CRIMES
May 13, 2015Body found in Cocodrie identified
May 15, 2015
In this job, the calendar year is a little bit abnormal. Unlike almost every other occupation, in this job, the calendar year doesn’t end in December like everywhere else. It instead ends in mid-May when hundreds of local high school students walk out of the classroom and onto that two-month beach that we call summer vacation.
The calendar then begins again in early August when football rolls around and we start all over again – the 10-month grind of football, volleyball, cross country, basketball, soccer, baseball, softball, track, tennis, golf, bowling and everything else that our local kids do – a list that seems to grow more and more by the day.
I love my work, and I love what I do. I know that a large part of my job involves objectivity and refraining from bias. But I’m not afraid to say that I get attached to our area’s kids, and I truly wish all of them the absolute best in everything that they do, both on and off the field.
So with that said, it is always a bit hard each May to say goodbye to our seniors – the young men and women with whom I’ve enjoyed lots of entertaining events with for the past four years.
Every year, the outgoing senior group is loaded with talent and promise. It’s inevitable for that to be the case in an area that has as many high schools as we do. The 76-year-old man sitting at his front porch might like to chirp that our future is doomed, but I beg to differ. No one in our area spends more time with the next generation as I do. I think our future is promising. I see loads of potential and talent from our area’s teens.
But the Class of 2015 is pretty special to me because there were a couple of characters in it that were an absolute pleasure to cover and be around – young men and women that I’ll be following in the future.
One of the people I’d like to start off with is Houma Christian quarterback Drake Battaglia. The Warriors’ All-Everything signal caller has never been the biggest, nor the fastest. But Battaglia has heart. When on the field, there was absolutely no question that he was playing for both he and his teammates. I’ve always enjoyed watching that young man lay everything on the line for his school on Friday nights. There aren’t many who have the impact that this young man has had. He’s been a true pleasure to watch from afar and also to be around up close.
The same can be said for Thibodaux High School women’s basketball player Jewel Triggs.
When I met Triggs, it was at a low point in her athletic career. I won’t recite anything that happened at Vandebilt – a Google search can provide all of the details. But over the past several years, Triggs has shown an incredible ability to respond with perseverance and class.
Triggs is a local diamond – she will be a can’t-miss prospect at George Mason University. But she’s also genuinely a good kid who has other’s best interests at heart. If the WNBA doesn’t work out, there’s no doubt that Jewel will be a useful citizen and a decent adult.
Drake and Jewel are two of my favorites, but the list truly could go on and on to cover a space far longer than I’ve been given in this week’s edition.
The Class of 2015 blessed us with the Barrios twins at Vandebilt – a brother/sister duo that were basketball powers – each well worth the price of admission.
It also blessed us with guys like Justen Harris and Leland Alexander, two of the most flashy and exciting basketball players that this area has seen in the past several years. Harris and I go way back dating to his time at Vandebilt when his teammates jokingly called him ‘Eddie Jones’. Alexander has always been at Ellender and has been an instant-impact standout. I interviewed him when he was in the ninth grade. He was scared to pieces. This past year, we laughed and joked about that day. Alexander told me that being interviewed for the first time gave him confidence and belief in his ability on the floor.
Looking over to my hometown parish, Lafourche also was blessed.
We already mentioned Triggs, but how about Thibodaux High School quarterback Peyton Bonvillain, the young man who wowed sporting fans for the past few years with his ability to make plays on the gridiron with his arms and legs alike? Peyton will go onto Nicholls State University, but his magic will be missed at Thibodaux High.
Going down Bayou Lafourche about 40 miles, and we’d be remised to not mention seniors like Brandon Brunet, Dominick Fillinich, Sean Bouzigard and Tristan Plaisance.
Brunet, Fillinich and Bouzigard were the head and soul of a Tarpons’ track team that won the District Championship and finished second in Regionals. All three are survivors who overcame injury problems to ascend to the state meet.
To see them all conquer adversity was a life lesson that anyone can cherish amd learn from.
All three advanced to the State Track and Field meet this past weekend, where they competed favorably. Bouzigard finished second in the discus, while Fillinich took home second in the high jump.
And then there’s Plaisance, a young lady who is also a track standout, but is known most to me from basketball.
Tristan has been a very solid player for the Lady Tarpons over the past few years – helping lead her team to the playoffs in each of the past two seasons.
But I’ll always remember the young lady for what she’s done to help Biddy. Over the past few falls, Tristan has volunteered her time to referee at South Lafourche Biddy Basketball, often refereeing many games in a day. She always did so without complain – even when parents stepped over the line and made her job difficult. Tristan is a winner – period!
There’s more and more that I could talk about and countless dozens that I’m forgetting.
But the Class of ’15 was special – a group that I’ll cherish forever.
Thanks for the memories, guys and gals!
Best of luck in everything that the future may hold.
(From left) Dominick Fillinich, Sean Bouzigard and Brandon Brunet pose for a photo during the Regional Track Meet in Thibodaux. The three seniors will be missed in the future – three in a group of local seniors who performed well over the past several years. This week’s Casey’s Corner looks back on the seniors of this year.
