Prep Notebook: Football playoffs enter second round
Published 9:54 am Tuesday, November 19, 2013
On Friday night the Louisiana state high school football playoffs will continue, and 13 teams will represent Southwest Louisiana in the regional round in 11 games.
In Class 1A Basile and East Beauregard will rejoin the action after taking a break in the Bi-District round where they earned bye weeks. The No. 4 Bearcats (10-0) will host No. 13 Plain Dealing (6-5) and the No. 7 Trojans (8-2) will host No. 10 White Castle (7-4).
Elton (5-6) and Oberlin (7-4) played their way into the regionals with wins over Logansport and Northwood-Lena respectively. In the second round the Indians will travel to No. 3 West St. John (8-2) and the Tigers will be on the road against No. 5 Kentwood (7-2). The Rams and Kangaroos are both coming off of bye weeks.
Class 2A will feature one of SWLA’s two playoff matchups between local teams when the No. 7 Vinton Lions (9-2) host the No. 10 Rosepine Eagles (7-4). Also in action will be the area’s two highest seeds as No. 3 Kinder (10-1) travels to No. No. 19 Homer (4-6) and No. 4 Welsh (9-2) hosts No. 13 Red River (8-3).
Class 3A will feature the other all-local affair when No. 12 Westlake (6-5) returns to Jennings for a rematch with the district rival No. 5 Bulldogs (8-3). Jennings was victorious in the first meeting between the teams, defeating the Rams 41-20.
In Class 4A the No. 8 DeRidder Dragons (10-1) have advanced to the second round of the playoffs two years in a row and will play host to the No. 9 Breaux Bridge Tigers (7-3). No. 14 LaGrange (6-5) will travel to New Orleans to face the newly consolidated No. 3 Landry-Walker Charging Bucs (10-1).
Only the No. 8 Barbe Buccaneers (9-2) remain standing in Class 5A and they will look to continue their return to the state championship when they travel to face No. 24 Hahnville (6-5). A win likely puts the Bucs in a rematch with district rival Acadiana.
• ALL-DISTRICT VOLLEYBALL: Barbe senior Peyton Montgomery was named the District 1, Division I most valuable player after leading her squad to a co-district championship and a trip to the state tournament in Kenner. Montgomery was joined in the individual honors by head coach Jeremy White who was named coach of the year.
Picking up first team honors were Courtney LaFargue and Ebony Lewis, while Kailtlin Corbello was named to the second team and Bailey Thibodeaux was an honorable mention.
Sulphur had two players honored with Kayla Sheridan named to the second team and Laura Boenig as an honorable mention.
• DISTRICT 4-3A CROSS COUNTRY MEET: The District 4-3A cross country meet was decided at Iowa High School last week.
South Beauregard captured the girls’ crown with all seven of their runners finishing second through eighth place.
St. Louis Catholic’s Laura Lewing took home the individual crown after posting a time of 17:27.56. South Beauregard’s Ashlyn Derouen and Jaclyn Deason finished second and third respectively with times of 17:43.45 and 17:43.80.
St. Louis took home the boys’ title with four of its runners finishing in the top-5, including first-place Strack Brown with a time of 15:11.14.
Second place went to Iowa’s Brennan LeBlanc with a time of 15:16.23 and third went to John Ammons of St. Louis with a time of 15:17.81.
• BASKETBALL SEASON PICKING UP: Basketball season begins for Class 1A-5A schools this week. The season kicks off on Thursday when LaGrange travels to Northside, Welsh hosts David Thibodeaux and Basile hosts St. Edmund in boys and girls competition. Vinton will also travel to Sulphur for a boys game, but the girls game will be played on Friday.
• BARBE SWIMMING ON A ROLL: The Barbe swim team has swept its postseason events so far, picking up victories in the Calcasieu Championship, the District 3-5A meet and the Top-24 League Championship meet this month, building momentum heading into this weekend’s state swim meet in Sulphur.
The annual state swim meet will be held at the Sulphur Parks and Recreational (SPAR) facility. Divisions III and IV will compete on Friday and Divisions I and II will compete on Saturday.
• BASKETBALL QUESTIONNAIRES: The American Press is still seeking out many basketball questionnaires that were sent to local head coaches earlier this month. Coaches can email them to sports@americanpress.com.
• ALL-DISTRICT FOOTBALL TEAMS: The American Press has not received all-District teams from multiple districts. Coaches can email them in to sports@americanpress.com.
• DEPT. OF CORRECTIONS: LaGrange’s Markel Thomas, No. 24, was misidentified in a photo on page C4 of Saturday’s edition of the American Press. Thomas, a senior cornerback and free safety for the Gators, was also misidentified in a photo that ran on page C4 on Saturday, Nov. 9.
