LSU and University of Louisiana at Lafayette football fans need to keep a close eye this weekend on LSU junior fullback Jacob Hester and UL Lafayette senior running back Chester Johnson. These two players have been known to pull a few tricks on the football field in the past – at least during their days together playing pee-wee football, that is. “One time we were both returning kicks, and they wouldn’t kick it to us,” Hester said. “So me and [Johnson] had to switch jerseys with two other players so they wouldn’t think it was us, and they would kick it to us.” Player familiarity will not be uncommon between these two teams. When the Tigers and Ragin’ Cajuns meet this Saturday, it will be like a high school reunion for many players. In fact, six UL Lafayette players are from Baton Rouge and 10 LSU players lived in the Lafayette-Acadiana area, which Hester said should make for a fun experience. “It’s different playing against a guy you played with for 10 years,” Hester said. “It’s competitive. You don’t want him to have an edge in the trash-talking game so you make sure that you do whatever you’re doing better than him, or he’ll talk trash for the rest of the time.” Hester said he and Johnson continued their young football careers together at Evangel Christian Academy in Shreveport, where Hester served as Johnson’s fullback. Since high school, Johnson has been moved to fullback at UL Lafayette, leading to some playful comparisons between the two, Hester said. But behind the trash-talking and childhood anecdotes, Hester said he is anxious to meet up with his old, high school teammate in front of a sold-out Tiger Stadium. “He said he is excited,” Hester said. “He said he always wanted to get a chance to play in Tiger Stadium so he’s definitely going to be ready to play on the big time show.” LSU senior defensive end Chase Pittman also attended high school at Evangel and said he is eager to greet his friend, especially behind the line of scrimmage. “If I tackle him, it will be a fun kind of deal,” Pittman said. “Probably it will just be more fun and games than serious type of deal between us. I’m looking forward to talking to him. I haven’t seen him in a while.” Pittman said he remembers Johnson “as a quiet guy” when he first got to know him. “He was a good running back,” Pittman said. “I always remember him smiling and joking around a lot. [He was] kind of a quiet guy, but once you get to know him, he’s a real cool guy.” Besides the history between the Evangel graduates, LSU sophomore defensive tackle Marlon Favorite and UL Lafayette linebacker Jonathon Vance also share some childhood football tales. Favorite said he and Vance first met during Favorite’s junior year at West Jefferson High School in Harvey. “We actually had a few classes,” Favorite said. “He didn’t start playing football until our senior year.” Favorite said LSU recruited Vance coming out of high school, but Vance chose to attend UL Lafayette where he merited a full scholarship. “I talked to him before we started [fall] camp,” Favorite said. “He called me like, ‘Man, you ready?’ and I said, ‘Man, you ready?'” Unlike Hester and Johnson’s on-the-field uniform swap story, Favorite said his best memory of Vance has a political backdrop. “One time we were working an election with my dad,” Favorite said. “We were campaigning for one of the local representatives in our area. We had a big old water fight out there. I just remember him sneaking up behind me throwing the water balloons. That’s going to be the first thing that’ll flash into my head when they step onto the field next Saturday – how funny that was.” Favorite said trying to put the idea of playing against a high school friend into perspective is difficult to verbalize. “I guess you can say it’s interesting,” Favorite said. “You’re like, ‘Me and this guy were sweating out there for the same team trying to win against an opponent.’ Now, that person is my opponent. You have a lot of thoughts that run through your head.” LSU and UL Lafayette will play Saturday at 7 p.m. in Tiger Stadium.
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