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LSU baseball rolls into SEC Tournament
May 23, 2017
The final bell will sound in the 2016-17 school year this week, and what a year it was – especially athletically.
Our local teams won championships, played memorable games and had remarkably productive seasons across several sports, showcasing to the state just how sophisticated our athletics are in this community.
But like anything else, the end of a school year means it’s report card time, so it’s time to give out some grades.
We’ve taken a lot of time in the past week to study the past athletic year, and in this piece, we will detail the best and worst moment for each local school in the past year, while also listing how many playoff games the team won combined in football, boys’ basketball, girls’ basketball, baseball and softball.
It was a fun stroll through memory lane.
The past year was awesome – one of the best ones yet.
Hurry up, summer! We can’t wait to see what the fall has in store for us.
CLASS 5A:
Terrebonne High School
2016-17 Playoff wins: 1
Top Athletic Moment: The Tigers won 23 games on the basketball hardwood and rebuilt their program as a threat in the Bayou District. The Tigers advanced to the second round in the Class 5A State Playoffs.
Disappointing Athletic Moment: Along the same token, losing boys’ basketball coach Derek Szush to Assumption was a big blow, because now the Tigers have to start over after some success.
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H.L. Bourgeois High School
2016-17 Playoff wins: 1
Top Athletic Moment: The end of the prep football season was incredible for the Braves. They beat Terrebonne to end the season, then made the playoffs for the first time in a while. That’s a huge momentum boost for a program that needed it.
Disappointing Athletic Moment: Many thought the Braves’ boys’ basketball team was good enough to win it all. I did, too. The Braves got a tough draw and ran into a tough Helen Cox team on the road and lost in the second round – two wins short of the Top 28.
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Thibodaux
2016-17 Playoff wins: 0
Top Athletic Moment: The Lady Tigers’ girls’ basketball team had one hell of a season. Their first-year coach quit – just days before the season started. Thibodaux native Ashley Adams picked up the pieces in stride and led the team to the State Playoffs.
Disappointing Athletic Moment: The Tigers earned the No. 16 seed in the Class 5A State Football Playoffs. But All-Everything athlete Amik Robertson got hurt just before the tournament, and the Tigers struggled to respond, falling 42-0 in the opening round.
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Central Lafourche
2016-17 Playoff wins: 0
Top Athletic Moment: For the first time in a long, long time, the Trojans beat rival South Lafourche on the gridiron, outscoring the Tarpons in a shootout in Galliano to keep some early momentum going in their season.
Disappointing Athletic Moment: The Trojans had one of the top boys’ basketball teams in the community, earning the No. 13 seed in Class 5A. But a brawl in the team’s final regular season game forced a mass suspension and an eventual forfeiture from the playoffs – one of the biggest bummers of the past year locally. Hopefully, the Trojans rebound from that and find some inner hunger next year.
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Ellender
2016-17 Playoff wins: 9
Top Athletic Moment: Ellender had a magical athletic year in 2016-17, but no moment was higher than when the girls’ basketball team won the Class 4A State Championship under longtime coach Kenneth Dixon, who now has a handful of rings.
Disappointing Athletic Moment: Along the same foot, Ellender’s boys’ basketball team was literally within seconds of winning the basketball title, as well, but the Patriots couldn’t finish the deal, ending an unbelievable season as the Class 4A State Runner-up.
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South Lafourche
2016-17 Playoff wins: 2
Top Athletic Moment: The Lady Tarpons’ basketball team got over the hump and won a second-round playoff game after losing in that game a couple seasons in a row. They enjoyed a lot of their success without potential All-State post Victorianna Nelson, who was out with a knee injury but will be back.
Disappointing Athletic Moment: The Tarpons needed to win their final game of the season to make the football playoffs. They didn’t, sustaining an upset loss at South Terrebonne. Four days later, the school fired first-year coach Brandon Nowlin, marking the second-straight offseason the team has to perform a coaching search.
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Vandebilt
2016-17 Playoff wins: 1
Top Athletic Moment: There were a few to pick from, but we will give the nod to the school’s girls’ soccer team for earning the Division III State Championship over Loyola Prep in an absolute thriller – one of the games of the year.
Disappointing Athletic Moment: Vandebilt had a dominant football season. But it ended on a sour note. The Terriers lost their opening-round playoff game to rival E.D. White, looking out of sync throughout the game in a tough home loss.
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South Terrebonne
2016-17 Playoff wins: 2
Top Athletic Moment: Without question, it’s the turnaround in the Lady Gators’ girls’ basketball program under first-year coach Nick Cenac. The team made the playoffs and also won a game, overcoming decades of losing history in the coach’s inaugural season.
Disappointing Athletic Moment: The Gators’ football season was heartbreaking. South Terrebonne had to deal with separate tragedies – the deaths of Andraye Verdin and Louis Blanchard. Both were terrific young men – leaders in the locker room and throughout the entire school.
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E.D. White
2016-17 Playoff wins: 5
Top Athletic Moment: E.D. White got creamed by Vandebilt to open the 2016 football season. Ten Friday nights later, the Cardinals got the ultimate revenge, shocking the world and beating the Terriers in a rematch in the Division II State Playoffs – one of the upsets of the year.
Disappointing Athletic Moment: The Cardinals had a wonderful baseball season, earning the No. 1 seed in the Division II State Playoffs. But E.D. White got cold at the wrong time, falling in their opening postseason games, getting swept by No. 8 St. Louis in a best of three series.
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Covenant Christian
2016-17 Playoff wins: 3
Top Athletic Moment: The Lions overcame an injury-plagued season in football and made the Division II State Playoffs as the No. 2 seed. While there, they won a game and further solidified themselves as a true annual contender.
Disappointing Athletic Moment: CCA’s baseball team had high hopes to win it all. But the Lions got an awful draw, earning the No. 3 seed but having to play No. 11 Ascension Episcopal in the second round – their eventual ouster. Ascension Episcopal stayed hot and won the state title. The Lions had a large senior class, and this may have been one of their best chances to win a title, which makes the loss sting more.
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Houma Christian
2016-17 Playoff wins: 7
Top Athletic Moment: The Houma Christian basketball programs both made the Top 28 this spring. The boys advanced to the State Semifinals, while the girls’ made it all the way to the Division IV State Championship Game.
Disappointing Athletic Moment: The Christian Warriors did not make the Division IV football playoffs, finishing just a couple wins short of the postseason. It was a disappointing result for a team which had high hopes in the summer and throughout the early fall. •
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