Sitdown interview with new Barbe head football coach Dennis ‘Skeet’ Owens

Lake Charles, LA (KPLC) - It was announced on March 22nd that Mike Cutrera, who had been the head football coach of the Barbe Buccaneers since 2011, had decided to retire. About two weeks later on April 6th, his successor was revealed, as Dennis ‘Skeet’ Owens, who had been on Cutrera’s coaching staff since 2012 as a receivers coach, and offensive coordinator, would assume the role left behind by Cutrera.

On Wednesday, 7 Sports Director Matthew Travis sat down with Owens to discuss everything from where he got his nickname from, to what his expectations are as he enters year one at the helm.

“Coach Cutrera, going back to coach Shaver, they’ve done a tremendous job here, lot of culture, lot of tradition, and I’m just trying to keep that going, and at the same time build on that, and really set my own brand here, get some young coaches in here, bring some excitement for these young guys, and take off from there,” said Owens.

Owens takes over a Barbe team that hasn’t had much success over the past two seasons, as they went 4-6 in 2021, and 5-5 in 2022, with a combined district record of 6-9. “That’s the first time since the 80s, maybe the 70s, that Barbe hasn’t gone to the playoffs two years in a row,” said Owens. “4-6 the year before and 5-5 last year, being that close, there were a couple of games where we could’ve been 8-2 very easily, so, puts a bitter taste in your mouth, you know these kids are working hard, and they know what it takes to get to that next level.”

Speaking of taking the Buccaneers to the next level, that’s exactly what Owens expects entering year one; “My expectations are high, I mean these kids know, and our motto is going to be raise the bar, we’ve got to raise our level in all fields, whether that’s academics, community, the weight room, the football field, we’re going to raise the bar and get these guys above and beyond our expectations.”

Owens’ expectations don’t come without merit either, in his first season with Barbe in 2012, Owens helped the Buccaneers to the State Championship game with a 14-2 record overall, and a perfect district record of 6-0.

“My first year here is the year we went (to the State Championship Game), of course, we had some great players, some great coaches, and through those years, you’ve been to that, you’ve tasted it, and you want to continue those traditions, continue those runs in the playoffs, and we’ve had a few runs. Obviously, since the storm we’ve been down a little bit, numbers have been down, but we’ve been gradually building back up, and trying to get into that next level.”

For the full interview with Owens, click here.

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