By DAVID ERSOFF, Journal Sports

Bossier’s boys will carry the Shreveport-Bossier soccer banner into state championship play Thursday with a first-ever appearance in the final, while the four-year streak of championship game appearances by the reigning state titleist Loyola girls has reached a bitter end.

Three local teams reached state semifinals in their divisions and Bossier was the lone survivor.

As the last local standing Saturday afternoon, Bossier won at home 1-0. Loyola and Magnet girls’ teams had already fallen, Loyola losing 2-1 at home in overtime Friday evening, while Magnet fell 7-0 in Lafayette against the nation’s No. 3-ranked girls team on Saturday.

The second-seeded Bearkats hosted No. 3 St. Louis for a spot in the Division III final. The atmosphere was electric, with over 400 fans including the Bearkat band and a mariachi band. The Saints brought a large visiting crowd.

The Saints, who lost to the Bearkats a few weeks ago, employed a completely different strategy for this game. They did not press the ball in the middle of the field and packed the box, known in soccer terms as “parking the bus.” This frustrated the Bearkats, as they are used to being pressured and thrive with that. The Saints used counterattacks to try and generate opportunities. The first half was evenly played, with both teams having periods of time where they controlled the ball and the chances at goal.

The second half was extremely chippy with tempers flaring on the field and in the stands. The players began pushing and shoving, until finally players got into each other’s faces and a shoving frenzy began, resulting in a yellow card given to a player from both teams. This did not settle the crowd or the players, however. The hard fouls continued, and the fans remained frustrated with the officials’ calls and non-calls in the scoreless battle.

With eight minutes to go, the Bearkats got a free kick from 50 yards out and the ball was sent towards goal. The Saints keeper punched it out, right to the feet of Bossier defender Joshua Campos at the top of the 18. He hit an absolute no-doubter into the back of the net. Some levity came after the goal, when an overzealous Bossier fan ran onto the field to hug a player and was escorted out of the stadium. When the final whistle blew, the home crowd went into a “Bossier, Bossier, Bossier” chant. Bearkats’ coach Orlando Medellin jubilantly asked, “Is this real? Is this really happening?”

The dream is reality, coach. Medellin and his program have reached the pinnacle of state high school soccer for the first time.

The Bearkats will match up with fourth-seeded The Willow School (formally Lusher Charter) at 4:30 Thursday at Strawberry Stadium in Hammond on the Southeastern Louisiana University campus. These teams faced each other in November with a 0-0 result, which will not be repeated.

The Loyola girls have been a fixture in the state finals lately, but a fiercely-contested semifinal Friday night halted that run.

The top seed in Division IV hosted fourth-seeded Episcopal. This game started with Loyola pushing forward and having some early opportunities at goal, but the Lady Flyers couldn’t finish. With 25 minutes erased, Loyola passed the ball back towards goal, unfortunately the touch wasn’t crisp and Episcopal eighth-grader Sydney Bonnecaze intercepted the ball and put the Lady Knights ahead 1-0.

This marked a change in momentum, with the Lady Flyers not as sharp as when they’d begun the game. That all could have changed with a penalty kick awarded to Loyola, but it sailed just over the bar and the half ended with a 1-0 edge for the visitors.

The second half again opened well for the Lady Flyers, and this time it counted when Allye Brucia was able to put Loyola on the board, tying the game at 1-1. The rest of the half was played up and down the field and no goals conceded.

In overtime, two 10-minute periods were played. Shortly after the first OT started, the Lady Knights got a corner kick and the ball ended at Bonnecaze’s feet. She put Episcopal ahead 2-1. The Lady Flyers pushed forward valiantly, and had it not been for Cassie Campbell’s shot hitting the crossbar, or an amazing save by Lady Knights keeper Riley Posey on a shot by Madelyn Vandevender, the game would have not ended with Episcopal winning 2-1. 

In Saturday’s first semi involving a local squad, the fourth-ranked Caddo Magnet Lady Mustangs faced five-time reigning state champion St. Thomas More in a Division II contest in Lafayette. The heavily favored Lady Cougars started fast, and never let up.

They scored four times in the first half, while also hitting the crossbar five times. Magnet had trouble holding possession and keeping the pressure off their defense against the STM onslaught.

Magnet did earn a little more time with the ball in the second period, and even took it into the Lady Cougars’ half on occasion. After an early goal, St. Thomas More hit a dry spell with scoring until netting a PK for a 6-0 spread.

The bright spot for Magnet came late when the Lady Cougars got another penalty kick, and Lady Mustangs’ keeper Addison Tipton saved the PK and then snagged a second save off the rebound.

Contact David at dersoff@bellsouth.net

By JERRY BYRD, Journal Sports

The best laid plans of defending state champions often go awry. Such was the case for Calvary sophomore Jackson Burney as he went to the line for the D-II boys’ 1600 meter run at Saturday’s LHSAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in Baton Rouge. 

Burney, who was competing in the first of his two races Saturday — the second would be in defense of his state title in the 800m — wanted to stay with the pack and then catch the lead at the end. It would have worked had it not been for fellow sophomore Aiden Monistere from Parkview Baptist, who won his first state championship with a 4:30.13. 

“The game plan was to sit behind the leaders and pass them at the end,” Burney said. “I let Aiden get too far in front of me.”

Monistere spent most of the race behind Burney before passing him with 300 meters to go. On the bell lap, Monistere came through in third place and Burney was in fifth place.

The kick was on – and Monistere had just enough foot speed to hold off the Cavalier, who finished with a 4:30.32. It was a personal record for both runners. Monistere dropped two seconds off his previous best. Burney improved his personal record by five seconds.

Burney had to wisely manage the hour recovery between his 1600m race and his 800m. 

Despite the intense 1600m race, Burney “felt good” as he checked in for his specialty – the 800m, where he won his first state championship last May as a freshman.

The plan was similar to that of his previous race, and it worked to perfection as Burney powered home during the last 100m to win his second consecutive state championship in the event. 

While Burney did come away with the victory, he came up just shy of his goal of breaking 2:00. His winning time was 2:00.12.

Even the post-race meal didn’t go exactly as planned for Burney. His family wanted to try a new seafood place in Baton Rouge, but the wait was 90 minutes so Burney opted for a couple of chicken sandwiches from Chik-Fil-A instead.

While Burney won his second consecutive state championship 800m race, Captain Shreve’s Marquez “Macho” Stevenson won his third consecutive 400m state title (48.80).

It’s the second straight LHSAA Indoor Meet where Stevenson has been the only runner in the state to break 49 seconds in the 400m. Last year, he won with a 48.93.

“It was a good race, a competitive race,” Stevenson said. “In the first meet I ran a 50. I wanted to run a 48.3. I just gave it all I had. I feel like nobody works as hard as me. I know my top end speed is faster.” 

While things went Stevenson’s way in the 400m, that was not the case in the boys’ 60m where he was looking to break the record. Instead it was Warren Easton’s Germain Smith-Mata who took home the state championship with a field house composite record time of 6.76. Stevenson finished fourth with a 6.86. 

Other Caddo-Bossier athletes making podium appearances included Airline junior Jeremiah Boudreaux, who jumped 6-3.5 to take third in the Division I boys’ high jump. Huntington’s Demetria Harris and Catina Davenport both made the podium in the Division I girls’ 60m hurdles. Harris, a junior, finished second with a time of 9.23. Davenport, a senior, clocked a 9:46.

Harris also finished second in the Division I girls’ long jump (18-3.25) and helped the Lady Raiders to a second-place performance in the 4×200. Other members of the team included Rondisia Williams, Aniyah Jackson, and T’La Dewitt. 

Huntington had the highest finish of any Caddo-Bossier team, finishing third in girls’ competition with 35.5 points. Scotlandville (71 points) took home the championship trophy. St. Joseph’s Academy (55 points) was the runner-up. 

Contact Jerry at sbjjerrybyrd@gmail.com

By ROY LANG III, Journal Sports

The North American Hockey League’s South Division doesn’t mess around. Thanks to Friday night’s shootout victory against rival Lone Star, the Shreveport Mudbugs moved within five points of the second-place Brahmas.

Less than 24 hours later, the Mudbugs owned a 2-1 third-period lead on the Brahmas, but were soon on the wrong end of a 3-2 decision. The loss dropped Shreveport into fourth place — the final playoff position — in the South.

“We need to be pissed off – we were in position to get a huge sweep and we didn’t finish the job,” Mudbugs head coach Jason Campbell said. “The boys have to be fired up for another great week of practice.”

Friday, Shreveport defenseman Maksim Sushchynski opened the scoring and a bittersweet weekend with a power-play goal in the first period. The Brahmas tied the game in the second period, but the Mudbugs scored twice in the shootout as goaltender Simon Bucheler made 23 saves in the victory.

Shreveport’s three-game win streak against the Brahmas ended the next night.

Shreveport tallied first again, thank to Logan Gotinsky. A second-period goal from Logan Heroux gave the Mudbugs a 2-1 lead, but Lone Star scored twice in the third period to earn a 3-2 decision.

“We just got outworked and outmuscled,” Campbell said. “We didn’t earn it. A lot of times you earn those bounces (to tie the game). We didn’t have enough grit.”

The teams close out the regular-season series with a doubleheader in Shreveport this weekend.

Notes: Maksim Sushchynski suffered a freak injury Saturday when he slipped on newly installed rubber in the locker room between periods. Campbell says his status for this weekend’s series is uncertain. Meanwhile, forward Brent Litchard, who missed the trip to North Richland Hills, Texas, is likely to return for the rematch at The George. 

Last week’s 3 Stars

1. Simon Bucheler, earned his 18th victory of the season Friday, good for fourth-best in the NAHL.

2. Maksim Sushchynski, collected his second goal of the season Friday before a freak injury knocked him out of Saturday’s contest.

3. Logan Gotinsky, moved into a tie for second place on the team in goals with the first tally Saturday. 

NAHL South Division standings

Oklahoma (35-6-1), 71 points

Lone Star (28-10-5), 61

New Mexico (26-16-3), 55

Shreveport (24-14-6), 54

Amarillo (21-19-3), 45

Odessa (21-19-2), 44

El Paso (12-28-3), 27

Corpus Christi (10-29-5), 25

*top four make the playoffs 

Team leaders

Goals: Garrett Steele, 15

Assists: Logan Heroux, 23

Points: Drake Morse, 35

Penalty Minutes: Maksim Sushchynski, 72

Game-winning goals: Morse, Hayden Nichol, Logan Gotinsky, Jake Mack, 3

Goals-against average: Simon Bucheler, 2.10

Save percentage: Bucheler, .917

Up next

Shreveport completes the home-and-home series with Lone Star on George’s Pond at Hirsch Coliseum on Friday and Saturday, 7:11 p.m.

Contact Roy at roylangiii@yahoo.com

JOURNAL STAFF

College Basketball

Saturday’s scores

WOMEN

Northwestern State 82, New Orleans 81, OT
LSUS 70, Jarvis Christian 51
Louisiana Tech 83, Charlotte 79, 2OT
Southern U. 54,  Grambling State 50
BRCC 56, SUSLA 49

MEN

South Carolina 82, LSU 73
Charlotte 74, Louisiana Tech 67
New Orleans 68, Northwestern State 65
LSUS 88, Jarvis Christian 78
Trinity Valley, 83, BPCC 76
Grambling State 69, Southern U. 64
BRCC 103,  SUSLA 96, 2OT

Sunday’s scores

WOMEN

LSU 90, Florida 79
Colorado College 81, Centenary 47

MEN

Colorado College 66, Centenary 55

College Baseball

Friday’s scores

BYU 10, Louisiana Tech 1
LSU 10, Western Michigan 0
South Alabama 3, Northwestern State 2
MVSU 7, Grambling State 5

Saturday’s scores

Louisiana Tech 8-2, BYU 6-8 
LSUS 10, LSUA 3
LSU 5, Western Michigan 3
UAB 4, Northwestern State 3
Tyler 12-14, BPCC 5-2
Southern U. 4, Grambling State 3

Sunday’s scores

Eastern Kentucky 11, Northwestern State 1
Grambling State 14, MVSU 4
LSUS 8-5, LSUA 2-9
LSU 9, Western Michigan 2

Today’s game

BYU at Louisiana Tech, 6 p.m. 

High School Basketball

Friday’s scores 

BOYS

Captain Shreve 48, Parkway 39 
Haughton 78, Benton 62 
Southwood 59, Natchitoches Central 40 
Green Oaks 53, Neville 41 
Loyola 64, Menard 42 

Saturday’s scores

Calvary 72, Bossier 56
Ruston 62, Evangel 37

Today’s games

GIRLS

Non-Select Division I 

(15) Neville at (2) Parkway, 6 p.m. 

(19) Haughton at (3) Barbe 

(17) Benton at (1) Walker, 6:30 p.m. 

Select Division I 

(10) Acadiana at (7) Huntington, 7 p.m. 

(17) Byrd at (1) John Curtis, 2 p.m. (at Academy of Our Lady) 

Select Division II 

(19) BTW at (3) St. Louis Catholic, 6:30 p.m. (Legacy Center, McNeese) 

Select Division III 

(19) Calvary at (3) Houma Christian, 5:30 (at E.D. White) 

(15) Loyola at (2) Menard, 6 p.m. 

High School Softball

Friday’s scores

Northwood 13, Caddo Magnet 6
North DeSoto 15, Airline 4
Zwolle 11, Byrd 2
Logansport 18, Byrd 0
Lakeside 12, Southwood 0

Saturday’s scores 

Airline 12, Minden 2
St. Frederick 4, Airline 0
Logansport 16, Southwood 0
John Curtis 6, Calvary 3
Sam Houston 5, Calvary 2
Zwolle 16, Southwood 0

Schedules are subject to cancellations and postponements.

JOURNAL STAFF 

The Shreveport Mavericks begin training camp today in preparation to defend their 2022 The Basketball League National Championship won in Albany, New York, last season. 

Things started with a free-agent tryout camp Saturday at the Boys and Girls Club on the Fairgrounds in Shreveport. Maverick coach Steve Tucker deemed the camp a success with four players earning opportunities with the Shreveport Mavericks.    

Players were to report on Sunday with training camp going forward today. 

“For me, it is all about routine. Preparation is the real key and if we take care of details, we will put ourselves into a really good position,” said Tucker.

“We have improved ourselves immensely in key positions. Subtraction has led to addition, and with that, we have gotten better,” added Tucker. “Add proper preparation into the equation and I believe we have a team up to the challenges waiting ahead.” 

The Mavericks return some key components from last season in leading scorer Paul Parks (23.0 average per game) and point guard PJ Meyers (11 points per game, and six assists per game). Meyers was the MVP of the TBL finals last July when the Mavericks took down Albany. 

Other returning players that were all big contributors to last year’s success include Josh Montgomery, Tavin Cummings and Bilal Richardson.

Top newcomers include former LSU Tiger Tim Quarterman and a couple of former LSUS standouts in Jeff Boyd and Kadavion Evans, who played two years at Louisiana-Lafayette and was a two-time All-City guard at North Caddo High School. Evans also played in the TBL last season with the Enid Outlaws. 

The Mavericks will open the season on March 1 at the Gold Dome against Potawatomi.   

Here is a look at the training camp roster:  

Depth Chart 

POINT GUARDS 

PJ Meyers (5-9, 180) 

Jesse Hardin (6-3, 180) 

Marcus Wallace (6-2, 180) 

Vincent Jackson (6-3, 175) 

SWING GUARDS 

Kadavion Evans (6-2, 180) 

Tim Quarterman (6-6, 180) 

Jeff Boyd (6-5, 170) 

SWING FORWARDS: 

Paul Parks (6-4, 200) 

Josh Montgomery (6-5, 215) 

Tavin Cummings (6-6, 205) 

POWER FORWARDS: 

Jay Hedgeman (6-9, 225) 

Winford Ross-Holmes (6-8, 220) 

CENTERS: 

Chris Davenport (6-9, 225) 

Bilal Richardson (6-9, 265)

By Royal Alexander/Opinion

It’s interesting to view modern events in the context of history. When we do, we are often surprised by the irony in some of the changes.

In the 1960s in America, it was college campuses that were at the heart of the battle for free speech and academic freedom. College students regularly protested, picketed and engaged in “sit ins” on their college campuses demanding the right to be heard. One historic example is student protests regarding the Vietnam War. As a result, colleges and university administrations were often forced to compromise to meet these demands.

The exact opposite is occurring on college and university campuses today.

Whatever term is used to describe today’s suppression of and hostility to academic freedom—political correctness, the cancel culture or the woke movement—the result is the same. These institutions are now opposing academic freedom at every turn while striving to cement divisive, identity-focused politics on campus.

How so?

Creeping like bacteria into the fertile grounds of Leftist college faculty and administrators is an ideology that is described as Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity (DIE). However, it’s critical to note that the three words that make up DIE have been tortured to mean exactly the opposite of what we would think. DIE seeks to distort and control the meaning of words and when that happens, thought itself is controlled.

As Matthew Spalding has described it, DIE “is especially toxic. It divides us by social identity groups, ranks those groups on privilege and power, and excludes those who fail to honor the new orthodoxy. Rather than being equally endowed with innate dignity and fundamental rights as human beings—best judged by our character and not skin color—we are supposed to discriminate and confer status based on race, sex and cultural affinity.” (Wall Street Journal, Feb. 10, 2023).

Poison.

This is especially bad in the context of colleges and universities.

As Matthew Spalding further notes, “wherever this agenda is allowed to take root, free expression and academic integrity are doomed.”

Under the DIE creed, diversity doesn’t refer to celebrating our National Creed, E Pluribus Unum, a Latin phrase meaning ‘Out of Many, One’ signifying that America’s strength comes from the diverse cultural, religious, ethnic, racial and intellectual differences being melded into One Nation striving to Perfect Our Union by advancing our fundamental constitutional principles of “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.”

On the contrary, to the Left, DIE means diversity in all things except thought, with free expression rigidly controlled by the Thought Police.

But there is more.

The Heritage Foundation undertook a study entitled “Inclusion Delusion: The Antisemitism of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Staff at Universities.” The study first notes that the number of people devoted to DIE efforts has grown to about 45 people at the average university and then examines whether these large DIE staff are, in fact, creating a tolerant and welcoming environment on college campuses. Interestingly, the study also specifically examined the extent to which DIE staff at universities express anti-Israel attitudes that are so out of proportion and imbalanced as to constitute antisemitism.

What was the conclusion of the Heritage study?

That “university DIE staff are better understood as political activists with a narrow and often radical political agenda rather than promoters of welcoming and inclusive environments. Many DIE staff are particularly unwelcoming toward Jewish students and the political activism of DIE staff may help explain the rising frequency of antisemitic incidents on college campuses. Rather than promoting diversity and inclusion, universities may be contributing to an increase in anti-Jewish hatred by expanding DIE staff and power.” (Jay Greene, Ph.D. and James Paul, Dec. 8, 2021).

Wow.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration has pushed back hard against DIE.

To ascertain funding at its state colleges and universities, Gov. DeSantis scrutinized what funds were used for DIE. He discovered that numerous DIE staff members are on the payrolls of Florida’s colleges and universities and that DIE “may be better understood as jobs programs subsidizing political activism without improving campus climate,” not fostering a welcoming environment for all students.

This kind of censorship simply cannot be allowed if our Republic—and the freedoms guaranteed by our Constitution—are to endure. The greatest virtue of free thought and free speech is that all kinds of ideas are thrust into the rough and tumble of the marketplace of ideas where the best idea prevails.

DIE must be opposed and defeated, and die.

Whenever you go to a basketball arena, do you ever notice if or who the court is named for? Better yet, do you ever care? Didn’t think so.

Which makes this whole Dale Brown/Sue Gunter thing at LSU equal parts typical, laughable, and, of course, political. (After all, this is Louisiana.)

A year ago, the LSU Board of Supervisors voted to name the court at the Maravich Assembly Center in honor of Dale Brown, longtime LSU men’s coach. They trotted out Dale and his supporters for the ceremony and the whole nine yards.

But then, the wind started blowing and a movement began to add Sue Gunter, the longtime women’s basketball coach (who passed away 15 years ago) to the floor naming. Last week, a new vote was taken and was approved.

Insert uproar here.

If it is your inclination to say “who cares,” you certainly have my permission. To me, there is only one person in the history of LSU athletics who has reached the level of greatness that should merit a naming opportunity. Take a bow, Skip Bertman. You take a program that few even knew existed and then win five College World Series titles? Now that’s where the standard ought to be.

That’s it. That’s the list.

What has been truly amazing is to see how polarizing the basketball court has become. And don’t let anybody try to tell you differently; there were plenty of folks who would tell you that it shouldn’t have been named for Brown in the first place.

But we all know that we live in a world where the standards have been lowered. Harold Baines, who was a .289 career hitter, never led the league in anything and was never higher than ninth in MVP voting, is in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

For some reason, people feel compelled to put up statues at sports arenas for coaches and athletes who are no one’s idea of legendary.

Now, if you ask who has had the greatest impact on LSU basketball? Then Dale Brown is your guy. He didn’t build LSU basketball out of nowhere – that Maravich kid was pretty good and Bob Pettit would like a word – but yes, he was the dominant force behind LSU’s rise to a new level for an extended period of time.

Plus, Dale was a dominant personality. You always kept your eyes (and TV screens) on him.

But let’s be honest as well: there are plenty of answers from the other side as to why naming the court after him wasn’t standard worthy. Most will point out that he won as many Final Fours as you did. And there are many other reasons that get thrown around.

Let’s see if we can agree on this – if you say that LSU has to name the court after somebody, then Dale Brown is the best choice. (The better question is, do you have to?)

If Sue Gunter were so worthy, then why wasn’t her name brought up originally? You know the answer.

But the furor over this is really something to behold. Just like to point this out: no one is saying Brown’s name was ever going to be taken off the court.

Naming the court at Duke for Mike Krzyzewski? Of course. Tennessee named its after women’s coach Pat Summitt, who won eight more titles than Gunter (8-0). That’s the kind of standard that should be met.

Instead, Lou Henson, who never won any national titles, has not one, but two courts named for him (Illinois and New Mexico State).

We have accepted the Lou Henson standard instead of the Krzyzewski-Summitt standard when it comes to all of this.

So what should LSU do? At first, this idea seemed laughable, but now it seems perfectly in keeping with what this has all come to. Have two decals ready to apply to the court — one for Dale Brown when it’s a men’s game and one for Sue Gunter when it’s a women’s game.

Everybody wins! And we all get orange slices afterward!

Contact JJ at johnjamesmarshall@yahoo.com

JOURNAL STAFF

Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser was on hand to welcome attendees of the Central States Chapter of the Society of American Travel Writers (SATW) conference during a luncheon held at the Robinson Film Center on Thursday.

“I’ve got the best job in the world, promoting our state,” Nungesser told writers who gathered in the downstairs theater for Thursday’s lunch. “We treat visitors like family.”

During his stop to downtown Shreveport, Nungesser emphasized the numerous attractions – including over 400 fairs and festivals —  available to tourists while inviting them to stay in town an extra day to attend Sunday’s Highland Parade.

The conference began with an opening night event at the Shreveport Aquarium on Wednesday and ends with a Mardi Gras bash at the Krewe of Gemini Parade on Saturday. Other events include an East Bank experience and two city tours exploring all things “Weird and Wonderful” and the “Sportsman’s Paradise.”

Stacy Brown, executive director of the Shreveport-Bossier Convention and Tourist Bureau (SBCTB), introduced Nungesser and said, “Out of all the Lieutenant Governors I have worked with, he travels the state more than any other.”

Conference attendees were also given a history and overview of the Robinson Film Center by executive director Wendell Riley followed by a presentation from Gregory Kallenberg, founder and executive director of Louisiana Prize Fest.

“We are thrilled to be able to have our conference in Shreveport-Bossier this year,” said Chez Chesak, SATW Central States Chair.

The following are the Civil Suits filed in the Clerk of Court’s office of Bossier Parish for the timeframe of shown.

The following are the Civil Suits filed in the Clerk of Court’s office of Caddo Parish for the timeframe shown.

JOURNAL STAFF

Calvary won its first playoff game in school history and was joined by Haughton, Benton and Booker T. Washington who also picked up road victories in the first round of LHSAA girls’ basketball playoff games Thursday night. 

Loyola, the only local team with a home game in the first round, held Ascension Episcopal scoreless for a half in a 39-15 Select Division III win.

The No. 15 seeded Lady Flyers (12-15) got a game-high 14 points from Emma Sipes. LCP will travel to Alexandria for a date with No. 2 ranked Menard (27-5) in a second-round game.

Ascension Episcopal finished its season at 11-14.

Byrd’s girls are also still alive, owning a Wednesday night road win at St. Joseph. 

CALVARY 35, POPE JOHN PAUL II 32: In Select Division III, the Lady Cavaliers got the program’s first playoff win. The No. 19 Cavs (12-6) will be on the road in the second round at No. 3 Houma Christian (18-2).

HAUGHTON 53, DUTCHTOWN 48: On the road in a Non-Select Division I game, the 19^th-seeded Lady Bucs pulled off the upset to move to 24-10 and a second-round date in Lake Charles at No. 3 Barbe (26-4). Bella Hamilton led Haughton with 17 points, Sara White had 12 and Skylar Branch 11. The No. 14 Lady Griffins finish their season at 21-12.

BENTON 42, SULPHUR 25: In Non-Select Division I, the 17^th-seeded Lady Tigers (20-12) were led by Madison Schloth who scored 13 points and Chloe Bailey added 11. Bailey hit a pair of 3s to end the third quarter and give Benton a 31-19 lead over the No. 16 Lady Tors.

BOOKER T. WASHINGTON 63, G.W. CARVER 30: In Select Division II at Carver, the 19^th seeded Lady Lions improved to 14-11 behind Younique Jackson’s 16 points. Janiyah Dotson scored 15 and Asia Foster 13.  BTW will be on the  road again in Round Two to play No. 3 St. Louis Catholic Monday at the Legacy Center in Lake Charles.

DESTREHAN 56, AIRLINE 47: In Non-Select Division I, the No. 20 Lady Vikings took a 36-35 lead into the fourth quarter but couldn’t hold off the host No. 13 Lady Wildcats. Paige Marshall and KeZyriah Sykes both had 11 points for Airline, finishing its season at 18-15. Destrehan moves on to the second round with a 23-6 mark and will play at No. 4 Zachary. 

MOUNT CARMEL 47, NORTHWOOD 29: In Select Division I, at New Orleans the Lady Falcons’ season came to an end with a 20-8 record.

BOYS

AIRLINE 58, BYRD 41: At Byrd, the Vikings got a game-high 25 points from Tre’Von Jackson and finished 8-6 in District 1-5A. Colby O’glee added 13 points and Kevin White Jr. 10 for Airline, which has won seven of its last eight and finishes the regular season 18-14. Byrd finishes the regular season 12-17, 5-9.

JOURNAL STAFF

The Caddo Magnet and Loyola girls, and Bossier’s boys, will take the field today and Saturday with hopes of advancing to next week’s LHSAA Soccer Championships in Hammond.

Reigning state champion Loyola (17-5-4), the top seed in Division IV, will host No. 4 Episcopal (16-2-1) at Messmer Stadium today at 4:30. The Lady Flyers are playing with a chance to advance to the finals for the fifth year in a row. LCP won the Division IV title in 2019 and the Division III title last season after being state runners-up the previous two years.

Magnet (19-9-0) has the monumental task of playing five-time defending Division II state champion St. Thomas More Saturday morning at 11. The Lady Mustangs are seeded fourth in the bracket while the Cougars are the No. 1 seed and undefeated on the season at 29-0-2. STM is ranked No. 3 in the country.

The Bearkats (22-2-2) are the second seed in the Division III boys’ bracket and will host No. 3 St. Louis Catholic (17-3-4) Saturday at Memorial Stadium at 2 p.m.

For the second year in a row, Bossier is looking to advance to its first-ever state final.

Here is the schedule of games:

Today’s game

Girls’ Division IV

(1) Loyola (17-5-4) vs. (4) Episcopal (16-2-1), Messmer Stadium, 4:30 p.m.

Saturday’s games

Girls’ Division II

(4) Caddo Magnet (19-9-0) at (1) St. Thomas More (29-0-2), 11 a.m.

Boys’ Division III

(3) St. Louis Catholic (17-3-4) at (2) Bossier (22-2-2), Memorial Stadium, 2 p.m.

By JERRY BYRD, Journal Sports

When Byrd juniors Jenna Key and Hudson Roberts step to the line tomorrow evening in the girls’ 3200m at the LHSAA State Indoor Track and Field Championships in Baton Rouge, they probably won’t be thinking about how far they’ve come, or the life lessons learned. And they probably won’t be thinking about the 2022 LSU Last Chance Qualifier, where the teammates put on a show for the Carl Maddox Fieldhouse crowd.

Instead, they will be thinking about the task at hand and implementing the race strategy given to them by Byrd head coach Juan Plaza.

Although she has state championship experience, Key will be competing in her first indoor state championship. She missed it a year ago due to a freak accident at practice when she suffered a severe sprain after her foot landed on an errant lacrosse ball. 

Roberts did run at last year’s LHSAA State Indoor Meet. She finished fifth with a time of 11:44.18, but it wasn’t as fast as she ran two weeks before the state meet, at the LSU Last Chance Meet where she lunged past Key in the last meter of the 3200 meters. She won with a school record time of 11:26.95. 

Key broke Roberts’ record earlier this month, running an 11:23.21. 

Although she missed the entire regular outdoor season last spring as she worked to return from her ankle sprain, Key was able to win the District 1-5A 3200m championship (12:06), and finished as the runner in the Region I-5A meet behind the Gatorade Louisiana Cross Country Player of the Year award winner, Ruston’s Lily Garrett, (11:49). But it was the third-place finish at the LHSAA Outdoor Meet which brought tears of joy and gave Key a bronze medal more meaningful than any gold she has ever received.

Cross country brought more adversity for the Byrd duo to overcome. Roberts was completely out after suffering a stress fracture which caused her to become acquainted with crutches and then a boot for the better part of four months. 

Key limped through the better part of the cross country campaign before ending the season with gutsy performances at both the regionals and then the LHSAA State Cross Country Meet at Natchitoches in November.

“I’m so excited,” Key said. “I’ve enjoyed indoor so much this year. I have a really good mindset going in. I’m going to have fun and see what I can do. It’s my junior year and it’s my first indoor state meet, so I’m excited.”

Her teammate shares in her excitement. 

“It has definitely been a long road of recovery and it’s definitely not over but it’s so good to be back racing – especially being out for so long – it just makes it that much sweeter to be back,” Roberts said.

Roberts has used the indoor season as a means to an end. 

“Indoor season has been about getting back to where I was and training and preparing for outdoor state a lot more,” Roberts said. “So to be able to qualify for state indoor is a gift and I am really excited to race this weekend.” 

Perhaps the only person more excited to watch the two Lady Jackets run is their coach. 

“It has been a journey of regaining confidence as well as physical strength,” said Plaza. “Despite all the adversity, they both find themselves in the state finals. As far as I’m concerned, they have already won at the game of perseverance. I love both ladies like my own daughters. We will continue on this exciting rebuilding journey.  Their story certainly will not end on Saturday in Baton Rouge.”

Key is scheduled to run the 1600m, where she is the No. 4 seed (5:21), and the 3200m, where she is the No. 3 seed. Roberts is seeded No. 10 (12:16) in the 3200m and will run a leg on the Jackets’ 4×800 relay. 

Plaza had one male qualify, triple jumper Xavier Anderson, who is seeded No. 7 with a best jump of 42-4.75.

Contact Jerry at sbjjerrybyrd@gmail.com

JOURNAL STAFF

College Basketball

Thursday’s results

WOMEN

LSUS 65, Texas College 39
Southeastern La. 65, Northwestern State 50
Louisiana Tech 57, North Texas 44
LSU 69, Ole Miss 60

MEN

LSUS 91, Texas College 75
North Texas 72, Louisiana Tech 62
Northwestern State 81, Southeastern La. 76

Today’s games

No games scheduled.

Saturday’s games

WOMEN

New Orleans at Northwestern State, 1 p.m.

Louisiana Tech at Charlotte, 1 p.m.

Southern U. at Grambling State, 1 p.m.

Jarvis Christian at LSUS, 2 p.m.

MEN

South Carolina at LSU, Noon

Charlotte at Louisiana Tech, 2 p.m.

New Orleans at Northwestern State, 3:30 p.m.

Jarvis Christian at LSUS, 4 p.m.

BPCC at Trinity Valley, 4 p.m.

Southern U. vs. Grambling State, at Salt Lake City, Utah, 3 p.m.

Sunday’s games

WOMEN

LSU at Florida, 1 p.m.

Centenary at Colorado College, 2 p.m.

MEN

Centenary at Colorado College, 3:30 p.m.

High School Basketball

Thursday’s results

BOYS

Airline 58, Byrd 41

GIRLS

LHSAA Playoffs (playoff seed in parenthesis)

Non-Select Division I

(17) Benton 42, (16) Sulphur 25
(13) Destrehan 56, (20) Airline 47
(19) Haughton 53, (14) Dutchtown 48

Select Division I

(9) Liberty 60, (24) Southwood 34
(12) Mt. Carmel 47, (21) Northwood 29

Select Division II

(19) Booker T. Washington 63, (14) Carver 30

Select Division III

(19) Calvary 35, (14) Pope John Paul II 32
(15) Loyola 39, (18) Ascension Episcopal 15

Today’s games

BOYS

Captain Shreve at Parkway

Haughton at Benton

Natchitoches Central at Southwood

Northwood at Plain Dealing

Neville at Green Oaks

Menard at Loyola

Saturday’s games

BOYS 

Calvary Classic

West Monroe vs. Parkway, 5 p.m.

Bossier vs. Calvary, 6:30 p.m.

High School Softball

Thursday’s results 

Airline 6, Ouachita 5
Stanley 4, Captain Shreve 3
Minden 14, Caddo Magnet 9
Evangel 12, North Webster 0

Schedules are subject to cancellations and postponements.

By ROY LANG III, Journal Sports 

It doesn’t take much beyond the words “Mudbugs-Brahmas” to get the juices flowing.

The longtime rivals have battled for more than two decades, first as professional franchises and now at the junior level. The teams have combined to win three of the last five North American Hockey League championships. 

The next chapter in the rivalry is a two-game set in North Richland Hills, Texas, this weekend. The last meetings were very testy. You shouldn’t expect anything different at the NYTEX Sports Centre. While it won’t take much to get the blood boiling yet again, the priority remains accumulating points. 

Shreveport has done a fine job of that of late. The Mudbugs have five victories in six games and are fresh off a sweep of New Mexico to vault them into third place in the NAHL South. 

After a blazing start to the 2022-23 campaign, the Brahmas have struggled. Lone Star has lost seven of its past nine games and is just six points in front of Shreveport. 

The last time the teams met (Jan. 27-28), the Mudbugs exited George’s Pond at Hirsch Coliseum with a sweep. One member of the Brahmas told Shreveport: “Next time, we’ll be ready.” 

“There can definitely be carryover,” Mudbugs head coach Jason Campbell said. “It hasn’t been that long since we played them and we play them again next week. 

“Part of our game and part of their game is to be physical, but we have to be smart while doing it. There is a lot to play for. We still need to win hockey games, they need to win hockey games. It’s a tight race in the South Division. There is a lot of jockeying for position and sometimes that jockeying can put you out of the playoffs.” 

The Mudbugs have been led by, well, everyone of late. Shreveport has displayed impressive depth, especially up front, in the second half of the season. 

“It’s good to see everyone stepping up,” said forward Eric Vitale, who has 11 goals and 16 assists this season. “It’s all about opportunity. If you get it, you have to take advantage of it. Some guys don’t get as much ice as others, so when you step on it you have to give that 110 percent effort. To have that depth is good and it’s going to help us moving forward.” 

Nine Mudbugs have collected at least 20 points this season. Five players have at least 10 goals. 

Following the Friday and Saturday affairs, the teams will buckle up again in Shreveport next weekend. 

Contact Roy at roylangiii@yahoo.com

Every now and then an angler has to overcome some adverse conditions. It might be rain, high winds, cold temperatures or extreme heat. But we have to approach adversity just like the postal service slogan: come rain, sleet, snow or shine, the mail must go through.

My first tournament of this year fit this scenario not because of what Mother Nature threw at all of us, but because of illness. To say it was a tough tournament would be an understatement. Nothing is worse than going to a tournament and being physically ill. Today, I’ll give an angler’s perspective on what it’s like to push through a tournament. 

Let me set up this challenge, and remind you that I am fighting Melanoma. On Jan. 3, I had biopsy surgery on my upper left ear — again! The following day, I had my fifth immunotherapy treatment with a drug called Opdivo. This is a drug designed to attack any cancer cells that might be present in the body. My body has not handled it very well. I’ve had to endure major muscle contractions of the lower back during the infusion of this drug. During this infusion after the pain hits, they inject me with two drugs; a pain killer called Demerol and a muscle relaxer called Ativan. This is the only way I can get through these treatments.

So, over a two-day period of surgery and IV infusion with pain killers, muscle relaxers and antbiotics, my body was going through hell. One week later, I headed for Sam Rayburn to get ready for the first ABA Open Series event.

My first practice day on Thursday, I felt sick all day and had major abdominal pain off and on. That evening my good friend and travel partner/competitor Adrian James and I went to dinner. Anyone that knows me, will tell you that when it comes to eating, I don’t pass up many meals. Feeling nauseated with strong abdominal pain coming and going, I started to eat my dinner and could only handle about five bites. I was concerned at this point that I was not going to be able to push through this event. So, I packed up and headed back home to Louisiana.

On Friday, I decided to take it easy and see if the pain and nausea would subside before I made any decision to withdraw from the tournament, which I’ve never done over my entire tournament career dating back to 1990. At 3 that afternoon I called the ABA Tournament Director, Chris Wayand (who does an outstanding job), and told him my situation. He told to me I had to let him know by 5:30 whether I was coming or not since the pairings for this event would be released at 6.

After getting through the day with minimal pain and starting to feel like I could maybe push through a one-day event, I called Chris confirming that I would be there. I left the house Saturday morning (tournament day) at 4 a.m. and made the two-hour drive to Sam Rayburn. I launched my boat with a queasy stomach and some anxiousness as to whether I made the right decision. I got lucky and did not have a partner as there were more pros/boaters than co-anglers. Sometimes in these events, anglers don’t always have a partner.

Finally, it was time to go fishing. As I headed across the lake for a short run to my first spot, I knew immediately that my stomach was going to be an issue. Nothing like a rough boat ride on an upset stomach along with abdominal pain to make you question, “why am I here?” But I powered through, trying to focus on catching fish. I caught one fairly quickly. It’s always amazing to me how much better catching fish will make you feel.

But one hour in, I had to take a break and sit down for about 40 minutes to let the pain subside. This happened four times during the day until 2 o’clock, when I decided I was done. I went in and weighed my fish and finished 24^th overall and got some good points. I was kind of proud of that finish due to everything I had to overcome.

One thing about fishing a circuit or trail, if your goal is to make the championship at the end of the year, you can’t afford to miss a tournament. Missing an event puts you too far back in the pack and there’s no way to make up a missed tournament in terms of points. So, I got my points and survived a tough event and I’m still in position to make it to the Ray Scott National Championship in 2024.

Just so you know, I didn’t write this article for you to feel sorry for me but help you realize that sometimes an angler has to push through an event whether he’s facing Mother Nature herself or going through some personal aches and pains.

Until next time, good luck, good fishing and don’t forget to wear sunscreen. Melanoma is real and can be deadly if not treated early. Also make regular visits to a dermatologist; it just might save your life.

Contact Steve at sgraf26@yahoo.com

Bossier Parish will be on the receiving end of a pair of grants totaling more than $6.6 million dedicated to construction, improvements and safety measures on several parish roads.

Parish Engineer Eric Hudson told parish police jury members Wednesday that a Local Road Safety Program (LRSP) grant of $3 million will target more than 50 miles on nine roads for striping, signage and other low-cost safety improvements.

Included in the LRSP are 15-plus miles of Old Plain Dealing Rd. from the Benton town limits to Plain Dealing town limits while 10 miles of Bellevue Rd. from U.S. Hwy. 80 to LA 157 will see improvements.

Other roadways included in the program are Linton Cutoff Rd. from Linton Rd. to LA 162; Linton Rd. from Airline Dr. to end of pavement; Parks Rd. from Linton Rd. to Crouch Rd.; Bodcau Station Rd. from the railroad crossing to U.S. 80; Sligo
Rd. from LA 612 (Caplis Sligo Rd.) to LA 157; and Johnson Koran Rd. from LA 157 to LA 527.

Hudson told police jury members the Local Road Safety Program grant is provided by the federal government through the state.

Projects on three parish roads, estimated to cost just over $3.668 million, will be funded through an Eastern Federal Lands Access Program grant. This grant requires 20 percent participation from the parish.

Roads designated for design and engineering plus paving, road base or surface course projects include Bodcau Dam Rd., Cotton Valley Rd. and Ivan Lake Rd.

“These are projects that we’ll probably be getting to in about a year,” Hudson said.

During Wednesday’s meeting, police jury members also:

• Gave special recognition to Wesley Reed for an act of heroism that saved the lives of a family in distress off a beach in Hawaii.
• Removed from agenda consideration of plat of the proposed development of River Square subdivision, being a resubdivision of portions of Lots 16, 17, 24 and 25, Shady Grove Plantation subdivision, located in Section 29, Township 19 North, Range 13 West, Bossier Parish; located off Benton Road. (Tabled on meeting of February 1, 2023.) 
• Approved the plat and site plan of the proposed development of Covenant Church subdivision, located in Section 29, Township 19 North, Range 13 West, Bossier Parish; located off Highway 3 north of Lafitte Lane.
• Approved plat and site plan of the proposed development of Haughton Tenant Center, located in Section 16, Township 18 North, Range 12 West, Bossier Parish; located off Highway 80. 
• Scheduled a public hearing on March 15, to consider approval of the plat of the proposed development of Crump subdivision, located in Section 15, Township 19 North, Range 13 West, Bossier Parish; located off Linton Road. 
• Accepted report on meeting of the Animal Control Committee.
• Authorized the Parish Administrator, Parish President, and Parish Treasurer to execute any and all documents in connection with an agreement with the State of Louisiana, Division of Administration, Office of Community Development and Bossier Parish, to implement a grant under the Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery Program through the Restore Louisiana Infrastructure: FEMA Public Assistance Nonfederal Share Match Program.
• Ratified approval of Amendment No. 2 to the agreement between the State of Louisiana, Division of Administration, Office of Community Development and Bossier Parish, to implement a grant under the Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery Program through the Restore Louisiana Infrastructure: FEMA Public Assistance Nonfederal Share Match Program.
• Accepted a proposal from Mike Hefner, Geographic Planning & Demographic Services, LLC, for assignment of polling locations for new precincts created due to redistricting.
• Adopted the Communications Policy for Sensory Impairments in connection with the Louisiana Community Development Block Grant.
• Adopted the Language Access Plan for limited English proficiency persons in connection with the Louisiana Community Development Block Grant.
• Reappointed Billy Jordan and John Mark Robertson to the Board of Directors for Bossier Parish Communications District No. 1 for four-year terms each, terms to expire March 1, 2027; joint appointments with the City of Bossier City.
• Approved the application of David R. Cook, for a 2023 Bossier Parish beer/liquor license at Daiquiri Palace, 1911 Highway 80E, Haughton.(Approved by the Sheriff’s Office and Health Department.)
• Adopted a resolution authorizing the Parish of Bossier to join with the State of Louisiana and other local governmental units as a participant in the Subdivision Settlement Participation Form(s) of the distributor settlement agreement and CVS, Walgreens, and Walmart settlement agreement.
• Approved the Certificate of Substantial Completion for Project No. 2022-100, Bay Hills main entrance improvements.
• Approved Change Order No. 2 for Project No. 2021-130, Contract 1 – Well No. 5 – North Woods well, on behalf of Consolidated Waterworks/Sewerage District No. 1 of the Parish of Bossier.
• Approved Change Order No. 2 for Project No. 2022-105, Merrywoods subdivision sewer collection system improvements, on behalf of Consolidated Waterworks/Sewerage District No. 1 of the Parish of Bossier.
• ApprovedCertificate of Substantial Completion forProject No. 2022-105, Merrywoods subdivision sewer collection system improvements, on behalf of Consolidated Waterworks/Sewerage District No. 1 of the Parish of Bossier.
• Ratified acceptance of a proposal of Budd’s Construction, Inc., for emergency sewer repair at 244 Cattail Trail, Benton, located in Kingston Plantation subdivision, on behalf of Consolidated Waterworks/Sewerage District No. 1 of the Parish of Bossier.
• Adopted a resolution in opposition of a policy change by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) concerning inundated roads during flooding.

Altavious Tremaine Washington Sr.

Age: 18
DOB: 5/17/2004
Race: Black
Sex: Male

Current booking information:

Description: Attempted first degree murder. Bond: $400,000
Description: Attempted armed robbery. Bond: $250,000

Josh Beavers is a teacher and a writer. He has been recognized five times for excellence in opinion writing by the Louisiana Press Association.

BOM is sponsoring the Titan Property Network Real Estate Investing Seminar. Pictured left to right: BOM’s Jonathan Wall, Megan Long with Titan Property Network, and BOM’s Henry Burns.