And now, for Terrebonne

Jones seeks to change the culture, turn Terrebonne into contender
May 16, 2018
Terrebonne Parish Surges Forward
May 16, 2018
Jones seeks to change the culture, turn Terrebonne into contender
May 16, 2018
Terrebonne Parish Surges Forward
May 16, 2018

I love what I do.

I’ve talked about that time and time again in this column, so I will spare you all the sappy details again in this piece.

But admittedly, I dreaded writing this column this past week – so much so that I procrastinated all week and didn’t put pencil to paper on it until Friday night.


I knew this would be a continuation of last week’s piece where we handed out MVPs for each local school in Lafourche. And look, I love to shout out the successes of local kids. That’s not my cause of angst.

It’s just these are really, really hard decisions. Some schools have several worthwhile picks.

So here goes nothing – it’s our yearly report card for the seven Terrebonne Parish high schools.


TERREBONNE PARISH REPORT CARD

South Terrebonne

The Peak – For me, this is either the volleyball team’s run to the Pontchartrain Center or the girls’ basketball team’s playoff win and successful season. I have to pick one, so I go with girls’ basketball. Their progression is just amazing.


The Valley – One of the more storied programs in the area, South Terrebonne’s football team still hasn’t found the magic it once enjoyed. The Gators struggled to another tough season in 2017, finishing well outside of the playoff chase.

The MVP – Connor Brunet – A Nicholls signee for baseball and just a dynamite basketball player, it’s hard to ever bet against Connor Brunet in anything. He gets the nod here, too.


Ellender

The Peak – Despite losing in the second-round of the girls’ basketball playoffs, the Lady Patriots repeated as District 7-4A Championship, which is no easy feat. They beat South Lafourche on the road in a showdown win.

The Valley – I would pick on the Patriots’ football team for winning just two games in 2017, but that’s an easy target. They lost a dozen players to colleges in 2016. I will instead talk about baseball, which struggled to just 2 wins on the season. The Patriots have to find stability. They were better coached in 2018. Keep working, boys! We’re rooting for a turnaround.


The MVP – Oreion James – What can’t this kid do? She was a standout volleyball and girls’ basketball player again after dominant junior seasons in both sports. She’s also a terrific kid off the floor.

Terrebonne


The Peak – Terrebonne’s football team was strong in 2017, roaring through the Bayou District and making the Class 5A State Playoffs, despite a young roster. The Tigers will be fierce in 2018. Book it.

The Valley – The Tigers’ boys’ basketball team was a mess. The school hired Demetrius Price and he never actually coached a game. Hank Washington did an admirable job patching things up, but 2016-17’s 20-win season melted to just 8 wins this year and another coaching change.

The MVP – Keshawn James – The dude is good at everything, be it football, basketball or whatever else. Some lucky college will be getting a very talented young man in the future.


H.L. Bourgeois

The Peak – The Braves’ boys’ basketball team was one of the tops in the state in Class 5A – a mean machine which carried one of the top seeds in the state throughout the year. The Braves were fierce, making it all the way to the State Quarterfinals.


The Valley – The Braves’ football team made strides in the past under coach Carey Melvin, but the success was apparently short-lived. The Braves went 1-9 in 2017, then word got out last week that Melvin had resigned from his post, though many close to the situation have hinted he was pressured out of the position. There is talent in Gray. The lack of success in that program is startling.

The MVP – A.J. Rainey – Easiest decision of any we had to make in this column. A.J. was the heart, soul, blood and guts of the Braves’ boys’ basketball team – far and away the best player in the area. The kid did it all. There was no close second.


Vandebilt

The Peak – There are many. The Terriers were soccer successes again in this academic year, winning a state title and finishing as the runner-up for another. Football succeeded, baseball was strong and girls’ track and field finished as the state runner-up, among other successes. But I will give the title to volleyball for winning the State Title. Vandebilt set the bar high early in the season, proclaiming that anything besides a title would be a lost season. They did it. Mission accomplished.

The Valley – Once a proud, championship-winning program, the Vandebilt boys’ basketball team has taken significant steps backward. The Terriers won just six games and played just 16 games total – a number which is just, quite frankly, not nearly enough.


The MVP – Emily Gauthreaux – There were several worthwhile options, but I will go with Gauthreaux. She was an unbelievable outside hitter for the Lady Terriers this past season – so good she signed with Nicholls after the season. She also was the MVP of the State Tournament, while leading her team to the State Championship. You can’t ask for much more.

CCA


The Peak – The Lions’ football team battled youth, but still made the playoffs in Division IV, which is always a worthwhile feat, given how young the program still is. Coach Randy Boquet does an unbelievably good job, given the small size of students he has to pick from at the school.

The Valley – This has been a golden age for basketball in the Houma-Thibodaux area with several local teams making deep playoff runs – both on the boys’ and girls’ ends of the bracket. But CCA’s girls’ basketball program has been slow out of the starting gates. They have really solid coaches, so we trust they will get it right.

The MVP – Dakarai Johnson was one of the most underrated players in my time working for this newspaper. The kid was a video game in 2017-18, routinely scoring 20, 30 or even 40 or more points to help the Lions win. He didn’t get a ton of press, but boy, that guy was good. It was a joy to watch him play.


Houma Christian

The Peak – The Warriors were good at literally everything in 2017-18, so this proved to be a tough decision to make. We will go with the girls’ basketball team’s successes. Lead by first-year coach Kathy Luke, the Christian Warriors dominated in the regular season and reached the Division IV State Championship Game. They were young. They’ll be back on that stage. They may cut down the nets next time around.


The Valley – This isn’t really a true ‘valley,’ but we have to pick something and this athletic department was loaded. But the Warriors’ football team was strong in 2017, but wasn’t able to beat rivals CCA for the first time in school history. That was a bit of a bummer – as big of a setback as they had this year.

The MVP – Je’Corie Ward – This kid is like lightening in a bottle on the football field. You think that you have him bottled up, then wham, he is off to the house – taking the ball 90 yards for a score. Ward is as explosive of a player as the area has seen and he’s not just a one-sport guy. He is a deserving winner, though the crop at this school was very, very deep.

A.J. Rainey


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