Sometimes it works out, sometimes it does not. Many have attempted to return to the scene of previous successes — and failed. You can count Scott Bairnsfather among those who has returned home and experienced a happy return, although it is way too premature to invoke “happy ending,” as of yet. Scott Bairnsfather was born and raised in Harvey. He grew up on the playground at Harvey Playground, playing all sports. Though he would make his name in football, Bairnsfather had another shaped ball in mind to pursue when he was younger.
“Actually, basketball was my first love. I always loved football. I was going to play basketball in high school but I was ineligible for living out of the district though I was able to practice football. I broke my wrist at the end of my sophomore season at Shaw and I couldn’t play basketball that season so I just didn’t play basketball anymore and concentrated on football.” said Bairnsfather. A roundball career became a pigskin career. “It was easy to go to Shaw. I had friends coming here and my older brother (Brian) was already at Shaw. I had been going to the games since I was in seventh and eighth grade. Head Coach Joe Zimmerman lived in the same neighborhood as our family in Woodland West subdivision. There was no doubt that I was going to be an Eagle,” said Bairnsfather.
Scott played from 1982 to 1985 at Shaw. “I played mostly defense when I first got to Shaw as a defensive back. They asked me to switch quarterback when I was a senior. When I was a junior, we were 9-1 entering the playoffs and we lost in the second to Ehret (tied for district title with Brother Martin and Holy Cross). I was injured for half of my senior year and we went 5-5 and missed the playoffs. I had a torn groin muscle which was painful and disappointing,” Bairnsfather lamented. He couldn’t stay away from football for long.
After going to LSU for a year, Bairnsfather transferred to UNO–to begin a coaching career. “Actually, I started coaching junior high at Shaw in 1987, the year of the state championship when we beat Covington. I was the freshman coach for four years while I was in college at UNO. We made it back to the final in 1988 and lost to Ruston. In my last year as an assistant (1997), we lost to West Monroe 21-18 in the final in a game that we could have easily won,” said Bairnsfather.
Holy Cross came calling– a storied institution with a great football tradition. Bairnsfather left for the opportunity to become head coach in a complete rebuilding effort. It didn’t take long for him to make his mark. In his first year with the Tigers, Holy Cross went 7-3. “By the second season, we were 7-4 and lost in the second round of the playoffs to Acadiana after beating Destrehan in the first round,” Bairnsfather said. Bairnsfather spent four years at Holy Cross, which he said were excellent. “Evangel beat us like 50-0 in the playoffs in my final year at Holy Cross in 2001. Our biggest win at Holy Cross came in our second season, we beat Brother Martin to get to the playoffs. That was a really big win. We won eight games for the first time in 2001, beating Bossier on the road to advance to meet Evangel,” said Bairnsfather.
While the big wins are memorable, the tough losses are never forgotten. “The two that stand out in my mind were a 34-27 overtime loss to Shaw in my final year with Sean Santos at quarterback as a freshman for us. We lost to Rummel’s unbeaten semifinal team that year on a last-second field goal in Chalmette. Those were tough to take,” Bairnsfather remembered. Following the 2001 season, Tierney stepped down at Shaw. Bairnsfather was the only target of the Archbishop Shaw administration. Given the opportunity to return home, you would think that the decision would be a no-brainer for Bairnsfather. Think again. “It was very difficult for me to come back to Shaw because I was pretty much at home at Holy Cross. We were successful, things were going really well, the program was running the way I wanted it to run. Anytime you leave a place where you’ve grown accustomed to having success, it is tough to leave. It was tough for me to leave Shaw for Holy Cross initially. While it was tough to leave Holy Cross, when it is your alma mater calling, where you played and had fond memories of, it was a good decision. It was only four years removed so the people were largely the same at Shaw since I left,” added Bairnsfather.
In his eighth season as the head coach at Shaw, Bairnsfather was 54-30 and 2-1 on the current season at press time. The Eagles lost at Westgate 18-14 in week three. Shaw has reached the state 4A championship game for three consecutive seasons. They are back in 5A, in the familiar and comfortable surroundings of the Catholic League. Despite the loss at Westgate, Shaw remains the favorite to win 10-5A. Their recent success suggests this strongly. It hasn’t always been that way since Bairnsfather returned to his alma mater. When he returned to Shaw, he did so under difficult circumstances, succeeding long-time, legendary coach Hank Tierney, his mentor. Tierney had tremendous success, leading the Eagles to a state title in 1987 and to championship games in 1988, 1997 and 2000. Tierney departed under pressure. The entire situation was very unfortunate, according to Bairnsfather.
“It was difficult. Coach Tierney was my coach, my mentor. I learned how to play from him and how to coach from him. Many kids left the program. We were a bit overmatched in the first year (2002). It’s tough watching kids work hard and lose. The kids were trying so hard. They were accustomed to success. It’s really tough watching your kids lose. There was turmoil. We had a tough schedule, playing John Curtis, Salmen and O. Perry Walker. It was a very tough schedule at the worst time. The Catholic League teams were very good. That was the most difficult thing to go through coming back to Shaw. We knew eventually the ship would get turned around but we had to go through that to start rebuilding again,” said Bairnsfather. The Eagles suffered through a 0-9 campaign that year.
In year two, Shaw went 2-8 and showed improvement. “We got younger. We had very few seniors starting that second year and took our lumps with young guys. We improved as the year went on. We got a lot out of the second season even though we only won two games,” said Bairnsfather. Following the first two years, Bairnsfather has posted an impressive record of 52-13 and three state championship game appearances. In year three (2004), Shaw went 7-3. They went to the playoffs. The program arrived in the opening round of the playoffs. Shaw visited Hammond. The Eagles trailed 20-19 in the final minute. They drove it deep into Hammond territory, to the fiveyard line. On came Chad Gervais. “It was well within Chad’s range and he had done a nice job for us. We were going to lose if he doesn’t make it. He booted the worst field goal ever kicked that was good. The kick knuckled, sunk, rose and took a left and got it in. We won 22-20,” said Bairnsfather. Shaw football was back.
The Eagles were reclassified to 4A enrollment status for 2005 but the Eagles played just four regular season games due to Hurricane Katrina and lost in the second round of the state playoffs to Istrouma. In 2006, 2007 and 2008, Shaw went to the state championship game, falling in all three games. As mentioned, Shaw has been to the Superdome championship game seven times, including in 1987, 1988, 1997 and 2000. Bairnsfather has been part of each one with the exception of 2000, when he was at Holy Cross.
As it was under Tierney, Shaw is once again one of the most consistently outstanding programs in the state in any class. The Eagles are back home in the Catholic League. Bairnsfather is back home on Barataria Boulevard. “I think this proves that you can go home again. I’ve spent a lot of time here in high school. It seems like I’ve spent half my life in this gym as a student or a coach. It’s been a good experience for me.” “I really only had one mentor in coaching and that was Hank Tierney. Once you remove yourself from that, you’ve got to make your own mistakes and learn from it. He was kind enough to help me along the way and I certainly appreciate that. I think the two best qualities I learned from him are work habits and dealing with high-school aged kids in a football program. He was simply the best at that,” said Bairnsfather.
Another aspect of his coaching career that Bairnsfather has enjoyed is the relationship he has forged with successful coaches he once coached with at Shaw under Tierney. “Billy North (John Ehret), Darren Barbier (Hahnville), Lou Valdin (Hahnville) and Mike Silva (Hahnville) were all guys I worked with. Jay Roth (Rummel) is my best friend in coaching and one of my best friends in life. I’m also proud to say that Mark Bonis (Brother Martin) was on my staff at Shaw. He’s a fine young head coach who will do an outstanding job at Brother Martin.” Being in football all of his life, Bairnsfather has known nothing else professionally. How long does he envision continuing in the sport he loves at the school he loves? “After losses, not too long! After victories and successes,
it’s hard to see yourself leaving this. You want to have everything set and in place for as long as you can. You must direct energy toward it daily. I can still do that. When I can no longer do that, it will be time to move on. You will know. I know I belong here now,” he said.
Bairnsfather, his wife Amy and family live in Gretna, in Timberlane, about a mile from where he grew up. Scott says he is a loyal, life-time West- Banker. “It is home. Shaw is home.” This is a classic case of the youngster becoming an adolescent, growing into a young adult and into manhood where he wants to be…..Home, wearing green, watching his team on the green turf of Hoss Memstas Stadium with the strains of “On, Shaw Eagles” ringing in his ears.
By: Ken Trahan
October 2009
No related posts.
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
