Prep Roundup: Braves take top spot in The Times poll

Lady Tigers seeking their peak
January 17, 2017
The fight to save our coast: New CPRA Master Plan lays our projects, challenges
January 17, 2017
Lady Tigers seeking their peak
January 17, 2017
The fight to save our coast: New CPRA Master Plan lays our projects, challenges
January 17, 2017

Players of the Week – Week 9 of the Prep Basketball Season

Honorable Mention: South Lafourche guard Matt Bellanger – The Tarpons have a game-by-game quest to get additional offense to compliment Seth Borne. Bellanger provided that surge on Friday against Morgan City, sinking several three-balls to help the team win.

Bronze: South Terrebonne guard Connor Brunet – The Gators desperately needed a win this week and Brunet led the charge, scoring 19 points to lead South Terrebonne past Vandebilt in a hard-fought, but key district win.


Silver: H.L. Bourgeois guard Rayshawn Mart – The Braves were in a big-time battle on Friday against Thibodaux. But Mart wouldn’t take no for an answer. The powerful guard scored 30 points, including a big-time 3-ball, which forced overtime in the eventual win.

Gold: South Lafourche guard Traya Bruce – Bruce lost her top weapon to injury, but still stepped up in a huge way this week, posting two-straight 20-plus-point games to lead the Lady Tarpons to a pair of victories.


The High-Five

(Area boys’ basketball teams; girls’ list next week)

1. H.L. Bourgeois: I don’t have a damned clue who the best boys’ basketball team is locally, and I’m not afraid to admit that. I put the Braves in this spot because they’ve been playing better in recent weeks after a mid-season lull. They’re awfully tough to deal with.

2. Central Lafourche: The Trojans are probably the only team locally that can dominate a game both on the outside, but also in the paint. When they’re making shots from the outside, they’re one of the best teams in Louisiana.


3. Ellender: I didn’t think I’d say this at any point in the season, but at press-time, the Patriots are on a four-game losing streak, including a loss on Friday night against Assumption. We don’t suspect that’ll last, but it sure isn’t good right now.

4. Terrebonne: The Tigers took a hard-fought loss at East Ascension on Friday, but they’re still one of the best teams in the best district in Louisiana – District 7-5A. The Tigers will battle back in a big way.

5. South Lafourche: The Tarpons survived a brutally tough non-district schedule and are now a seven-win team, thanks to a huge victory at Morgan City on Friday night.


By The Numbers for Week 9 of the prep basketball season

11: South Terrebonne’s boys’ basketball team trailed by 11 at halftime against Vandebilt Catholic on Friday night. But the Gators battled back. They controlled the second half to cut the lead in the third quarter and then overtake it in the fourth for a win.

4: South Lafourche junior forward Luke Chiasson made four-straight huge free throws on Friday night to seal a win against Morgan City. Down one, Chiasson drew a foul, then made two shots at the line to put the Tarpons back in the lead. After a defensive stop, he made two more to seal the deal.


2: H.L. Bourgeois needed two extra periods to outlast a tough Thibodaux team on Friday night to remain in control of District 7-5A. The Braves struggled throughout the night, but put the game on ice in the last few seconds.

20: Destrehan succeeded to slow down the tempo of Friday night’s game with Central Lafourche. But Trojans post David Robinson still went off, scoring 20 points to lead Central Lafourche in the big win.

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High School Briefs

Vandebilt girls roll past district rival

The Vandebilt Catholic girls’ soccer team continued its collision course toward the State Playoffs this weekend, dominating a rival, despite sitting out several key players.

The Lady Terriers trumped E.D. White 3-0 in Thibodaux, dominating the game despite being without a slew of key players.

With the win, Vandebilt improved to 17-3-3 on the season. They remain the No. 1 team in the state for Division III – a distinction they’ve held throughout the year.


They also all-but sewed up the District 7-III Championship by improving to 6-0 in the league. E.D. White is in second place with a 4-2 mark – both losses to Vandebilt.

The Lady Terriers controlled the tempo of Saturday’s match from the get-go.

Vandebilt scored the opening goal in the middle of the second half on a goal from Madeline Haydel, which gave the Lady Terriers a lead which stuck through halftime.


In the second half, it was much of the same, as swarming, dominant defense, led to offense and big-time scoring chances.

Grace Champagne scored the insurance goal, which made it 2-0. From there, Morgan Alston put the cherry on top and sent the match to its ending margin.

In the boys’ match, things didn’t quite go the same way.


For the second time this season, the E.D. White boys trumped Vandebilt, knocking off the team currently ranked No. 1 in the LHSAA-issued power rankings.

Vandebilt gets boys’ basketball win

The Vandebilt Catholic boys’ basketball team got its first win of the season on Saturday afternoon near the Baton Rouge area.


Just 24 hours after losing a tough, hard-fought battle with South Terrebonne, the Terriers battled back and scored a 60-58 victory over East Feliciana to end the team’s losing streak to start the season.

The one-two punch of sophomore Brennan Patterson and senior James Parrott were huge in the win, combining for 47 of the team’s points in the victory.

The duo was 18-of-30 from the field throughout the game, which Vandebilt led 39-32 after the third quarter. In the fourth quarter things got tight, but Vandebilt didn’t falter. The Terriers withstood a surge from East Feliciana, but still found a way to secure the victory late.


Ellender star begins recruiting visits

The score of Friday night’s game between Assumption and Ellender took everyone by surprise. The Mustangs defended their home court with pride and upset the Patriots to kick of District 7-4A play with a bang.

But there was a caveat. Patriots senior guard Davontavean Martin didn’t play in the game – something the Patriots may have to get used to in the weeks to come.


Martin missed Friday night’s game because of a football recruiting trip. He will take several more before Signing Day in February.

Martin was visiting Toledo on Friday night, while the Patriots struggled to get enough offense to battle past the Mustangs, who are now red-hot.

The three-star receiver has two more visits planned in the comings weeks – one to Washington State this weekend and another to an undisclosed university the weekend after that.


It is not yet known if Martin will play during any Friday night games while going through his official visits process.

South Lafourche set to narrow search for football coach

The applications process is now over in the search to hire the next head football coach at South Lafourche High School.


The school now plans to move quickly in narrowing down its choices before picking the next man for the future.

South Lafourche posted its job two weeks ago at the start of the spring semester after re-assigning outgoing coach Brandon Nowlin to another school in the parish system.

The applications process ended on Tuesday, which means that no formal list of applicants was available on Monday afternoon at press time.


But school administration will release the list to The Times once it’s released, so visit HoumaTimes.com sometime this week to learn more about the head coaching search.

The Tarpons are in the market for a new head football coach for the second straight offseason.

The program hired Brandon Nowlin last spring, but his one season with the team was his last – a 3-7 campaign that saw the Tarpons miss the playoffs.


South Lafourche Athletic Director Brian Callais said he’s received several emails about the job since it’s been posted – a sign that likely will indicate that the number of applicants will be fairly high.

The school has said it’s seeking stability and will be looking for a coach who will be willing to stay in the program for a while.

Matt Bellanger


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