JOURNAL STAFF

Listed below is the high school basketball schedule for the week beginning today through Saturday, Dec. 3. Games are girls-boys doubleheaders unless noted otherwise.

Today’s games 

Evangel at Ringgold

Woodlawn at Bastrop

Logansport at Byrd, girls

North Caddo at North Webster, girls

Benton at West Monroe, boys

Tuesday’s games 

Airline at Northwood

BTW at Southwood

Woodlawn at Captain Shreve

Gibsland-Coleman at Parkway

Bossier at Ruston

Evangel at Green Oaks

Loyola at Huntington

Plain Dealing at North DeSoto

Byrd at Simsboro, girls

Haughton at Haynesville, girls

North Caddo at Red River, girls

Haughton at North Caddo, boys

Calvary at Magnolia, boys

Thursday’s games

Green Oaks at BTW

Red River at Calvary

Loyola at Union Parish

Friday’s games 

Simsboro at Airline, boys

Magnolia at Bolton, boys

Saturday’s games 

Green Oaks at Richwood, boys

Airline at Texas High (Hoopfest Invitational, Texarkana, Texas), boys

Note: If anyone is hosting a tournament and has a schedule for the games please email the information to lee.hiller51@gmail.com.  Final game scores can be texted to 318-469-3712.

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By LEE HILLER, Journal Sports

Three prep football teams from Caddo Parish were eliminated from the LHSAA playoffs Friday night, leaving no local squads remaining and marking the first time since 2000 no local team will be playing in the state semifinals.

C.E. Byrd was defeated by John Curtis 35-14 and Northwood fell to Brother Martin 28-14 in the Select Division I quarterfinals. Calvary dropped a 50-35 decision to Dunham in Baton Rouge in the Select Division III quarterfinals.

At least one team from either Caddo or Bossier Parish had made it to the semifinals every year going back 2001 when Evangel began a stretch of 12 straight years of making it to within a win from the state title game.   

A quarterfinal loss to St. Augustine in the Class 5A quarterfinals in 2000 by Evangel snapped a seven-year stretch of playing in the semifinals by the Eagles.  

Here is a list of local schools’ trips to the semifinals since 2001 and the classification or Select Division they played in.

2021 – Calvary, Division IV

2020 – Byrd, Div. I; Calvary, Div. IV

2019 – Haughton, Class 5A

2018 – Evangel, Div. I

2017 – Evangel, Div. I

2016 – Evangel, Div. I

2015 – Parkway, 5A; Evangel, Div. I

2014 – Calvary, Div. III

2013 – Parkway, 5A; Byrd, Div. I; Evangel, Div. II; Calvary, Div. III

2012 – Evangel, 2A

2011 – Byrd, 5A; Calvary, Evangel, 2A

2010 – Evangel, 2A

2009 – Evangel 2A

2008 – Calvary, Evangel, 2A

2007 – Benton, 4A; Calvary, Evangel, 2A

2006 – Evangel, 1A

2005 – Benton, 3A; Evangel, 1A

2004 – Evangel 5A

2003 – Evangel 5A

2002 – Evangel 5A

2001 – Evangel 5A

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By JERRY BYRD, Journal Sports

METAIRIE – With just under a minute left in C. E. Byrd’s 35-14 loss to John Curtis in a LHSAA Select Division I quarterfinal playoff game, Yellow Jacket senior linebacker Brooks Brossette read his keys, attacked the line of scrimmage, and made a tackle. 

It was the final play of Brossette’s high school career.

It was a fitting end for Brossette, but not the one he wanted for his team … or for his coaches.

No. 9 trotted to the sideline and hugged the neck of Byrd defensive coordinator Jason Pope, then headed to the bench and found another neck to hug.

“Man, that’s my guy from day one,” an emotional Brossette said of his defensive coordinator. “Since my freshman year, he has been there for me. I look up to him a lot and he expects a lot from me.” 

In his final game, Brossette recorded 21 tackles, 13 unassisted. It gives the linebacker 233 tackles for his career and moves him to No. 2 on the all-time Byrd list behind only Paul Dupee and his 265 tackles.

But football is a team game, and the John Curtis Patriots made plays in all three phases on their way to a 28-7 halftime lead and a dominant win Friday night at Joseph S. Yenni Stadium.

“We had a great week of practice,” Brossette said. “We thought we had a plan to get it done, but it didn’t work out for us tonight.”

On the other sideline, things worked out well for Patriot Marlon Prout, the game’s leading rusher, who scored on the game’s third play – a 42-yard run up the middle of the Jacket defense. 

Prout, who finished with six carries for 120 yards — all in the first half — would add another score with a 39-yard run around left end with 1:27 left in the first half. 

“Prout has done a good job for us all year,” John Curtis head coach J.T. Curtis said. “A couple of those he had some decent blocking. Some of that he did it on his own. He is just that kind of back. When he can perform like that he makes me look good as a play caller – or I should say, Jeff (Curtis, offensive coordinator) as a play caller.”

Byrd could not get a first down on its next possession and the Patriots made the Jackets pay as John Curtis quarterback Dagan Bruno found Michael Turner on a deep post for a 61-yard touchdown pass with :15 remaining in the half.

“Defensively, I told them not to give up the big play,” Byrd head coach Stacy Ballew said when asked about the message to his team at halftime. “Make them drive it. Big plays killed us. You cannot give up big plays, and that’s at any level of ball. Hats off to them. They’re a great team.”

The Jackets’ only score in the first half came on a 4-yard touchdown run by Desmond Simmons, which came on Byrd’s first possession of the second quarter and tied things up, 7-7. The score was set up by Byrd’s biggest play of the night, a 48-yard pass from Lake Lambert to Jackson Dufrene.

But the Patriots’ defense scored on 24-yard scoop-and-score by cornerback Jermall Callio with 6:04 left in the first half, a haunting turnover that began a disastrous stretch for Byrd as a 7-7 tie ballooned into a 28-7 John Curtis halftime lead.

On special teams, the Patriots blocked a 55-yard field goal attempt by Byrd junior Abram Murray. 

The only other time John Curtis and Byrd played was in a 2020 semifinal at Lee Hedges Stadium. On a rainy night, it came down to a missed extra point by the Patriots as the Yellow Jackets won 14-13.

J.T. Curtis did not talk to his team much this week about getting revenge for the loss, but he did talk to them about the importance of special teams. And disappointment. 

“It was a one-point loss (in 2020) and very disappointing,” the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame coach said. “The emphasis was that we didn’t want to put ourselves in a position where it would come down to a field goal, because they have a good guy (Murray). That blocking the field goal was huge, huge for us. We didn’t want to put it in the hands of a special teamer.”

Curtis also credited the defense for stifling the Byrd offense.

Byrd’s Lambert, who had the most prolific night of any quarterback in school history with his 267 yards against Alexandria Senior High in last week’s 49-10 regional win, was held in check by the Patriot defense. Lambert finished with 65 yards rushing on five carries.

Jacket running back Tyler Nichols scored on a 1-yard run with 10:35 left in the game to make it 28-14, but it was too little, too late for the Jackets.

John Curtis had the final score of the game, a 1-yard run by Bruno with 3:42 left.

Curtis finished with 321 yards rushing on 52 carries. Byrd had 199 yards on 36 attempts.

Ballew’s message to his seniors after the game was heartfelt.

“No. 1, we love them to death,” Ballew said. “No. 2, Byrd High School is always their home. This is their team.” 

Contact Jerry Byrd at sbjjerrybyrd@gmail.com 

Curtis 35, Byrd 14 

Score by quarters

Curtis | 7 | 21 | 0 | 7 | – 35

Byrd | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | – 14

Scoring summary

JC – Marlon Prout 42 run (Jaden Alphonso kick)

B – Desmond Simmons 4 run (Murray kick)

JC – Jermall Calllio 24 fumble return (Alphonso kick)

JC – Prout 39 run (Alphonso kick)

JC – Michael Turner 61 pass from Dagan Bruno (Alphonso kick)

B – Tyler Nichols 1 run (Murray kick)

JC – Bruno 1 run (Alphonso kick)

Individual leaders 

Rushing 

Byrd (36-199) – Lambert 13-159, Jackson Dufrene 1 16, Devon Strickland 8-15, Simmons 2-5. 

Curtis (52-321) – Prout 8-120, Kaheam Smith 6-78, Aaron Johnson 13-42, Bruno 12-34.

Passing 

Byrd – Lambert 2-6-1-54. 

Curtis – Bruno 4-7-0-90.

Receiving 

Byrd – Dufrene 2-54. 

Curtis – Turner 2-68, Tyler Mitchell 2-22.

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By LORI LYONS, Journal Sports

NEW ORLEANS — The Northwood Falcons had one team to beat to reach their goal of getting to the semifinals for the first time in school history, but Brother Martin had one player that simply couldn’t be stopped Friday night.

Brother Martin senior running back Torey Lambert rushed 47 times for a career-high and school-record 301 yards and two touchdowns to give the No. 13 Crusaders a 28-14 win over No. 5 Northwood and a spot in next week’s LHSAA Select Division I semifinals.

Brother Martin (8-5) earned its fourth semifinals appearance in four years. Northwood finished the season 9-3 after losing in the quarterfinals for the fourth time in six years.

“We’re just happy we got to experience this and get after it,” Northwood coach Austin Brown said. “I don’t think people realize that we’ve won more playoff games in six years than we had in the last 60 years. We’re still a program that’s growing and building, and when you go toe-to-toe with the big dogs it’s a good measuring stick. We’ve got some room to grow still.”

Lambert, a 6-foot, 190-pound Texas State commitment, accounted for all but 58 of his team’s 359 yards of offense on the night. His longest carry was 25 yards and his touchdowns runs, one in the first quarter and one in the last quarter, were only 5 and 3 yards. But in between, he was the workhorse for the Crusaders, who were missing a few key players and lost another to injury during the game.

“I didn’t even know,” Lambert said. “A school record. I didn’t even know. That’s crazy. Coach called the plays, you got to execute it. He’s trusting you with the ball in your hands, (and) you’ve got to know what you’ve got to do with it. Happy Thanksgiving. That turkey and that ham was pretty good. I had to work it off tonight.”

Brother Martin’s defense simply shut down the Falcons in the first half, holding them to 40 yards of offense and a total of 221 yards in the game. The Falcons were down 19-0 in the third quarter before showing any kind of life.

Quarterback Mason Welch was 10-of-22 for 197 yards, but 75 of those yards came on one spectacular play – a 75-yard touchdown strike to Marc Dennison with 10:48 remaining in the game.  That got the Falcons within 22-15, but the Crusaders marched back downfield for Lambert’s final TD to clinch the outcome.

Northwood’s comeback push began in the middle of the third period, down 19-0. Welch drove the Falcons from his own 48-yard line to the end zone by hitting receiver Elijah Crawford for a 20-yard gain, then Dennison for a 32-yard strike to get the Falcons to the Crusaders’ 3. Quintavion White ran the rest for the score with 3:56 remaining in the third quarter.

But the rest of the game, other than the 75-yard TD strike, was all Brother Martin, just as it had started.

After forcing a Falcons punt on Northwood’s first possession, the Crusaders needed just five plays to go 67 yards for their first score, with Lambert touching the ball on every down. He ran left, right and up the middle to the Northwood 11 before catching a 7-yard pass from Seth Dazet to the 5, then ran it in from there.

Northwood couldn’t answer and its defense stiffened to hold off Brother Martin’s second possession, but Jacob Zimmer’s punt was downed at the Northwood 4. On the Falcons’ first play from scrimmage, Brenden LeBlanc blasted through the line to catch Chase Stewart in the end zone and give Brother Martin a 9-0 lead.

Brother Martin forced another Falcons punt and started its next scoring drive at the Northwood 48 with Jordan West carrying the load. After Lambert ran for 8, West broke free for a 32-yard scamper, then scored from the 8. But in the post-touchdown celebration, West suffered an arm injury that ended his night. So it was left to Lambert, with an occasional scamper by quarterbacks Dazet and Clayton Lonardo. Dazet also completed seven passes for 55 yards.

After the second Brother Martin field goal of the night made it 22-7 early in the final period, Welch stunned the Crusaders with his 75-yard bomb to Dennison with 10:48 remaining. But the visitors couldn’t mount another threat.

The Crusaders replied with one more scoring drive, going 60 yards on seven plays, capped by Lambert’s 3-yard score with 7:02 remaining in the game. Northwood turned the ball over on downs on its next possession, and on its final possession, Welch was intercepted by Blake Ranlett.

Brown said his team knew it was better than it showed in the first half.

“When you play a big team like Brother Martin with a storied program, you kind of get punched in the mouth and it took a little while to shake back and knock the fuzz off,” Brown said. “But the boys weren’t ever scared, and at halftime it was upbeat. They were excited for another half to come back out there and show ’em Northwood football.”

Contact Lori at sportslyons@gmail.com

Brother Martin 28, Northwood 14 

Score by quarters

Brother Martin | 9 | 7 | 3 | 9 | – 28

Northwood | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | – 14

Scoring summary

BM – Torey Lambert 5 run (Leyton Liuzza kick)

BM – Safety

BM – Jordan West 8 run (Liuzza kick)

BM – Liuzza 21 FG

N – Quintavion White 3 run (Jaxson Bentzler kick)

BM – Liuzza 25 FG

N – Marc Dennison 75 pass from Mason Welch (Bentzler kick)

BM – Lambert 3 run (kick blocked) 

Individual leaders 

Rushing 

Northwood (15-24) – White 5-12 1 TD, Steward 3­­­-2, Moss 1-4, Welch 6-6. 

Brother Martin (61-348) – Lambert 47-301 2 TDs, West 4-44 1 TD, Lonardo 6-9, Dazet 2-minus-5. 

Passing 

Northwood – Welch 10-22-1-197. 

Brother Martin (7-10-0-55) – Lonardo 0-1-0, Dazet 7-9-0-55. 

Receiving 

Northwood – Dennison 5-110-1, Moss 2-22, White 2-14, Crawford 1-20, Hearron 1-3.

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By REED DARCEY, Journal Sports

BATON ROUGE — A light rain fell over the Dunham School Stadium as the lights began to flicker Friday night in Baton Rouge. One voice lifted over the crowd’s nervous murmurs. 

“Let’s warm up,” exclaimed the home team’s hero.

That voice belonged to Jackson House, the son of LSU’s first-year defensive coordinator, more notably the quarterback of the fourth-seeded Dunham Tigers, who defeated Calvary Baptist in a Select Division III LHSAA quarterfinal game that had it all. High stakes, a muddy field, a slight rain, lots of points, some explosive plays … and yes, a power outage. 

Dunham’s stadium plunged into darkness as soon as the Tigers took their 50-35 lead early in the fourth quarter. Yes, at that moment, the lights shut off. On both the game and Calvary Baptist’s season. The Cavs made a late push but couldn’t change the score again.

“We played hard, and these guys won a bunch of games in the last four years,” Calvary coach Rodney Guin said. “Tonight, they were a little bit better than us. And that’s what happens when you get this deep in the playoffs.”

House’s fearless runs up the middle led the Tigers over the Cavaliers. He took 30 carries for 177 yards and four touchdowns. He completed 14 of his 22 pass attempts for another 190 yards and a score. When Dunham chose to call designed quarterback runs in the second half, House seized control. 

“We threw the ball pretty well,” Guin said, “but we had a couple of chances to score and we didn’t. Their offensive line wore us down and the quarterback was Superman in the fourth quarter.”

Once the lights turned back on, Calvary had a chance to move within one score. Under heavy pressure on 4th-and-15, quarterback Abram Wardell completed a pass to Aubrey Hermes over the middle to extend their drive. Then, he stood in the pocket, took a hit and fired another deep pass to Hermes, this one down the right sideline for 29 yards. 

Then, two plays later, Dunham intercepted Wardell, sending the home crowd into a frenzy, ending hopes of a miraculous comeback. 

“Heck, if we go down and score right there the last time we had it,” Guin said, “it’s a one-score game with three minutes left. But yeah, we competed hard, and we can feel good about that.”

The loss was frustrating for the Cavaliers, who seemed destined for better things.

Calvary jumped out to an early two-score lead with a couple of quick drives. Kolby Thomas caught the first touchdown from 12 yards out, and James Simon ran in the second from the three-yard line. Meanwhile, Dunham punted on two of its first three drives. 

But then a sack forced Calvary to punt from deep in its own territory. Dunham scored on the next drive, then the Cavaliers fumbled the ensuing kickoff. Suddenly, the Cavaliers’ two-score lead was gone, and the game was tied. The teams swapped TDs before the visitors made another move.

Wardell set up his offense near the Tigers’ goal line with a 24-yard run down the left sideline. Simon capitalized with a one-yard touchdown plunge, and Calvary was back on track with a 28-21 halftime lead. 

But Dunham adjusted at halftime. Maybe the Tigers made schematic changes. Or perhaps they just decided to put the game in their best athlete’s hands. Either way, their change in approach was clear. Eighteen of House’s 30 carries came in the second half. 

The Calvary offense simply couldn’t keep up. After scoring 28 points in the first half, the Cavaliers tallied only seven more.

“They kind of whipped us up front. We had a hard time slowing them down,” Guin said. “We played hard. We didn’t make enough plays and we couldn’t stop them from running that ball.

“We only start four seniors, so we’ll have a great football team next year,” Guin said. “And we’re gonna build from this and understand that in the quarterfinals you’ve got to play your best game or you’re not gonna win, and we didn’t do that tonight.”

Contact Reed at reed.darcey@gmail.com 

Dunham 50, Calvary 35

Score by quarters

Dunham – 7 | 14 | 21 | 8 | – 50

Calvary – 14 | 14 | 7 | 0 | – 35

Scoring summary

C – Kolby Thomas 12 pass from Abram Wardell (Garrett Little kick)

C – James Simon 3 run (Little kick)

D – Brandon Drago 35 pass from Jackson House (Hayden Harman kick)

C – Aubrey Hermes 12 pass from Wardell (Little kick)

D – Mason Wild 4 run (Harman kick)

D – House 5 run (Harman kick)

C – Simon 1 run (Little kick)

D – Thomas 4 run (Harman kick)

D – House 1 run (Harman kick)

C – Julius Moss 20 run (Little kick)

D – House 25 run (Harman kick)

D – House 6 run (Laramie Guidry pass from House)

Individual leaders

Rushing 

Calvary (29-157) – Moss 5-56-1 TD, Simon 14-52-2 TD, Wardell 9-43. 

Dunham (47-254) – House 30-177-4 TD, Mason Wild 8-41-2 TD, Colin Boldt 9-36.

Passing 

Calvary – Wardell 19-27-1-225, 2 TDs.

Dunham – House 14-22-0-190, 1 TD.

Receiving  

Calvary – Aubrey Hermes 5-80-1 TD, Kolby Thomas 5-33-1 TD, Chris Jackson 3-23, John Simon IV 2-22, Simon 2-10, Xavier Mcglothan 1-9. 

Dunham – Jac Comeaux 5-106, Brandon Drago 1-35-1 TD, Wild 2-15, Drew Bourgeois 2-12, Trevor Haman 1-10, Boldt 1-3, Collin Franta 1-1.

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Quarterfinal games

Non-Select scores 

Division I

Ruston 49, Denham Springs 31
Zachary 48, Southside 37
Destrehan 21, East St. John 20
Westgate 21, Neville 10

Division II

Iowa 31, Leesville 14
North DeSoto 42, Breaux Bridge 13
Lutcher 45, Lakeshore 8
West Feliciana 30, North Vermilion 0

Division III

Many 14, Rosepine 7
St. James 48, Avoyelles 24
Union Parish 38, Patterson 14
Amite 42, Berwick 13

Division IV

Oak Grove 20, Kentwood 14
Haynesville 31, Basile 7
Mangham 48, Arcadia 0

Select scores 

Division I

Carencro 29, Warren Easton 26
Brother Martin 28, Northwood 14
John Curtis 35, Byrd 14
Catholic-BR 32, Karr 24

Division II

St. Thomas More 56, Madison Prep 34
E.D. White 42, John F. Kennedy 20
Lafayette Christian 70, De La Salle 39
Teurlings Catholic 27, Shaw 21

Division III

University 48, Newman 14
Dunham 50, Calvary 35
Notre Dame 47, Episcopal 0
St. Charles 40, Parkview 21

Division IV

Vermilion Catholic 17, Southern Lab 7
St. Martin’s Episcopal 29, St. Mary’s 25
Ouachita Christian 28, Glenbrook 27
Ascension Catholic 28, Opelousas Catholic 12

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