Former Baseball: Cecilia coaching legend Devillier dies

Kevin Foote, The Advertiser, Aug. 29, 2016

The first thing that most remember about former Cecilia High football coach Johnny Devillier is the many times he made them laugh.

"Johnny was always a lot of fun to be around," former St. Martinville coach Carroll Delahoussaye said. "Johnny was always funny. We had a good time. He would make you laugh with the things he’d say."

Funeral services were held Monday for Devillier, who passed away this past Friday from a lengthy illness at 73.

Devillier’s impact on Cecilia High athletics was undeniable. He was the head football coach of the Bulldogs from 1975 to 1986 and had an impressive winning record of 83-43-1.

"His teams were always very prepared, very disciplined and played hard," Delahoussaye said.

The intense St. Martin Parish rivalry was obviously huge in Devillier’s era as well. In that era, the big matchups in the fall were typically between Delahoussaye’s Tigers and Devillier’s Bulldogs.

"They threw the ball more than most people did at that time," Delahoussaye said. "They went and got the passing game from St. James. It was simple, but it was very effective."

Later in Devillier’s career, Mike Mowad arrived at Breaux Bridge with hopes of making the parish a triple threat.

"Johnny was definitely a character," Mowad said. "As a coach, though, he was very intense. His teams were always very well coached. It took us a couple of years to catch up with those programs. They both made me a better coach."

Of course, Mowad’s first experience with Devillier’s program at Cecilia was as an assistant coach at Comeaux High prior to arriving at Breaux Bridge.

"In Lafayette Parish at that time, we were used to fans showing up 30 to 40 minutes before the game," Mowad said. "We got to Cecilia at 4:30 and the stands were already packed. Their fans were phenomenal."

While the memories of many of Devillier will always be as a football coach, Mickey Autrey’s first experience with Cecilia’s legendary football coach was actually in baseball.

"He was actually our baseball coach in the summer when we first moved here," said Autrey, who explained that Devillier was the first coach to hire him out of college and later coached against Devillier as a coach at Breaux Bridge. "He loved baseball."

In fact, Devillier played college baseball for the then-USL Bulldogs from 1962-64.

"Johnny just loved coaching," Delahoussaye said.

To illustrate that point, Devillier later was Cecilia’s head basketball coach, leading the Bulldogs to a Top 28 appearance in the 1990s.

"He had a great deal of pride in what he did," Autrey said. "If he didn’t know something, he’d look it up and find out how to do it. He always wanted to be the best he could be."

"He worked hard. Even later in life, when he was struggling with diabetes and other things, you’d see him around town riding his bike."

Athletic Network Footnote by Ed Dugas.

Click www.athleticnetwork.net , Photo Gallery, Baseball – then the years 1962-64 for photos of Johnny and his teammates.

It was a pleasure to know Johnny when we were USL HPE students, then later to have him as a student in graduate classes at UL. He could definitely brighten a room with his entrance and was very likeable, unless you were across the court or field from him playing against his Cecilia teams. Having also taught many of his former students, it was apparent that he instilled many positive qualities in them – both on and off the field.