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For the second week in a row the Thibodaux Tigers faced a team from their own district playing Terrebonne in the first round & now Hahnville in the second round. Thibodaux came into the playoffs as the #1 seed in 5A, but had to go on the road Tuesday night against the #17 seed who they’ve beaten twice this season. This second round playoff matchup was suppose to be a road game for Thibodaux, but it sure didn’t seem that way. Thibodaux started the game off on a 11-4 run, but Hahnville would sustain it by only being down 35-31 at the half. Hahnville would out score Thibodaux 22-12 in the third giving them a 52-47 lead going into the fourth quarter. Hahnville guards Dylan Lorio & Tyren Lebeauf would hit two jumpers in a row to put their team up 56-47 with 6:58 left to play in the game. Thibodaux head coach Tony Clark would call a timeout & go to a full court man to man press that looked to be the reason that save their season. The Thibodaux guards created havoc with their pressure that led to some critical turnovers down the stretch for Hahnville. Thibodaux trailed 66-65 with 27 seconds left in the game & senior Kobi Johnson would go the length of the floor to score the go ahead bucket putting his team up 67-66. Hahnville junior Dylan Lorio would go the length of the floor & try to return the favor, but couldn’t convert. Thibodaux sophomore Rashad Winslow then stepped to the line hitting his first free throw, but missed the second & got the rebound only to score to give his team a 70-66 lead with 7 seconds left to go in the game. Thibodaux would prevail winning 70-68 to advance to the quarterfinals. Senior Marvin Robertson would be clutch down the stretch hitting some key free throws late in the fourth & going 13-15 from the line for the game. Robertson led all scorers with 17 points & Rashad Winslow poured in 16 points to go with 9 rebounds for Thibodaux. Briceson Harrell led Hahnville with 12 points. Thibodaux will take on Natchitoches-Central at home Friday night at 6:30 for a bid to get to the top 28 in Lake Charles. 
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Tuesday, Edna Karr cornerback Jamie Vance announced via Twitter that he has committed to the University of Arkansas.
The 3 star cornerback has been hot on the recruiting trail over the last few weeks pouring in offers from Mississippi St, Virginia, Arizona St, Houston, Memphis, Kansas, & many more. Arkansas got an edge on the competition when they offered Vance way back November 2nd after watching him in person against district rival Warren Easton. The Arkansas coaching staff lands their fourth defensive back from New Orleans over the last three years with Joe Foucha, Gregory Brooks, & Devin Bush. “Devin, Joe, & Greg already being up there made me feel real comfortable because we all know each other pretty good,” Vance said. “I think we can do something special & take over the SEC.” Vance impressed in his first year of varsity action after having to sit out his sophomore year because of a transfer rule. With only one year of experience you have to think the upside for this kid is tremendous going forward. “The coaching staff really believe in my abilities,” Vance said. “The plan that they laid out for me when I went on my visit seem like they are building something special & the program will be on track soon.” With Vance only being a junior, you have to think other schools won’t shy away from still recruiting the talented prospect. At LSU’s elite prospect camp last summer Vance had quite a showing. I’m sure LSU defensive back coach Corey Raymond will invite Vance back this summer & monitor him closely throughout the season. “I plan to still camp a lot this summer & show how much I’ve gotten better,” Vance said. “I haven’t decided which camps I’ll be competing at, but I’ll probably figure that out right before summer hits.”  With only two games remaining in the regular season, the Terrebonne Tigers entered this game ranked 34 in the class 5A state power ratings. And with only the top 32 teams qualifying for the playoffs, the Tigers were pretty much in a win or go home scenario vs H.L Bourgeois on Tuesday night. Although the Tigers never trailed in the game, the Braves was able to make a late run cutting the lead to 58-56 with just under a minute in the fourth quarter. But senior Taihgan Poindexter was able to knock down two critical free throws for the Tigers to put the final nail in the coffin for a 60-56 final score. Poindexter finished the game with 14 points with 10 of those points coming in the second half. Senior T.J Ruffin was terrific once again leading the Tigers with 15 points, 9 rebounds, & 3 steals. Also, junior Ja’Khi Douglas finished with 14 points & 6 assists to help the Tigers keep their playoff hopes alive. The H.L Bourgeois Braves came into the game ranked 30 in the class 5A state power rankings. And dropping a loss to arch rival Terrebonne could put the Braves in a win or go home Friday night versus Hahnville on the road. The Braves were out of sink much of the night & missing some critical free throws late in the fourth could maybe cost them a chance to make the playoffs when it’s all said & done. Junior Deondre Buggage led the Braves with 14 & 4 assists, while Julian Woods chipped in 10 points & 7 rebounds on the night.  With such a young team, many people expected this to be a down year for the Ellender Patriots. Head coach Cornell Scott has his team sitting at 23-7 with a 4-0 record in district. Scott has been starting four freshman & one senior most of the season making them one of the youngest teams in the state. It’s not hard to tell how talented this young Patriots team is & they seem to be hitting on all cylinders at the right time. On Friday the Patriots steam rolled past Morgan City on the road 58-40 & pretty much wrapped up the district title. Frank Robinson led the Patriots with 13 points & 9 rebounds. On Tuesday the Patriots came from 14 points down to beat a tough Assumption team 90-82. Sophomore Tyshaun Hester was stellar for the Patriots knocking down six threes to go with his 23 points & 3 steals on the night. Hester scored 14 of his 23 points in the second half which led to the Patriots out scoring the Mustangs 30-11 in the third quarter. The Patriots had four other players in double figures besides Hester (Frank Robinson 14 points, Preston Bourda 11 points, Darrius Lucas 12 points, Dionjahe Thomas 10 points). Sophomore Jaden Tyler led all scorers with 35 points for Assumption. Tyler was very impressive all night displaying a bevy of different ways to score the ball. This talented sophomore is somebody to keep an eye on the rest of the season & in the summer for AAU. 
Ahmonte Watkins recruitment has finally taken off & with good reason. Last Thursday Watkins received an offer from the Virginia staff giving the talented athlete from Riverside his first of many. Watkins is coming off of a stellar sophomore season where he played on both sides of the ball. At safety Watkins finished the year with 5 interceptions with two of them going back for touchdowns. At running back the kid finished with 556 yards rushing & 5 touchdowns on just 32 carries for the year. “I’m very blessed to get my first offer as a sophomore,” Watkins said. “The fact that the Virginia coaching staff was the first school to believe in me means a lot & I plan on building a relationship with them going forward.”
Watkins will be a hot commodity soon enough & when you turn on his film you’ll see why. It’s no doubt that this talented sophomore is probably the best athlete in the state for the 2021 class. Watkins is a 3 sport athlete (football, baseball, track) & was clocked at 10.4 in the 100 meter as a freshman last year & many believe he has a real chance to get under a 10 flat by his senior year. Last year as a freshman he was also clocked at a 21.5 in the 200 meter & when you see him on the football field it’s clear that this kid had world class track speed. Ahmonte’s father (Cornell Watkins) was also a track star in high school at East St. John & then earned a scholarship to Southeastern University where he starred at. Many big schools are monitoring Watkins closely at the moment & don’t be surprised if you see him pile up many more offers before the start of his junior year. Miami, Colorado, Houston, Louisiana Tech, ULL, & Tulane are some schools that could pull the trigger on Watkins sooner than later. “Alabama is my dream school but I just want to find a school that I can play both football & track to go with a good academic program,” Watkins said.  The Thibodaux Tigers got all they could handle Friday night on the road against district rival Terrebonne. Terrebonne senior T.J Ruffin ignited his team early in the first quarter with a nice put back dunk that got the Terrebonne fans rowdy early on senior night. Terrebonne also got a big lift from junior Ja’Khi Douglas who scored 8 of his team’s 18 points in the first quarter. Thibodaux would trail much of the game until about a little under two minutes in the third quarter when they finally took the lead 49-47. The number one team in 5A wouldn’t look back after that to hold on to win 69-62. It was very impressive to see this Thibodaux team find a way to win on the road once again in a hostile environment against a hungry Terrebonne team. Thibodaux senior Marvin Robertson showed why he is one of the better players in the district finishing with a game high 24 points & 5 assists. Robertson knocked down some timely buckets in the third quarter to help Thibodaux get their first lead of the game. 14 of Robertson’s 24 points came in the second half. Sophomore Rashod Winslow continues to show up in big games for the Thibodaux Tigers finishing the game with 21 points & 16 rebounds. Winslow was a monster on the boards & it was the difference in the end for Thibodaux. The Thibodaux Tigers improve to 24-2 & can wrap up the district title on Tuesday night versus Hahnville at home. Junior Ja’Khi Douglas led Terrebonne with 19 points & senior T.J Ruffin finished with 18 points to go with 11 rebounds.   The Thibodaux Tigers continue to take care of business & are trying to remain a lock for the #1 seed going into the playoffs. The Tigers have been nothing short of impressive all season with the hopes of getting to the top 28 in Lake Charles. The talented Thibodaux team beat Destrehan 59-52 with senior Marvin Robertson & sophomore Rashod Winslow leading them in scoring with 18 points a piece. The Tigers was on upset alert this past Friday versus arch rival H.L Bourgeois, but Tony Clark’s team found a way to win 59-48 on the road in front of a packed house. Sophomore Rashod Winslow continues to emerge as one of the better prospects in the Tri-Parish area finishing the game with 18 points, 16 rebounds, 4 blocks, & 4 steals. Winslow has been a matchup nightmare all season for opposing teams because of his ability to score on the perimeter & in the paint. The talented sophomore is somebody to keep an eye on for the next two years. Senior Marvin Robertson was terrific for the Tigers in this game as well finishing with 14 points, 6 rebounds, & 5 assists. Thibodaux is tough & very feisty on defense, which disrupts a lot of teams when they are trying to get into their offense. They also can get buckets from a number of different players & they shoot very well beyond the arc. It’s no doubt this team has what it takes to make a run at Lake Charles especially with opposing teams having to come their home “The Jungle”. People that have been to “The Jungle” for a basketball game know that it’s an atmosphere like no other. H.L Bourgeois junior Deondre Buggage led his team with 18 points & 5 assists in a losing effort.  Head Coach Jeff Jones will tell you he didn’t come into this game seeking revenge after losing to Rayville 57-48 on the road last week. But I’m willing to bet his players was looking forward to getting another shot to take down the defending 2A state champions on their home floor. The Chargers won 70-60 in front of a packed gym to improve their record to 21-7 on the season. Senior Jahein Spencer *UAB Signee* was big time once again for the Chargers leading all scorers with 30 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, & 4 steals. Spencer has shown time & time again that he is arguably the best two way player in the state. His ability to score effectively as he does & guard the best player on the opposing team at a high level is a major reason why the Chargers have won a lot of big games this season. Spencer’s 6-4 215 pound frame is what sets him apart from the rest & he makes sure that imposes his will night in & night out. Junior Jordan Johnson was big time for the Chargers as well finishing the game with 13 points, 12 rebounds, & two electrifying dunks that sent the crowd into a frenzy. This was the first game back in two weeks for the 6-7 Johnson after injuring his wrist. Rayville senior Mylik Wilson *ULL Signee* led his team in scoring with 23 points. Wilson made a number of clutch plays for the Hornets throughout the game but it wasn’t enough on the road in a hostile environment. Wilson was the only Hornet in double figures for the game.  Walker junior Jalen Cook put on a heroic performance against with many believe the best team in the state regardless of class Scotlandville. Cook scored a game high 38 points with 23 of those points coming in the second half. Scotlandville came into the game 28-1 & hadn’t lost a game on their home floor since 2011. The Wildcats have been pretty up & down all year coming into the game 19-9, but this type of a win against a really good program like Scotlandville can ignite their season. A lot is to be said about Cook’s 38 points, 8 assists, 6 rebounds, & 4 steals but what was really impressive was his defensive play against one of the best players in the state Reece Beekman. The Hornets junior was held to just 17 points on the night & Cook made things extremely tough on him for four quarters. Beekman’s teammate Carvell Teasett took up the slack finishing with 26 points that included five three pointers. Teasett has shown all season that he is capable of filling up the stat sheet when called upon. The Wildcats also got a big game from sophomore Brian Thomas who finished with 18 points & 11 rebounds. This is the time of year when every team wants to start hitting their stride & what a better way to start that with a win on the road against the defending state champions. Many believe 5A is very wide open this year so don’t be surprised to see Walker in the mix to win it all come March. And when you have a stud like Jalen Cook, I think it’s safe to say he has shown he can put a team on his back & get it done against the best of the best. |
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
March 2019
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