East SFV Today

The Village Christian Crusaders are preparing for a football season like none before.

Head coach Richard Broussard can’t wait for it to start. Yes, it will be unusual, with games starting in January. But it’s still football, and he has devoted much of his life to the sport. So he and his team will adapt.

“There’s no point of reference,” Broussard said. “There’s always restrictions. You can only do some things at some point in the year, but nothing like this. It is unique.”

In July, the California Interscholastic Federation shifted fall sports to spring, although with the football season kicking off Jan. 8, Broussard said that term seems incorrect.

“It feels like a winter season,” he said.

They will play 10 straight weeks, not having a bye as in the past. Since it is California, the weather won’t be too rugged. Broussard said the temperature will be between 40 and 70 most days.

The Crusaders were 2-8 in 2019. Village Christian is a private Christian school in Sun Valley.

“We’re younger than last year,” Broussard said. “We lost our best player to New Mexico State, but, honestly, I think we’re a better team. I’m excited to see what we can do with this new crop of kids.”

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the program to adapt. It will follow county, state and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, he said.

“We do temperature checks and personal protective stuff, all of that,” Broussard said. “We are teaching kids on hygiene and cleanliness, which you didn’t think you had to.”

The players can only work in groups of 10, a challenge for a sport with 11 players on each side of the ball, but the coach said the team is adapting.

“We’re getting really good at looking at half the field,” Broussard said. “Honestly, it’s helped to break things down, to work on things both offensively and defensively.”

He said they are focusing on conditioning as well.

The players cannot lift weights indoors, so the weights are carried outside every day for a workout. Despite these changes to their routine, Broussard said the players have displayed a positive attitude.

“They’ve been sitting in a house for six months, so they’re great,” Broussard said.

There’s another positive side to this unusual season.

“Parents are happy to see kids out of the house, glad to see them out of the house and active,” he said. “We’ve been able to galvanize our parents and get them more motivated than normal."

This will be Broussard's third season at Village Christian. When he arrived in November 2017, the school only had eight students out for football, and had skipped the 2017 season. This year, 47 students are on the roster.

Broussard’s first head coaching job was at Burbank High School, and in 2016 he led the Bulldogs to its first CIF-Southern sectional championship game appearance in school history. He had been assistant head coach and offensive coordinator for the team before his promotion.

Previously, he was the running back coach and video coordinator at Pasadena City College.

Broussard, who recently turned 40, played high school ball at Ontario, California. He divided his college career at Chaffey College in Rancho Cucamonga, where he was a running back, and Missouri Valley College, where he was in the slot.

His older brother Steve Broussard played running back for nine seasons in the NFL for Atlanta, Cincinnati and Seattle.

“He was legit fast, like 4.3; he was super fast,” Richard Broussard said. “I was quick. He was fast.”

He wants to see his players enjoy football, learn how to maximize their ability and, if possible, move on to the next level.

Two players from last year are playing Division 1 college football this fall. Jalyne McFall, a receiver who earned a scholarship, and defensive end Amari Pouncey, a preferred walk-on with a good chance at a scholarship, are both at New Mexico State.

A senior this season, Daniel Callison, a 6-foot 3-inch, 310-pound offensive lineman, already has an offer from the University of San Diego and likely will draw more interest, Broussard said.

“He’s the Division 1 guy right now,” he said.

Aiven Martinez, a senior transfer who is being looked at as a defensive back also has college potential, Broussard said. 

The team has a returning QB, Sam Faulkner, a junior who has started for two seasons.

“He should get some interest,” Broussard said.

Other players will be scouted as well, the coach said, adding, “We got a few kids. Our sophomore class is awesome, and we got a freshman quarterback who is a stud.”

The season is more than two months away, but Broussard is passionate about the game. He can talk football as long as you want.

“It’s my purpose. It’s not even a job,” Broussard said. “It’s why I’m on this earth.”