What I expect out of 2017

Goodness, 2016 was a grind for yours truly – both in and out of the Rushing Media newsroom.

In the past year, I was blessed to be appointed the Managing Editor of our wonderful paper – an honor I cherish and take very seriously.

This coming year will be my first full year in the position, and we have great expectations for what is ahead. Our talented, diligent newsroom has a lot of wonderful things planned, and we will always look to get better and more efficient as the community’s only locally owned newspaper.

But goodness, that’s tiring – especially at the end of the year.

The past 12 months were action-packed – especially in sports. The area’s 11 high schools kept me on my toes throughout the year, sending me up and down Louisiana to cover high-stakes, hard-fought games.

But guess what?

I loved every, single second of it and am ready for more.

I think 2017 will be even better with locals poised to break through and win titles to make our area proud.

How it will all go down, no one can tell just yet, but I have a few ideas for you all to kick around and enjoy.

Here are five bold predictions for 2017 – all involving local sports.

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1. An area team will win a major-sports state title

I don’t have a clue who the lucky winner will be, but it sure seems like the odds are in our favor, doesn’t it? In boys’ basketball, we have several teams who can do it, including H.L. Bourgeois, Ellender, Central Lafourche and Terrebonne. On the girls’ basketball side, it’s just as loaded with South Lafourche, Ellender, Houma Christian and E.D. White all figuring to be real threats. But if I’m pressed to make a pick, I think it will be the E.D. White baseball team who will break the ice and bring a major-sports state title to our area for the first time in a while. The Cardinals have been so close for such a long time now. They have to catch a break eventually.

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2. Lafourche will move ball toward field turf; Terrebonne will follow

Lafourche Parish voters love high school athletics. There is a zero percent chance that the millage the school board hopes will be used to fund field turf will be denied. Once voters opt-in and the story gets in the papers, Terrebonne Parish football coaches will pressure school board officials to do the same. By 2020 or maybe 2021 at the latest, I’d be willing to bet that every local private school will have turf – as it’s supposed to be.

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3. South Terrebonne football will be back

The mighty Gators have struggled mightily for the past two seasons, but I don’t expect that to last for much longer. Folks around the program tell me that the Gators are confident that their returnees are gifted enough to jump the team forward from the two-win blues that they enjoyed in 2016. Man, I sure hope that happens. After the kind of season those guys had in 2016, they deserve some good fortune.

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4. Brandon Nowlin will land on his feet

For me, this one is a bit personal, because Coach Nowlin is a close friend. But with that said, I have 100 percent confidence in Nowlin’s ability to find work in 2017 and I have 1,000 percent confidence that he’s capable of parlaying that work into something successful for both he and his family. Nowlin didn’t get an ideal shake at South Lafourche. The timing of his hire was awkward, and the amount of people he was able to bring with him wasn’t perfect, either. But it’s all water under the bridge now, and Nowlin is looking at other opportunities.

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5. Deedy Gauno will be the diamond in the rough

The area is loaded with basketball talent and several players will sign scholarships in 2017 to play into the future. But for me, the guy to look out for is Terrebonne standout guard Deedy Gauno, who isn’t getting as much attention as many others, despite being just as productive. I think someone is going to grab Gauno and get a steal. •

Brandon NowlinCOURTESY

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