The postseason has been tantalizingly close for the Barbe Bucs the last two years.

Last season, the Bucs led Acadiana 31-17 in the final week of the season. A win in that game likely would have put them into the postseason, but the Rams came back to win 35-31.

They lost three games by four points or less in 2022 and four by nine or less in 2021. Had the close calls turned in their favor, the postseason would have been a reality.

First-year head coach Skeet Owens plans on getting the Bucs over the hump.

“You have to finish games,” Owens said. “You have to make plays down the stretch.

“In all those games, there were plays we should have made or could have made, and we just didn’t make them. Whether that is becoming mentally tougher or becoming better coaches, guys stepping up, it could be any number of things. That is what we preached on this spring. It is finishing games and playing four quarters.

“2021 was very similar to last season. We went 4-6, but we could have easily been 8-2. The same thing, we couldn’t finish games, whatever the case was, turnovers making plays. We have been preaching finish whatever you are doing, trying to get them mentally tougher to play four quarters.”

Nearly all of the starting spots are slated to be filled by juniors and seniors, including 13 returning starters, but building depth will be an early season must.

“We are going to have to have some guys that haven’t played any Friday games get in there at some point whether it is rotations or injuries,” Owens said. “Whatever the case is, some of these younger guys are going to have to play.”

On defense, the Bucs lost their top tackler (John Henry Richard, 87 tackles) and leader in the secondary in Kandyn Kordova, but return seven starters.

“We have about six- and-a-half starters coming back,” Owens said. “We have Classie Ballou coming back, who is coming off his second ACL surgery, at one of our linebacker positions. Hopefully, he can stay healthy and help us about quite a bit. Hayden Bissenberger is back and has come on well. He has put on some weight. He is picking up reads and decision making a lot better. Michael Fulton is back and Lucas Puckett at the defensive end, who played a lot at the end of the year. They are looking good. They just have to stay healthy. If we can stay healthy, we can play with people but you never know.”

The Bucs’ secondary will be led by three-year starting cornerback Dane Dixon.

“He started as a freshman,” Owens said. “We threw him into the fire at corner his freshman year.

“That was the first year back from COVID. He started last year and finally started putting on some weight. He moved around to safety a little bit. We expect good things out of him.”

Big-time playmaking wide receiver Jamaal Levi is at McNeese State now, so the pressure will be on returners Carson Sanford (QB), Eric Jones (RB) and Landon Victorian (WR) to create explosive plays.

“He (Sanford) has done well,” Owens said. “I wouldn’t say he was lacking confidence, but he just didn’t have a lot of Friday night experience.

“It was new to him and, of course, he had to play Southside as his first start. After that, he did well. He has matured running the offense.

“(Jones) has a lot of great energy. He is a great kid and always positive. He is probably the hardest worker we have in the program. He is here right now working out on his own. I want him to weight more. He is about 172. I want him at about 182. He is trying to put it on. He runs hard. I can’t say enough about him.”