When the organizers of the first Sportsman’s Paradise Bowl began looking for players to take part in the high school football All-Star game on Jan. 10 in Lafayette, they made it known to coaches they wanted players who were not only talented but also who showed good character.

It’s little surprise to their coaches that two players from New Iberia who will participate in the game were chosen, based on those factors.

New Iberia Senior High linebacker Michael Lamothe and Westgate High linebacker Seth Stansbury will be teammates next Saturday when the Red and Blue squads line up at St. Thomas More’s Cougar Stadium for a 1 p.m. kickoff.

Westgate linebacker Seth Stansbury (42) helps bring down New Iberia’s Kyle Lamothe during the Iberia Parish Sugar Cane Jamboree in August. Stansbury and Lamothe will be teammates Saturday when they take paret in the initial Sportsman’s Paradise Bowl All-Star Game at St. Thomas More High School’s Cougar Stadium in Lafayette. - Lee Ball / The Daily Iberian Advertisement

Both NISH coach Rick Hutson and Westgate coach Brian Fine said their players were deserving of the honor, for more than one reason.

“He certainly is a quality player and deserves to get to play in the game,” said Hutson, regarding Lamothe. “One of the things (the organizers) asked me about was Michael’s character. They said they wanted real good kids. I said, ‘You’re not going to find a better kid than Michael.’ It’s good to see they’re recognizing both” football talent and character.

Fine said similar things about his star linebacker.

“It’s well-deserved,” said Fine. “He’s a great player, a great kid and a hard worker.”

Seventy of the state’s best high school seniors are scheduled to take part, with all proceeds benefiting St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital. That was important to both Stansbury and Lamothe.

“That’s a real cool thing,” said Stansbury, who has not yet decided which college he will attend.

“We thought it was a great opportunity, especially to help out the children’s hospital,” said Lamothe, who has signed scholarship papers to play football at Texas A&M. “I just hope a lot of people come out because all the funds go to St. Jude’s. I hope some children get treatment (because of the funds). And I hope it’s a good game and nobody gets injured. I know it will be fun. That’s a given.”

Lamothe and Stansbury recently spent three days in Baton Rouge practicing for the game at the LSU Indoor Practice Facility, though one day’s work was interrupted because rain forced a children’s clinic inside at the time the squad was supposed to practice.

Kaplan coach Brent Indest, a New Iberia native and graduate of Catholic High School, is coaching Lamothe and Stansbury’s team. Players were given sunglasses, and will be given watches and bowl rings. Stansbury said the organizers plan to present the rings to players at assemblies at their respective schools.

“It was a good practice,” said Stansbury. “It’s nice to have a different coach and get a new perspective.

“They were trying to teach us a lot in a short time. We’re not throwing too much in there. They’re trying to basically let us be athletes, put us in situations where we can show our athletic ability, they said.”

“It was pretty much all business,” said Lamothe. “We’re trying to get as much of an edge over the other team as we can. Both teams have the same amount of practice time, it’s just how you use it.”

Tickets for the game are $10 a person and are available through Ticketmaster.