Young Live - TownNewsbloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/livingstonparishnews.com/c… · the Eagles are going to be less than entertaining. “We’re going to have a young team,”

2 Basketball, November 20, 2014

Basketball 2014-15

Livingston Parish hoops are back

21-22 Holden girls

22-23 Maurepas girls

I CONTENTS___

PICTURED ON THE COVER IS WALKER HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR AND SLU COMMITMENT BAYLIE STEARS.

CREDITS:ARTICLES — SAM MUFFOLETTO, DAVE MOORMANNCOVER — PAUL HATTONPHOTOS — DAVID NORMAND

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BOYS 4-5A

Denham’s Wingate hopes to go out

in stylePDENHAM SPRINGS – Departing head coach Wynn Wingate would love noth-ing more than for his Yellow Jackets to make a run in his final season at the helm of DSHS boys program.

One thing is for certain. Denham Springs will be running.

“If this past summer is any indica-tion, we’re going to be running up and down the court this season,” said Wingate, whose squad raced to a first-ever undefeated summer season. “We’re going to push it as fast as we

can and get as many lay-ups as possible. We’re hoping to speed people up.”

Leading that basketball track team are senior guard Elton “Nitro” Knight (5-10) and junior

guard Altoris “Tori” Odom (5-11), who Wingate

describes as “super-fast.”“Tuwain Starks (6-0 senior) is a very

good point guard, while (senior) Zach Davidson and (junior) Torez Kinchen can run the floor as well,” said Wing-ate. “And also, all five can shoot.”

The 6-foot-5 Davidson was a first-team All-Parish selection last year, while the 6-2 Kinchen was an honor-able mention All-Parish. Knight was chosen as the parish’s “Best Defensive Player.”

The only problem with Denham’s starting five is that three-fifths of them play football, and with the Yel-

low Jackets making the playoffs once again this year, the Yellow Jackets’ roundballers may have some huge holes early on.

On top of the fact that Kinchen, DSHS’ quarterback, and Starks are still suiting up on Fridays, Knight has been nursing a football-related knee injury, and his return is still ques-tionable.

In the meantime and even after their return, Wingate will be count-ing on 5-11 senior guard/forward Monterio Whitley as his true sixth man, while fellow senior Brandon Himel (5-11) is a back-up guard.

Wingate’s son Danny is a 5-10 senior, while junior Bryce Coleman stands in at 6-5. Sophomore forward Kolby Brooks (6-0) rounds out the varsity roster.

“Every year, we set out with the goal of winning a state champion-ship,” said Wingate. “But to make the playoffs, you have to go out and pick

up wins every night. With the power-ranking system in place now, you can’t just give any away. Early losses before district could hurt you, and that’s what happened to us last year.”

DSHS finished 17-12 overall, with a 7-5 record in District 4-5A, but did not make the 32-team playoff bracket. The Yellow Jackets lost five seniors off that club, most notably second-team All-Parish selection Rae’Kwan Turner.

“One thing I will say, every time we’ve ever had a great summer, we ended up having a very good season,” said Wingate. “I’ve never had a sum-mer where we didn’t lose a game.

“We have some experience, and I hope we can go out and make some noise,” said Wingate. “Even though I’m missing some players to start the season due to football, the success of the football program can definitely translate to success on the basketball court.”

2-3 Denham Springs boys

3-5 Live Oak boys

5-8 Walker boys

7-8 Albany boys

13 Maurepas boys

13-15 Denham Springs girls

15 Live Oak girls

15-18 Walker girls

9-10 Doyle boys

9-11 French Settlement boys

10-11 Springfield boys

11-12 Holden boys

18-19 Albany girls

19 Doyle girls

19-20 French Settlement girls

20-21 Springfield girls

Assessor Jeff Taylor, AT&T, Big Mike’s Sports Bar and Grill, Boyer-Hebert-Abels & Angelle, Denham Springs Mayor-elect Gerard Landry, Jeff Johnson, Marshal Jerry Denton, North Oaks Physician Group, Rep. Sherman Mack, Sen. Dale Erdey, Walker Family Dentistry, Walker Pharmacy.

Wingate

Basketball, November 20, 2014 3DAVID NORMAND | THE NEWS

The 2014-15 Denham Springs High Yellow Jackets boys basketball team are (front row, from left) Danny Wingate, Elton Knight, Torri Odom, Tuwain Starks and Brandon Himel. Standing are Kolby Brooks, Zach Davidson, David Morgan, Bryce Coleman, Torez Kinchen and Monterio Whitley.

This will mark the 10th and final season for Wingate as head coach at DSHS, as he announced prior to the summer that he was retiring as a coach but will remain as a faculty member at the high school.

Prior to taking the reins, he spent four seasons as assistant coach at DSHS under Paul Smith. A graduate of Belaire High School, Wingate was also an assistant coach and later head coach of the Bengals.

Young Live Oak anticipates

excitementPWATSON — Just because Coach Cody Verges said Live Oak’s roster will be dotted with youth doesn’t mean the Eagles are going to be less than entertaining.

“We’re going to have a young team,” Verges said. “We have a lot of under-classmen. I think it’s going to be an exciting team.”

For that to happen, though, Verges said several things have to come into play.

“We have to play hard and play well together,” he said. “If we play together and play hard, I look for it to be an exciting year.”

But that’s not all. Verges said the Eagles must exhibit other qualities as well to improve upon last year’s record of 11-18 overall, including 3-9 in District 4-5A.

“I want us to play smart, aggressive and together,” he said. “We’re going to tend to play a little bit fast.”

Helping Live Oak with its compo-sure and cohesion should be 6-foot-5 senior forward James Sullivan, last year’s second-leading scorer and “a

big rebounder,” Verges said.While Live Oak lost several play-

ers who meshed with Sullivan last season, Verges said he’s “not wor-ried about the kids from last year. I’m more looking forward to the kids we have…and their improvement throughout the year. Every week I want us to get better and have us peak at the right time.”

Supporting Sullivan in that quest figures to be 6-2 senior guard Jacob Larroquette, who Verges classified as “one of the others who will provide leadership. He does a lot of things. He’s prepared well.”

Verges said he expects his younger players, particularly a talented sopho-more class, to increase their level of play and follow the lead of both Sul-livan and Larroquette.

“I’m looking for them to step up and play at a very high level,” he said. “I think they’ve prepared well. They’re young and excited and have a lot of heart. They have a lot of energy.

“I’ve enjoyed working with these kids, and I’m looking forward to what we can achieve over the next few years.”

Impeding that progress could be a talented cast of district foes, including perennial state power Scotlandville of Baton Rouge. Zachary strengthened


Basketball, November 20, 2014 5itself if for no other reason than its hiring of veteran

coach Kenny Almond, Verges said.Almond owns a career record of 876-388 that ranks

seventh nationally. He won three state championships while at Woodlawn of Baton Rouge and has spent the previous 10 years at East Ascension, where he won four district titles while reaching the state playoffs eight times.

Parish rival Denham Springs adds to what Verges said is a “well-balanced” league.

“We want to make the playoffs,” Verges said. “That would be an accomplishment for us. That’s definitely what we’re shooting for and working for. It’s going to be a challenge, but the kids are excited to play basketball.”

New faces for Walker need to grow up quicklyP

WALKER – Graduation took a huge bite out Walker’s boys basketball team last year, as the Wildcats said so long to six seniors, four of which were starters, including first-team All-Parish selection Brian Domingue.

Although Walker is tad younger this season, head coach Anthony Schiro is hoping a large underclass will grow up quickly to join a handful of players with a bit of varsity experience to help put a fair share of W’s on their ledger.

“I have four solid starters, all of three of which are seniors,” said Schiro of Honorable Mention All-Parish Michael Scott, Tyler Dyess and Brennan Anderson, along with junior Jacobi Scott. “And sophomore Garrett Carlisle will join them as a starter to begin the season.

“I only have one other senior in Josh Stovall, who is 6-foot-3, who will be ready to step in off the bench,” said Schiro. “The rest of the team consists of sophomores and freshmen. So we’re going to be young this year.

“But I feel like I have a couple of freshmen who will be able to step in right away and play some varsity min-utes,” said Schiro.

While Scott is the lone junior, Carlisle is joined by Jalen Hill, Jeremy Hills and Payton Kilcrease as sophomores on the varsity roster, which also includes three freshmen in Dalton Moore, Darius Hampton and Anthony Carter.

Senior Hunter Roddy rounds out the roster.“It’s really a good mix,” said Schiro. “You have the

seniors who really understand what they’re doing and can teach these freshmen. And I have a really good group of freshmen. They really do understand how to play the game and are really catching on relatively quickly.”

Walker finished 12-18 overall last year and missed out on any post-season play after ending District 4-5A with a 5-7 mark.

“We’re going to be undersized, so we’re going to have to learn how to box out,” quipped Schiro, whose tallest player is freshman Perkins at 6-foot-4. “We’re going to

DAVID NORMAND | THE NEWS

The 2014-15 Walker High School Wildcat boys basketball team are (front row, from left) Darius Hampton, Anthony Carter and Jalen Hills. Middle row are Jacob Scott, Michael Scott, Tyler Dyess, Brennan Anderson and Joshua Stovall. Standing are Jeremy Hills, Payton Killcrease, Hunter Roddy, Garrett Carlisle and Dalton Moore.


The 2014-15 Live Oak High Eagles boys basketball team are (front row, from left) John Edwards, Cody Fontenot, Tyler Tolbert, Joe Bergeron, Eric Poindexter and Trent Crifasi. Standing are Mark Rudison, Jacob Larroquette, Daniel Loper, James Sullivan, Josh Lay, Michael Sullivan and Joshua Reams.


Basketball, November 20, 2014 7have to learn how to out-work people. We’re going to

have to overcome being out-rebounded.“I do have some shooters,” said Schiro. “Tyler Dyess

is going to knock down some shots. And I think Bren-nan Anderson will be able to do so as well, along with a few of the freshmen, who can shoot the ball pretty good as well.”

While Schiro has conformed to his players in years past, although he favors a more up-tempo attack, he understands that there will be a bit of give and take with this bunch until they define their identity.

“Most of the time, I like to play man-to-man,” said Schiro. “We like to push the ball up the floor. I like to play relatively quick and under control.

“But this year, it may be a little different, and we may play some match-up zone,” said Schiro. “We may try to slow it down on offense a little bit and kind of possess the ball a little more this year.”

If there was one thing that plagued last year’s squad, it was an abundance of unforced turnovers.

“The big focus is on taking care of the basketball,” said Schiro. “We are small, so the rebound battle may not be in our favor most nights. So we’re going to have to limit our turnovers and not give the other teams opportunities.

“With the young group I have, I feel like we’re still going to be competitive,” said Schiro. “Early on, I feel like we can win some games to give us that confi-dence, and the more those freshmen develop, hope-fully they will be ready for district.

“How that translates into victories? I’m not sure,”


The 2014-15 Albany High School Hornets boys basketball team are (front row, from left) Amari Johnson, Ben Mcclain, Randolph Skinner, Andrew Harris, Danton Cunningham and Blake Baroni, manager. Standing are Nathaniel Carroll, Kylin Sexton, Quincy Sykes, Christian O'Hara, Justin Thompson, Dylan Hoyt and Sean Sykes.


said Schiro. “But I think we can win some games.”Walker remains a part of the unchanged and ever-tough District 4-5A, along

with parish foes Denham Springs and Live Oak, as well as defending district champions Scotlandville, Central, Zachary and Broadmoor.

BOYS 8-3A

Playoff-capable Albany adjustsagain to new coachP

ALBANY – “Respect all. Fear none!”That’s the motto and mentality that Albany’s new head boys basketball

coach Chris Carter is trying to instill in his players as the Hornets em-bark on their new season.

Carter, a 2003 graduate of Northshore High School, is Albany’s fifth head boys coach in four years and the second named coach since Frank Schnei-der departed after taking Albany to the playoffs in his only season.

Carter spent his recent years as an assistant coach at Fontainebleau in Mandeville.

“I feel like we have a good nucleus of players,” said Carter. “It’s all about trying to get over the hump in the playoffs.”

Last year, Albany finished 6-4 in District 8-3A and 18-13 overall. The Hornets fell on the road at West Feliciana (57-54) in the bi-district round of the playoffs.

“I feel they just have to buy into what we’re doing and not be content with where they finished up last year,” said Carter. “You need to have the men-tality of going out to win every single game. The goal is to play to win and not be content with just winning district, but to win the whole thing.”

Albany lost just three seniors off last year’s club, one of them second-team All-Parish selection Josh McClain.

The Hornets this year have five seniors, four juniors, one sophomore and two freshmen. Carter sees eight of those players right off the bat being in the rotation, led by 6-foot-4 senior forward Danton Cunningham, 6-3 senior forward Amari Johnson and 6-2 senior forward Andrew Harris.

All four juniors will be in the mix, including 6-3 second-team All-Parish guard Quincy Sykes, along with 6-2 guard Dylan Hoyt, 6-3 forward Justin Thompson and 6-2 Iowa transfer forward Christian O’Hara.

Sophomore guard Sean Sykes (5-11) is also among the players in the early-season rotation.

Rounding out the roster are 5-8 senior guard Ben McClain, 5-9 senior guard Randolph Skinner and a pair of freshmen, 6-foot Kylin Sexton and 5-10 guard Nathaniel Carroll.

“My philosophy has always been to conform to the players I have,” said Carter. “We’re going to run a half-court man-to-man and make you work for everything you get. Offensively, I like the ‘Princeton’ style. Back-door cuts. Screens. Motion offense. We’d like to run when we can, but if we don’t have the numbers, then get into our half-court scheme. Just don’t force it.

“We’re just trying to get the kids to buy into what we’re doing,” said Carter. “Work as a team. This is not about me, but it’s about the team.

“One thing is, we’re going to be prepared for everyone we play,” said Carter. “And give everybody a game.”

But even though Carter and his staff will be teaching the x’s and o’s, he feels it’s equally or more important to teach the off-the-court lessons as well.

“It’s all about changing the culture,” said Carter. “A lot of these kids have issues to deal with outside of basketball, and I want to be there for them. It’s not only getting the kids to buy into what we want to accomplish on the court, but try to fix any of their off-the-court troubles as well.”

Basketball, November 20, 2014 9BOYS 8-2A

Doyle uses quickness, shooting to counter

heightPLIVINGSTON — Given that Doyle doesn’t have much height, Coach Daniel Kennedy said the Tigers must “play quick and fast. We’ll use our speed.”

Doyle has the personnel to do it, with two All-Parish honorable mention selections returning in senior Kyle Lewis and junior Tyler Dawsey. Kennedy also expects veteran leadership from senior Clay Kleinpeter, one of those who will help the Tigers operate at point guard “by committee.”

“We lost our point guard from last year,” Kennedy said of Cody Kleinpeter, Clay’s older brother. In making the All-Parish first team, Cody averaged 15.7 points and 4.2 assists per game.

“That was a big loss,” Kennedy said of Cody’s departure. “He’s going to be hard to replace.”

Even so, Kennedy remains encouraged by the return of Clay Kleinpeter and Dawsey, who will share point guard responsibilities along with junior Ryan Guillory and fresh-man Triston Jones.

“All four are capable of playing it,” Kennedy said. “It’s not really necessary to eventually find one. They can all do what we ask them to do. If the opposition is a bigger team, we’ll go with a bigger lineup. It’ll be determined by matchups.”

If it’s scoring Doyle needs, Clay Kleinpeter could well be the point guard Kennedy will look for.

“He played a lot last year,” Kennedy said. “He can really shoot the basketball.”

If Doyle requires defensive stops, Dawsey might be the answer. Not only do Dawsey’s ballhandling skills distinguish him, but his defensive prowess is such that Kennedy hopes Dawsey will finally be recognized for that ability.

“Even as a freshman he played good de-fense,” Kennedy said. “I feel he’s the anchor of our defense. He’s almost won the award (Liv-ingston Parish Defensive Player of the Year) for the last two years now. I hope he gets over the hump. The guy is good at every position. Besides defense, he rebounds.”

In addition to his hopes for Dawsey, Ken-nedy is “hoping for another good season” from his team. The Tigers reached the second round of the playoffs in putting together re-cords of 23-8 overall and 8-2 in District 7-2A.

“We’ve got a lot of players” who can contrib


The 2014-15 French Settlement High School Lions boys basketball team are (front row, from left) Jarrett Lobell, Jackson LeBourgeois, Bryant Johnson, Dawson Marlow, Brandt Smiley, Miguel Sheppard, Noah Achord and Trace White. Standing are Alex Reed, Ethan McLanghlin, Josh McCallister, Jacob Barber, Cannon Smithart, Cody Cambre and Damieon Willbanks. Not pictured is Landon Thomassie.


The 2014-15 Doyle High School Tigers boys basketball team are (front row, from left) Trenton Mizell, Ryan Guillory, Cameron Bigner, Easton Wolfe and Tristan Jones. Middle row are Dalton Thompson, Tyler Dawsey, Ashton Tureaud, Akeem Bell, Auston Tureaud and Brennan Harris. Standing are Kade Lewis, Jacob Harrington, Louis Duffy, Kyle Lewis, Landon Wascom, Hunter Stovall and Dillon Noland. Not pictured is Clay Kleinpeter.


ute this season, Kennedy said, including junior Akeem Bell. After “a good year last year,” Kennedy said Bell is ready to deliver more of the same.

“When you’re small like us, it’s how you play together that determines a lot,” Kennedy said. “Last year’s team did play well together.”

Although they may be small, Ken-nedy this group of “good kids” under-stand their roles and how to play the game, whether it’s pressing or playing man-to-man on defense or running a transition offense.

“They trust each other,” he said.Kennedy realizes prospering in

district competition will be no easy task despite the presence of so many veteran players.

Runnels of Baton Rouge promises to be dangerous, he said, as does St. Thomas Aquinas of Hammond, which is “always good. They’re always talented.”

Springfield is “much better,” Ken-nedy said, and although French Settlement is “down from last year, they’re still dangerous. They have enough weapons.”

FSHS rebuilds under new coach

ChewningPFRENCH SETTLEMENT – Six seniors, along with longtime head coach Kenny Gautreau, “all left the build-ing” after last season, but the Gerald Keller Gymnasium welcomes another one of its own.

John Chewning, a former player, who returned to his alma mater three years ago as coach-in-waiting, will fulfill one of his life-long dreams to take the reins of the French Settle-ment boys basketball program.

Gautreau did not exactly leave his assistant a full cupboard, as the Lions graduated four of their top six play-ers from a year ago, including parish Most Valuable Player Justin Lobell.

Along with Lobell’s 22-point aver-age, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals, also gone is L.J. Webber (18 ppg/5 rebounds) and Luke McMor-ris (9.7 ppg/ 5 rebounds) off a team that finished 23-6 overall. The Lions defeated Calvary Baptist in the first

round of the Class 2A playoffs, but were eliminated by Sterlington, 70-55, in the regional round.

FSHS does have five seniors on this year’s club, led by returning starter Cody Cambre, a 6-foot-4 2-guard/small forward, who averaged 17.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.3 steals per game last season. He, too, was named to the All-Parish first team.

“He’s (Cambre) been in the shadows of the rest of those guys forever,” said Chewning. “He did a good job last sea-son with his role, but now it’s his turn to be a leader. He hasn’t had to be that go-to guy before, so we’ll have to see how he handles that this season.”

Joining Cambre in the starting five to begin the year are 5-9 senior guard Landon Thomassie, 6-5 senior center Jacob Barber, 6-3 senior forward Josh McAllister and 5-4 returning starting point-guard junior Jarrett Lobell.

The first two guys off the bench are expected to be 6-3 senior Cannon Smithhart and 6-foot sophomore Jack-son LeBourgois.

Rounding out the Lions’ varsity ros-ter are three freshmen, 5-10 Alex Reid, 5-6 Bryant Johnson and 5-8 Dawson Marlow.

“We lost a lot so obviously we’re going to be very different this year,”


The 2014-15 Springfield High School Bulldog boys basketball team are (front row, from left) Cole Amandor, Christian Austin, Keenan Austin, Isaiah Jackson, Travon Brothern and Demariae Claiborne. Middle are Mikail Brown, Milan Love, Anthony Joseph, Joshua Vicks, Reeves Blankenship, Jordan Carter and Zacharias Jackson. Standing are Sawyer Blankenship, Jared Allen, Cedric Lloyd, Shelvis Burise, Austin Harris, Melvin Tillman, and Cameron Fox.

Basketball, November 20, 2014 11

ence is going to be the biggest chal-lenge, especially once we get into district play.

“They all have basketball experi-ence, but having that varsity on-the-court experience is quite different,” said Chewning. “We’re in the process of developing those roles for each player and see where it all fits in the whole scheme.

“We’re definitely a team that will have to improve as we go,” said Chewning. “Every game, we’re going to have to get better. To do that, you really have to get out there and get that court time.

“We just have to have patience and dedicated ourselves to getting bet-ter,” said Chewning. “We know and understand that it could be a little rough early on. But if everybody can just play their roles, we’ll be fine.”

Chewning, who graduated from FSHS in 2001 and played under former head coach Johnny Rodgers, spent four years as head girls coach at Springfield, before switching as head Bulldogs’ boys coach for two seasons.

“It was great to get back to my old stomping grounds,” said Chewning of his return to FSHS three years ago. “There haven’t been too many head coaches here in the past decades, so it’s a privilege to now become one.

“I’m going to have to rely a lot on our defense, since we don’t have the fire-power we’ve had the past couple of years. But we’re going to have step up to make some things happen on defense, where we can hopefully turn it into a quick basket on the other end of the court.

“Coach Gautreau was great to work with me and allow me to have input over the past two years,” said Chewn-ing. “But now I’ve got to get used to doing all the other ‘house-keeping chores’ other than just coaching basketball.”

Springfield looksfor playoff carryover

from footballPSPRINGFIELD — While the success of the Springfield football team is

a source of school and community pride, it has another effect on the Bulldogs’ basketball team. It post-pones the start of the season.

With only three non-football players on the roster, Springfield can’t put a team on the floor until football season ends, said second-year basketball coach Jason Williams. If that takes until after the Class 2A championship game on Dec. 12, then so be it, Wil-liams said.

Springfield already has advanced to a second-round playoff game at South Plaquemines on Friday (Nov. 21), guaranteeing that the Bulldogs will be one of the latest-starting basketball teams in the region.

Not that Williams is complain-ing, mind you. He would like to see Springfield win a state football championship, just as he hopes for the same from his team.

It’s just that his task isn’t made any easier while the Bulldogs continue to play football.

“My goal is to make the playoffs,” Williams said, “but it’s tough when you’re starting from behind and have to hit the ground running.”

Williams’ hope is that his players retained what they learned over the summer when Williams managed to get his team on the court before many of his two-sport athletes jumped head-long into football.

“We definitely have a long way to go,” he said.

Springfield struggled last year with records of 1-21 overall, including 0-10 in District 7-2A, but even the Bull-dogs’ late start isn’t enough to damp-en Williams’ hopes for improvement.

The return of 5-foot-10 sophomore guard Demariae Claiborne is reason enough for Williams to anticipate a brighter future. Claiborne hit the game-winning shot against Phoenix that brought Springfield its only vic-tory last season.

“He’s a pretty good shooter, and he plays good defense,” Williams said of Claiborne. “He’s willing to take the last shot.”

Accompanying Claiborne in the backcourt will be 6-foot junior Keenan Austin, who joined the team in the second half of last season, Wil-liams said.

“He’s a good slasher, and he’s a pretty good shooter,” Williams said of Austin. “He’s a guy who can hit double figures consistently.”

Williams said he wants the Bull-

dogs’ play to be aggressive offensively and to be man-to-man defensively, which fits well into the rugged nature of those who prepared for the season by playing football.

“That’s a plus,” he said. “They have a certain amount of toughness. Hope-fully they can use that grittiness and bring it to basketball and get after it.”

The Bulldogs can expect to en-counter a difficult district in which parish-rival Doyle as well as Runnels of Baton Rouge will “be really tough,” Williams said. The same holds true for St. Thomas Aquinas of Hammond, he said. French Settlement promises to be competitive as well.

While the Bulldogs “were young last year and lost a couple of people,” Williams said a year of growth and experience has put them in position to reach the playoffs just like the football team.

Springfield has an illustrious history as a basketball power that includes two state championships in the past three decades, and followers of the program are ready to see the up-cycle to show signs of a return in the 2014-2015 season.

BOYS 8B

Returning starters create optimism in

HoldenPHOLDEN — Not only is Jason Sessions back for his second year as Holden’s coach, but he welcomes the return of three starters who figure to help the Rockets improve upon last year’s records of 6-23 overall, including 1-6 in District 8-B.

Through the first five games of this season, 5-foot-8 senior guard Aaron Carlton already has shown that he intends to do his part in contributing to Holden’s success.

With Holden sporting a 3-2 record, Carlton averaged close to 17 points per game, Sessions said, after a season in which he averaged better than 11 points and five assists per game.

Add the presence of 6-4 forward Grant Baronet and the experience of Zach Addison, and the Rockets have

the makings of a team that can pro-duce a winning record.

“We had virtually no playing expe-rience last year,” Sessions said. “We had a lot of young kids who stepped up and played well. There were a lot of growing pains, but we were able to fight through them.”

An offseason and summer working together have only strengthened the Rockets’ resolve, Sessions said.

“A lot of us doing well is because of” Carlton, Sessions said. “A lot of the team’s work ethic shows through him.”

With no one taller than 6-4, and a lineup that will sometimes include an eighth-grader, Sessions said Holden must rely on teamwork and together-ness. Adding to that cohesion, he said, will be John Sharpe, Diego Trevino and freshman Luke Patterson.

“We really are looking to run,” Sessions said of the Rockets’ mode of attack. “We’re going to try to outrun teams, push the ball up the floor and get a quick shot. We should be able to do that as long as we don’t turn the ball over.”

Despite the team’s lack of height, Sessions said Holden will look to get the ball inside quickly when the situa-tion presents itself.

Just as Sessions has his offensive operating aggressively, so it is with his defense. “I like to press and naturally play man-to-man,” he said. “We’ll go zone if we have to depending on the matchup.”

Parish-rival Maurepas figures to test the Rockets’ defensive prowess, although Holden managed to upend the Wolves last season.

With Centerville having lost seven seniors, it may not be as competitive as in years past, Sessions said. Dr. King Charter School of New Orleans completes the four-team district that forces its schools to fill out their schedules with non-league games.

No matter the adversary, Ses-sions said the Rockets will be better equipped to cope with whatever is thrown at them this year. A year of familiarity between Sessions and his players has seen to that.

“We’re pretty familiar with each other by now,” he said. “They don’t have to look at me to know if they’re doing something wrong.

“It’s a mindset. I want them to do things without having to ask. It helps that Aaron has been able to take over my personality,” Sessions said.


DAVID NORMAND | THE

NEWS

The 2014-15 Holden High School Rockets boys basketball team are (front row, from left) team managers, Lane Sykes and John Barber. Middle row are Grant Baronet, Landon Slocum, Zach Addison, Aaron Carlton, Damien Richardson, Luke Patterson and John Sharp. Standing are Cole Forbes, Aldo Trevino, Blaine Daniels, Noah Dupepe, Hunter Sullivan, Zach Burke, Phillip Davidson and Shawn Bertrand.


5 seniors lead Maurepas into

optimistic seasonPMAUREPAS — The return of five seniors has Maurepas second-year coach Kevin Young enthused about the prospects for this season.

“We have some senior leadership,” said Young, who has four seniors in the starting lineup and a fifth as his first player off the bench. “We have some experience about us. We kind of have high expectations.”

Given the manner in which the Wolves began the season, Young re-mains as optimistic as ever about his team’s chances of winning District 8-B and earning a state playoff berth.

Maurepas won four of its first seven games and lost the other three by a combined 15 points, Young said. “We’ve been playing pretty good,” he said. Of the three setbacks, Young said, “They’ve all been close. We’ve been in the game ’till the end.”

The presence of such a large senior class gives Young reason to believe Maurepas can find ways to win close games and rebound from the disap-pointment of last season. Maurepas fashioned records of 11-18 overall and 1-8 in district in what Young called “kind of a rebuilding year.”

After a year together, Young said “everybody knows my system.” Fur-thermore, he said the players “are all in” as is he when it comes to trusting and supporting one another.

“Offensively we’re going to push the ball when we get the opportu-nity,” Young said. “If we don’t get the opportunity, we can always slow it down. We’re versatile in that way. Defensively we play man-to-man.”

Maurepas lost two starters from last year’s team in Chace Berthelot and Denver Delatte, but returns three senior starters in Wesley Younger, Donovan Thibodeaux and Darrian Bouquet.

Tristan Price joins his senior class-mates in a starting lineup that also features junior Tre Lessard. Kris Lanoux, a senior, is the Wolves’ sixth man.

In addition, Young said he antici-

pates contributions from sophomores Jason McLin and Cade Duplessis. McLin will “play every game for us,” Young said.

The 6-foot-1 Thibodeaux operates as Maurepas’ point guard, while Younger as the tallest starter gives the Wolves’ a 6-3 presence inside. Younger, an All-Parish honorable mention selection last year, will play both on the wing and in the post throughout the season, Young said.

Complementing Younger in the post will be Bouquet and Price, Young said. Lessard is paired with Thibodeaux in the Wolves’ back-court.

Besides Maurepas, three other teams encompass the wide-ranging district that stretches from Liv-ingston Parish to New Orleans

and nearly down to Morgan City. Holden is the other parish entry in the league, which includes Dr. King Charter School of New Orleans and Centerville near Morgan City.

Asked who the district favorite might be, Young said, “Everybody. It’s going to be balanced. It’s going to be a fight every night.”

With the scarcity of Class B teams in the area, Young said the Wolves are forced to pepper their schedule with larger schools.

“We’re not going to play large 5A schools,” he said, “but we’ll play smaller A, 2A and 3A schools. Some-times we’re overmatched. Sometimes we can compete.”

No matter the circumstances, Young knows he has a veteran team ready to take on all comers.

GIRLS 4-5A

Denham reloads with young guns

and questionsPDENHAM SPRINGS – Last season, Den-ham Springs had seven seniors and six freshmen and nothing in-between on its varsity roster.

Those sophomores are now the “vet-erans” on this year’s Lady Jackets’ squad, as head coach Shelly LaPrarie will have to work some of her magic since there are no seniors to be


The 2014-15 Maurepas High School Wolves boys basketball team are (front row, from left) Kris Lanoux, Darrian Bouquet, Donovan Thibodeaux, Wesley Younger, Tristin Price and Trevor Bovia. Standing are Hunter Dupuy, Cade Duplessis, Peyton Sturges, Jason Mclin, Nicholas Delatte and Cole Bovia.


“pulled out of her hat.”LaPrarie has been in predica-

ments before, so no one is about to count out the Denham Springs girls anytime soon.

“We’re definitely going to be young this year,” said LaPrarie, whose team last year made it all the way to the Class 5A semifinals before losing to Mt. Carmel at the state tournament. “We’re very young, but we’ve got some talent. We just need some game experi-ence. But they’re already continu-ing to show improvement every day.”

DSHS lost some quality players, beginning with first-team All-Parish selection Caletria Curtis (17 points/10 rebounds) and second-team All-Parish Carlisha Kinchen (13 points/7 rebounds). Departed as well are guards Jena Mabile and Katie Brignac.

The returning players who did get quality minutes of playing time last season are sophomores Tremeeka Spikes (5-10), who had health issues the first half of the season, 5-6 guard Caroline Taylor,

DAVID NORMAND |

THE NEWS

The 2014-15 Denham Springs High Lady Jackets basketball team are (front row, from left) Caroline Taylor, Destinee Cain, Morgan Alexander, Kamryn King and Christina Canale. Standing are Brianca Flugence, manager; Bailey Elliot, Tremeeka Spikes, Maggie Gibson, Payton Chustz, Maia Robinson, Jayley Clouatre and Bria Robinson, manager.

Basketball, November 20, 2014 156-foot-2 post-player Payton Chustz

and guards Bailey Hughes, Christina Canale (5-3 point-guard) and 5-3 Kam-ryn King.

The only junior is first-year varsity player Morgan Alexander, while 6-foot freshman Mia Robinson rounds out the varsity roster.

“I like our talent level,” said LaPra-rie. “We plan on going out there every night and competing. I feel like once we get that game experience, we’ll be in the mix.

“We just need to focus on our inten-sity and play hard every day,” said LaPrarie. “I feel they realize what it takes to compete at this level.”

The Lady Jackets will have some outside threats with the 3-point shoot-ing capability of Taylor, Canale and King, while Spikes and Chutz will be relied on in the paint.

“She (Chustz) has come a long way,” said LaPrarie. “She’s worked really hard and has shown a lot of improve-ment. But like the other young play-ers, we just have to get some games under our belts. We have a lot of kids that can bring something to the table. We just need to keep improving every day.”

DSHS, which won the District 4-5A championship last year, finished the season with an impressive 27-4 over-all record.

The Lady Jackets will once again have to contend with two parish foes in their district, Walker and Live Oak, along with Zachary, Central, Broadmoor and Scotlandville.

LaPrarie will once again have for-mer Lady Jackets head coach Brenda Loe as her assistant, along with former Holden standout player JoAnn Tate, who is in her first season as an assistant.

Veteran Live Oak team ready

for payoff yearPWATSON — Live Oak might finally be ready to reap the benefits of the inex-perience that the program endured the last two years.

“Two years ago it was difficult to compete in district,” said Coach Eric France, whose team last season pro-duced records of 11-16 overall and 3-7 in District 4-5A. “Last year we closed

the gap. “This year, instead of being one of

the younger teams, we’re going to be one of the more experienced ones. As the season goes along, that’s certainly going to be in our favor.”

France’s seasoned group features four junior starters and one sopho-more who is no ordinary second-year player.

Guard Presley Wascom was Live Oak’s leading scorer last year, a fact that helped her earn All-Parish second-team honors. Wascom also landed on the all-district team. Besides averaging 15.9 points per game, Wascom averaged 2.9 steals, 1.7 assists and 1.6 rebounds per contest.

“She came in from the get-go and was the best scorer we had,” France said. “She can score in bunches. She’s a very good 3-point shooter. It’s not uncommon for her to hit three of four in a row. She had a few 30-point games for us.”

Joining Wascom in the starting lineup will be the junior quartet of guards Ally Howard and Paige Vac-caro, and forwards Ashley Davis and Alexis Harrouch. Like Wascom, Howard and Harrouch have started since their freshmen seasons. The five starters this season all started at some

point last year.“A lot of times they can answer

questions before I have a chance to ask them,” France said of the starters’ familiarity with what he’s trying to accomplish.

“We’ve become less and less conser-vative and more aggressive” as the players have matured, France said. “When they were younger, on both ends we would do whatever we could to stay in the game.

“Now we have a little faster pace offensively and become aggressive de-fensively so that we can jump on teams and force them to play the way we want instead of adjusting to what they do.”

France’s multi-talented starters have blessed the Lady Eagles with versa-tility. Howard, as the point guard, is “the leader of the group,” France said. “She’s started nearly every game since her freshman year. She sets up every-body else.”

Vaccaro is Live Oak’s third guard and “a very, very good 3-point shooter,” France said. “She’s kind of like a sidekick to all the others. She can take advantage of the situation when some-body else has a hot hand.”

Davis is the two-time Class 5A state shot put champion and as such uses her strength to intimidate the opposi-

tion inside. “She’s just a presence for us,” France said.

Not only is Harrouch another hard-nosed defender, France said, but “she’s worked on her shot” and become adept from 3-point range.

France figures to find bench strength in Alexis Longmire, his lone senior, as well as junior Olivia Wilson. Longmire is “going to contribute in the post,” France said, and Wilson will use her considerable knowledge of the game to enhance Live Oak’s wealth of experi-ence.

Walker motivated to vie for state honors

this seasonPWALKER – Some may say that the past is the past and look to the future, but the Walker LadyCats are hoping to use an everyday reminder from last year to give them an extra incentive to bury the past for good.

“We got bracelets made to remind us how the game went down,” said


The 2014-15 Live Oak High Lady Eagles basketball team are (front row, from left) Haleigh Longmire, Lauren Price, Paige Vaccaro, Presley Wascom, Ally Howard, Brianna Cockeran, and Kelsie White. Standing are Elizabeth Foster, Alexis Harrouch, Olivia Wilson, Alexis Longmire, Ashley Davis and Aubrey Rabalais. Not pictured is Kelsey Case.


Basketball, November 20, 2014 17Walker head coach Korey

Arnold of the LadyCats’ disappointing last-second playoff loss to Destrehan. “A constant reminder to the kids that we have to finish games and not just play well in spurts. I think they bought into it more this year and have been practicing really hard each day and not wasting any opportunities at practice.”

Although Walker lost five key players from last year’s squad, four to graduation and another who trans-ferred, Arnold is more than confident that the experi-enced players he has return-ing along with one transfer of his own will help put the LadyCats back in that quarterfinal-round game to play for a ticket to the Class 5A state tournament.

“I think we have the po-tential to be better than we were last year,” said Arnold. “We return three starters in Baylie Stears (5-11 guard/

DAVID NORMAND | THE

NEWS

The 2014-15 Walker High School Lady Cats basketball team are (front row, from left) Jo' Niesha Travis, Katelynn McKenzie, Breanna Zeringue, Katelyn McQuiston and Krystal Hutchison. Middle row are Miranda Smith, Kacie Fountain, Jamie Gibson, Baylie Stears and Keeona Brown. Standing are Brooklyn Giovingo, Ashlyn Donaldson, Shemeka Daigre, Raven Barze and Treasure Mansur.


forward), Jamie Gibson (5-10 guard/forward) and Keeona Brown (5-8 forward). And my fourth starter is a transfer in from Northshore, Kacie Fountain (5-7 point guard).

“And then my fifth starter will be sophomore Treasure Mansur (5-6 1/2 guard), who played a lot of junior var-sity, with some spot varsity last year.”

Gibson, who was a first-team All-Parish player as a junior, averaged 18.2 points, 9.4 rebounds, 3.7 steals and 2.1 assists last season, which led to her receiving the parish’s “Play-maker” award.

Brown, an Honorable Mention All-Parish player last year, averaged 10.2 points and 11.2 rebounds.

Departing from last year’s squad were Amy Sanders, Bailey Arm-strong, Mia and Tia Zachary all to graduation and Lexi McMorris, who moved to Denham Springs.

“Heading into the season, I’m just trying to establish players six, seven, eight and nine, so we can get a rotation down,” said Arnold. “But the outlook is that I expect us to have as good or better season than we did last year, if everybody stays healthy.”

Rounding out Walker’s varsity roster will be juniors Shemeka Daigre (6-1 center), Jo’Niesha Travis (5-6 guard), Miranda Smith (5-7 forward) and Kate-lynn McKenzie (5-4 guard), along with sophomores Ashlyn Donaldson (6-0 center) and Krystal Hutchinson (5-6 1/2 point guard) and freshmen Raven Barze (5-10 1/2 guard), Katelyn McQus-ton (5-4 guard), Brooklynn Glovigo (5-7 guard) and Brenna Zeringue (5-5 guard).

“I think we’re a little more dynamic at the point-guard position this year,” said Arnold, “which helps the style we play, up-tempo.

“We have a couple of 5-9 and 5-10 kids, but across the board, we’ve got pretty good size,” said Arnold. “We’re not too big, but not too small.”

Arnold returns his best 3-point shooter from a year ago in Stears, who signed with Southeastern Louisiana University, while both Gibson and Fountain can step out and hit the shot outside the arc as well.

“We definitely need to do a better job rebounding than we did last year,” said Arnold. “The reason we lost what games we did last year, including the playoff game, was because we got killed on the glass. We gave our op-ponents too many points. So we’ve put emphasis on getting tougher under-neath the goal.”

Walker finished the year 30-5 overall

last season and were district runners-up to Denham Springs in District 4-5A.

Arnold has longtime assistant Shan-non Lowe back on the bench, along with a former LadyCat player, Hannah Fohne, in her first season as an as-sistant coach after a four-year college career.

GIRLS 8-3A

Albany continues tradition of state

title dreamsPALBANY – Stacy (Smith) Darouse may have felt like a kid in a candy store last season, as she not only took over the reins of her alma mater, but helped guide the Lady Hornets of Albany all the way to the Class 3A semifinals.

Heck with the candy. Darouse and

this year’s club would love to come away with all the marbles.

With the exception of one huge void the team has to fill, Albany returns with tons of talent and experience to boot.

“There’s no way you can replace a player like Lauren Thompson,” said Darouse of her standout player and leader of last year’s club who aver-aged 13 points and three assists per game. “Her overall presence on the team was unmeasurable.”

Yet Darouse does return some 32 points and 15 boards from the Lady Hornets’ offense a year ago in first-team All-Parish senior guard Eliza-beth “Me-Me” Sykes and 6-2 senior post player Danielle “Feretta” Brown.

The 5-9 Sykes averaged 16.9 points and 7.2 rebounds last season, while Brown averaged 15.5 points and 8.1 boards per outing.

Sophomore guard Hannah Vicknair (5-5) will handle the point, while 5-6 twin-sisters Makayla and Madison Peters round out the early starting five for Darouse.

Another sophomore, 5-10 post Kiara

Johnson, will be the sixth-man com-ing off the bench.

“We have Me-Me on the outside and Feretta on the inside,” said Darouse. “But our goal is always to want to get the ball on the inside first.

“Offensively, we like to play man first, but if we don’t have the match-up, we’ll do whatever we have to do.”

Darilyn Rogers, a 5-9 guard, rounds out the senior class, while 5-7 Alexis Aime joins the Peters twins as the three juniors on the roster.

Guard Bailee Gardiner (5-5) is one of three sophomores, while five fresh-men (Mahogany Williams, Miranda Fernandez, Kaci Payne, Lacie Randall and Myrisa Gregoire) join the upper-classmen.

“I feel great about this team right now,” said Darouse. “It’s a tight-knit group of kids. They still have a lot of learning to do, but their goal is to get better every game.

“Having been their middle-school coach, I’ve now known these girls for some six or seven years,” said Da-rouse. “And they know me very well and what my expectations are.


The 2014-15 Albany High School Lady Hornets basketball team are (front row, from left) Makayla Peters, Me Me Sykes, Ferretta Brown, Darilyn Rogers, Alexis Aime and Madison Peters. Standing are Miranda Fernandez, Hannah Vicknair, Mahogany Williams, Kiara Johnson, Kaci Payne, Bailee Gardiner, Lacie Randall and Myrisa Gregoire.

Basketball, November 20, 2014 19“They spent many hours in the gym

this past summer,” said Darouse. “They understand what it takes to win a championship. If they do the things that need to be done, things will fall into place.”

Last season, Albany won the Dis-trict 8-3A championship and headed into the post-season full-steam ahead. After posting wins in the bi-district, regionals and the quarterfinals, the Lady Hornets earned a spot in the Class 3A “Final Four.” Last season came to a heartbreaking end as Albany fell to Ville Platte 73-64 in the semifinals to finish the year with a 28-7 overall mark.

“The three seniors have made it to the tournament all three years, and their goal is to get back once again,” said Darouse. “And I feel like we have the team to do just that and then see what happens.”

GIRLS 4-5A

New Doyle coach filling big shoes

with talentPLIVINGSTON – Doyle new head coach Samantha White has some big shoes to fill and some big shoes to replace.

But the former Holden star from a decade ago is more than up to the challenge.

The Lady Tigers said farewell to both longtime head coach Guy Mc-Donald and four-year starter and All-State performer Taylin Underwood.

McDonald guided the Lady Tigers all the way to the Class 2A finals last season, where this Cinderella squad was outmatched by North Caddo and fell 80-46.

Underwood, who finished her career at Doyle with 3,149 points, averaged 26.3 points, 7.1 rebounds and four as-sists per game last season.

She was the Lady Tigers’ lone se-nior, leaving White, who has been the assistant coach to McDonald for the past four seasons, a load of up-and-coming talent to work with.

“I’m pretty excited about this sea-son,” said White, the former Saman-tha Wilkinson, who graduated from HHS in 2005. “I’ve had all these girls when they were back in junior high,

so they know what I want from them.”Although the Lady Tigers bring a

wealth of varsity experience to the table this season, Doyle has only two seniors in 5-4 guard Courtney Ed-wards and 6-1 post Belle Rayner.

The other three players in the 6-man mix to begin the year are 5-3 junior guard Darian Watts, 5-9 point guard Madison Watts, 5-9 post Jessica Nesom and 5-8 freshman Morgan Blades.

Watts, who was an Honorable Men-tion All-Parish player last season, backed up Underwood offensively in averaging seven points, while grab-bing four rebounds a game and dish-ing out 2.5 assists.

“We’re definitely going to run at a little faster pace,” said White. “Press a whole lot and run up and down the court as much as we can. But having said that, we’re still going to do a lot of the same stuff we’ve done in the past, like running a motion offense.”

“You’re not going to replace some-one like Taylin,” said White. “But the girls that have been around her

are super-capable. They’re just going to have to learn to score rather than assisting her like they did in the past. Hopefully, they will be able to step up in those roles.

“One thing is that we’re very long and that’s always good,” said White. “It helps when your point guard is 5-8 or 5-9.

“But our main focal point is our defense,” said White. “We need to get out and pressure people.”

With only two seniors and one junior, the bulk of the remaining roster are sophomores and freshmen. The sophomores are 5-4 guard Larra Hillhouse, 5-8 forward/post Tiffany Stovall, 5-5 guard Grace Wolfe and 6-1 post Rachelle Duffy, while the fresh-men include 5-10 post Zoey Jacob, 5-4 guard Amber Smith and 5-9 guard/forward Lauren Sims.

“They’ve all worked so hard all summer in the weight room and in the gym,” said White. “Of course, as always, our goal is get to state, and I feel this group of girls have the abili-ties to do that.”

FSHS counts on senior leaders to

competePFRENCH SETTLEMENT — As guard oriented as Coach Daniel Martin said French Settlement may be, it speaks well that “my one true post (player)” and premier forward are seniors.

“We’re going to look to them,” Mar-tin said of Triniti Martin (no relation) and Eden Case. “We’re hoping they can lead us.”

Martin has put his faith in good hands given that Case was an All-Parish honorable mention selection last year, and Triniti Martin was instrumental in helping the Lady Lions to a 14-8 overall regular-season record and a state playoff appearance at Red River.

French Settlement lost three seniors


The 2014-15 Doyle High School Lady Tigers basketball team are (front row, from left) Darian Watts, Larra Hillhouse, Courtney Ed-wards, Morgan Blades, Tiffany Stovall, Amber Smith and Grace Wolfe. Standing are Julia Rayner, manager; Madison Watts, Lauran Sims, Rachel Duffy, Belle Rayner, Zoey Jacob, Jessica Nesom and Arlaina Northsworthy, manager.


from that team which suffered a first-round playoff loss, but Martin is more than encouraged by the players he has coming back.

“Expectations?” he said in repeat-ing a question asked of him. “It’s hard to say. We’ve made the playoffs the last few years, and we’d like to get back there and have a first-round game at home.”

From what he’s seen so far, Martin considers that to be a distinct pos-sibility.

“They’ve done a great job in prac-tice of stepping up and leading us,” he said of his two seniors. “Every-one’s worked extremely hard.”

That bodes well for the future, particularly since the Lady Lions also return starting junior point guard Alyssa Wheat. Joining her in the backcourt will be junior swing guard Angel Letulle, another return-ing starter.

As if that’s not enough, Martin said he has a “great athlete” in junior guard Ashton Gill, who can help French Settlement in a variety of ways. Add in younger players such as Emma Austin, who Martin said has “really worked hard,” and the Lady Lions have the potential for growth and improvement.

“This year we’re going to move the basketball,” said Martin of a style of play that is in keeping with the num-ber of talented guards on his roster.

Then again, with so many guards in his lineup, Martin said there will be two major points of emphasis.

“The goal is to cut down on turn-overs and play defense,” he said. “We’re guard oriented, so we’re going to have to work on containing the (opposition’s) post player.”

In competitive District 7-2A, where it finished 5-5 last season, French Settlement may well encounter plenty of players who will tax the Lady Lions’ defensive mettle, if not their offensive attack.

“I don’t think any team is going to be a pushover,” Martin said. “Every game is going to be a tough game.”

That stands to reason given that parish and district rival Doyle reached the state championship game last season. What’s more, Mar-tin said St. Thomas Aquinas of Ham-mond should again feature another strong team.

Martin’s focus is on building his team to the point where it reaches the potential he knows it has.

Martin not only envisions his

younger players quickly maturing once they “get a few high school games behind them,” but he sees a bright future when combining that with the strength of his veteran juniors and two seniors.

Clean slate in Springfield means

new startPSPRINGFIELD — For all the years she’s been at Springfield, it’s as if veteran coach Lisa Thornton will be star-ing over with the Lady Bulldogs this season.

In essence, she will be. Thornton has a team that features no seniors, two juniors and seven freshmen.

“We’re extremely young,” she said.

“We’re just going to focus on getting better. Basically we’ll be learning each other. It’s like developing a whole new program.”

Thornton relishes that prospect after last season in which Springfield lost four seniors from a team that fashioned a 10-19 overall record.

“It’s about want-to and desire,” she said of the qualities she ex-pects to see in her players. “We have players who want to be here.”

Thornton is particularly pleased with her large group of first-year players, who come armed with solid reputations gained from their days engaging in AAU competi-tion. What’s more, Thornton has received plenty of first-hand reports from her players, both past and present.

“It may not be this year,” Thorn-ton said of immediate results from such an untested group, “but they’re going to step up, and it’s knowing what’s in store for the future.”

Thornton remains dedicated to getting the most from her team this season and eliciting the best record possible. To that end, she’s committed to getting maximum effort from junior forward Em-ily Simeon and junior post player Kiarra Westbrooks. Sophomores Bree Saxon, a guard, and Saman-tha Sanders, a forward, gained valuable experience last year and should contribute to the Lady Bull-dogs’ success, Thornton said.

Thornton said both her offensive and defensive modes of attack will be geared to her players’ strengths, although she shied away from re-vealing them so as not to tip off the competition.

“There are going to be quite a few adjustments,” she said. “We’re going to do things we haven’t done in the past, both offensively and defensively.”

While Thornton stopped short of detailing what those changes may be, she offered a hint of Spring


The 2014-15 French Settlement High School Lady Lions basketball team are (front row, from left) Celeste Aime, Candace Ellis, Laurel Smiley, Payton Clouatre, Alyssa Wheat, Dannah Martin and Bailey Karpinski. Standing are Paige Matherne, Angel Letulle, Triniti Martin, Eden Case, Ashton Gill and Emma Austin.


field’s style of play when she said, “We’ll have a bunch of young legs, and we’re going to use that to our advantage.”

Like its district rivals, Spring-field will need all the weapons at its disposal to remain competitive in District 7-2A.

The league’s two other parish teams in Doyle and French Settle-ment promise to provide formi-dable opposition. Doyle reached the state championship game last season, while French Settlement “has a lot of talented athletes,” Thornton said. Throw in St. Thomas Aquinas of Hammond, and the district promises to be as strong as ever. Thornton remains undaunted.

“Probably the first part of the season we’ll be learning each other and how to be successful,” she said. “We’re going to build the girls’ confidence. We have a good group of players and athletes…

“Our No. 1 goal is to make sure we’re doing things the right way and to make sure the program is headed in the right direction. If we do that, we’ll have a successful season.”

GIRLS 8-B

Holden making noises again about

state prospectsPHOLDEN – “I’m beginning to feel that we’re starting to look like we used to look,” said Holden head coach Pam Forbes.

And if that’s the case, Class B opponents had better take notice.

You can hear the excitement and rejuvenated enthusiasm in Forbes’ voice, as she and husband Craig begin their second come-back season after being away from their “family on the court” to raise their own family at home.

The Forbes’ initial season back last year was little more than just getting reacquainted, as the Lady Rockets won their district and finished 22-8 overall. Yet Holden, which had many close and hard-fought games with Fairview over the past couple of decades, couldn’t stay with them in the second round of the playoffs, as the Lady Rockets fell 98-29.

Lacassine was another one of those high-caliber teams which defeated Holden 70-40 last season.

But if there’s any indication that the Lady Rockets have come a long way from a year ago, it was the 50-46 win over Lacassine on its home court in the first week of

this season.“Last year, we started teaching

them what we wanted from them as coaches,” said Pam Forbes. “This year, I’ve already seen a lot more confidence in them.

“And our goals are definitely different,” said Forbes. “Last year, we just wanted to get people excited about Holden girls basket-ball again. Get people back in the gym believing in us. This year, I feel like we have lots of opportuni-ties to have success.”

Holden lost just two seniors off last year’s team, All-Parish hon-orable mention Haley Johnson, who averaged 10 points and eight rebounds, and teammate Deryn Hill.

The Lady Rockets are still very young with just one senior on this year’s squad, 5-10 post Holli Bankston, who is playing in only her second-ever basketball sea-son.

DAVID NORMAND

|THE NEWS

The 2014-15 Springfield High School Lady Bulldogs basketball team are (front row, from left) Casie Mullins, Caitlin Holder, Bree Saxon, Keely Delatte, Jerrika Claiborne and Halee Morris. Standing are Jaila Golden, Alana Chandler, Anna Adams, Kiarra Westbrooks, Emily Simeon, Samantha Sanders and Sarah Simeon.


DAVID NORMAND |

THE NEWS

The 2014-15 Holden High School Lady Rockets girls basketball team are (front row, from left) team manag-ers, Emma Hutchinson, Jaycee Hughes and Emily Wilson. Middle row are Kelsey Overland, Sydney Hayden, Holi Bankston, Kassie Cox, Montori Weber and Brooke Thompson. Standing are Alyssa Sykes, Shelby Forbes, Taylor Forbes, Amanda Fekete, Kaylee Hughes, Kaitlyn Kro-pog, Victoria Richardson and Anna Bankston.

Bankston will be joined in the starting lineup by 5-9 junior for-ward Sydney Hayden, 5-4 sopho-more guard Montori Weber and pair of freshmen, 5-9 guard Kaylee Hughes and 5-8 post Amanda Fekete.

“We’re definitely going to miss Hayley (Johnson), said Forbes. “She really gave us the stability we needed last year. Now we’re go-ing to look to Holli for a lot of that leadership, especially that leader-ship we need off the f loor. I think she will be a big asset to us there.”

Five more capable players will be ready to assist in 5-5 junior guard Kassie Cox, 5-6 junior

forward Kelsey Overland, 5-6 sophomore guard Brooke Thomp-son and two more freshmen in 5-6 forward Victoria Richardson and 5-4 guard Kaitlyn Kropog. Richardson could miss up to two months with an injured ankle.

The remaining members of the varsity roster are four eighth-graders, 5-7 Anna Davidson, 5-7 Alyssa Sykes and two-thirds of the Forbes’ triplets, 5-11 Taylor Forbes and 5-6 Shelby Forbes.

“We’re going to run our man-to-man full-court, but we’ll also run motion offense when we can,” said Forbes. “We believe in it and I feel the team really believes in it.

“And we’ve really worked hard on our outside shooting, and the girls have worked a lot on that on their own,” said Forbes. “We’ve al-ways been an inside-outside team, but I feel like we’re a little quicker now from the outside. We don’t have big size, but once we get into Class B competition, I feel like we match-up real well with those teams that we will be playing.”

Although Forbes is hoping her team will make some big noise this year in Class B, she’s also looking forward to putting a more competitive team on the f loor against the elite parish competi-tion.

Maurepas works on defense to complement O P

MAUREPAS — Coach Brittany Lauzervich knows what the Lady Wolves must do if they are to repay Holden for their only District 8-B losses last season.

“Of course Holden is always the big competition for us,” Lauzervich said of Maurepas’ parish rival.



The 2014-15 Maurepas High School Lady Wolves basketball team are (front row, from left) Hannah Gautreau, Brallie Gautreau, Lacy Loupe, Katie Lanoux, Adellia Motichek, Kiah Barthelemy, Braqelle Picou and Laigen Loupe. Standing are Hannah Delatte, Keegan Marchand, KK Vicknair, Morgan Leblanc, Alex Mire, Mckenna Lessard, Sarah Crawford and Madison Picou.

“We’re looking to be able to com-pete against them a little better. If we’re going to do that, we have to improve our defense.”

Saying it is one thing. Putting it into practice is another. And that’s the crux of the matter for Maurepas. Blessed with offensive firepower and the return of four starters from last year’s team that reached the state playoffs, Lauzer-vich said the Lady Wolves must expand their defensive repertoire.

“Last year we played mostly zone,” Lauzervich said. “We were limited in what we did. This year I’d like to play more man-to-man. The defense needs a little work.”

Then again, Maurepas has an offense than can work over most

any opposing defense. Much of that is thanks to junior guard/for-ward Lacy Loupe, an All-Parish honorable mention selection last season when she averaged nearly 20 points per game.

“We look for her to get our of-fense going,” Lauzervich said. “She’s our go-to-girl on offense.”

Junior center Kiah Barthelemey has the wherewithal to supple-ment Loupe’s production. “She’s a good scorer,” Lauzervich said of Barthelemey.

The other two returning starters in senior guard Adellia Motichek and Brailie Gautreau give Mau-repas the defensive capability that Lauzervich wants from all her players.

“She’s definitely my best defen-sive player,” Lauzervich said of Motichek. As for Gautreau, Lau-zervich said, “She’s a defensive player. She sees the f loor well.”

Given that Maurepas lost only one senior from last year’s team which finished 10-16 overall, in-cluding 3-3 in district, “We should be pretty successful,” Lauzervich said. “We’re pretty well bal-anced.”

Despite the defensive concerns, Lauzervich said, “As we grow, I hope we can get more confident.”

With a veteran team such as she has, Lauzervich said she also hopes the Lady Wolves can be-come coaches on the court.

“The thing this year is that

I’m hoping they can coach them-selves,” she said. “I’m hoping they can recognize situations and make changes without me telling them.”

Maurepas knows only too well what to expect from Holden. Cen-terville also is a concern, Lauzer-vich said.

If Maurepas can increase its defensive pressure, getting past Holden is a possibility, as is win-ning a first-round playoff game. The Lady Wolves lost to Weston in the first round last season.

“The offense is good,” Lauzerv-ich said. “We get movement, and we’re able to transition.”

Now the defense needs to follow suit.


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Young Live - TownNewsbloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/livingstonparishnews.com/c… · the Eagles are going to be less than entertaining. “We’re going to have a young team,”