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The celebration of Rayne’s Old Spanish Trail Day on September 23 is a reminder of how important that roadway (essentially the old Hwy. 90) was to south Louisiana, and also of the town’s connection to a significant bit of OST history.
The event has been organized for some years now by Eddie Palmer (epalmer@bellsouth.net).
In the horse-and-buggy days before the OST was built, dirt roads connected south Louisiana communities, and they were almost always poorly maintained. Nobody thought of an interconnected system until the late 1800s when farmers’ groups and bicyclists’ organizations came together to form a national Good Roads Movement. It gained momentum in the early 1900s, when automobile lobbies joined in. That caused civic leaders in Mobile to push for a good highway along the Gulf.
They organized an Old Spanish Trail Association to promote a road that would “afford tourists the ability to see Florida towns, come through Mobile and go west along the Mississippi coast through New Orleans and to California.”
The push for the Old Spanish Trail came to south Louisiana in 1916 after a meeting in Orange, Texas, that endorsed building a road between New Orleans and Houston, connecting Morgan City, New Iberia, Lafayette, Rayne, Crowley, Jennings, Welsh and Lake Charles.
By the beginning of 1917, Acadia and Jeff Davis parishes had approved substantial bond issues, according to the Crowley Signal, “to provide for their portion of the Old Spanish Trail highway.” It reported in January 1917, that “material progress” was being made. A gravel version of the highway was substantially completed by the early 1920s, but there were some problems in Louisiana.
The Rand McNally Automobile Road Book from 1923, told us, “Along the Old Spanish Trail are the riches of history, legend, sentiment and natural beauty.” But the Old Spanish Trail Association said “Louisiana was trouble. . . . Its swampy terrain, high ferry rates and homebred corruption [have] delayed the completion of the highway.”
Louisiana finally paved almost all of the OST in 1929, when Huey Long was pushing for a statewide good road system. The only unpaved part was “over a good gravel road” between Rayne and Crowley. Highway engineers said that last section would be paved as soon as everyone agreed on where the road would run.
That, of course, boiled down to politics.
Everybody wanted the highway to pass in front of their business, something that Long understood thoroughly. That’s why, some say, the road ran perfectly straight between towns but took all sorts of twists and turns inside some town limits.
There is an entirely believable story that Huey himself set the route in most towns, making sure that the important road went past the businesses of his friends (or bypassed those of his foes). That would explain otherwise inexplicable zigs and zags in the old road in several towns — and why some towns were bypassed altogether.
That was the fear in Rayne in 1931, when the newspapers reported,
“Present information says the highway is going to miss Rayne or at least miss the business district. … Rayne citizens are going to do everything possible even to taking the matter to court.”
It didn’t come to a court fight. At the end of March the decision came that it would follow the railroad track into town, turn south on Main Street “at the Farmer’s Café corner,” pass through the business district, then turn west toward Crowley.
The usual weather delays slowed the work, but in early 1932 the last piece of the Old Spanish Trail in south Louisiana was almost completed. Once again, there was just a little bit to finish but, the Great Depression intervened and the state ran out of paving money. Once again, the unfinished part was near Rayne.
“Within a very few weeks there will be but one stretch of road on the Old Spanish Trail between the Mississippi and Texas borders left unpaved,” the Rayne newspaper complained in April 1932.
“That will be a stretch … between Rayne and Crowley where someone once had visions of a massive concrete … overpass [over the railroad track]. When the paving ... was laid, that stretch, some half a mile in length, was left untouched, the overpass to be constructed later. … Now … any chance … of building [the overpass] has vanished.”
Ironically, the Great Depression that caused the loss of state funds also was responsible for the money to eventually build the overpass. In 1936, the federal Works Progress Administration put up the needed $120,000.
The overpass “reported to be one of the finest in the state” and “completely modern in design” was opened just in time for the Fourth of July celebration in 1936.
You can contact Jim Bradshaw at jimbradshaw4321@gmail.com or P.O. Box 1121

MAURICE — The North Vermilion Patriots were oh-so-close to pulling their record to .500 on the season Thursday night before a long touchdown pass gave Loreauville the lead, and a fumble with less than 35 seconds remaining sealed a 17-10 win for the visiting Tigers.
It was another tantalizingly close loss for the Patriots, who are 1-3 with two 4-point losses and one 7-point loss now.
“That’s the story of our season right now,” NVHS head coach Joe Heintz said. “We’re about four plays from being 4-0, but instead we’re 1-3. We just can’t seem to get out of our own way at times — it’s self-inflicted wounds.”
North Vermilion outrushed the Tigers 211 yards to 93 on the night, and even outgained Loreuville 246 total yards to 241 after LHS passed for 148 yards. Eighty of those yards came on the long TD pass, however, which was on the first play after North Vermilion turned the ball over on downs at the 20 with 8:28 remaining in the game.
“Now, they’re a good football team,” Heintz was quick to say. “I don’t want to take anything away from them. I think they’re a good football team and they’re going to make some noise in (Division IV).”
The Patriots also were flagged seven times for 80 yards in penalties to Loreauville’s six penalties for 60 yards.
“I just want them to call the right game, and I think they did,” Heintz said of the officials. “It’s just part of us not getting out of our own way right now.”
North Vermilion got off to a good start, marching 46 yards in 12 plays to open the game, with Tucker Denais scoring on a seven-yard run to cap the drive. The Patriots converted two fourth-down plays on runs by Denais and Grant Wise to keep the drive alive, and led 7-0 after the PAT kick by Jacob Lattier.
Denais led North Vermilion with 69 yards on 17 runs. Wise added 35 yards on nine carries.
NVHS had a chance to make it a two-TD lead midway through the second quarter when Jace Baldridge chased down Loreauville QB Trevor Dooley for a sack that resulted in a fumble. The Patriots’ R.J. Meaux recovered the strip sack at the LHS 11-yard line.
North Vermilion gained only five yards in three plays from there, however, and settled for a 23-yard field goal by Lattier to lead 10-0 with 6:57 remaining in the half.
Loreauville took advantage of two penalties on its next drive and went 65 yards for a touchdown in eight plays. Maddox Savoy, who led the Tigers with 79 yards on 11 rushes, went in from the 4 and Logan Templet kicked the point-after to make it a 10-7 game with 3:02 to go.
The Tigers tied it up on their first possession of the second half, driving from their 23 to the North Vermilion 10 before settling for Templet’s 27-yard field goal with 7:33 remaining in the third period.
Loreauville missed out on its own chance to take the lead later in the quarter. Taking over at their 48 following a punt, the Tigers drove to the NVHS 10-yard line, but a high pass on second down, a tackle for a 2-yard loss by Brody Lambeck and a pass broken up a the goal by Rece Gyles turned Loreauville away and the Patriots took over on downs at the 12.
North Vermilion steadily marched into scoring territory on the ensuing drive, with Logan Thompson keeping for 11 yards on the first snap, Devin Galley rambling for 30 yards two snaps later, Denais also breaking off an 11-yard carry and Andrew Heintz carrying three times for 18 yards.
Heintz rushed for 47 yards on 11 carries and Galley added 43 yards on eight rushes.
But the drive stalled at the Loreauville 20 and the Tigers took over on downs. On the next snap, quarterback Hayden Benoit lofted a pass deep downfield to John Munnerlyn, who caught the ball in stride behind the defense and outran them to the end zone for a 17-10 lead with 8:17 remaining, following the Templet PAT.
North Vermilion didn’t go down without a fight, getting one last opportunity to pull even after taking over at their own 23 after a Loreauville punt with 3:37 remaining in the game.
Denais broke loose for 11 yards, but slipped while making a cut, on the first play. Three plays later, facing a third down and nine yards to go, Thompson hooked up with receiver Owen LeBlanc for 20 yards on a slant pass.
The two connected again for 15 yards on the next play, the Patriots only pass completions of the night, to get the ball to the Loreauville 10-yard line with 51 seconds left on the clock.
A two-yard gain on first down got the ball to the 8, but on second down, North Vermilion fumbled and Loreauville recovered, running out the last 34 seconds with one final offensive snap.
“We’ve got to turn this thing around somehow,” Joe Heintz said. “At the end of the day, the kids are playing hard. They are. They’re giving everything they have. That’s all we want as coaches. It’s not fun being 1-3. That’s where we are.
“Sports is a testament to character, and we’ll see what kind of character we have next week.”
The Patriots play at home next Friday against Beau Chene.

It’s homecoming week at Abbeville High School, but head coach Roderick Moy and his staff have worked to make sure the football team is focused on their opponent, Beau Chene, and not all the homecoming activities during the week.
“Always as a football coach, you don’t like the distractions,” Moy said. “You want to allow the kids to go out there and enjoy it, but we also have to remember that this week culminates on Friday night, and all the things they do during the week isn’t nearly as fun if we go out and drop one Friday night. We still need to be able to take care of business once it’s time to practice and get ready for Beau Chene, because they’re still a dangerous enough ballclub that if we don’t have our minds where they need to be, you can lose any given Friday night.”
The Gators (1-2) are athletic and have a lot of speed on the perimeter. BC beat Port Barre 9-6 in its second game, sandwiched between losses to Rayne (49-6) and Northwest (29-3).
Abbeville is 2-1 after a 22-18 win over North Vermilion this past week.
“We feel like for the third week in a row that we have an advantage in the box, on the offensive and defensive lines,” Moy said. “That’s where we have to control the football game, and that’s where the game’s going to be won and lost. If we can do what we do up front, I think we’re going to be OK.
“That’s where our bread is buttered. We have a total of eight seniors up front — the five offensive linemen, and three of our defensive linemen are all seniors. I think that’s what’s going to make or break us, and we think that’s the case again this week.”
Moy expects the Gators to take some chances by putting seven or eight players within a few yards of the line of scrimmage to stop Abbeville’s rushing attack.
“They’re going to stack the box and make us prove we can be mult-dimensional,” Moy said. “So we’re going to see. They’re going to try and take the run away from us, and we’ll see if we can be a complete offense this week.”
Moy said Abbeville will try to make Beau Chene cover the entire football field.
“It doesn’t necessarily have to be throwing it, we have to be able to run laterally, run north and south, and take the top off the defense with the forward pass as well,” he said. “We can’t be so predictable. We have to make them work for it.”
In the win over North Vermilion, the Wildcats could’ve played better on special teams, Moy said, but played well in other aspects.
“I thought we played real well defensively, and I thought we moved the ball well offensively,” Moy said. “They beat us in one-third of the game, and fortunately for us, that wasn’t enough to beat us.”
Zaylun Williams had a career game, Moy said, at both linebacker and on offense. Williams rushed for 75 yards, with three of his seven carries going for touchdowns. He also made some big first downs for the Wildcats, averaging more than 10 yards a carry, and earned Gulf Coast Bank Offensive Player of the Week honors for Vermilion Parish.
“He was the difference in the game, and he was somebody they didn’t have an answer for,” the coach said.
Moy said that Williams will remain primarily a defensive player but as the year goes on he could see more time on offense, which is where he started as a freshman.
“We want to be one-way (using players solely on either offense or defense) right now, especially while it’s still hot outside, but as the year goes on and the temperature goes down, the more we can use him offensively,” Moy said.
“He’s just so valuable to us on the defensive side of the football, and getting everybody in the right place, you never want to take him from that side. But he showed this week what kind of quality football player he can be on the other side when all the chips are down and you’ve got to have it.”
The coach also is pleased with the way sophomore quarterback Da’Zavien Maze has been playing. The Wildcats haven’t asked him to throw a lot but Moy likes the leadership Maze has shown.
“We’re still, with a sophomore quarterback, very pleased with the way he’s been leading our ball club,” Moy said. “If we’re fortunate to get to 3-1 this week, we’re very excited about his development.”

The Abbeville High Athletic Hall of Fame Committee is proud to announce its two new hall of fame inductees for 2023.
The new inductees are Matt Broussard and the late Jason O’Brien.
The two will be recognized Thursday night at an induction banquet held in Magdalen Place, and then again at halftime of the homecoming football game on Friday.

Matt Broussard

Matt Broussard was the perfect student-athlete.
He had the grades (4.0 grade point average in high school), and the athletic ability to excel in three sports.
​Matt’s athletic career began in Abbeville’s Babe Ruth baseball program, but also soon included Abbeville pee wee football and biddy basketball programs as well.
With baseball as his main focus in his youth, he played on All-Star teams in the local Babe Ruth program for several influential local coaches, such as Bobby Neveaux, Kelly Richard, Jesse Faulk, Darren Duhon, Jeremy Picard, Chris Gautreaux, and his father Karl Broussard. He also credits Gayle Frederick, Irby Luquette, Bradley Palombo, Larry Winters and Glenn Hebert as having huge influences on his early playing career and development.
He was the starting catcher on the 1995 Bambino World Series champions from Abbeville. He started at first base for the 1996 state, 1997 state (where he was named MVP of the tournament) and regional and 1998 state and southwest regional champions as well.
​Once at Abbeville High, Matt started and excelled all four years in baseball, earning all district and all parish honors all four years as a catcher and first baseman and first team all-Acadiana and first team all-state honors his senior year.
In football, he was named first team all-district his sophomore and senior years, first team all parish his sophomore, junior and senior years, as well as first team all-Acadiana his senior year as an offensive lineman. He was a member of the 2000 state semifinal team that hosted John Curtis in Abbeville in the program’s first appearance in the semifinals.
He also threw discus in track, earning all district honors his junior year. Matt was also voted the academic student of the year his senior year in 2001.
​After high school, Matt attended UL-Lafayette, where he played two years of baseball for Tony Robichaux and the Cajuns. He graduated Cum Laude with a degree in Marketing before going onto Texas Woman’s University, where he earned his doctor of physical therapy degree.
Matt worked in physical therapy for 13 years, eventually moving into the operations side. He now leads operations for the state of Alabama for Behavioral Health Group. He currently resides in Daphne, Alabama where he enjoys fishing, cooking, traveling, and coaching his boys in various youth sports.
​Matt attributes much of his success in sports and life to the sports programs he was fortunate to be a part of growing up and the many mentors he had along the way. He was also fortunate to have a group of fellow athletes growing up that stayed together all the way through high school including Ryan Duhon, Josh Collins, Justin Luna, Jason Mitchell, Coy Durke, Byron Dozier, Jared Trahan and many more. Most of all, his parents, Karl and Diane, played the biggest role in shaping who he became as an athlete and a person.
​On being selected to the AHS Hall of Fame, Matt says “I’m truly grateful for all the people over the years who believed in us and supported us. Without the help of so many, none of these things would have been possible. I’m honored to share this with all of the great coaches and teammates I’ve had.”
Matt is the son of Karl and Diane Broussard. He has one younger sister, Jenna Broussard Caho. He is married to the former Kristen Price of Marietta, GA and has three sons, William, Grant, and Lucas Broussard.

Jason O’Brien
Jason O’Brien was one of the reasons why Abbeville High was known as Linebacker High in the early 2000s.
Under the leadership of then-head coach Brent Indest, the Abbeville Wildcats had stud linebackers such as Jermain Wiltz, Jason Mitchell and O’Brien.
Wiltz and Mitchell, both starters, helped lead the Wildcats to an 11-3 season in 2000.
Wiltz graduated, then O’Brien stepped up and filled his shoes when he was only a sophomore.
O’Brien played alongside Mitchell, who graduated and signed a football scholarship with the University of Tennessee.
Without Mitchell, O’Brien stepped up his game in his junior year. He earned all-district honors at middle linebacker in his junior year. He had 91 solo tackles and 36 assists. He became the third straight Wildcat linebacker to earn Vermilion Parish MVP honors.
O’Brien continued his success his senior year and finished with 89 solo tackles, 16 assists and six sacks.
His football skills earned him first-team all-state honors and parish MVP honors for his second straight.
On Friday, Sept. 22, O’Brien will be inducted in the Abbeville High Atheltic Hall of Fame.
Coach Indest said O’Brien was special.
“Jason was truly like a son to me,” said Indest. “I remember for Hurricane Lilly; we took him with us to Arkanasa to my sister’s house. He was one of a kind.
“As a player, he and Jermain Wiltz were the best two linebackers I have ever coached. Nick Saban once told me that if he were 20 pounds heavier, he would have signed him at LSU.”
O’Brien was a two-sport athlete at AHS. When football was over, he ran the hurdles and was a leg on the 4x100 relays. He reached the Class 3A state track meet in both events.
O’Brien signed a football scholarship with Northwestern State. He played four years at safety and earned all-conference honors his final two years.
He earned his bachelor’s degree from Northwestern in 2007 and was hired as the city of Abbeville’s Parks and Recreation Director.
Unfortunately, tragedy struck when O’Brien died on December 26, 2011.
He left behind three sons, Jason Jr., Jaidyn and Jyrin.s