Week 4 of the high school season in the area has had an exciting beginning with one of the biggest rivalries in the state on Tuesday. Various schools in Shreveport-Bossier remained hot while others hit a few minor bumps.
This week’s SBJ Prep Hoops Report will recap the weekend that was, highlight the week, and talk about the weekend to come.
The Weekend that was …
On the boys’ side, the area had a great deal of success last weekend. Woodlawn went undefeated at South Beauregard and Southwood made a semifinals run before losing to St. Thomas More at the Showdown in the Lake. Bossier lost to Lake Charles College Prep in the consolation bracket of the Showdown and Huntington went 1-1. At the Jack Clayton Invitational, Byrd picked up its first victory of the season defeating a previously red hot Evangel Eagle team.
When it comes to the girls’ part of the weekend, Airline and Southwood burned up the nets at Quitman and Northwood, as both schools finished the weekend undefeated and improved their records to 8-1. The Lady Panthers of Parkway went 1-1 at the girls’ version of the Showdown in the Lake losing to Fairview 69-68. Benton played tough teams in Denham Springs but ended the road trip winless.
A Rivalry Renewed
It is safe to say that the Huntington-Southwood rivalry has supplanted Byrd-Captain Shreve as the biggest rivalry on the hardwood and the two games at Southwood did not disappoint on Tuesday night. The girls’ game saw the return of Northwestern State signee Jermisha Frierson. While that sparked the Lady Cowboys, the Lady Raiders (riding a five-game win streak) defeated the Lady Cowboys 69-61.
The nightcap saw a battle of top 10 players in their respective classes as Huntington forward Decedric Webb and Southwood big man Jeremiah Evans locked horns. While Evans had a good showing on the boards and in scoring, it was Webb’s 12 second-half points that helped the Raiders claim the 50-42 victory.
The New Rankings are out
The latest power rankings from the Louisiana High School Athletic Association (LHSAA) were released on Tuesday with some area teams rated highly within the state.
On the Non-Select side for the boys, Division I sees all of the Bossier schools ranked in the top 25 with Parkway being the highest rated team at No. 3. Airline is rated 22nd and Haughton comes in at No. 24. Bossier is ranked as the 5th best Non-Select team in Division II this week.
In the girls’ Non-Select rankings, Airline is the highest rated team at No. 5, followed closely by Parkway at No. 7. Benton is ranked 25th.
The Select divisions are represented by an array of area teams. Coach Corey Dean’s Captain Shreve Gators are the third-ranked team in Division I Select followed by Huntington at No. 9 and Southwood ranked 11th. Evangel is the highest ranked Division II team at No. 8. Woodlawn and BTW are ranked in the top 25 as they are ranked at No. 23 and No. 25 respectively.
Division III sees some of the smaller schools in the area rated highly as Green Oaks and Calvary are rated 7th and 8th and Loyola comes in at No. 17.
The top two girls’ Select divisions are also highly decorated. Southwood tops the Division I Select schools at No. 8, followed by Huntington at 11th, Byrd at 15th, Captain Shreve at No. 22 and Northwood at No. 23.
Division II Select sees the Lady Lions rated 19th overall followed by the Lady Knights of Woodlawn at No. 25.
Tournaments for the weekend
There will be tournament action galore this weekend. Parkway will host six area boys’ teams in the Panthers’ invitational. Captain Shreve will travel to Alexandria and participate in the ASH tournament while Southwood will host boys’ and girls’ teams from the area and abroad during the Showdown at the Ranch. The BTW boys will head to Zwolle and the Byrd girls will be at Doyline.
Teams of the Week
The Southwood Lady Cowboys are 8-2 after early-season turmoil and a coaching change to Cindee Clark. Winning the Northwood tournament was a plus for this young team. The Evangel Eagles have won five of their last six games and will look to begin another winning streak as they play in the Parkway Invitational. They are 8-4 on the year.
Contact Preston at preston9360@gmail.com or Twitter handle @peedee1906
