JEANERETTE -- It would be hard to find something that Terry Lewis hasn’t experienced in 30 years of coaching football, but this season definitely qualifies as a new experience -- coaching high school football.

“I’ve never done high school,” said Lewis, who was hired by Terry Washington during the summer to be the offensive coordinator and assistant head coach at Jeanerette and to coach the offensive line.

From starting at the U.S. Naval Academy’s prep school in 1972 through the 2003 season at Mississippi State University, Lewis’s resume of places where he’s coached and players he’s coached is as varied and distinguished as any could possibly be.

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Starting at the Naval Academy with former head coach Elliot Uzelac, Lewis has worked at Western Michigan, Illinois, Southern, East Carolina, another stint at the U.S. Naval Academy, LSU, Tulane, North Carolina, Colorado, a second stint at North Carolina and finally at Mississippi State.

Some of the more famous coaches that Lewis has worked with include former Michigan coach Garry Moeller, former LSU head coach Bill Arnsparger, former Tulane and current Texas head coach Mack Brown, former North Carolina head coach Carl Torbush, former Colorado head coach Bill McCartney and former Mississippi State head coach Jackie Sherrill.

“And all the time I was an offensive line coach,” said Lewis.

The list of future NFL players he coached while at those different stops is just as impressive.

“I have coached 40-something guys that have at least signed an NFL contract,” said Lewis. “The last of which was the current right tackle for the Tennessee Titans, David Stewart.

“There was also (tight end) Alge Crumpler, who plays for the Titans, and Donald Lee, who starts for the Packers at tight end.”

The longtime coach has already noticed a big change from the college ranks to the high school ranks.

“It’s a tremendous change from this standpoint,” said Lewis. “The kids at the college level have pretty much been identified as guys who, in their own minds, have determined that this is what they want to do for four years.

“In high school, these kids don’t see beyond being a high school football player. Therefore there is a different motivation level. As a result, you have to use different methods to get these kids to play the best that they can play.

“They get dejected easier when things don’t go well and for us things haven’t started out well early on this year. So it’s been difficult trying to motivate them. Also being as young as they are, it’s difficult to try to get them motivated because they don’t have as vested an interest in the team. To me that’s the biggest thing that I’ve encountered, getting them to understand that the game is four quarters long and let’s not worry about anything but the next play.”

Lewis and the Tigers play host to Franklin Thursday in a non-district game. If the Tigers win, then Jeanerette wins the “Louisiana Hwy. 182” title, having beaten both of its rivals, including West St. Mary, that are along the highway from New Iberia to Franklin.

Though Lewis is a new addition to the JSH staff, he’s very familiar with the school.

“Shannon Clavelle was a young man that we recruited when I was at the University of Colorado and got to know him and he is still a close friend of mine,” said Lewis. “I’ve been coming to South Louisiana since 1967 so I’m not a stranger to the area.

“I know the history, I know that they have had some tremendous athletes through the years.”

So when it was time for a change of scenery after coaching in college for so many years, he looked towards this area.

“When Jackie Sherrill retired from Mississippi State after the 2003 season, I knew that I didn’t want to coach there in 2004,” said Lewis. “I never had a fall off and I wanted to know what it was like to have a fall off so I didn’t work in 2004.”

Lewis liked that break so much that he decided not to coach for two more years. Then in January of this year he heard that there was an opening at Jeanerette and he came down.

“It turned out that I knew the principal, Cynthia Antoine, because we were at Southern together,” said Lewis. “We talked and she told me that she hired a guy (Washington) in ’07 but he needed help.

“I talked to coach Washington and we hit it off real well. Then I went start the paperwork process of becoming an Iberia Parish teacher.”

And it’s worked out well.

“It’s everything and more that I expected it to be,” said Lewis. “It’s almost like me starting over again. I’m absolutely ecstatic about what we’ve trying to get done down here.”