Longtime assistant taking reins after whirlwind spring
Cecilia – It’s been a whirlwind spring for Cody Champagne, who was named the new Cecilia High School head football coach in April after Dennis Skains left following nearly a decade at the helm of the program.
Champagne, a 1999 Cecilia High graduate who has 19 years experience in the coaching ranks, was named the offensive coordinator for the Bulldogs before last season and helped guide the Bulldogs to the 2024 Division II Non-Select state championship. In the spring, as he does every year, Champagne coached the Lady Bulldogs softball team, reaching the second round of the Class 4A playoffs.
But with Skains’ departure in March to become an assistant coach at East Ascension High School, Champagne was offered the football head coaching job at his alma mater.
After discussing the issue with his wife, Jenny Clay Champagne, and mulling it over, Champagne accepted the football head coach’s job and had to split his time between the two sports.
“In general, just going from assistant to offensive coordinator to now head coach has been a whirlwind,” Champagne said. “It just happened so fast.
“But I think it’s just a testament to what Coach Skains has done not just with our team but with our coaching staff. He made us just get better. Now with 19 years in going on 20, now that I lead from the top instead of just being one of those guys (on the coaching staff), I’m excited, humbled, and ready to roll.”
Skains led the Bulldogs to the playoffs in each of his nine seasons, including quarterfinal trips in 2017 and 2021 before reaching the finals in 2023, the first time since Cecilia won the state title in 1995. CHS also was state runner-up in 1992 and 1993.
Champagne had a lot to consider when offered the job, including the history of outstanding coaches he’d be following.
“I had a lot to think of,” he said. “We’ve got some young kids coming through, so I want to be sure to keep it rolling for them. I think that was a big thing while I was debating. I think my wife finally said, ‘Look, do you want the job or not? I don’t care about the other stuff.’” The players also expressed a desire to not face a big change. They’d also supported his moving from being an offensive assistant to becoming offensive coordinator before last season after Clint Harrison left for a position at Destrehan High. The Bulldogs proceeded to average 45.7 points a
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game in 2024 including 49.2 points over five playoff games, and saw the offense put up big numbers behind quarterback Diesel Solari, receivers Brent Gordon Jr. and Ellis Stewart and running back Braylon Calais. Solari, Gordon and Stewart all signed college athletic scholarships, while Calais returns as a junior after rushing for more than 1,000 yards and 20-plus touchdowns as a sophomore.
“I think the kids didn’t want change,” Champagne said. “We haven’t changed much since Coach Skains left. We’re just keeping everything the same and just building off of what we’ve done the past two years is what we’re trying to do.”
This past spring, he wanted to be sure that the softball team was taken care of while still moving into the head football coach’s role. He won’t be coaching softball next season after 19 years as the softball coach.
“The big thing was I wanted to make sure that both sports were taken care of,” Champagne said. “Now I’m glad I can just solely focus on football.”
There have been a couple of changes to the coaching staff, he said, but basically the staff remains the same.
Cecilia graduate Kaleb Carter is a recent hire.
“He’s a UL grad and a hell of a coach,” Champagne said. “He was a hell of a player too. It’s good to have another Cecilia guy that’s been through it, knows what’s going on, knows the system, just to plug in. We’ve hired a couple of guys but it’s almost been just in-house with Matt Autrey rejoining the staff. Matt started coaching football here three or four years ago but then stopped. He’s a guy who played offensive line at UL. Also, Chase Tyler’s moved from the junior high to the high school now.”
Champagne is in the process of adding another coach to the staff as well.
Cecilia played Abbeville in its spring game this year. That was a big step for the Bulldogs, who originally were going to play East Ascension before EAHS found another opponent for the spring. Abbeville then called to arrange a spring game.
“The kids were excited because we were just going to do an intrasquad thing,” Champagne said.
Champagne is a 1999 Cecilia High School graduate and played baseball for two years at LSU-Eunice and three seasons at William Penn University in Iowa. He was a graduate assistant at William Penn, and went to the NAIA World Series that year.
“I’ve been very blessed to have had a lot of great experiences as a coach starting off with that,” Champagne said.
Champagne and his wife have three children, Alivia (age 10), Griffin (9) and Jordyn (7).
