Connections keep ULM-ULL football rivalry fierce and intriguing
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The smack-talk leading up to Saturday’s Sun Belt football game between Louisiana-Lafayette and ULM first started this past summer.
ULL’s Louis Lee and ULM’s Radi Jabour – former prep teammates at East St. John – stood on opposite ends of the spectrum in their predictions.
“It was just some simple talk about when we were going to play them,” said Lee, a junior wide receiver. “I guess I’m going to call him again later this week.”
Lee was sure to respond to whatever he heard last summer from Jabour, a redshirt freshman kicker for the Warhawks.
“He was saying they beat us last year,” Lee said of ULM’s 17-11 win last season. “I was like, ‘Nah, it’s not going to happen this year.”
This simple interaction is one of the many ties between the Cajuns (1-3) and Warhawks (1-3) in a rivalry that dates back to 1951 and was dubbed “the Battle on the Bayou” in 2002. ULM leads the series, 23-20, and has won five of the past six meetings.
The deepest connections start with the coaches.
Tim Rebowe, ULL’s current linebackers coach, coached cornerbacks at ULM from 2001-03. He also spent a few months in the spring of ‘03 as the team’s interim head coach when then-head coach Mike Collins resigned after being arrested on charges of driving while intoxicated. Rebowe joined the Cajuns prior to the ‘04 season.
“I do think it’s a rivalry, but a lot more between the fans,” Rebowe said. “To some of the players, it’s big because of recruiting. I know they have some players I recruited there (at ULM).
“It’s for a lot of bragging rights for the University of Louisiana.”
ULM co-defensive coordinator Manny Michel worked with Rebowe at Nicholls State and with the Warhawks.
ULL head coach Rickey Bustle was was an assistant coach at ULM in the 1980s. He coached running backs in 1984-85 and served as quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator in 1986.
ULM co-defensive coordinator, Phil Elmassian, was at Virginia Tech Bustle in ‘93.
Current ULL assistants Kevin Fouquier, Gerald Broussard and Troy Wingerter were Cajun players when the programs played each other on a regular basis.
ULL passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach Jorge Munoz worked with ULM assistant Darrell Perkins in ‘04 at Charleston Southern. Darryl Mason, ULL’s current wide receivers coach, coached the same position at ULM in ‘01.
There are also ties between players on both teams.
ULL quarterback Mike Desormeaux and ULM tight end Zeek Zacharie played together at Catholic-New Iberia.
Ian Burks, an offensive lineman at ULL, and ULM tight end Justin Waller were teammates at Denham Springs High.
ULL cornerback Justin Branden and ULM defensive tackles Aaron Williams, Alex Ford and Thomas Robinson played at the same time at Pearl River Community College in Mississippi.
For ULM, quarterback Jonathan Morvant (Acadiana High), linebacker Josh Thomas (Port Barre High), wide receiver Tim Taylor (Opelousas Catholic) and defensive back Josh Thompson and defensive tackle DeMarcus Carmouche (Carencro High) are all from the Acadiana area. ULM freshmen Luther Ambrose and Casey Narcisse were both recruited out of St. James High by the Cajuns.
“Obviously, they know each other,” Bustle said of ULL and ULM players. “Mike and Zeek played together, and a couple other guys played together.
“I think that always creates a little more hype to the game.”
Zacharie, Thomas and Thompson felt like they were overlooked by ULL out of high school, so they will be ready to play the Cajuns.
“I was looking at McNeese State, Southern and ULM and ended up walking on here,” said Thomas, who later earned a scholarship from the Warhawks. “I wanted to play close to home, but Monroe is a great place.”
Thompson, who is friends with ULL seniors Derik Keyes and Caleb Rubin, shares a similar story.
“I didn’t really have too many big schools looking at me because I didn’t have a high enough ACT score,” Thompson said. “ULL didn’t really recruit me. It was like I didn’t even exist to them. It kind of upset me a little bit because I wanted to play for my hometown school.
“That makes this game like a championship game for me. When I step on the field for this game it will let me show those coaches I could be displaying my talents closer to home.”
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October 4th, 2008 by Ragin Cajun /
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