Top 10 in sports

Wow, 2014 was an action-packed year in the world of local sports – one of the busier 12-month stretches that we’ve had in recent memory.

Over the past year, we’ve seen local legends retire, new legends be formed and lots of changes in the coaching carousel across the prep football landscape and beyond.

We saw dreams come true for aspiring pro athletes in both Lafourche and Terrebonne parishes, all while several dominant teams controlled the headlines in our various sports.

It wasn’t easy to narrow down, but below are the Top 10 sports stories in the Houma-Thibodaux area for the 2014 calendar year.

Reminisce with us what’s been an amazing sports year.

No. 1: Big Greg Robinson plays in BCS National

Championship Game, then is No. 2 pick in 2014 NFL Draft

The 2014 calendar year was pretty good to Thibodaux native Greg Robinson – that’s putting it mildly. For starters, Robinson was the All-American starting left tackle on Auburn’s 2013-14 football team – a squad that dominated the SEC and rolled to the BCS National Championship Game.

After falling to Florida State in a close, hard-fought heartbreaker, Robinson, a graduate of Thibodaux High School made the decision to forego his final two years of eligibility and enter the NFL Draft. Once he made that decision, Robinson wowed NFL teams with his combination of athleticism and strength – the ability to play both offensive tackle and offensive guard at the NFL level.

That versatility was rewarded, as the St. Louis Rams made Robinson the No. 2 overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft. By being the second pick, Robinson is now the highest-ever local NFL draft pick. Upon his selection, the massive 350-pound standout expressed his gratitude to everyone who helped him along the way.

“Oh yeah, I feel real good,” Robinson said after being selected. “It’s just a blessing to be in this position, and I just want to thank everybody that has ever given me an opportunity to compete and play the game I love.”

In his rookie season, Robinson has emerged as an NFL-caliber player. With his seven-figure contract and newfound fame, the guy we know locally as “Big Greg” has worked to raise money for Thibodaux High School’s athletic departments.

No. 2: Charlie Stubbs resigns midseason with an illness; Colonels’ season ends in shambles

The Nicholls State University football team had pretty high expectations entering the 2014 football season. The Colonels returned a lot of starters at a lot of key positions, and several of the team’s seniors said in the preseason that they believed that Nicholls could contend for the Southland Conference Championship in the new year.

Those prognostications never came to life, and the Nicholls football team had two more head coaches (2) as it did wins (0) in the season.

After starting the season 0-3 with losses to Air Force, Arkansas and an embarrassing 27-10 home loss to Henderson State, Colonels coach Charlie Stubbs announced that he was going to resign from his position, effective immediately.

Stubbs cited health issues as the reason for his resignation, which ended his five-season tenure in Thibodaux with just a 10-38 record.

In his absence, the Colonels tabbed longtime veteran coach Steve Axman out of retirement to be the team’s interim headman for the final nine games.

But Axman’s wisdom wasn’t able to equate into a win, as Nicholls finished 0-12 with all of the setbacks coming by 10 or more points.

No. 3: Colonels hire Tim Rebowe to succeed Stubbs/Axman in Thibodaux

After enduring one of the toughest seasons in the program’s history, the Nicholls State University football team ended 2014 on a positive note with the acquisition of a new coach.

The Colonels hired longtime UL-Lafayette assistant coach Tim Rebowe on November 21 – just one day after Nicholls ended its 2014 season in a 62-3 loss to Southeastern Louisiana.

Rebowe, a Norco native, had also served as an assistant for Nicholls in the earlier stages of his career.

In Rebowe, the Colonels got a tenacious recruiter – a guy that has a lot of experience hauling in top-flight talent in Louisiana. That’s a trait that Colonels’ Athletic Director Rob Bernardi said he deemed an “absolute must” for the team’s new coach.

After being hired, Rebowe finished out the 2014 football season with the Ragin’ Cajuns, helping steer the team to its fourth-straight New Orleans Bowl Championship.

At his introductory press conference, Rebowe said he believes that he can turn the Colonels into a contender in short order. During his time as an assistant, he helped turn the team from a bottom feeder to a Football Championship Subdivision playoff team.

“We can build this program,” Rebowe said. “I know where this program has been, and we can come in and take this thing to another level.”

No. 4 Colonels have dream 2014 run; fall flat in controversy-filled SLC Tourney

The Nicholls State University baseball team had a magical 2014 season. The Colonels were above .500, won 32 games and had a whopping 21-9 record in Southland Conference play, finishing as the league’s runner-up.

But for everything that went right in 2014, the Colonels picked the wrong time to have a bad week, going 0-2 in the Southland Conference Tournament.

Pitching was a big reason for Nicholls’ baseball success in the past year, and the team posted a 2.59 ERA as a staff. Leading the charge was ace pitcher senior Taylor Byrd, who won eight games in 14 starts, while posting a 1.92 ERA.

But instead of dominating the Southland Tournament like he did the regular season, Byrd was sitting at home after being ruled academically ineligible – a blow that stunned Nicholls’ players and coaches.

“It caught us all off-guard a little bit,” Nicholls baseball coach Seth Thibodeaux said. “I certainly wish I had known about it and been able to do something about it long before the last week of school, but whenever something is held from you and you’re not up to speed with everything, it’s hard to defend, for sure. … It was definitely blind-siding.”

No. 5: Elijah McGuire wins Sun Belt Player of the Year; helps team win New Orleans Bowl

After a dominant freshman season in 2013, Houma native and Vandebilt Catholic graduate Elijah McGuire found a way to be even more valuable for the UL-Lafayette football team this year.

As a sophomore, McGuire rushed 166 times for an astounding 1,264 yards, scoring 14 touchdowns to help lead the Ragin’ Cajuns to the New Orleans Bowl for the fourth-straight season.

In the bowl game, McGuire pounded forward for 99 yards on the ground, while catching five passes for 54 yards to help the Cajuns defeat Nevada.

For his efforts, McGuire was named the 2014 Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year. He was also named the league’s Offensive Player of the Year, as well as being placed on the First-Team All-Sun Belt team at halfback.

McGuire’s running style is shifty – almost identical to the way he played at Vandebilt. The Houma native said he can’t wait to rush for more in 2015, adding that his accolades are team wide honors.

“I was kind of shocked about it,” McGuire said. “It means more to the offense than it does for me.Because without them, this probably wouldn’t be possible.”

No. 6: Legendary coaches Margaret Johnson, Kenneth Dixon retire from Vandy, Ellender

The 2014 calendar year marked the final games in the careers of two of the best and most winningest coaches in the history of prep athletics in the Houma area.

In softball, 2014 marked the end of the road for longtime Vandebilt softball coach Margaret Johnson, who hung up her cleats after 24 years in the dugout for the Lady Terriers.

Johnson’s career was an overwhelming success. She coached the team to seven state championships, finishing as the state runner-up six times.

As a player, Johnson was also successful, winning four state championships in the 1980s at Vandebilt.

The longtime softball coach’s decision to leave the dugout came as she shifted to a more administrative role within the school. She became the school’s full-time Athletic Director in early 2014, a challenge that she said required her undivided attention and energy.

“It’s definitely a new challenge for me,” Johnson said when asked about being an AD. “It’s going to require a lot of time, energy and commitment on my part, but I’m looking forward to it.”

Across town on the Eastside of Houma, longtime Ellender women’s basketball coach Kenneth Dixon announced over the summer that the 2013-14 season would be his last. In more than 20 seasons with Ellender, the Lady Patriots won four state championships, while making seven total trips to the LHSAA Girls’ Top 28 Tournament.

Dixon’s final season took Ellender to the LHSAA Class 4A State Quarterfinals. While there, the Lady Patriots lost 54-30 to Salmen, the eventual state champions.

Dixon said he retired to take care of his ailing, elderly mother.

No. 7: Locally owned horse finishes runner-up at Kentucky Derby, runs in Belmont

It’s not too uncommon for a local athlete to run for a touchdown or to convert a successful slam dunk.

But in 2014, we had a very rare occurrence in our local sports scene: a horse with local ties finished as the runner-up in the prestigious Kentucky Derby.

Commanding Curve, co-owned by Galliano native Jimmy “T-Jim” LaFont wowed horse racing fans across the country this past spring when he finished second in the Derby – just a few lengths short of the title.

Commanding Curve started slow, but charged strong at the end of the race, running just short of champion California Chrome.

“Had it lasted a hair longer, we’d have caught him,” LaFont said when reminiscing on his wild, memorable trip to Kentucky with family and friends.

Curve’s run to prominence came after a “miracle-like” path to co-ownership to LaFont, who said he received a tip about the horse from prestigious trainer Dallas Stewart.

The horse skipped the Preakness Stakes and ran the Belmont, finishing near the back of the pack. But the poor showing can never ruin the magic that Curve brought to the audience at the Kentucky Derby – an experience that both horse racing fans and LaFont tout they will never forget. The horse plans to keep racing into the future before retiring into breeding in hopes of grooming a future champion.

No. 8: Gators, Tigers rule the prep football gridiron in 2014

The past year’s prep football season wasn’t incredibly deep locally, as many of our area’s teams struggled to stay afloat amidst steep district competition.

But the two survivors – South Terrebonne and Thibodaux – had amazing years.

The Gators were 9-1 in Class 4A competition, dominating most of its opponents along the way. Led by dominant halfback Cristian Wallis and a stingy, mean defense, the Gators advanced all the way to the Class 4A Quarterfinals before falling to Plaquemine.

“We had a very special season,” South Terrebonne football coach Richard Curlin said. “That’s exactly what I told all of the guys as soon as we got to talk to them after the game.”

About 30 miles to the north and east, Thibodaux High School also had a dominant season, going 9-1 in the brutally tough Bayou District, defeating powers Hahnville and East St. John along the way. In the playoffs, the Tigers roared in the opening round, but had a hiccup in the Round of 16, falling to Scotlandville.

No. 9: Prep coaching carousel nets Atwell to VCHS, Bergeron to E.D. White

In late 2013, the prep football coaching carousel started to spin when Covenant Christian Academy football coach Blyght Wunstell resigned and longtime coach Randy Boquet took his place.

Well those gears continued to spin into the beginning months of 2014, as Vandebilt and E.D. White got their new football leaders, as well.

The Terriers hired Nicholls State University defensive coordinator Jeremy Atwell after a lengthy search netted a lot of interest from around the state.

Atwell’s inaugural season with Vandebilt started with a thud, as the Terriers lost their first six games of the year.

But after going 4-0 down the stretch to salvage the season, Atwell and the school’s supporters tout that brighter days are ahead in the future. The Terriers return a lot of key names in 2015, and will be considered as one of our area’s best teams in the preseason.

While they were busy conducting a search for their new coach in 2014, longtime rival E.D. White handed the baton from head coach to assistant coach when Kyle Lasseigne resigned and assistant coach Chris Bergeron took over in Thibodaux.

In Bergeron’s first year, the Cardinals thrived, winning a game in the Division II playoffs. In the coach’s first-ever game on the sidelines, E.D. White beat Atwell and the Terriers in a thriller to kickoff the 2014 season.

No. 10: Plaisance picked in WNBA Draft, now starring in Turkey

Vandebilt Catholic graduate Theresa Plaisance saw her dreams come true in 2014 – she officially became a professional basketball player. After completing her dominant career at LSU, Plaisance was selected by the Tulsa Shock in the third round of the WNBA Draft – the first-ever local graduate to ascend to the WNBA ranks.

Plaisance played sporadically in her rookie season with Tulsa – a young, up and coming team in the WNBA. She looked back on the experience with pride, touting that it was a dream come true to be paid to play the game she loves.

“It’s great. I love the pro life,” Plaisance said. “No classes. No exams. No papers. Not as many workouts and different things. There’s a lot more free time than I’m used to having. I have my practice and then after that, my day is just for me and my dog – we just hang out all day.”

After the WNBA season, Plaisance took her talents across the pond, signing a professional contract to play in Turkey. So far, that venture has been a success, as Plaisance has averaged 7.6 points per game to serve as one of the leaders on her team.

Auburn tackle Greg Robinsondons a St. Louis Rams cap after being chosen by Rams as the second pick in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft, Thursday, May 8, 2014, in New York. 

AP FILE PHOTO