moving from running back to receiver and will take some snaps at quarterback. Calais sat out the scrimmage with a minor injury.
"I think he's happy about that," Champagne said of the position move for Calais, who rushed for more than 1,000 yards in each of the past two seasons and still will take some snaps at running back with Deondre Brisco, a starter last year at H-Back.
On defense, some players who impressed during the spring were nose guard Chance Guidry, linebackers Kaleb Journet and Brandon Lejeune, and safety BJ Patt, who comes from a long line of Bulldogs in his family tree.
Additional standouts includ returning starters in the secondary Demarcus Babineaux, Dakorey Living and Franky Frank. Babineaux is a three-year starter, while Frank has been a key cog in the lineup since his freshman campaign.
"I thought we got out there and did what we needed to do," Champagne said. "We put some kids in new positions to see if they could handle the pressure. Obviously, the actual season is a different animal, but the guys went out there and performed."
Chase Narcisse and Amiri Noel are new faces in the defensive backfield whom Champagne expects big things from. Kennan Batiste is a returning starter on the defensive line who is recovering from offseason surgery.
Cecilia will scrimmage Kaplan in the fall and then will face Lafayette High in the jamboree. St. Amant and Central-BR have been replaced on the regular-season schedule by Barbe and Teurlings Catholic. Carencro is a new addition to the district after dropping down from Class 5A.