Written by Kyle Valdez For the eighth time in 4 years, the hyped-up matchup of Warren Easton and Edna Karr took place. Similar to the previous 8 games, Karr reigned supreme as they used a big first half to drown the Eagles in the Class 4A semifinals. The 35-13 victory at Harold Memtsas Stadium sets up No. 2 Karr to face No. 1 Carencro for the state championship. Karr, the four-time defending state champions, fell down 7-6 in the first quarter, but found a rhythm and took a 28-7 lead into halftime. Quarterback AJ Samuel threw for 275 yards and three touchdowns on 17-25 passing. The sophomore also rushed for a 2-yard touchdown run. Destyn Hill finished with four receptions and an early touchdown grab for 109 yards. Although Easton's offense was contained, Texas signed receiver Casey Cain reeled in nine catches for 149 yards and Alfred Luke caught 5 passes for 99 yards. Sophomore quarterback Kendrick Connelly threw 23-49 for 291 yards. Easton found the scoreboard with a 57-yard screen pass from Connelly to Alfred Luke for a touchdown. The touchdown reception gave Easton their first (and only) lead of the night at 7-6 with 6:46 left in the first score. From that point forward, Karr dominated every aspect of the game. The Cougars reeled off 29 consecutive points to punch their ticket to Natchitoches. Touchdown receptions of 34 yards to August Banks and 14 yards to Collin Lampkin, as well as a quarterback keeper, headlined a productive second quarter. Before the half, Karr's defense came up with clutch fourth-down stops. On one of the plays, from the 2-yard line, officials came together to rule Easton short of breaking the end zone plane for a turnover on downs. Despite Karr convincingly handling business, the Cougars were without playmaker - and newly LSU committed - Aaron Anderson due to a first-half personal foul where he supposedly threw a punch after an exchange with an Easton player. The top side of the bracket showcased No. 1 seed Carencro dominating No. 4 Neville 49-7 and No. 8 Plaquemine 81-14. Karr's quest for five straight state championships will be on the line once again on Dec. 29 at Northwestern State. For the full highlights from the game, click the link below!!
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Written by Kyle Valdez The Catholic High Bears outscored the Brother Martin Crusaders 49-31 in the Division 1 semifinals at Tad Gormley Stadium Friday. The win advances Catholic to their fourth straight title game. Shelton Sampson led the Bears with 6 receptions, 3 touchdowns and 168 yards. George Hart rushed for 128 yards on 16 carries, while Jackson Guest ran for 98 yards on 13 carries. Quarterback Daniel Beale threw 9-16 for 143 yards and 3 touchdown passes. Brother Martin's Austin Jackson broke loose for 195 yards and 3 touchdowns on 6 receptions. Quarterback Garrett Mmahat threw for 314 yards on 14-21 passing. On the first play of the second quarter, running back Hart hit Sampson for a 56-yard trick-play touchdown to give Catholic a 21-3 lead. With their backs on the wall and the season on the line, Brother Martin displayed lots of grit and mental toughness for the remainder of the first half: the Crusaders reeled off 21 consecutive points to take a 24-21 lead with 1 minute to go in the second quarter. Austin Jackson scored two of the touchdowns in that span. One from 72 yards out and the other from 16 yards. Catholic would score a crucial touchdown before the half when Sampson came down with a 43-yard jump ball in the end zone. Catholic took a 28-24 lead into halftime. "The jump ball to Sampson was a sprint out play where we felt like we could get him singled up because of some of the routes and where the safeties were," Catholic head coach Gabriel Fertitta said. "I think they had some trouble guarding him all game. He's such a big, dominant force there." The second half of the action was all Catholic. Austin Jackson showed off some speed in the open field to score a 71-yard touchdown to give the Crusader's their final lead of the game at 31-28. However, from that point on, Catholic would reel off 21 straight to seal the deal. Catholic put together two touchdown drives, to go along with a pick-six score for Connor Stewart to finish out the fourth quarter. The final score was 49-31. Brother Martin, the No. 1 seed, suffered their first loss this season to finish at 8-1. Catholic improved to 8-2 and will play No. 3 C.E. Byrd in two weeks at Northwestern St. in Natchitoches. Byrd, who's turned some heads over the past two weeks, beat St. Augustine 31-14 and John Curtis 14-13 to make a state final appearance. For full highlights & interviews click the link below!! Written by Kyle Valdez The Scotlandville Hornets and G.W. Carver Rams squared off at Loyola Saturday as part of the HoopFest's Big Time Classic. Carver won 49-39 to hand Scotlandville their first in-state loss since last December against Bossier. Dorian Finister led the Rams with 15 points, 10 rebounds and 5 blocks. Solomon Washington looked impressive; he scored 9 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and had several big-time blocks in the second half. Fredrick Price added 11 points. The first quarter of action was slow for both teams as each team missed a lot of good looks. Washington picked up 2 early fouls: forcing him to sit until the second quarter. Deion Ware finished two shots around the rim to give Carver a 10-8 advantage after the first quarter. The second quarter was back-and-forth with each team scoring 14 points in the frame. Both teams were in the bonus, but couldn't capitalize from the stripe. The score at halftime was 22-20. Carver separated themselves in the second half by outscoring Scotlandville 12-7 in the third quarter and taking multiple double-digit leads throughout. Finister blocked multiple flip shots around the rim and made the right passes in transition to hurt any chance of a Scotlandville comeback. Carver pulled away even more with the interior defense from Finister and Washington blocking shots and forcing missed layups. Carver put an exclamation mark to conclude the fourth quarter with big dunks from Washington and Finister. Emareyon McDonald scored a team-high 12 points for Scotlandville, while Rayvon Smith added 9 points. "We're a program that's trying to keep building," Carver head coach Nate Roche said. "It's all about establishing a healthy culture. It's a good win for the program; we want to keep moving forward and working to get better." Carver, who recently completed 14 days of quarantining, brought their record to 7-0 on the season. Coming off a Class 4A semifinals trip last season, the Rams appear to prove themselves as one of the best teams in 4A yet again. "It feels great because we were missing it," Finister said. "Fourteen days is a lot for a basketball player. Just to get out here feels good; we know we still got it. Scotlandville is a great team. I'm glad me and my team fought, and we knew what to do." East St. John Holds Off Ehret To Advance To The Quarterfinals For The First Time Since 200612/10/2020 East St. John came into the game as the No. 18 seed in Class 5A & advanced to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2006. Ehret entered the game as the No. 2 seed & unbeaten until running into East St. John. On the opening kickoff, the Wildcats muffed the return giving the Patriots the ball at the Wildcats’ 32 yard line. A few plays later Royal Falgout would score a 5 yard touchdown to give the Patriots a 7-0 lead with less than three minutes into the game. The Wildcats would answer back with a 23 yard pass from Marcus Jackson to Kylon Harris on a post route to tie the game at 7-7 in the second quarter. Jackson would take matters into his own hands on a 10-yard keeper to give the Wildcats a 13-7 lead with 6:15 left in the second quarter. On the first play of the second half, Andrew Jones turned on the burners for 64 yard touchdown to give Ehret a 14-13 lead. Ehret extended the lead to 17-13 on a 27 yard field goal from Oscar Avalos with 11:06 left in the game, setting up a classic finish for the Wildcats. Jackie Marshall *Baylor commit*, ran for 33 yards while breaking a few tackles & dishing out a nasty stiff arm knocking the Ehret defender to the ground & getting to the Patriots’ 20 yard line. On third & 2, Cortez Fisher showed excellent vision to score from 11 yards out. The two point conversion attempt failed, leaving the Wildcats with a 19-17 lead with 1:28 left in the game. Marcus Jackson, who is also the team’s kicker, converted a perfect sky kick toward the East St. John sideline. Travis Turner raced down and fell on the ball sealing the game for the Wildcats. For full highlights & interviews from the game click the link below!! The Hahnville Tigers came into the game 7-0 with key wins over McMain, East Ascension, & Helen Cox. Their biggest test thus far came on last Saturday versus one of the best basketball programs in the state regardless of class at the Big Time Classic held at Loyola University. The Chargers led 20-16 after the first quarter led by Denziel Perkins’s 8 points. The Tigers made their run in the second quarter & led at one point but the Chargers went into the half up 37-36 after a big quarter by stud freshman Jayce Depron, he had 7 points in the quarter. Both teams were tied at 47 at the end of the third after Claudell Harris made some big shots throughout the quarter for the Tigers. The Chargers would hold on to win 58-54 led by Denziel Perkins & Jaylen Williams who finished with 14 points a piece. The Tigers were led by Claudell Harris with 14 points & Kaden Pierre finished with 12 points. To checkout the highlights and interviews click the link below!! Written by Kyle Valdez McMain High and North Central squared off on the second day of the Hoopfest Tour's FestGiving New Orleans. Derrick Tezeno of North Central led all scorers with 22 points, but a big second quarter from McMain was the difference-maker as they ran away with a 67-50 victory. McMain's Taj Gilyot led the team with a game-high 16 points on three 3-pointers, while Alex Hammond scored 15 points and Nicholas Kaigler added 10. Despite a slow start for both teams, Tezeno found a rhythm in the first quarter. He knocked down a corner fadeaway and a 3-pointer to propel a 7-0 spurt to give North Central a 15-10 edge after the first quarter. McMain took a 5-point lead midway through the second quarter, but turnovers gave way for North Central to cut the lead to 21-19 with 3 minutes to go. Numerous loose ball recoveries, offensive rebounds, and steals resulted in an 8-2 run in favor of McMain to close the half. Gilyot was most effective in that time: scoring 10 points on two 3-pointers and getting to the free-throw line. North Central was outscored 19-6 in the quarter. "We're so big on Taj Gilyot," McMain head coach Steve Kelly said. "It's like, 'you've been playing basketball at McMain High School since the 8th Grade. You've been starting. You don't need to take a back seat to anybody anymore. This is your team and we're going to go as long as you go.'" A good start to the second half gave North Central hope, but an 8-0 run from McMain was the nail in the coffin. From that point forward, McMain only expanded their lead. Their lead grew to 14 points after the third quarter. The final score was 67-50. "As a staff, we instill in our kids that every day you come to the gym, you have to be better," Kelly said. "If you're not going to be better, don't come to the gym at all. Don't waste your time. Don't waste our time. The kids are really starting to buy in." 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