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 The Thibodaux Tigers is one of the hottest teams in the state regardless of class. The Tigers came into the game with a record of 18-2 & ranked #1 in 5A but, head coach Tony Clark seems to not be falling into all of the hype his team has been getting as they came away with an impressive 81-69 road win over arch rival Ellender. Junior wing J’Mari Carter ignited the Tigers in the first half with four three pointers & some big defensive plays giving his team a 45-34 lead at the half. Carter led all scorers in the game 21 points, 11 rebounds, 3 steals, & 2 blocks. The Tigers got contributions from eight different players that scored in the game with four of those players scoring in double figures. Rashod Robinson finished with 16 points & Marvin Robertson added 14 points on the night. Senior guard Kobi Johnson led the Tigers with 6 assists & scored 9 of his 11 points in the second half to help his team pull away down the stretch. Ellender 6-7 freshman Dionjahe Thomas led his team with 18 points & 11 rebounds. Thomas showed his ability to score from inside & outside which made him a mismatch all night for Thibodaux. This young Ellender team was impressive even in a loss & I think it’s safe to say this group will be something to behold in the coming years. Four of the Patriots leading scorers are freshman, which has to make head coach Cornell Scott very optimistic heading into district. The Patriots fell to 18-7 & will host Terrebonne Saturday night. 
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 Madison Prep was able to hold off the defending 5A champions in a nail biter 64-60. The Chargers trailed Walker 17-10 after the first quarter, but would find their groove in the second quarter taking the lead going into halftime 28-17. Elijah Tate & Jahein Spencer was terrific in the second half for Madison Prep coming up with some key defensive plays & timely buckets that ultimately was the difference in the game. Tate led the Chargers with 15 points & Spencer added 14 points for the game. Walker point guard Jalen Cook was big time leading all scorers with 26 points, 6 assists, & 3 steals. Teammate Brian Thomas was the only other player in double figures finishing the game with 22 points.  Louisiana had five prospects that was selected to compete in this year’s Under Armour All-American game. It would have been six if Destrehan’s John Emery wouldn’t have pulled out because of an injury. This 2019 class for Louisiana is one of most talented in recent years. The #1 defensive tackle in country Ishmael Sopsher has been a topic all week in Orlando. Many of the coaches here have been raving about Sopsher’s ability & that he has a great chance to be a first round pick one day. The Amite prospect is a few weeks away from making his decision on where he’ll spend his next three to four years. It’s evident that one of Sopsher’s priority is to play college football with his older brother Rodney Sopsher who attends Southwest Junior College in Mississippi. LSU & Texas A&M are the only two schools that have offered the older brother Rodney Sopsher at the moment. LSU defensive line coach Dennis Johnson & coach Orgeron’s relationship with Sopsher is key here. They’ve done a good job building a relationship with Sopsher’s parents as well over the last year or so. I’d be a little surprised if LSU doesn’t land the 5-star prospect, but I wouldn’t all the way rule out Jimbo Fisher at A&M until he actually signs on the dotted line. Amite 4-star athlete Devonta Lee is another highly touted prospect that remains unsigned. Coach Orgeron has stated on many occasions that they were only taking two receivers in the 2019 class & Lee was a priority for this class. Kentwood’s Trey Palmer already signed his national letter of intent in December, which only leaves one spot left in this class. Lee took an official visit to Kentucky last month with his high school teammate Amani Gilmore who has already signed with Wildcats. The Kentucky visit went way better than expected & Lee is very intrigued with the direction of the program along with the possibility of catching passes from his high school quarterback in college. Playing both ways is another factor that could sway Lee as well. He has stated on a number of occasions that he wants to play receiver & safety on the next level. It’s no doubt in my mind that the 4-star athlete can be an elite player on either side of the ball. Jimbo Fisher & his staff have been doing everything in their power to get Lee to College Station the next three to four years. I’d like to think that Texas A&M has a better shot to land Lee than most people think. These next few weeks is pivotal for LSU to make sure Lee doesn’t get out of the state with his official visit coming in the next few weeks. John Ehret 4-star linebacker Donte’ Starks has looked terrific all week during the practices showing why he’s one of the best linebackers in the country. Starks signed his national letter of intent to LSU during the early signing period. Many of the LSU coaching staff believe Starks will be the next Devin White & when you watch this kid play you’ll see why. Bryton Constantin signed his national letter of intent to Clemson & he’s expressed how excited he is to go play under defensive coordinator Brent Venables. The talented prospect from University High has displayed his athletic ability & high football IQ throughout the practices all week. Constantin will be used a variety of different ways at Clemson, because of his versatility & athletic ability. Cornerback Jordan Clark (Son of former NFL Safety Ryan Clark) from University High rounds out the Louisiana kids participating this week for the Under Armour game. Clark is arguably the most technically sound cornerback in Orlando this week. The 4-star cornerback infectious personality & football mind has rubbed off on many of the players this week indeed. Clark will be competing in the PAC-12 at Arizona St. under head coach Herm Edwards.  H.L Bourgeois found a way to win after being down nine points with just under four minutes left in the fourth versus a tough New Iberia team. Senior Sean Warren hit the game winning layup after guard Damon Watkins penetrated & found him for the easy basket as time expired. The Braves got some timely three pointers for the junior guard Deondre Buggage in the fourth to help his team overcome a nine point deficit. Buggage was double teamed & face guarded all night by New Iberia which led to big games from Sean Warren & Damon Watkins. Warren led all scorers with 15 points, Deondre Buggage finished with 14 points & 8 assists while Damon Watkins added 12 points for the Braves. Senior guard Jake Lovette led New Iberia in scoring with 14 points & Jake Latula added 13 points in the loss.   Sophie B. Wright trailed most of the game, but found a way to pull out a 85-84 victory in overtime over last year’s 5A state runner up Landry Walker. Landry Walker was without their stud point guard Dywan Griffin, who was on an official visit to the University of Texas-San Antonio for football. Even without Griffin the Charging Bucs gave Wright all they could handle. Wright point guard Dandrick Green was big time finishing with 22 points & hit the game winning shot in overtime as time expired to give his team the win. Senior Damiree Burns led his team with 24 points & Charlie Russell poured in 18 points in the win. Landry Walker guard Shadon Green put his team on his back much of the game finishing with 29 points. 20 of Green’s points came in the first half which led to the fast start by the Charging Bucs. Be on the lookout for these two programs to face off again January 18 which should be one of the biggest games of the year on both team’s schedule.  Arguably the two best teams in 3A squared off in the championship of the Rumble on the River Tournament with Madison Prep beating Sophie B. Wright 65-46. Sophie B. Wright started the game off hitting on all cylinders leading the Chargers 14-7 at the end of the first quarter. The UAB commit Jahein Spencer made his presence felt scoring 9 points in the second quarter to help the Chargers go on a 16-7 run to go into halftime up 23-21. The Chargers would turn it up another notch in the second half led by guard Denzeil Perkins who led his team in scoring with 19 points & 12 of those points coming in the second half. Sophie B. Wright highly touted wing Charlie Russell was sidelined with a injury & so was Madison Prep starting wing Jason Perry. Sophie B. Wright looked very impressive throughout the tournament & showed why they have a legitimate shot to hold up that trophy come March. Everybody knows about the big three (Damiree Burns, Greg Hammond, Charlie Russell), but the play of Dandrick Green thus far this season is what has made this Sophie B. Wright team more of a threat than last year’s team. This Madison Prep team is very talented but they’re young & inexperienced. One thing we know about a Jeff Jones coached team is his teams are always built on toughness. I think the play of talented junior Elijah Tate & freshman Percy Daniels will be the key to this team’s success when they make their run come playoff time. All in all I think it’s safe to say we’ll see these two programs again come March in Lake Charles for the top 28.  This was one of the most highly anticipated state championship matchups in recent memory. In Week 10 Edna Karr beat Warren Easton 21-20 after stopping quarterback Lance Legendre on the one yard line when trying to convert a two point conversion. Saturday’s state championship matchup between the two arch rivals lived up to the hype with Edna Karr squeezing out yet another tough win 28-20. Warren Easton came out with guns blazing after Lance Legendre scored touchdowns on runs of 25 & 66 putting the Eagles up 12-0 in the first quarter. Karr would score 14 unanswered points with touchdowns by Jahii Howard & Ahmad Antoine to go into halftime up 14-12. Edna Karr quarterback Leonard Kelly was big time in the second half converting on some timely third & fourth down plays to wide receiver Jahii Howard that led to the Cougars offense scoring two more touchdowns in the second half. Howard was named MVP of the state championship & with good reason. The senior wide receiver finished the game with 113 all-purpose yards & 3 touchdowns. Kelly ended the game with 215 yards passing & 1 TD. The Cougars defense accounted for 6 sacks against the talented dual-threat quarterback Lance Legendre. Defensive ends Josh Randall & Jordan Helire used their athleticism all game coming off the edge getting constant pressure on Legendre. The strip fumble by junior linebacker Joe Thomas late in the fourth under two minutes was the nail in the coffin that solidified the Cougars would repeat as state champs for the third year in a row. Warren Easton stud running back Ashaad Clayton finished with a 107 all-purpose yards & quarterback Lance Legendre finished with 141 yards passing (1 TD) & 62 yards rushing (2 TDs).  Florida head coach Dan Mullen visited Terrebonne High School late last week checking in on 4 star prospect Ja’Khi Douglas, but before he left he offered sophomore defensive tackle Maason Smith. The 6-5 280 pound prospect is a rising prospect throughout the state & coach Mullen waisted no time letting Smith know that he has home in Gainesville. Smith expressed how ecstatic he was to get his first SEC offer especially with him being just a sophomore. “It’s huge being that the University of Florida is my dad’s favorite college football team,” Smith said. “He was so happy for me but told me it will be my decision when that time comes.” Smith put himself on the map this past summer after great showings at Ole Miss & LSU camps. Although, he didn’t leave with an offer both coaching staffs were raving about Smith’s performance. “It’s always been a dream to play for LSU since I been a kid,” Smith said. “Both coaching staffs showed me a lot of love at their camps this past summer & I plan on going back to compete at their camps this coming summer.” I think Smith’s recruiting will continue to pick up & a number of schools are on the verge of offering him soon. The University of Virginia has been monitoring Smith all season & the coaching staff loves what they’ve seen from him this year. The Cavalier coaching staff is in Louisiana this week for the state championships & a offer could come Smith’s way by the end of the week. Other schools that are monitoring Smith closely at the moment are Notre Dame, Tennessee, TCU, & Colorado. Smith already hold offers from the University of Louisiana-Lafayette & Southern Miss, which he picked up last summer on the camp circuit. The sophomore d-lineman was selected to compete at the Army All-American camp in January which will be against the best prospects in the nation. Smith can really raise his stock if he has a good showing & tests well at this camp in a few months. “I’m excited to go compete & get better at this camp,” Smith said. “I know a camp like this is going to bring out my competitive nature. I’m looking to work on my speed, my get off, & my hands so hopefully I can learn a whole lot.” This kid is one of the most intriguing prospects in the state because of how well he moves at 6-5 280 pounds. Of course he is still raw, but you can’t help but see the upside in this kid which is why his name is a hot topic among some big time programs.  |
Jeremiah Gray, Owner"GSportz is an independent, integrated sports media outlet that prides itself as a grassroots organization, which covers players, high schools and college sports across the state of Louisiana." Archives
December 2018
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