That, folks, is why they play the game: EDW stuns Vandebilt
November 15, 2016
Barge blamed for power outage
November 16, 2016
Class 5A
No. 1 Destrehan – 47
No. 32 Terrebonne – 7
It’s not easy to play Destrehan – especially in their stadium. Heck, that’s why they’re the No. 1 team in the state. Terrebonne had an uphill battle from the start and were outmatched against the Wildcats, falling behind early and never finding a way to recover in a lopsided loss. But kudos to Coach Gary Hill and his team on reaching the playoffs after a down couple of years. The Tigers were a younger group in 2016, and they will likely have a pretty good shot at reaching postseason play again next fall. That’s never an easy feat, though, considering that the team plays in District 7-5A, which is about the same as a college football team saying that it plays in the SEC West. It’s that brutal out there, folks. There’s college-bound talent everywhere.
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No. 16 Mandeville – 42
No. 17 Thibodaux – 0
Without Amik Robertson, Thibodaux lacked energy and pizazz on Friday night, falling behind big early and never recovering against the Skippers. It’s a shame that the Tigers had to play a home playoff game without their senior leader, but the team just couldn’t rise to the occasion and fell to a quality Mandeville football team – one that will strongly challenge Destrehan in round two on Friday. For Thibodaux, the season is over, but the future remains awfully bright. Thibodaux coach Chris Dugas said the team’s younger players look good, and the team should remain in prime position to challenge the top teams from around the area. But like Terrebonne, the same challenges are present for Thibodaux. The schedule is brutally tough and things won’t be easy.
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No. 2 West Monroe – 48
No. 31 H.L. Bourgeois – 14
It’s never fun to lose a playoff game, and we’re sure the Braves felt a tremendous amount of disappointment to see their season end on Friday night. But going to Monroe is an experience, according to everyone who’s ever been there. The team’s underclassmen will be able to use those lessons learned and carry them into next year. Kudos to Braves quarterback Jude LeCompte. The 2016 season marks the end of his career with the Braves, but he was a joy and a treat to be able to watch over the past few seasons – one of the most underrated players in our area. Also kudos to coach Carey Melvin. After a lenghty playoff drought, the Braves’ second-year coach was able to take the team back to the playoffs, a place where they will likely return to sooner than later under Melvin’s coaching and leadership.
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Class 4A
No. 10 Benton – 63
No. 23 Ellender – 28
Ellender’s defense was rock-solid all season. Their improvement was one of the biggest reasons why the team was able to turn itself around and reach the Class 4A State Playoffs. But in the final two games of the season, some old habits started to resurface, and it cost the team when it needed to win most. Benton scored with ease on Friday night, and used that momentum to soar to a comfortable win – one which ends coach David McCormick’s first season with the Patriots. But there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that the Patriots will be back. They have athletes galore, and as long as McCormick and his current staff are in place, they seem capable of getting those athletes to hold off on basketball season for a couple of months so that they can play a little football, too. That’s a huge plus.
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Division II
No. 11 E.D. White – 24
No. 6 Vandebilt – 17
I had Vandebilt coach Jeremy Atwell on my radio show last weekend when the brackets were announced, and he said it would be “brutally hard” for the Terriers to beat E.D. White twice in the same season. I scoffed at his notion. I thought the Terriers would win easily on Friday night – just like they did in Week 1 when they beat their rivals 41-7. But I was wrong. Backed by a strong running game and an absolutely heroic defensive performance, E.D. White surged past their rivals, scoring a thrilling, upset victory. They’ll now take on No. 3 St. Thomas More and will look to keep their Cinderella ride alive.
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Division IV
No. 2 CCA – 48
No. 15 St. Martin’s – 21
CCA struggled early in the game against St. Martin’s, but that quickly changed and for the second time this season, the Lions were able to get a runaway win against their district opponent. CCA is awfully tough to stop and they’re awfully fun to watch. With their Wing-T, run-based offense, it’s very, very hard to keep the team out of the end zone. Except for a shutout loss against mighty Vandebilt, the Lions scored 20 or more points in eight of their nine other games, including 30 or more in four-straight games.
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State Playoffs Opening Round Players of the Week
HONORABLE MENTION: E.D. White offensive line – The Cardinals challenged themselves to be more physical on Friday night. They were. Thanks to a stellar effort from the team’s offensive line, E.D. White was able to possess the ball freely and secure a big-time win.
BRONZE: Ellender receiver Davontavean Martin – The heralded Patriots senior couldn’t get a win in his final prep football game, but he still played his heart out. Martin caught a touchdown, rushed for two touchdowns and made plays all over the field for the Patriots against Benton.
SILVER: E.D. White halfback Nik Shanklin – E.D. White wasn’t expected to win on Friday night, according to the so-called experts (like myself) who prognosticate these games. But don’t tell that to Nik Shanklin. The powerful, physical running back pushed the ball into the end zone twice on Friday, helping his offense control the clock and maintain possession in a 24-17 win over Vandebilt.
GOLD: CCA athlete Cameron Solet – The Lions’ athlete brought lightning in a bottle to Friday night’s playoff game against St. Martin’s. He rushed just 12 times, but got an impressive 252 yards and two touchdowns in those touches. Solet’s success also set the table for others in CCA’s offense, as the Lions gained more than 500 total yards in a win.
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The High-Five
(Active teams)
1. CCA: The Lions are the No. 2-seed in Division IV for a reason – they’re an awfully good football team. Their offense is really, really hard to stop, because one can never accurately predict who will get the ball on a given play. But their defense isn’t too shabby, either, and it’ll be curious to see how they fare against a triple option foe.
2. E.D. White: I owe the Cardinals an apology. I didn’t give them a snowball’s chance in the desert to win on Friday night against Vandebilt. But I was wrong. That defense played absolutely lights out and that was a much-deserved team win for a Cardinals team that scored the last laugh on its rival.
(Eliminated teams)
3. Thibodaux: It was disappointing to see the Tigers play as poorly as they did on Friday night. Losing Amik Robertson was a huge blow.
4. Vandebilt: No one expected Vandebilt to bow out on Friday night. For sure, I didn’t. But congratulations to the Terriers on a very, very good season. Those guys were terrific for the vast majority of their games.
5. Ellender: The Patriots’ defense had a hard time getting stops in the back-end of the season and it ultimately cost Ellender a shot at a deep playoff run. But kudos to coach Dave McCormick and all of the Patriots players for a wonderful, comeback season.
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By The Numbers for the opening round of the State Playoffs
2: Our area had seven teams make the Louisiana State Playoffs, but only two teams (E.D. White and CCA) survived the opening round. The Cardinals will take on St. Thomas More on Friday in Lafayette. The Lions will face Cedar Creek at Nicholls State University.
531: CCA’s offense was humming on Friday against St. Martin’s. The Lions generated 531 yards of total offense – most coming in the running game. With those yards, the Lions were able to pick up 48 points and a comfortable win.
159: Ellender’s defense was pretty good in the first half of the season. But in the final three games of the year, the Patriots allowed 159 total points, which offset some quality offensive showings and ended the team’s season.
9: H.L. Bourgeois didn’t beat West Monroe on Friday night. But after making the postseason for the first time in nine seasons, the second-year coach said there were a lot of lessons to be learned from going to Monroe and playing the Rebels.
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