Madness hits the high school level

With March Madness tipping off at the end of this week, basketball fever is about to sweep over the nation, offices, schools and pretty much anywhere that has somebody with a slight interest in basketball.

Unfortunately for local college basketball fans there isn’t a team to pull for — LSU disappointed this season, and Tulane has not reached the Tournament in years. Nicholls State nearly qualified for the conference tournament, but even still, it would have had to win that tourney to reach the big show.

So what is a local basketball fan to do?

One choice is try to score tickets for the first two rounds of NCAA Tournament action at the New Orleans Arena next weekend.

Another choice is to head west on Hwy. 90 to Lafayette and watch two local teams compete for state championships next Friday night.

At 7 p.m., E.D. White tips off against Edna Karr for the Class 3A title, and at 8:30 p.m., Ellender takes on Westgate for the Class 5A title.

The intriguing story is how both teams reached this destination. Many people throughout the state expected Ellender to be in this position. The Patriots spent the entire season as the No. 1 ranked team in the state polls.

They’ve also left no doubt as to whether they should belong in the championship after beating their last two opponents by 25 and 26 points, respectively.

As the No. 1 ranked team throughout the season, the Patriots haven’t disappointed. Standing at a state-best 38-2, the Patriots are a game away from claiming their first state championship since 1999. A win would give the school a clean-sweep of the Class 5A titles, as the girl’s team won it in Hammond just two weeks ago.

As for E.D. White, it’s hard to imagine anybody envisioned them to be in the position they’re in now. Still, with eight seniors on the squad, the Cardinals are one of the most experienced teams in the state. And that experience is paying off.

Not to mention having a player the caliber of Ben Martin. Martin put on one of the best individual performances that I’ve ever seen, scoring 32 points and grabbing three steals to help the Cardinals to a 58-57 win over Wossman.

Just as impressive as E.D. White’s play was the support it received from its fans in Lafayette. I’ve heard that the Cardinals sold around 2,000 tickets at school last week. And the fans made their presence felt. The student section was packed, and easily the most lively of any school that I saw over the weekend.

And the post-game celebration was just as lively, as E.D. White students and E.D. White players met at the barricades behind the court and celebrated together.

Watching these high school players have this success has reminded me why I love covering these games so much; reminded me why I loved competing when I was in high school; and reminds me how much fun seeing these players win is.

March Madness is finally here.

But for the first time since I’ve started watching sports, the high school players are the ones taking center stage.