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North Iberville makes it back to the playoffs after 16 years with big community support
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ROSEDALE - The last time North Iberville won a playoff game, they weren't even called North Iberville. Back in 1987 the school was named Shady Grove and head coach Marcus Hill led the team to victory.
The last time the Bears made it to the playoffs was 2008, but soon after, the school closed. They would remain dormant until the school reopened in 2022.
The football team was revived with a lot of excitement, but they'd have to play two seasons of junior varsity before being able to play under the Friday night lights.
"Like the first season we started playing, we was kind of new to this. It wasn’t as crisp or like as efficient as it would be now," linebacker Mekell Toussaint Jr. said.
"We didn’t know what to expect this year, but we did feel like the potential was always there if we put in the work in the off season and the kids bought into the vision,' current head coach Joshua Gast said.
Gast and his staff, along with the players, had to build the program from scratch. That hard work is paying off as the Bears finished the regular season with an 8-2 record and begin the playoffs as a top five seed in Division IV Non-Select.
This season has been filled with full circle moments for Coach Hill. He is now back on the staff as the running back's coach, but he still remembers the old days fondly.
"During those years, we had some good times. We had more good times than bad times. We won a lot of games during that time," Hill said.
Perhaps no moment was more special this season than when the school named the field after him.
"A lot of people this happened to, they’re not living. I cried. It gives me joy. It gives me chills. Even now, I walk in and I’ll be on the football field at practice and I just look up and see my name up there. It blows me away," Hill added.
The community support has been something that Coach Gast loves about his job as a head coach. Before preparations started for their first playoff game, community members came together to throw a pep rally for the team.
They have filled stands, yelled and cheered and have been there every step of the way for this Bears' team.
North Iberville hosted Oberlin in the first round of the playoffs and came out victorious getting their very first playoff win in program history.
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