By PRESTON EDWARDS, Journal Sports

The Parkway Lady Panthers and a home quarterfinals game have been synonymous the past three seasons.  In this year’s version, the Lady Panthers hosted District 1-5A foe Natchitoches Central. When Parkway coach Gloria Williams was asked about the third-time-around with the Lady Chiefs, she did not mince words. 

“I hate it,” she said with a small chuckle. “It seems like we have had to play someone from our district the last four years.  It is a testament to our district, however.”

The last time Parkway played a fellow 1-5A team in the quarters, the Lady Panthers ended up being defeated by Benton in a memorable playoff thriller two years ago.

Thursday night’s LHSAA Non-Select Division I quarterfinal was a little different, however. It just meant more. This quarterfinal between the two teams was the last one all-everything guard Mikaylah Williams and her senior classmates would play at Parkway High.

Williams said the game gave her a bittersweet feeling. That feeling did not appear to last too long as the Lady Panthers pummeled the Lady Chiefs of Natchitoches Central 58-24 before a packed crowd at Parkway’s gym (aka “The Cage”). 

It was unsurprising since Parkway had pounded NCHS, the district runner-up, in both regular-season meetings. But in a playoff, as Benton proved two seasons ago, there are no guarantees.

Williams scored a game high of 19 (15 in the second half) as Parkway answered the bell early (and often), taking control almost immediately.

On the first possession of the game, Williams whipped a 35-foot baseball pass to Ty’Lisa Henderson for an uncontested layup.  From that moment on, Parkway seemed to get any shot it wanted. 

While Natchitoches Central took a brief 3-2 lead following a 3-pointer by sophomore Akeelah Wade, Parkway kept up the offensive pressure. After an Ambree Williams layup, the first quarter belonged to Mekanna Miles.

The Lady Chiefs’ box-and-1 on sharpshooter Chloe Larry did not rotate to the corners and that is where Miles made them pay.  Her 11 first-quarter points included three straight 3-point shots that pushed the Parkway lead to 13 (19-6) at the end of one. 

The Lady Panthers’ defense was the co-star of the night as they gathered every defensive rebound while causing the Lady Chiefs to throw the ball away or dribble the ball off of their feet in the first half.  Coach Williams expressed that strategy was part of their gameplan. 

“Our goal was to hold them to one shot and to rebound,” she said postgame.  Needless to say, that strategy paid dividends all night.  Along with the defensive rebounding, Parkway also garnered 15 offensive rebounds. 

After halftime, it appeared that Natchitoches Central was content on trading shots on the offensive end while changing defenses on the other. The changing defenses, however, allowed Mikaylah Williams to settle in and score 11 points in the third.  By the end of the quarter, the game was pretty much out of reach. 

Williams (19), Miles (17), and Larry (13) scored in double figures for the Lady Panthers while Akeelah Wade had a team-high 11 for the Lady Chiefs. 

Parkway (28-5) will move on to face third-seeded Barbe next week at Marsh Madness in Hammond.  The date and time of the semifinal will be determined this weekend by the LHSAA. 

Natchitoches Central finished the season with a record of 24-10 and another deep playoff run from one of the state’s traditionally-tough girls’ basketball programs.

Contact Preston at preston9360@gmail.com or Twitter handle @peedee1906

JOURNAL STAFF

Huntington’s Lady Raiders will not play in the state girls’ basketball semifinals for the first time in four years after falling to No. 2 Lafayette 51-41 on the road Thursday night in the LHSAA Select Division I quarterfinals.

The Lady Raiders were the No. 7 seed and finished their season 24-7. The Lady Lions improved to 23-5. Lafayette will play No. 3 seed and crosstown rival St. Thomas More in the semifinals.

Huntington fell in last year’s semifinals and the 2020 semifinals. It was the state runner-up in 2021, all while playing in the Class 4A bracket. This will be the first time in six years a team from District 1-4A will not make the trip to the state tournament.

By DAVID ERSOFF, Journal Sports

HAMMOND – Getting there was all the fun Thursday for the Bossier Bearkats soccer team, which fell 4-1 to The Willow School in the LHSAA Division III boys’ state championship game.

It was a breakthrough, walking onto the field at Strawberry Stadium for the first time. Bossier reached the season’s final game with statewide superiority at stake. Last year’s Bearkats blazed new ground, reaching the semifinals, and this year’s squad took the final step through the playoff bracket.

But the Lions were in familiar territory. Experience appeared to be the difference, as they have been in the state finals three of the last four years and have now captured two titles.

The Willow School (17-4-5) moved on top just two minutes into action. Although Bossier (23-3-2) later closed within 2-1, the second-seeded Bearkats weren’t able to catch up to the fourth-seeded winners, who opened a 3-1 halftime advantage.

Considering the Bearkats had allowed only 10 goals in their previous 25 games, the Lions’ scoring outburst was a surprise, especially since the teams played to an 0-0 stalemate in New Orleans on Nov. 19.

Both teams brought large crowds. Bossier brought three busloads of fans and many others came by car. Both crowds were loud and proud of their teams, all the way to the end and beyond it.

This game was not for the faint of heart, as there were countless fouls; the referee showed five yellow cards.

The Lions started fast, getting a corner kick in the second minute of the game. William McDermott got in the end of that corner to put The Willow School up early.

A few minutes later, Bearkat keeper Logan Bamburg stopped a one-on-one threat to hold the deficit at 1. But it stayed that way just for just two more minutes, until Sebastian Salm hit a free kick from 45 yards that went in the net in the upper corner and the Lions were up 2-0.

Bossier finally struck back.

In the 28^th minute, Rony Carcamo hit a 50-yard through ball that Jeison Sanchez tipped with his head from the top of the box, sailing it over the Lions’ keeper to cut the lead in half.

The one-goal deficit tantalized the Bossier faithful for the next 20-plus minutes.

With five minutes left in the half, the Lions put the ball in the box. A Bearkat defender tried to clear the ball, but it headed toward his own goal. Bamberg slapped the ball out, but it was shot back in. Bamberg saved it again but The Willow School’s Alexander Lupin tapped it in for the 3-1 advantage the Lions carried into halftime.

The Bearkats started well in the second half with a shot off the crossbar, and some dangerous runs, but couldn’t get their second goal. With 21 minutes into the second half, the Lions got a breakaway when eventual player of the match Tenchi Otten-Rashad beat Bamberg on a one-on-one for the final goal of the game.

The excitement was rekindled for the Bearkats when in the 70^th minute Sanchez hit a bicycle kick from the top of the box, but it went just wide.

After Bossier received its state runner-up trophy, senior Christobal Cruz presented the fans with it. The Bossier fan base has been extremely loyal all season and the players did this to show their appreciation.

Bossier coach Orlando Medellin simply said, “We will be back,” in the postgame talk to his squad. Assistant coach Gerardo Martinez told the Bearkats how proud he was of them, then added, “Learn from today. Ask questions and come back stronger.”

The Bossier team headed home bolstered by the pride in back-to-back trailblazing seasons. Now there’s one final hurdle to clear, and the Bearkats will know the territory when they make another trip to Strawberry Stadium.

Contact David at dersoff@bellsouth.net

JOURNAL STAFF

The LHSAA boys’ basketball playoffs kick into full gear tonight with two local games and eight others involving local teams across four divisions.

Local games involve Select teams Evangel in Division II and Loyola in Division III. Road games involve Booker T. Washington in Division II, North Caddo and Green Oaks in Division III Select and Magnolia Charter in Division IV Select. Non-Select road teams are Parkway and Airline in Division I.   

Evangel is a 12 seed with a 21-10 record and will host No. 21 St. Louis Catholic (14-15). The winner will travel to New Orleans in the second round to play Archbishop Shaw, a five seed that has a first-round bye.

The Flyers have an 18-12 record and are a 15 seed playing host to No. 18 seed Sarah Reed (16-13). The winner will be on the road to face No. 2 seed Metairie Park Country Day.

Here is tonight’s schedule of games involving local teams, with seedings listed before school names, and season records in parenthesis.

Non-Select

Division I

28-Parkway (13-17) at 5-Ouachita (20-9), 6:30 p.m.

17-Airline (18-14) at 16-East Ascension (17-14), 7 p.m.

Select

Division II 

21-St. Louis Catholic (14-15) at 12-Evangel (21-10), 6:30 p.m.

20-BTW (13-13) at 13- Northside (19-13), 6:30 p.m.

Division III

18-Sara Reed (16-13) at 15-Loyola (18-12), 6 p.m.

24-North Caddo (6-14) at 9-Episcopal (18-11), 6:30 p.m. 

17-Green Oaks (14-14) at 16-Pope John Paul II (19-12), 7:15 p.m.

Division IV

23-Magnolia Charter (7-16) at 10-Vermilion Catholic (14-6)

JOURNAL STAFF

College Baseball

Today’s games

LSU vs. Kansas State, 2 p.m.

Seton Hall vs. Northwestern State, at Sugar Land, Texas, 3 p.m.

Texas A&M Texarkana at LSUS, 6 p.m.

Nicholls State at Louisiana Tech, 6 p.m.

Saturday’s games

New Mexico State vs. Northwestern State, at Sugar Land, Texas, 11 a.m.

Texas A&M Texarkana at LSUS, DH, noon

Centenary at Whittier, DH, noon

LSU vs. Iowa, 2 p.m.

Nicholls State at Louisiana Tech, 2 p.m.

Sunday’s games

Nicholls State at Louisiana Tech, 1 p.m.

Centenary at Redlands, 1 p.m.

Stephen F. Austin vs. Northwestern State, at Sugar Land, Texas, 2 p.m.

LSU vs. Sam Houston State, 4 p.m.

College Basketball

Thursday’s scores

WOMEN

Incarnate Word 67, Northwestern State 58
Louisiana Tech 70, Western Kentucky 65
LSU 82, Vanderbilt 63

MEN

Western Kentucky 76, Louisiana Tech 66
Northwestern State 71, Incarnate Word 66

Today’s games

WOMEN

LSUS vs. Huston-Tillotson, at Alexandria, 6:30 p.m.

MEN

LSUS vs. Jarvis Christian, at Alexandria, 1:15 p.m.

Centenary vs. Southwestern (Texas) at San Antonio, 7 p.m.

Saturday’s games

WOMEN

Northwestern State at Texas A&M Corpus Christi, noon

Middle Tennessee at Louisiana Tech, 1 p.m.

Grambling State at Florida A&M, 3:30 p.m.

MEN

Northwestern State at Texas A&M Corpus Christi, 4:30 p.m.

Grambling State at Florida A&M, 5:30 p.m.

Louisiana Tech at Middle Tennessee, 8 p.m.

Sunday’s game 

WOMEN

Mississippi State at LSU, 5 p.m.

High School Basketball

Today’s games 

LHSAA Girls Playoffs – Quarterfinals

Parkway 58, Natchitoches Central 24
Lafayette 51, Huntington 41

Today’s games 

LHSAA Boys playoffs – First round

(Seedings listed before each school’s name)

Non-Select

Division I

28-Parkway at 5-Ouachita, 6:30 p.m.

17-Airline at 16-East Ascension, 7 p.m.

Select

Division II 

21-St. Louis Catholic at 12-Evangel, 6:30 p.m.

20-BTW at 13- Northside, 6:30 p.m.

Division III

18-Sara Reed at 15-Loyola, 6 p.m.

24-North Caddo at 9-Episcopal, 6:30 p.m. 

17-Green Oaks at 16-Pope John Paul II, 7:15 p.m.

Division IV

23-Magnolia Charter at 10-Vermilion Catholic

High School Baseball

Thursday’s scores

Barbe 10, Airline 0
Ebarb 16, Huntington 5
Evangel 11, Loyola 1
Sulphur 10 Benton 0
West Monroe 8, Haughton 1
North Webster 8, North Caddo 0

North DeSoto Tournament 

Byrd 8, Texas High 7
Captain Shreve 11, Marshall, Texas 5
Parkway 20, Texas High 10 

Today’s games

Haughton at West Monroe, 6 p.m.

Plain Dealing at Bossier

Evangel at Loyola, 6 p.m.

Huntington at Haynesville

Oak Grove at Northwood 

North DeSoto Tournament 

At Captain Shreve

Ruston vs. Byrd, 4 p.m.

Texas High vs. Captain Shreve, 6:30 p.m. 

At North DeSoto

Parkway vs. Ouachita Christian, 4 p.m.

Sulphur Tournament

Airline vs. Barbe, 1 p.m.

Airline vs. Beaumont Kelly,  4 p.m.

Benton vs. Concordia Lutheran, 7 p.m.

Saturday’s games

Loyola at Evangel, 1 p.m.

West Monroe at Haughton, 1 p.m. 

North DeSoto Tournament 

At Byrd

Ouachita Christian vs. Byrd, 1:30 p.m.

St. Frederick vs. Byrd, 5 p.m. 

At Captain Shreve

St. Frederick at Captain Shreve, noon

Ruston at Captain Shreve, 4 p.m. 

At North DeSoto

Ruston vs. Parkway, 12:30 p.m.

North DeSoto vs. Parkway, 5:30 p.m.

Sulphur Tournament

Airline vs. Houston Concordia, 10 a.m.

Benton vs. Kelly Catholic, 10 a.m.

High School Softball

Thursday’s scores

Captain Shreve 15, North Caddo 0
Haughton 6, Minden 5

Today’s games

Bossier at Caddo Magnet

Sterlington Tournament – Airline, Calvary, Evangel, Haughton

North DeSoto Tournament – Benton

Pineville Tournament – Byrd, Parkway

Saturday’s games

Sterlington Tournament – Airline, Calvary, Evangel, Haughton

North DeSoto Tournament – Benton

Pineville Tournament – Byrd, Parkway

Schedules are subject to cancellations and postponements.

By DAVID ERSOFF, Journal Sports 

HAMMOND — Three months ago, when the Bossier boys’ soccer team visited The Willow School with virtually nothing at stake, nobody foresaw the lasting value of a contest finishing in a 0-0 stalemate.

Safe to say both coaches — former rivals at Bossier and Parkway as players — and their teams have rewatched that match plenty of times this week. The squads collide again today at 4:30, with a state championship at stake.

The LHSAA Division III title game in Strawberry Stadium on the Southeastern Louisiana campus pairs the second-seeded Bossier Bearkats (23-2-2) and fourth-seeded The Willow School Lions (16-4-5). The game will be live-streamed on NFHSnetwork.com (pay per view, or subscription).

These teams faced each other on Nov. 19 in New Orleans. They also have had one common opponent this year in Division II’s top-seeded team, Ben Franklin, who also will be playing for a state title today. Bossier tied Ben Franklin 2-2, while The Willow School lost 2-1, which might imply a slight advantage for Bossier going into today’s titanic match.

The Bearkats are in the state finals for the first time in school history, surpassing last year’s run to the semifinals, where they lost 2-0 to Vandebilt. This year’s playoffs have seen Bossier victories over No. 31 Livingston Collegiate 7-1, No. 15 Tara 3-0, No. 10 Belaire 5-1 and a semifinal thriller over third-seeded St. Louis 1-0.

The playoff run by The Willow School (formerly Lusher Charter) includes victories over No. 29 Livonia 8-0, No. 20 Morgan City 2-1, No. 5 E.D. White 3-0, and the Lions’ own semifinal thriller over top-seeded University Lab, that went through regulation, both overtime sets and was decided on penalty kicks 4-2.

Adding to the intrigue of this championship collision is the fact that the coaches, Bossier’s Orlando Medellin and The Willow School’s Ben Barcelona, faced off as high school players.

Medellin lined up for Bossier and Barcelona played for Parkway back in 2007 and 2008. Medellin was a keeper who helped the Bearkats to become a playoff team. Barcelona was a midfielder who until last year held the goals record for Parkway at 99 goals, surpassed by Max Holt in 2022.

Parkway and Barcelona were dominant over the Bearkats, going 4-0 over the two years with a 21-4 goal advantage.

Recalling Medellin in those days, Barcelona said, “I remember that Orlando was a strong competitor, and a real leader on his team.”

Medellin was glad to see Barcelona get his Panther diploma. “Parkway had an amazing team back then,” he said. “We didn’t beat them until my senior year, after Ben graduated.”

While the coaches’ influence will be a significant factor today, it comes down to the boys on the field.

The Bearkats have scored 102 times, while only conceding 14 goals (four coming in the first two games of the year). Fourteen different players have scored at least once, including four with double-digit goals. Felix Deras leads the team with 26, followed by Yoani Reyes (16), David Rojas (13) and Rony Carcamo (11).

As important as goals are, assists show overall teamwork, and the Bearkats impress in that statistic. Bossier has had 83 total assists for those 102 goals, over 81 percent of goals setup by a teammate. There are 13 Bearkats with at least one assist, five of those with at least 10:  Rojas with 15, Reyes (14), Carcamo (12), and Deras and Alexis Serrano with 11 each.

Bossier’s sophomore keeper, Logan Bamberg, has 16 shutouts, while only conceding 14 goals. His goal against average is 0.52 goals per game. This stands up well to the 3.78 goals per game Bossier scores.

The Lions have scored 73 goals this season, led by Tenchi Otten-Rashad with 15 goals, and they average 2.92 goals scored. They have 43 assists, led by Amos Liles with 8, to go with those goals. The Lions conceded only 16 total goals, for an 0.64 goals against average. Sophomore keeper Booker Henry has 16 shutouts.

It shapes up as another tight battle, three months later, this time with the never-ending glory of a state crown on the line.

Contact David at dersoff@bellsouth.net

I truly thought Volume 13 of the Shreveport-Bossier Prep Hoops Report was going to be a continuation of the great playoff runs on the girls’ side of things, plus the addition of the area boys’ playoffs. 

Then Tuesday night happened.  While the boys’ playoff brackets were being uploaded earlier in the day, that night the hopes and dreams of the local girls’ teams were smashed like pumpkins in losses around the state. 

So, instead of recapping and highlighting a ton of action, we will change gears. We will still highlight the week that was but shift our focus to the boys’ playoffs on Friday and other basketball important information. 

And then there were two… 

On Monday night, there were eight local teams still alive with the chance to make the quarterfinals of their respective girls’ bracket. When the night ended, only Huntington and Parkway were moving ahead. 

Benton and Haughton each faced one of the top three seeds in Division I Non-Select on the road and couldn’t pull upsets. Wins would have given District 1-5A four quarterfinalists. Instead, two teams from the district made it and will face each other at 6:30 tonight as Natchitoches Central visits Parkway.  This will be their third meeting on the season with Parkway winning the first two convincingly. It will be the last high school home game for the incomparable Mikaylah Williams alongside her very talented teammates, which is reason enough to come watch.

Outside of Huntington and its 30-point win over Acadiana, everyone else from the area struggled.  BTW lost to Division II Select third seed St. Louis Catholic in Lake Charles, while Loyola and Calvary only managed to score in the low 20s in their Division III Select road losses.

While it is not over, all local area hopes lie with Huntington and Parkway.

Boys’ playoff brackets announced  

Thirteen boys’ teams from the area made the 2023 playoffs. There were a couple of surprises in this group along with quite a few mainstays.  We will see what Friday night holds as eight of the teams will tip it off hoping to extend their seasons.  

Division I Non-Select 

Two Bossier schools, Airline and Parkway, will take their fortunes on the road Friday night.  Parkway, who benefitted from the Zachary Broncos’ playoff suspension for their part in a massive fight last week, are the 28th seed and will face perennial 5A power Ouachita at the Madhouse on Madison Friday night in Monroe. While the Panthers have a tough task, if their guards are shooting it well and Ouachita is not, this may turn into a dogfight. 

Airline has a great chance to pull off a victory against a stout but up-and-down East Ascension team. The Vikings are led by the playoff experience of Coach Eddie Hamilton and the shooting of Colby O’glee and Trevon Jackson. If it is a close game, I would bet on the Vikes.

Division II Select 

The Evangel Eagles and BTW Lions, both out of District 1-4A, will play their respective games on Friday. The Lions have the bigger challenge as they will go on the road to face a highly-talented Northside team in Lafayette.  The Lions played well down the stretch of the regular season.  If that carries over, Northside will be in a fight to the end.

The Eagles will host St. Louis Catholic from Lake Charles at 6:30 in their home gym.  St. Louis Catholic is known to travel well, and this may be an occasion where that happens.  Evangel is definitely the more well-rounded and talented team.  However, if the Eagles are not shooting the 3 well, this game can be a lot closer.

The rest of the crew

Magnolia Charter, one of the newer teams in the LHSAA, will make its first playoff appearance and will face Vermilion Catholic on Friday. The winner will play always-powerful Southern Lab in the second round. 

Four teams from District 1-2A made the playoffs in Division III Select.  The 24th seed, North Caddo, will travel to play Episcopal in Baton Rouge. Green Oaks, the 17th seed, will play 16-seeded Pope John Paul II on the road with a chance to play No. 1 Isidore Newman on the line.

Loyola will host Sarah T. Reed at 6 o’clock Friday. The victor will face Country Day in the next round.  Calvary, the third seed, has a bye. 

Division I Select teams Huntington, Southwood, and Captain Shreve all received first-round byes.  Division II Non-Select Bossier will also have Friday off.  The Bearkats await the Opelousas-A.J. Ellender winner. 

This is the most awesome time of year in high school hoops. Good luck to all the area teams competing tonight and Friday. 

Contact Preston at preston9360@gmail.com or Twitter handle @peedee1906

JOURNAL SPORTS 

Nine of North Louisiana’s finest high school senior football standouts who completed their prep careers last fall will be recognized and awarded scholarships next Thursday night, March 2, at the annual National Football Foundation S.M. McNaughton Chapter Scholar-Athlete Awards Dinner at East Ridge Country Club in Shreveport.

The elite group, nominated by their head coaches, are Hunter Addison of North DeSoto, Green Oaks’ Fred Benjamin, Elijah Harper of Red River, Christian Jones from C.E. Byrd, West Monroe’s Blake Loring, Adam Parker of St. Mary’s in Natchitoches, Haughton’s Peyton Polk, Kam Robinson from Captain Shreve, Hayden Rolfe of Logansport and Northwood’s Mason Welch.

A special presentation will be made to NFF North Louisiana chapter president and charter board member Leo Sanford, who has been on the NFF board since its creation in 1980. Sanford, a member of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame, Ark-La-Tex Museum of Champions and the Louisiana Tech Athletic Hall of Fame, was a star center and linebacker at Shreveport’s Fair Park High School and at Louisiana Tech before becoming a Pro Bowl player in the NFL with the  Chicago Cardinals and winning the 1958 NFL championship alongside Johnny Unitas for the Baltimore Colts.

Also recognized will be Jess Curtis as the chapter’s Coach of the Year, for leading Many High School to back-to-back state championships, including an unbeaten season last fall. He is the new coach at Natchitoches Central.

Two traditional other special awards will be presented, as they have been annually since 1981. Longtime Byrd coach Mike Suggs will receive the chapter’s Contribution to Amateur Football Award. Among the distinguished list of prior recipients are Eddie Robinson, Lee Hedges, Bert Jones, Joe Ferguson, Alton “Red” Franklin, Stan Humphries, Doug Williams, Jimmy “Chick” Childress, Alan Carter, Rodney Guin, Broderick Fobbs, Joe Raymond Peace and Sam Goodwin.

Mike McConathy, who served as basketball coach at Northwestern State for 23 seasons in a 41-year coaching career, is receiving the chapter’s Distinguished American Award for his far-reaching impact on high school and collegiate athletics and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

Previous winners include Sanford, Sen. J. Bennett Johnston, Denny Duron, Orvis Sigler, Bo Campbell, Carl Miklovich, Tim Brando, James Davison, Terry Slack, Billy Montgomery, Dr. George Bakowski, John Manno Jr., Ivan Smith Jr. and George Sirven, along with McConathy’s father Johnny McConathy and the namesake of the local NFF chapter, Milton McNaughton.

Tickets for the event are available through Friday afternoon by contacting chapter secretary and event coordinator Toni Goodin at 318-347-4453. They are $45 for individuals or $360 for tables of eight.

One of the nine student-athletes will be recognized as the McNaughton Chapter’s nominee for the National Football Foundation’s nationwide scholar-athlete of the year honor, and will be spotlighted for the 2023-24 year in the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta.

Another of the student-athletes will be recognized as the KTBS/Johnny’s Pizza House Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Five – Addison, Harper, Parker, Polk, and Welch – are eligible after being selected for last fall’s NFF Scholar-Athlete Watch List. Along with nine others, they each were spotlighted during Tuesday segments on the KTBS 6 and 10 p.m. sportscasts and on the station’s award-winning Johnny’s Pizza House Friday Football Fever weekly highlight show.

The event begins with a reception and silent auction at 6:30, with the program kicking off at 7 and dinner served a few minutes later. All proceeds support the scholarships and awards presented to the student-athletes.

(Editor’s Note: Original run date of this effort was October 2010 to coincide with the opening of the movie, Secretariat, which starred people but also several horses who portrayed the first Triple Crown winner in 25 years; it was impossible for any of them to look as majestic as the stud folks affectionally and respectfully called “Big Red.” Seabiscuit in 2003, another horse movie based on a true story, this one captured by author Laura Hillenbrand in her magnificent 1999 book Seabiscuit: An American Legend, was better. Both are good. And you can read them between races at Louisiana Downs, which has Quarter Horse racing through April 1; the 84-day Thoroughbred meet is May 6-September 26, with live racing each Saturday through Tuesday. But first … some lessons from Secretariat, one of the best and most dominating athletes any of us has ever seen.) 

“Just before noon the horse was led haltingly into a van next to the stallion barn, and there a concentrated barbiturate was injected into his jugular. Forty-five seconds later there was a crash as the stallion collapsed. His body was trucked immediately to Lexington, Ky., where Dr. Thomas Swerczek, a professor of veterinary science at the University of Kentucky, performed the necropsy. All of the horse’s vital organs were normal in size except for the heart. 

‘We were all shocked,’ Swerczek said. ‘I’ve seen and done thousands of autopsies on horses, and nothing I’d ever seen compared to it. The heart of the average horse weighs about nine pounds. This was almost twice the average size, and a third larger than any equine heart I’d ever seen. And it wasn’t pathologically enlarged. All the chambers and the valves were normal. It was just larger. I think it told us why he was able to do what he did.’”

So begins the classic piece from Sports Illustrated’s William Nack, whose 1990 tale of 1973 Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing winner Secretariat is worth reading over and over again.

I hope the movie is as good. I hear it is. Can’t see it fast enough. (And not just because it stars Diane Lane. Hello!)

Secretariat opened Friday. Columnist Cal Thomas calls it “The Blind Side meets Chariots of Fire meets National Velvet. It is Annie on four legs.”

“The sun’ll come out tomorrow. Bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow, there’ll be sun…”

Like Annie, we all run on hope. It’s trite and hints at sentimentality, but a healthy optimism and focused hope sure makes the day brighter. Like the story of Depression Era underdog Seabiscuit, another horse who became a national celebrity, a story like Secretariat’s reminds you of the possibilities, of all the good that, with heart, can happen. You gotta have heart …

In beautiful blue and white checkered colors, Secretariat won the final leg of the Triple Crown by an absurd record of 31 lengths. In the Belmont Stakes, Nack wrote that the thoroughbred ran “rhythmic as a rocking horse.” Secretariat started sprinting from the gate – and never stopped. One of the most magnificent photographs in all of sports is the jockey Ron Turcotte looking over his shoulder down the stretch – and being all alone. Just the horse and the rider, and Belmont Park rocking.

Heart.

Secretariat was euthanized 21 years ago this very week, victim of a painful hoof disease that in this case was incurable. But in retirement, tens of thousands had come to see him, a chestnut colt who, in 1973, had given the nation a break from the confusion and discontent of the Vietnam War and Watergate. When he died, millions mourned him, including Nack, a rookie turf writer for Sports Illustrated in 1973 but a longtime friend of Secretariat’s by the time the famous horse died.

Nack wrote about the time Secretariat had snatched his notebook away and refused to give it back. He wrote about the time Secretariat picked up a rake in his teeth and began cleaning his own stall. And “I told about that magical, unforgettable instant,” Nack wrote, “frozen now in time, when he turned for home, appearing out of a dark drizzle at Woodbine, near Toronto, in the last race of his career, 12 lengths in front and steam puffing from his nostrils as from a factory whistle, bounding like some mythical beast of Greek lore.”

Heart makes the difference. In stories like Seabiscuit’s. In stories like Secretariat’s. In stories like yours and mine.

Contact Teddy at teddy@latech.edu or on Twitter at @MamaLuvsManning

By DOUG IRELAND, Journal Sports

The Grambling Tigers are one game back of Alcorn State with two weeks (four games) left in the Southwestern Athletic Conference men’s basketball race, and their hopes of winning the championship probably come down to this weekend’s Saturday-Monday games.

Grambling and Alcorn have had their only meeting, a 63-60 Alcorn win at Grambling on Jan. 30, in the league schedule. They’ll probably be the top two seeds in the March 8-11 SWAC Tournament. But for Grambling to share the SWAC regular-season championship, the Tigers need help and there’s not a lot of reason to expect it.

This weekend is the best hope. Alcorn (12-2 in league play) meets two middle-of-the-pack foes, Prairie View and Texas Southern (both 7-8), on its homecourt. The last week sends the Braves to two bottom-feeders, UAPB and Mississippi Valley.

Grambling cleared its toughest remaining hurdle last Saturday with its 69-64 overtime win over third-place Southern in the NBA’s HBCU Classic during All-Star Game weekend in Salt Lake City.

The Tigers visit also-rans Florida A&M and Bethune-Cookman this weekend, then finish at home against Alabama A&M (at 8-7 in the SWAC, the only foe above .500 left for Grambling) and Alabama State next week. 

MEN 

GRAMBLING:  Along with national TV exposure on TNT and ESPN2 for the NBA HBCU Classic, the Tigers (18-8, 11-3) collected a $100,000 donation from AT&T toward “academics, athletics and wellness services,” a press release said. Grambling and NBA legend Willis Reed served as honorary captain for both teams. The Tigers are up to No. 4 nationally in field goal percentage defense (38.5 percent allowed), topped only by Tennessee, Houston and Alabama. 

Next games: Saturday at FAMU, Monday night at Bethune-Cookman. 

NORTHWESTERN STATE:  The Demons (19-9, 11-4) were upset by New Orleans at home Saturday 68-65, ending a nine-game win streak, but can still claim at least a share of the Southland title by sweeping their three remaining games, notably Saturday night’s visit to first-place Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Two wins guarantees NSU the valuable double-bye into the semifinal round of the conference tournament. Impressive stat: point guard DeMarcus Sharp has drained 60 percent (28-47) on 3-pointers while averaging 18.2 points per game. Three teammates have tried at least twice as many treys. 

Next games:  Tonight at Incarnate Word, Saturday at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

LOUISIANA TECH:  The sudden departure of leading scorer Cobe Williams (18.8 per game) for “personal reasons” with (then) only six games left in the season raised eyebrows last week, and left the Bulldogs with only 11 players. It’s been a frustrating run for first-year head coach Talvin Hester, whose team needs to win three of its last four to avoid Tech’s first losing record in 13 seasons. Tough assignment: the Bulldogs (13-14, 6-10) meet three teams ahead of them in the CUSA standings, including league leader Florida Atlantic and fourth-place Middle Tennessee. If you were curious: this season’s been much rougher on last year’s Tech coach, Eric Konkol, whose first Tulsa team is 5-22. 

Next games: Thursday at Western Kentucky, Saturday at MTSU. 

WOMEN 

LOUISIANA TECH: Riding a season-long four-game win streak, the Lady Techsters (16-10, 9-7) are in a fourth-place tie in the 10-team Conference USA standings.  Senior guard Keiunna Walker earned her second C-USA Player of the Week award, posting her second career double-double with 27 points and 14 rebounds with five assists and four drawn charges in a double overtime 83-79 triumph at Charlotte. Walker sits at No. 9 in all-time scoring with 1,860 points. She has reached double figures in 24 of 26 games, including 20 straight. Her 17.6 PPG is No. 2 in C-USA. 

Next games: At home this week, playing uphill against the top two teams in CUSA, Thursday at 6 vs. Western Kentucky (14-11, 11-5), then Saturday at 1 against Middle Tennessee (22-4, 15-2). They’ll be on the road next week at two teams (FIU, Florida Atlantic) under .500 in league play to wrap up the regular season. 

NORTHWESTERN STATE:  The Lady Demons (11-14, 7-8) have two matchups with their closest Southland Conference competition, Incarnate Word (12-15, 7-8), the first tonight in San Antonio. NSU is 1-11 on the road, and UIW is 9-4 at home. With the other remaining game at second-place Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Saturday, NSU could tumble into danger of not being one of the eight conference tournament qualifiers if it ends on a three-game skid. 

Next games: Tonight at UIW, Saturday at A&M-CC (16-10, 11-4). 

GRAMBLING: The Lady Tigers (7-18, 6-8) are tied for the last qualifying slot (eighth) for the SWAC Tournament. They’re still shooting poorly – 35 percent overall, 25 percent from distance. 

Next games: Grambling needs to win on the road Saturday at Florida A&M (5-21, 3-12), then Monday at Bethune-Cookman (10-15, 9-6). The regular season finale is next Wednesday at home against Alabama A&M (13-12, 11-4). 

Contact Doug at sbjdoug@gmail.com

JOURNAL STAFF

College Baseball

Wednesday’s scores

BPCC 4-7, Panola 1-2

Today’s games

No games scheduled.

College Basketball

Wednesday’s scores

WOMEN 

SUSLA 62, LSUE 55

MEN

BPCC 96, Navarro 93, OT
LSU 84, Vanderbilt 77
LSUE 81, SUSLA 49

Today’s games

WOMEN

Northwestern State at Incarnate Word, 5:30 p.m.

Western Kentucky at Louisiana Tech, 6 p.m.

MEN

Louisiana Tech at Western Kentucky, 8 p.m.

Northwestern State at Incarnate Word, 7:30 p.m.

High School Basketball

Today’s games 

LHSAA Girls Playoffs – Quarterfinals

Natchitoches Central at Parkway, 6:30 p.m.

Huntington at Lafayette, 6 p.m.

High School Baseball

Wednesday’s score

Northwood 15, Woodlawn 0

Today’s games

West Monroe at Haughton, 5 p.m.

North Webster at North Caddo, 5 p.m.

Woodlawn at Southwood, 6 p.m.

Loyola at Evangel, 6 p.m.

Ebarb at Huntington 

North DeSoto Tournament 

At Byrd

Texas High vs. Benton, 4 p.m.

Texas High vs. Byrd, 6:30 p.m. 

At North DeSoto

Captain Shreve vs. Marshall, Texas, 4 p.m.

High School Softball

Wednesday’s scores

North DeSoto 15, Bossier 0

Northwood at North Caddo, ppd.

Today’s games

Benton at Florien

Captain Shreve at North Caddo

Parkway at Logansport

Plain Dealing at Mansfield

Schedules are subject to cancellations and postponements.

Deer season for all practical purposes has come to an end, but opinions on deer hunting vary widely and run the gamut from “if it’s brown it’s down” to not shooting one unless it’s a trophy. 

For the past 10 years or so, I have had the privilege of writing about trophy bucks taken around the state for LA Sportsman magazine. I have come away with the firm belief that Louisiana rivals states like Kansas and Iowa where some genuine buster bucks are taken every season. 

For example, if a buck has antlers with measurements of at least 140 inches including number of points, tine length, overall mass and inside spread, it got written up as a trophy. As the season progressed, we had so many140-inch bucks it was necessary to move the cutoff point to 150 inches. Looking back over the bucks that earned a spot in the magazine, the top five bucks ranged from 177 inches to a whopping 192 inches. 

Some hunters work hard all year in providing nutritional feed for deer, scouting using trail cameras to locate and pin-point target bucks. Other hunters are not interested in what a buck scores but just want to put a deer or two in the freezer, buck or doe – it doesn’t matter. 

I ran across a page on Facebook that highlights just how far ranging opinions are on what is an acceptable deer to take. There has been some talk about wanting to change Louisiana’s deer hunting regulations say six, which currently includes three antlered and three antlerless deer. 

One respondent on the page I read wrote…”About changing Louisiana deer hunting regs, in my opinion, I say leave it like it is. I don’t care about horns; I’m a meat hunter and I would be happy with six doe tags.” 

This comment triggered the following rather heated response…”Meat hunter is what someone calls himself if he’s too lazy to scout and hunt for big deer, part of the ‘if it’s brown it’s down’ crowd. Ain’t a hunter in Louisiana would pass a good buck for a doe. Everyone wants to kill a good buck.” 

Deer hunting today is far different than it was back in the days when I began hunting. For the first few years I hunted, bucks were the only legal deer that could be taken. That included anything from two-inch spikes on up. I can remember when all I looked for was to see something sticking up on a deer’s head. Spike or four point; it didn’t matter because it was a buck. 

Later, there were mixed reactions when regulations allowed one “doe day.” Some were happy to see this happen while others had the belief that if you allowed hunters to shoot does, it would be the end of our deer herds in the state. This didn’t prove to be the case as a few years later more “doe days” were added until the current picture emerged where the tagging system was implemented allowing hunters to take deer of either sex up to the daily and season limit. 

Here is the response from another on the page I read that gives deer hunters something to think about…”I have no problem with anyone choosing to shoot any legal deer on their property. Sure, we let some deer go and our neighbors shoot them. So what…we don’t own the deer. If it makes them happy, so be it. People have different wants, needs and goals. Hope everyone can enjoy the hunt the way they see fit.” 

In this writer’s opinion, this respondent pretty much nailed it. 

Contact Glynn at glynnharris37@gmail.com