St. James High To Honor Lionel “Luke” Harry And Retire Chad Jasmin’s Number

St. James High School would like to announce that Lionel “Luke’ Harry and Chad Jasmin are the school’s two most recent selections to be inductees into the St. James High School Hall of Fame.

Due to Hurricane Ida, formal induction ceremonies will be held at an upcoming home football game, so stay tuned for more information concerning when the ceremony will be allowed to take place.

Lionel “Luke” Harry

The sixth of eight children, Harry was born June 2, 1956 to Sylvain and Lucille Harry. He grew up learning right from wrong and understood the need to do one’s best in life, to give and think of others.

Growing up in Vacherie, he graduated from St. James High School Boys’ Division in 1974, was a member of Our Lady of Peace Catholic Church, and worked for over 30 years at Occidental Chemical in Hahnville as a scaffold foreman.

Lionel was a family man and father of five. He didn’t mind always having a full house and he enjoyed having friends and family over to celebrate. He especially enjoyed having folks over for crawfish and turkey necks, a simple way to say, “I love you.”

Those who knew Luke knew his love of sports. An avid Dallas Cowboys fan, he took that love and his football knowledge and began helping kids in the community by coaching Biddy Basketball, the boys’ and girls’ softball teams, and the Vacherie Rams football team.

He loved working with everyone involved in St. James Parish youth sports, from coaches to players. He took great joy in watching the children play, he celebrated their wins and he was proud to see them grow and mature into young men and women of character and determination. He watched with joy when Corey Webster, whom he coached, won the Superbowl.

After reflecting on a successful 2013 season, Luke stated, “I measure success as an improvement. We are coaching over 100 kids from 5-12 years old every season, teaching them teamwork, communication, and discipline on and off the field. Success to me is players on the field instead of being in the wrong crowd. Winning is great, but getting kids to never give up when you lose is a valuable gift needed in life. Success to me is having good coaches believing in the program. What brings me the most joy is having coaches on staff who played for me when they were 9-12 years old, now they are coaching their sons and others from the community.”

Harry was a well-respected member of the community, affectionately known as “Coach Luke” or even “Paw Paw”. He spent nearly four decades devoting his life to coaching kids in St. James Parish, a job that was paid with smiles and accomplishments of children.

In 2008, he was presented with the Good Citizen Award from The Enterprise newspaper and received accolades from the St. James Parish Council as well as Petroplex International for his loyal contributions.

Harry died suddenly at age 58 on April 23, 2015. On October 10, 2015, a dedication was held and a placard erected at the District 7 Recreation Park in Vacherie in honor of Lionel “Luke” Harry for 38-years of service to St. James Parish youth.

As inscribed on his dedication plaque, “No greater gift than a man serve his fellow man.”

Coach Luke truly gave himself to his community. He will be forever remembered because he made a difference, he made his life count for something important, he invested his life in our community and its children.

Chad Jasmin

St. James High School will retire the #10 jersey worn by 1999 graduate and running back Chad Jasmin, who was the 1997 and 1998 District Offensive Most Valuable Player, 1998 All-American, 1998 Louisiana Football Magazine Player of the Year, and outstanding student and athlete in both football and track.

Jasmin was a 100 meter and 4x100 relay track champion who also rushed for 2,018 yards on 210 carries and 33 touchdowns as a senior playing a full-game only five times due to margin of victory. Jasmin led the St. James backfield with a tremendous speed-power combination rarely seen from a high school running back.

Chad rushed for 3,814 yards and 61 touchdowns in his Wildcat career while starting the equivalent of only 17 full-games due to a broken foot suffered in his junior season. He rushed for 1,427 yards with 21 touchdowns after missing the first five games.

Jasmin was ranked one of the top five running backs in the nation and the number one I-formation tailback in the southeast according to Max Emfinger.

The St. James Wildcat legend averaged 9.5 yards per carry for his career and enjoyed running over opponents as much as he loved running away from them.

Arguably the greatest running back in school history, the 5’ 10” 210 lb. machine did his most memorable damage against his most rivaled opponents, outrunning future LSU Tigers Labrandon Toefield in track, and sailing past Dominick Davis as he rushed for 191 yards in the State Quarterfinals.

As a senior, Jasmin caught two passes for 43 yards and rushed for 255 yards on 23 carries versus District rival Lutcher. The 34-7 victory gave St. James its third consecutive victory over the Bulldogs and its fourth consecutive District Championship.

Jasmin chose to continue his education and football career at Clemson over Louisiana State University, Michigan, and Nebraska.

Originally committed to Tulane, Chad accompanied newly hired Coach Tommy Bowden to Clemson where he earned a bachelors degree in Human Resource Development in August 2003.

Solidifying himself as an outstanding blocker, Jasmin made the Clemson offense go in short yardage; averaging a solid 4.4 yards per rush average over his college career.

In 2002, he was the first Clemson running back since Terrence Flagler (1986) to catch a pair of touchdown passes in the same game at North Carolina.

Jasmin had a unique career at Clemson as he appeared in four bowl games for the Tigers. In the final stretch of the 2003 season, Jasmin was a key part of Clemson’s offense as he scored four touchdowns against South Carolina in a 63-17 win in Columbia.

Jasmin’s best moments as a Tiger came in their biggest games. His bowl game performances are now etched in Clemson history as he rushed for 83 yards on 16 carries in the 2001 Humanitarian Bowl, then had two catches for 22 yards and rushed for a score in the 2002 Tangerine Bowl.

The Vacherie native saved his best college performance for last as he was named the Peach Bowl MVP after rushing for 160 yards and 3 touchdowns while pulverizing the SEC’s top ranked Tennessee defense in a 27-14 victory.

In 2004, Jasmin was named to ESPN.com’s inaugural All-Bowl Team.