Month: November 2023

Quarterfinal contest provides long-anticipated challenge for Calvary

/ Megan Lowe
JUST A SWINGIN’:  Calvary Baptist quarterback Abram Wardell flips a swing pass to junior classmate Kolby Thomas last week against Menard. (Journal photo by GAVEN HAMMOND, landgphoto.com)

By DOUG IRELAND, Journal Sports

It’s time to turn it up for the undefeated Calvary Baptist football team.

No disrespect to the opponents the Cavaliers have dispatched in district play or last week’s 49-0 massacre of Menard – when the Eagles didn’t manage a first down on their own, getting the lone one on a fourth-quarter penalty – but this is the milepost Rodney Guin’s veteran, talented team has anticipated for months now.

Class 2A’s top-ranked Calvary (11-0, seeded No. 2) welcomes the No. 8 team in Class 3A, Parkview Baptist (8-2, seeded 10th) to Jerry Barker Stadium tonight at 7 in a Select Division III quarterfinal playoff battle.

The Cavaliers notched impressive early wins over Logansport, Byrd, Captain Shreve, Wossman and Westgate, then rolled through district play, got a first-round bye and shook off the rust last Friday night. Now the push to capture a fourth state championship really begins against the Baton Rouge-based visitors, who have won five LHSAA titles, the last in 2015.

“This game is comparable to those first five we played,” said Calvary coach Rodney Guin. “These are the ones that get us excited around here.”

The Cavs have flipped the switch to ON, he said.

“We’ve done everything we can do. We’re ready to play, and like I told the kids, ‘it’s good guys against good guys right now.’ We just gotta do what we do well, and see what happens.”

Parkview Baptist outscored Dunham last week (39-32) for the second time this season — the same Dunham that ended Calvary’s 2022 season in a muddy quarterfinal battle, 50-35 in Baton Rouge.

“The quarterfinals, it just gets tough there. You’re always going to face a good team,” said Guin. “Last year, I didn’t think we played real well in that game, and if we don’t play well Friday, the same thing’s going to happen. You have to play well to win at this point. We haven’t done that a couple times in the quarterfinals, and we got beat.”

It’s the saltiest playoff draw Guin’s seen in his seven seasons at Calvary.

“This is by far the toughest playoff bracket we’ve had. There are eight teams left, and I think six of them could win the championship. That’s usually not the case. It’s usually two or three, but in this bracket, there are several more,” he said.

Tonight’s contest will feature a matchup of outstanding quarterbacks with the same first name.

The Cavaliers’ Abram Wardell, a junior, has thrown for 3,125 yards and 36 touchdowns and leads a Cavs offense that scored at least 50 points in three of the last four regular season games and then scored “only” 49 in a playoff win last week against Menard.

Parkview’s Abram Johnston threw for 2,043 yards and 30 touchdowns in the regular season and added 260 and four touchdowns in last week’s win.

“They are big, fast and have a great quarterback,” Guin said. “We’ve got to contain him because he is also a great runner. That makes it tough.”

Parkview, which plays in District 6-3A, has shown impressive offensive numbers (six games of at least seven touchdowns) but has also shown the ability to be stingy on defense, with seven games of allowing only two touchdowns or less.

“I think our skill guys match up well with their defense,” Guin said. “If we can block them up front, I think we can score. But that quarterback is going to be the key to the game.”

Calvary’s defense must take control, he said.

“We’re going to have to stop them from running the football. One, it conserves the clock for us and two, if they can run it on us, we’re going to be in trouble because we won’t get the ball a whole lot and they’re going to control the game. So we’ve got to stop the run game.”

Guin is counting on Calvary’s defense getting that done.

“They’ve played well all year long. Those guys played well early in the year against those super good teams we played. I think we’ll do well — we’ve just got to get in there and battle.”

The senior-laden lineup is another reason Guin, in his 23rd season as a head coach, is especially hopeful.

“That’s a special group. A lot of these kids came here in the eighth grade or ninth grade together, and have started for a long time, a bunch of games. We’re really, really, really close with them, so we want the season to continue,” he said. “When it ends, it will be very difficult, because there’s a tremendous bond with this group, our coaches, and the other guys on the team. We’re hoping we can stretch it out for another three weeks.”

  • With contributions by John James Marshall 

Contact Doug at sbjdoug@gmail.com

No. 10 PARKVIEW (10-2) at No. 2 CALVARY (11-0) 

Where: Jerry Barker Stadium  

LHSAA playoff bracket: Select Division III  

Series: first meeting  

Last week: Calvary beat Menard 49-0; Parkview beat Dunham 39-32  

Rankings: CBA #1 in LSWA 2A poll, #1 in SBJ poll; Parkview #8 in LSWA 3A poll 

Radio: The Promise (90.7 FM)  

Notables: Calvary is making its 19th straight appearance in the playoffs … The Cavaliers have an all-time playoff record of 35-19 with state championships in 2013, 2014 and 2020 … Quarterback Abram Wardell was 20-of-24 for 204 yards and three touchdowns in last week’s playoff win over Menard. Receiver Kolby Thomas caught one of the three TD tosses and threw for one himself. Three other receivers caught scoring passes, including Aubrey Hermes who led with seven catches for 154 yards. James Simon ran for 81 yards and now needs 70 for 1,000 on the year … Both teams average more than 40 points a game with Parkview scoring 41 and Calvary 47. Defensively the Eagles give up an average of 17.8 points and the Cavs 9.5. … This is Parkview’s 29th playoff appearance, 25th straight and 27 of last 28 … The Eagles have won five state championships, the last coming in 2015 (Division II). Parkview has an all-time playoff record of 57-23 … They were second in District 6-3A to University High.   

Scouting opponents of Airline, Calvary, plus picking the winners

/ Megan Lowe

By LEE BRECHEEN, Louisiana Football Magazine/YouTube TV

Here come the state quarterfinals, and for all the good football we’ve seen this fall, only two schools are left representing the Shreveport/Bossier area. I’m surprised. But at least Airline and Calvary have earned homefield tonight. Get out and watch one of these games.

I want to share my knowledge of seeing the opponents for these two schools, to share a perspective from the other sidelines. I had the privilege to see both in person during the season — Calvary’s opponent Parkview Baptist, and Airline’s foe, Mandeville.

Let’s start with Parkview Baptist, led by one of the top quarterbacks I have seen this season, Abram Johnston, who is 6-0, 190 with a cannon arm and great feet in the pocket. He’s hard to sack, a Houdini back there. Plus, he’s a dangerous run game threat. The Eagles have a power/speed guy in the backfield, Kayden Tureaud (5-9, 195), who is tough to bring down and deceptively fast.

You will see many kids for Parkview Baptist play both sides of the football but don’t let this fool you into thinking they are thin. This is something they have done for years. In the trenches they are led by big-time two-way starters: LB/TE Wesley Marien (6-2, 210) and DE/FB/TE Brock Briggs (6-0, 230).

The Eagles also have one of the best kickers in the country in the Class of 2025 in Gavin Higgins. If it’s a close game you need to call a timeout to ice him, because he doesn’t miss. His range is 50 yards and then some.

MY PICK: I think Calvary Baptist will win because this is the most skilled team Parkview has played in 2023, and the Cavaliers’ depth will become a problem if Calvary can control the ball on offense. They can wear down the visiting Eagles. Conversely, the Cavs have to contain Parkview and not let the visitors chew up clock.

Mandeville is not a good matchup for Airline. This will be the most athletic team Airline has seen in two seasons. That does not create a mismatch, because the Vikings have plenty of talent too. The game will be even from that standpoint.

This will go down to who wins in the trenches. Mandeville is led by its strong offensive line. This group is the real deal in quickness and blocking. Headliners are Caden Rogers (just 5-8, but 240), two future FBS players in Cole Beecher (6-3, 290) and center Reagan Touchstone (6-1, 250), and Spencer Davis (5-11, 250).

The strength of the defense is the skillful secondary: safety Tasmin Showers (5-10, 190), free safety Fisher Lalande (6-3, 180), cornerback Emil Allen (5-9, 175 with 4.5 speed), and cornerback Elias Allen, also with 4.5 speed. This matchup with the Airline passing game will be fascinating to watch as Ben Taylor, Tre Jackson, Bryson Broom, Ben Patterson and Jarvis Davis are tremendous piling up yardage and points.

Mandeville’s best player is WR/RB Nate Shephard, who I think is one of the best Class of 2024 players in Louisiana. He’s different with 4.45 speed. His brother Will plays for Vanderbilt in the SEC, and he’s an NFL prospect.

MY PICK: I am going to go with Airline here. I think it will be close but if Airline can get the big plays from its playmakers, that will be the difference in a close one. They have all season and I think they do just enough to advance to the semifinals.

But if it is close, Mandeville does have an advantage – the Skippers have a young future college kicker so they don’t have to be in the red zone to score.

Contact Lee at lbrecheen@aol.com

What really goes on in that press box on Friday nights

/ Megan Lowe

There are a lot of great things about covering high school football. Every week, every game, you are liable to see the unexpected. Emotions run high and that lends itself to some great theatre.

Plus, you never know where the post-game interviews will take you. Happy coaches, happy players, hacked off coaches, etc. 

But there’s a hidden gem in there that only a few know about, and perhaps it’s better that way.

To truly get an idea of the complete picture of what goes on at a game, you need to come with me and sit in the press box. Unless you have sensitive ears, in which case if might be a better idea if you stayed outside.

In a typical press box, you’ve got the usual suspects – the P.A. guy, the clock operators, the music guy who doesn’t know when to stop, the scoreboard operator and maybe a hanger-on or two.

But the true magic comes when the assistant coaches make their way upstairs and set up shop.

It’s time to strap in for an experience like none other.

In the old days, I found them so distracting that I would often rather sit outside with the commonfolk than have to listen to all of their wailing and gnashing of teeth.

These days? I post up as close as I can possibly get. Unadulterated joy is about to commence.

This doesn’t happen at an NFL stadium because the coaches are literally on a different level. Or at a college stadium, where the coaches are in a soundproof booth as if they were worried that the KGB were listening outside.

The set-up at a few of the local high school stadiums puts the visiting coaches just down the doorless hall from the rest of the press box occupants, so it’s a verbal free-for-all in there. And it’s actually better to be closer to the visiting coaches, because they are usually wound a little tighter, being in an unfamiliar location with the home crowd all around them.

One game this year, I went down to check on the ID of a player and there were eight – EIGHT!! – coaches in the box. Thankfully they all weren’t yelling at the same time.

Most teams will send two, maybe three, assistants upstairs but let me assure that a little goes a long way.

“We have got to be the dumbest team in the country.” 

“Coach!!! Find somebody else! He don’t want to play!” 

“We’ve got 12!!! We’ve got12!!!” 

“Go! Go! Go! Go! Go!”

If I may interject here … why is he screaming at the runner? (1)  The player can’t hear him and (2) I think the player understands the concept of trying to score a touchdown.

“Late hit! Late hit!” 

“Coach, that’s a terrible spot!” 

There is not much being said over the headset that could be called a conversation in a normal tone of voice. Everything has an understood exclamation point and is liberally sprinkled with “Coach!”

Oh, and there is the cussing. Lots and lots of cussing. I left out the “****” in the above examples, but feel free to mentally inject them wherever you like. I can promise they apply.

Especially in this case.

Quite a few years ago, there was a game at a local faith-based school, where the coaches are stationed on top of the press box in an open-air environment.

The assistant coach for the visiting team – who was never known to be soft-spoken – kept screaming into the headset “Get him the *** out of there!” over and over again. He was referring to one his own players, not the officials or a member of the home team.

The home side fans of the faith-based school starting turning around and pointing up to the top of press box and yelling at him to stop. The coach never noticed and just kept right on. “Get him the *** out of there!”

It wasn’t long before he got the tap from a member of the faith-based school administration and the coach cooled it. For about two minutes.

Another visit. Another tap.

This time he stopped, due in great part to the fact that his team was now down by about 40, so they didn’t have to worry about getting him the **** out of there.

Contact JJ at johnjamesmarshall@yahoo.com

Tigers’ true freshmen lack impact of last year’s class, but have promise

/ Megan Lowe
QUITE THE DEBUT: Former Union Parish running back Trey Holly was named the SEC’s Freshman of the Week following his 67-yard TD run vs. Army on Oct. 21. It’s the longest run by a Tigers’ running back this season. (Photo by BEAU BRUNE, LSU Athletics)

By RON HIGGINS, Journal Sports

BATON ROUGE – No. 14 LSU hasn’t had a true freshman crack the starting lineup this football season other than sporadic one-game starts.

It’s a vast contrast from a year ago when then-true freshmen Will Campbell (left offensive tackle) and Mason Taylor (tight end) were starters from day one. They were eventually joined in the starting lineup by true freshmen Emery Jones Jr. (right offensive tackle) and Harold Perkins Jr. (linebacker) LSU head coach Brian Kelly played 15 true freshmen last season.

Heading into Saturday’s regular-season finale vs. Texas A&M, Kelly has played 22 true freshmen but most of those have been on special teams.

Here’s a look at the Tigers’ most significant true freshmen of 2023 who will push for significant playing next season:

  • LB Whit Weeks, 6-3, 222, Watkinsville (Ga.) Oconee County: Weeks, the younger brother of Virginia junior transfer West Weeks, made 31 of his 38 tackles (seventh on the team) this season in a four-game stretch after transfer starter Omar Speights suffered a hip flexor injury in game 2 vs. Grambling.

He had 8 tackles at Mississippi State in his first college start, 9 each the next two weeks vs. Arkansas and at Ole Miss and 5 at Missouri.

“Coming into fall camp, I was running with the twos and not really with ones,” said Weeks, who’s expected to play against Texas A&M after missing the last two games with a gash on his foot. “I knew if my time would come, I’d make the most of it.”

  • DB Javien Toviano, 6-1, 201, Arlington (Texas) Martin:A 5-star recruit as a safety and No. 3 nationally at his position, Toviano has 25 tackles and a pass breakup in 11 games with the Tigers switching back and forth between safety, nickel and now a starting corner.

“It has been a bit of a transition, but I pride myself on being versatile,” Toviano said. “Whether it’s safety or corner or whatever the team needs to play that position.

“I’ve been bouncing around since springtime. I started at corner, worked into nickel and two or three weeks ago went back (to corner).

“At the end of the day, it’s football. You backpedal, you open up and you’re defending the ball. That’s my mindset.”

  • RB Kaleb Jackson, 6-0, 225, Baton Rouge’s Liberty Magnet: His powerful, explosive running, either from the backfield or as a kickoff returner, is eye-catching.

Jackson has rushed for 149 yards and three TDs in 11 games and has returned 10 kickoffs for an average of 24.9 yards.

Against Mississippi State, he trucked MSU freshman safety Issac Smith in the same fashion that former LSU all-American back Leonard Fournette leveled an Ole Miss defender in 2016. Fournette saw Jackson’s run and jokingly tweeted, “That man (Smith) has a family in the stands.”

“I had a really good view,” said LSU junior starting running back Logan Diggs of Jackson’s steamroller run. “Once he bounced outside, I knew he’d either run over someone, jump over someone or just run past them. Kaleb is a really special running back. I’m taking him under my wing, teaching him everything that I know so he can be the best that he can be.”

  • RB Trey Holly, 5-7, 192 Farmerville’s Union Parish High: The state of Louisiana high school all-time leading rusher leader (all divisions) with 10,523 yards has made the most of his limited plays in LSU’s crowded veteran running back room.

Yet having played in just two games, he rushed for 110 yards on 10 attempts including a memorable 67 yard run vs. Army for his first college touchdown. For his effort, he was named SEC Freshman of the Week.

“Man, that was amazing,” Holly said of his almost straight-line TD sprint. “I always dreamed about playing in Death Valley (Tiger Stadium), so that was like a dream come true.”

Holly said he’s waiting his turn for more playing time next season while absorbing as much as he can from LSU’s upperclassmen backs like Diggs and senior Josh Williams.

“I’ve still got a lot to learn,” Holly said. “Josh, Logan and all the upperclassmen are showing me the way. Each and every practice, I’m asking them questions. It’s a joy because they are my and Kaleb’s older brothers.”

Holly said he and Jackson – “my brother from another mother,” Holly said – had a plan to attend LSU together.

“We always talk about being the one-two punch you guys are going to see in the upcoming years,” Holly said.

  • TE Mac Markway, 6-4, 250, St. Louis (Mo.) De Smet Jesuit: Ranked as the nation’s No. 3 tight end by ESPN.com and No. 8 by Rivals.com, Markway started vs. Mississippi State in place of injured starter Mason Taylor who Markway gives credit for mentoring him this season.

“I’ve learned so much just mentally from him,” Markway said of Taylor “like just learn how to process everything a little bit quicker.”

Markway has 3 catches for 16 yards in 10 games this season, including his first college TD last Saturday against Georgia State when he broke wide open to grab a 3-yard scoring strike from QB Jayden Daniels.

“I was really talking to my dad the night before (then game) how it would be awesome to score a touchdown as a freshman,“ Markway said. “Just to get that one was like a dream come true.”

  • CB Ashton Stamps, 6-0, 188, New Orleans’ Archbishop Rummel:Just a 3-star recruit, Stamps was the buzz of pre-season training camp with interceptions and pass breakups galore.

His impact this season hasn’t been as dramatic. He has 17 tackles including 8 last week vs. Georgia State, but he has steadily learned on the job playing in all 11 games and starting vs. Ole Miss.

“You might not get into the game until the third quarter, and you might be cold when you get in there,” Stamps said. “It might be a little disadvantage because you’re not warm, but you just got to make the most of the opportunity. You’ve got to be ready.”

Contact Ron at ronhigginsmedia@gmail.com

LSHOF Class of 2024 Induction Celebration dates set for June 20-22

/ Megan Lowe

JOURNAL SPORTS

NATCHITOCHES – The Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame’s Class of 2024, including New Orleans Saints superstar Drew Brees, LSU and WNBA women’s basketball great Seimone Augustus, and mixed martial arts icon Daniel Cormier, will be enshrined next June.

The 2024 Induction Celebration has been set for June 20-22 in Natchitoches, said LSHOF Foundation CEO/President Ronnie Rantz and LSHOF chairman Doug Ireland. Nine different events will be staged during the Thursday-Saturday festivities.

More information and the opportunity to purchase tickets for five events is available at www.LaSportsHall.com. The other items on the itinerary, including a Thursday night kickoff reception, a Friday night riverbank concert and fireworks show, and a Saturday morning kids clinic, are free, although the kids clinic requires advance registration on the website.

Brees, the New Orleans Saints’ NFL record-setting passer and Super Bowl XLIV MVP, brings incredible credentials. He’s not alone at the top of his game: joining him in the Class of 2024 are two homegrown greats — Augustus, a Baton Rouge native, and  Lafayette’s Cormier, an Olympic wrestler who became and remains one of the top figures in MMA history.

They headline a star-studded nine-member group of 2024 competitors ballot inductees selected by a 40-member LSWA panel. Three contributors, two journalists and an administrator, will be added to the class next month.

The Class of 2024 also includes 1992 Olympic wrestling gold medalist Kevin Jackson, a former LSU All-American, along with Perry Clark, who guided Tulane basketball to unprecedented success in the 1990s, and McNeese football great Kerry Joseph, who had a 19-year pro career.

Also elected for induction in June are high school football coach Frank Monica, who won state titles at three different south Louisiana schools, and Ray Sibille, a Breeders’ Cup-winning thoroughbred jockey from Sunset who ranks among the nation’s elite riders.

The class also includes Grambling’s Wilbert Ellis, who becomes the second-ever recipient of the Louisiana Sports Ambassador Award. During his 43-year baseball coaching career and since, Ellis has made local, statewide and national impact not only in his sports field but also in other endeavors.

Appropriately, they will be enshrined in an Olympic year. Augustus helped Team USA win three Olympic gold medals, coupled with Jackson becoming the first Black man in the world to capture gold in wrestling. Jackson was Cormier’s coach when the future MMA star made the USA wrestling team for the 2004 and 2008 Games.

The Ambassador Award was created by the Hall’s parent organization, the Louisiana Sports Writers Association, and was first presented to network broadcaster Tim Brando of Shreveport as part of the LSHOF Class of 2020. The award honors long-term exemplary contributions to the perception of Louisiana by an individual who has ties to the state’s sports landscape. The Ambassador Award carries membership in the Hall of Fame. The award is not presented annually.

Brees was a 13-time Pro Bowl pick in a 20-year career. He was a two-time NFL Offensive Player of the Year, the 2006 NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year, a Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year and an Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year. Brees led the Saints to three NFC championship games (2006, 2009, 2018) after the franchise had none in its first 39 years of existence. They claimed their only Vince Lombardi trophy with a 31-17 win over the Colts in Super Bowl XLIV as he earned MVP honors.

Brees once held NFL passing records for yards (80,358), TDs (571), completions (7,142) and attempts (10,551) – all marks that have been surpassed by Tom Brady, who played in 48 more games than Brees.

Augustus played point guard/forward while starring at high school, college and professional levels. The Baton Rouge native was part of three gold medal-winning USA Olympic teams and four WNBA title teams.

Foreshadowing her incredible career, Augustus was on the cover of Sports Illustrated for Women as a high school freshman. At LSU, Augustus was the USBWA National Freshman of the Year in 2003 and swept National Player of the Year awards (Wade, Naismith, Wooden and Honda) in 2005 and 2006.

She was the WNBA’s No. 1 draft pick in 2006 by the Minnesota Lynx and was its Rookie of the Year in 2006.  She won WNBA titles with the Lynx in 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2017. The 2011 finals MVP, she made the WNBA’s 20th anniversary and 25th anniversary teams.

Cormier is revered as one of the most heralded wrestlers and mixed martial artists ever. He first made a name for himself as a wrestler at Lafayette’s Northside High, winning three consecutive LHSAA Division I state titles (1995-97). Following collegiate and international success, he transitioned to mixed martial arts and after a transcendent career, is a member of the UFC Hall of Fame (2022) and currently is a combat sports analyst with ESPN and is a commentator for UFC events.

Jim Spencer may be a trickster, but he’s one heckuva writer

/ Megan Lowe

I have this quirky friend up in north Arkansas that you really have to keep your eye on. Here’s what I’m talking about: I was invited once several years ago to fish the Little Red River in Arkansas for trout.

Jim Spencer, Keith Sutton and I shared a boat and although the two of them, both Arkansans, have caught a ton of trout in their lives, I had never caught one. I cast out, felt a tug on my line and hooked into my very first rainbow trout. Thrilled wasn’t an adequate word but I was so happy to finally catch a species of fish I had never caught and I was expressing my glee at finally hooking my first.

Unbeknownst to me, Spencer had slipped up behind me while I was fighting my fish. When I first noticed him, I assumed he was there to help me land the fish if need be. Glancing back, I noticed he had his knife in his hand and a certain gleam in his eye when he reached out, not to help me land my trout but to cut my line.

Somehow, I managed to get the fish in the boat, which was not easy to do while  maneuvering around to keep him from slicing my line. That’s one side of the Jim Spencer I know and I have learned to always keep my eyes open when I’m around him.

The other side I know and appreciate about Jim Spencer is that anything he writes, I get as absorbed in it as I did the day I kept him away from my line. Spencer is to me one of the very best outdoor writers anywhere in the country, especially when it comes to writing about his obsession, wild turkeys. 

Several years ago, Spencer started thinking about all the gobblers he has taken but the equal number that had whipped him. He came up with the idea of producing a book about times where the gobbler had won. He produced a book that would take the turkey hunting world by storm. He named it Bad Birds 1.

Realizing there were more stories to tell, he later put together his second version of the book, naturally naming it Bad Birds 2.

Believing he had covered all the bases in talking about those gobblers that had handed him his rear end, he assumed he was done. However, there were a number of stories he knew he could tell that had yet to be told so he did it again. His latest version of his self-flagellation regarding gobblers has led him to, once again, bare his soul in Bad Birds 3.

I have read all three books and while the first two were classics, I think this last one is the best; he leaves no stone unturned in sharing his disappointment, disgust and downright frustration of the times that gobblers have beat him.

Spencer’s wife, Jill, shares his addiction of hunting turkeys and they travel the country together every spring to play games with gobblers. Jim had Jill, who is also an award-winning outdoor writer herself, to produce the foreword for his latest book. 

“If you run into us somewhere along the trail in some future spring,” Jill writes, “say howdy and tell us some turkey stories. Jim is always willing to talk about these birds he can’t leave alone.”        

Bad Birds 3 sells for $25 plus $6 shipping. Best bet is the package deal featuring all three Bad Birds for $55 delivered. He’ll also add his Turkey Hunting Digest for an extra $12, for a total of $67. Order to Treble Hooks Unlimited, P.O. Box758, Calico Rock, AR 72519.

You talk about a fine Christmas gift for the turkey hunter, this is it. Adding a word of caution, if you are ever privileged to share a fishing boat with Spencer, be sure and keep an eye on him; he could be opening his knife.

Contact Glynn at glynnharris37@gmail.com

LSUS librarians win awards at state conference

/ NPJ
The LSUS library staff pictured at the 2023 LOUIS User’s Conference in Baton Rouge

Three employees from LSU Shreveport’s Noel Memorial Library received awards at the 2023 LOUIS User’s Conference in Baton Rouge. This conference is an annual meeting of librarians in October from Louisiana’s public and private colleges and universities. 

Jessica Hawks, Brian Sherman and David Gaither earned individual honors.   

Hawkes, first-year experience and undergraduate success librarian, received the award for Timely Librarianship. This award recognizes a librarian who has completed a significant achievement, contribution, project, or goal related to a theme involving circumstances from the previous year. Hawkes works to bring attention to and engage our campus community in discussions on issues of censorship, earning her this award as the state’s academic library “Anti-Censorship Hero.”  

She gives students opportunities to express themselves through regular open mic nights, highlights “hidden histories” of historically under-represented groups through interactive, research-based exhibits, and reminds students of the power of free speech through leading the library’s celebration of “Banned Books Week” each year.   

Brian Sherman, dean of the library, took home the 2023 award for “Leader in Librarianship,” which recognizes a library administrator who has shown exceptional leadership, guidance, and innovation within their library.  

“I’m a supporter of the library being the academic hub of the university, where students connect and collaborate,” said Sherman, who became dean in 2016. “You shouldn’t walk into a library and see just a collection. You should see a community. That’s the mindset that drives the mission of the Noel Memorial Library.” 

Library associate David Gaither received the “Library Support Staff Scholarship” to attend the conference. This award is given to library support staff who demonstrate outstanding and ongoing contributions to their library and the consortium.   

“When David joined Noel Memorial Library, he stepped into a role that was brand new to our library and has developed this role to fully support the mission of the library and the university in serving both faculty and student researchers,” said Sarah Mazur, director of resource management and discovery. “His optimistic, can-do attitude is infectious and makes him an integral part of our library community.” 

Librarians at Noel Memorial Library have been recognized by the LOUIS Consortium several times in past years for their commitment to excellence and their innovation in librarianship.  

In 2022, the library won “Library of the Year” for demonstrating excellence in service to the LSUS community and creativity, innovation, and leadership in librarianship. Mazur was awarded “Outstanding Early Career Librarian” in 2021, and Brian Sherman was awarded “Leader in Librarianship” in 2017.   

LOUIS is a library consortium of all 47 public and private college and university libraries in the state of Louisiana. Founded in 1992, the consortium works to create a cost-effective collaboration among institutions for the procurement of library resources. LOUIS is governed by the Louisiana Board of Regents.

Notice of Death – November 23, 2023

/ NPJ

Emile William “Bill” Holm
March 25, 1932 — November 19, 2023
Service: Friday, November 24, 2023, 11:30am at Rose Neath Funeral Home, Southside.

William Caleb “Dub” Dean, Jr.
December 14, 1928 — November 18, 2023
Service: Friday, November 24, 2023, 8am at Rose Neath Funeral Home, Southside.

Katherine “Kat” Elaine Walker Bush
August 18, 1934 — November 17, 2023
Service: Saturday, November 25, 2023, 10am at Rose Neath Funeral Home, Bossier City.

Kimberly “Kim” Craft
March 1, 1971 — November 14, 2023
Service: Sunday, November 26, 2023, 2pm at Rose Neath Funeral Home, Bossier City.

The Shreveport-Bossier Journal publishes paid obituaries – unlimited words and a photo, as well as unlimited access – $95. Contact your funeral provider or SBJNewsLa@gmail.com . Must be paid in advance of publication. (Notice of Death shown above are FREE of charge. You may email them to SBJNewsLa@gmail.com)

Air Force Global Strike Command conducts first annual Combat Ammunition Production Exercise

/ NPJ
Staff Sgt. Kayla Satcher, 2nd Munitions Squadron conventional maintenance inspector, loads a trailer with GBU-38 munitions during a Combat Ammunition Production Exercise Nov. 7th at Barksdale Air Force Base, La. CAPEX is designed to prepare munitions Airmen for future deployments and home station contingency taskings by simulating sustained combat operations. (U.S. Air Force Photo by Senior Airman Nia Jacobs)

By Airman 1st Class Seth Watson
2nd Bomb Wing Public Affairs

In a milestone event, the Air Force Global Strike Command successfully executed its inaugural Combat Ammunition Production Exercise (CAPEX) on November 7 at Barksdale Air Force Base. This exercise evaluates munitions production capabilities and provides realistic training to enhance the Air Force’s preparedness for wartime operations.

The primary goal of CAPEX is to assess munitions production techniques and procedures. By doing so, the exercise determines how well the current Base Support Plans and Munitions Employment Plans would support wartime operation plans.

The roots of CAPEX go back to 1987 when it was first initiated by Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). Over the years, these exercises have become an annual event, with U.S. Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) hosting their first exercise in 2018. These exercises serve as a crucial pulse check on mass, live-munitions production, aligning with Air Tasking Orders (ATO) and reinforcing combat planning and production tactics.

At its core, CAPEX is a proven method designed to train munitions personnel in contingency planning and production. It not only evaluates the wing’s strengths and weaknesses but also identifies areas for improvement to meet potential mission generation requirements. The exercise contributes to command-wide enhancements, including improved munitions production capability, enhanced training plans, better tool and equipment management, updates to base support plans, improved war reserve material stockpile management techniques, and a more comprehensive understanding of Operational Plan (OPLAN) supportability.

In summary, the success of the first annual CAPEX at Barksdale Air Force Base signifies an important step forward in ensuring Air Force Global Strike Command’s readiness for munitions-related challenges, ultimately enhancing the overall effectiveness of the force in fulfilling its mission.

Bossier’s growing cyber frontier and community sentiment revealed in 2023 report

/ NPJ

Bossier City is making waves on multiple fronts, as revealed in the recently released “2023 State of Community Report” by the Bossier Chamber of Commerce. The comprehensive report sheds light on the region’s economic prowess, burgeoning cyber and technology sector, and the sentiments of its vibrant community.

Economic Strengths:

Healthcare Milestones: The report commences with a spotlight on the robust healthcare sector. LSU Health Shreveport’s decade-long review underscores substantial growth, with an increase in residents, expanded residency programs, and a noteworthy 28% surge in clinical faculty. The economic impact of practicing physicians on the local economy is emphasized, reinforcing the sector’s vitality.

Natural Gas Dominance: Bossier’s role as a natural gas hub takes center stage, with the Haynesville Shale contributing significantly to U.S. natural gas production. The report details Louisiana’s pivotal role in shipping liquefied natural gas and highlights the region’s increasing rig count, showcasing its vitality in the oil and gas industry.

Transportation Hub: Bossier’s significance as a transportation hub is explored, with extensive infrastructure, including major interstates, railroads, a multimodal port, and a regional airport. These elements contribute to the region’s attractiveness for diverse industries and residents alike.

Defense and Military Impact: Barksdale Air Force Base’s economic impact on the local economy is outlined, emphasizing its role as the single largest employer in the region. The report details ongoing projects and modernization efforts, ensuring the base’s continued contribution to the community and national defense.

Bossier’s Cyber and Technology Hub:

Cyber Corridor’s Rise: Bossier City emerges as a key player in the Cyber Corridor, home to the National Cyber Research Park. The region’s commitment to nurturing a cyber and technology workforce is evident, contributing approximately 2,500 jobs with an annual earning of around $175 million. Chesapeake Energy’s sponsorship underlines the corporate support for educational initiatives in this domain.

Educational Commitment: Local universities, as detailed in the report, are actively contributing to the growth of the cyber and technology workforce, with 328 degrees awarded in recent years. The momentum in program offerings reflects a commitment to preparing the workforce for the evolving demands of the technological landscape.

Community Insights and Tourism Goals:

Community Sentiment: The report delves into the sentiments of Shreveport-Bossier City residents and workers through a 2022 survey, aiming to understand the unique personalities of the two cities and what makes them distinct.

Tourism and Economic Goals: Insights from the Shreveport-Bossier Destination Master Plan outline strategic goals for boosting community collaboration, increasing visitor volumes, capitalizing on sports tourism, and supporting local entrepreneurs in various creative sectors. The report emphasizes the importance of these goals in fostering community engagement and economic growth.

Bossier City’s “2023 State of Community Report” paints a holistic picture of a dynamic region with a thriving economy, a burgeoning cyber and technology sector, and a community committed to growth and collaboration. As Bossier continues to evolve and innovate, these insights provide a roadmap for sustained prosperity and community well-being.

Aunt Ethel’s Go-To Holiday Diet Plan

/ Megan Lowe

(EDITOR’S NOTE: Wrote this in 2010 to help get you and me and our digestive systems through the holidays safely. The Worldwide Chocolate Shortage predicted back then did not, thank goodness, come to pass. So … pass the chocolate.)

These are the times that try men’s … colons?

Even the most casual eater, wandering aimlessly through The Land of the Leftover, has got to be heads-up in these post-Thanksgiving days. Cheese dip here. Sausage ball there. Week-old giblets, ripe for the taking. 

Food jitters.

For some reason, we are robotically drawn to seasonal foods, even though there are plenty of holiday experiences available that should cause us to lose our appetites. If you can’t relate, then you’ve never been hugged right before a holiday meal by a great aunt. With a goatee. Who’s dipping snuff. 

Welcome to my world.

(I have a friend who once lost 15 pounds during December. She didn’t mean to. But right before one Thanksgiving dinner, her uncle said to her, table-side, “Honey, I wonder why God took all the hair off my head and put it on my back?” She was able to eat solid food again, but not until somewhere around Valentine’s Day.)

Another dietary issue this time of year: stadium food. Close to Football Bowl season. Pressure’s on. So we eat either to relieve the stress of a stretch run or to keep from being bored stiff because our team IS a stiff.  I have yet another friend who shared with me his digestive system misgivings after Saturday’s joyous time in a football stadium occupied by a team that’s more up and down than a prairie dog. “My most painful lesson from the weekend,” he said, “was that pre-prandial and post-prandial reflections on a stadium corn dog are two very different realities.”

Prandial means “of or relating to a meal.” It’s from the rural Latin “prandium,” meaning, “I should not have ate that.” As you have surmised, to use those kinds of high-dollar words, my friend is pretty smart – but not smart enough to call time out in the corn dog line. You do not toy with a mass-produced corn dog in a competitive atmosphere far, far from your home locker room. You don’t do it.

Let this be a lesson to us all: your digestive system doesn’t know you have a high IQ. Faulty plumbing due to pilot error puts us all — the prince and the pauper, the duke (excuse my French) and the serf — right there on the same page.

The corn dog on a stick I ate was more than just inviting.
Too bad I didn’t think that later it would do the biting.
       1. From Fourth and Long, a work in progress 

Food jits.

If our own lack of self-control and the overpowering temptations of the season weren’t enough, the food world and Mother Nature herself might be conspiring against us. My own personal mother, of all people, alerted me to this tragedy.

The Nature Conservation Research Council, which sounds like an important thing, forecasts a chocolate shortage. Because African farmers are ditching their cocoa farms for other easier-to-grow crops, chocolate might either disappear or increase drastically in price. This means that in 20 years, a Baby Ruth could well be out of my price range. My mother’s grandchildren call her “Sweeter,” so you can imagine how this is affecting my family. Let’s hold hands and …

Chocolate Lamentations

No Twix? No Bliss? No Hershey’s Kiss,
No chocolate dip fondue?
The question we must pray is
“What would Willie Wonka do?”

Contact Teddy at teddy@latech.edu

Column: This week with the history geek

/ NPJ

By Tim Kovalcik, Shreveport Bossier Journal Columnist

This week’s question when did air conditioning finally become part of Louisiana life?

On November 15th, 1937 the United States Congress finally cooled off, literally.  For the first time in its long history, the Capitol building produced cold, not hot, air.  In many ways this was typical.  The United States Congress was years behind the rest of the industrialized world, which was already adapting to the use of “conditioned air.”  Even in the depression nearly all commercial buildings and places of business were designed with central HVAC systems in place.  The fact that the federal government decided to make an investment in the novel technology was a simple reminder of a new era.

Historians are still debating the significance of the air conditioner and its effects on society.  Some believe it is the greatest invention of the last two hundred years.  Evidence supporting this conclusion was the volume of work made available by a new manufacturing environment.  A more comfortable atmosphere made production more efficient and tolerable.  Likewise, the economy was bolstered socially.  People began to linger longer in movie theaters, restaurants and bars.  Sports events could be held indoors and once the air-conditioner was installed in vehicles; travel exploded.  It was a silent subtle, but impactful change. 

On the other hand, the air conditioner was long in the making and only took off after the industrial revolution.  Willis Carrier, a Brooklyn engineer, is often credited with the invention of central air.  His patent on a “centrifuge” that cooled buildings came in 1922, after a decade of early prototypes.  In reality, cooling systems were already in place.  High rise buildings were designed in order to capitalize on the movement of air, factories used fans to move cold drafts in specific directions, and many homes used natural thermal systems for both hot and cold.  While a machine that produced temperature-controlled air was revolutionary, it was not entirely new. 

But what about Louisiana?  Naturally, any attempt to fight the horrid humidity of the swamps would be welcome.  In the summer of 1906, the publication Louisiana Planter and Sugar Manufacturer wrote “the hot summer days now prevailing make one wonder why ventilation with cool currents has not been thoroughly well exploited before these days.” Well, duh! It seemed so simple!  But, despite the obvious, the state like the rest of the world had to wait two decades before a new trend in architecture and comfort would take-off.

Part of the reason for such slow development was an infrastructure to support a cooling system.  The invention of an air conditioner required electricity.  The “current” wars were still alive and well in the early twentieth century and access to cheap affordable energy was not readily available.  Furthermore, the concept of using air across cold water was still in its experimentation stage.  As it turns out, the most notable shift in Louisiana was during this same period when the State legislature tried cooling its chambers with a series of water pipes.  The system worked, but all the water was repurposed as a source of drinking water as well.  This lasted for only a while, before it was discovered that the water changing temperatures and traveling across dirty pipes wasn’t sanitary. 

However, the real use of air conditioning coincided well with the state’s energy boom.  Shreveport, New Orleans and other cities that began building larger buildings started to incorporate air units.  Furthermore, by the depression it was city governments that began to reform their existing structures.  This fit well with the move to larger public works projects.  In short, the 1937 installation of a cooling unit at the United States capital was not news in Louisiana.  

It was not until the 1950s and 1960s with the rise of suburban building that air conditioning became common in homes.  The post-war economic explosion was partially an expansion built on amenities.  Comfort in the home and in all buildings became second nature.  While not as prominent as things such as the television, computers, or iphones, air conditioning is just as important.  Strangely, it is really only in the last seventy-five years that it has become a staple of existence.

This Week With the History Geek is the work of Dr. Timothy Kovalcik, Head of School at Ascension Classical School in Shreveport, Louisiana. Be sure to like his page “This week with the history geek” on Facebook or follow him on X (Twitter) @drtkovalcik

Former governor’s daughter comes to Shreveport for book signing

/ NPJ

It is hard to find a resident of Louisiana who hasn’t heard of four-term Louisiana Governor Edwin Edwards. The Crowley- born Edwards will be remembered in many ways and for many accomplishments and exploits. While the media focus of his time in office was centered on him, his family was always nearby.

On Friday, December 1 and Saturday, December 2, Edwards’ daughter Victoria will be in Shreveport talking about life with her famous father and will be signing her recently released book, “The Life and Times of a Governor’s Daughter.”

The autobiography includes her time in the Governor’s Mansion and on the campaign trail with her father, as well as personal stories about her own life and some of her poetry.

Victoria will be signing books at Ernest Orleans Restaurant, 1601 Spring Street in Shreveport, from 3-5 p.m. on Friday, December 1.

A second signing will be at Refine Design Boutiques, 616 Texas Street in downtown Shreveport, from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, December 2.

At each, personally signed books will be available for purchase.

Vikings’ touchdown twins defy traditional roles

/ Megan Lowe
DYNAMIC DUO: No matter where they line up, Jarvis Davis (left) and Tre Jackson have been causing problems for defenses. (Journal photo by JOHN JAMES MARSHALL)

By JOHN JAMES MARSHALL, Journal Sports

Is Tre Jackson a running back who plays wide receiver?

Is Jarvis Davis a wide receiver who plays running back?

Hang on, maybe both are running backs who play wide receiver. Or the other way around.

Nobody knows and, quite honestly, nobody cares when it comes to the Airline offense these days. All head coach Justin Scogin knows is that it’s nice to have them both out there, no matter where they are playing.

But if there is a need to make it semi-official, here’s the answer.

“Kind of both,” Jackson says. (That’s no help.)

“I’m a receiver who plays running back,” Davis says.

Ding, ding! We have a winner!

Now that it’s (sort of) settled, just don’t be surprised to find either of them in a variety of places when the Vikings take on Mandeville at Airline Stadium Friday night at 7 o’clock in the non-select Division I playoff quarterfinal game.

If you go by statistics, it’s easy to assume that Jackson, a senior, is a running back, but he has more yards receiving (659) than he does rushing (406). Davis, a junior, leads the Vikings with 72 catches for 1,082 yards, but he is also second on the team with four rushing touchdowns.

“We can move them around because they are so versatile,” Scogin says. “You can throw them the ball, you can pitch them the ball, you can hand them the ball and they can return the ball on special teams. Anytime you’ve got (receivers) who can also line up and actually run between the tackles, you’ve got an athletic kid and a tough kid.”

Scogin says they aren’t exactly interchangeable, but close. “Tre is more of a lead blocker, and you wouldn’t really think that way since he runs the ball so well,” he says. “That’s how he changes the game with his ability to be dynamic with the ball in his hands.”

In fact, when the Vikings needed a first down to ice the second-round game against Southside, they tossed it back to Jackson and he picked up 18 yards on second-and-6.

Meanwhile, Davis, the running back, ran for a touchdown and a key two-point conversion last week. Davis, the wide receiver, caught nine passes for 101 yards and a touchdown.

“I love making the big plays, getting the crowd going and helping my team in any way possible,” says. “I had to get used to (playing running back) but once I did, it got pretty easy. I love being in the backfield.”

So much so that when asked what his favorite play to be called is, it wasn’t a deep post or a fade route. “Toss left,” Davis said.

Davis, who transferred from Huntington after his sophomore year, says he was not sure what his role was going to be at Airline but “I was ready for anything.”

The Mutual Admiration Society is quite obvious with these two scoring machines (27 touchdowns between them.)

“Tre is a leader on the field,” Davis says. “He makes sure everybody stays up and leads by example. If he’s doing something, he’s going to make sure everybody else is doing it, too.”

“Jarvis is a very consistent player,” Jackson says. “He does whatever coach tells him to and gives it everything he’s got. He makes big plays in big moments. He’s a special kid.

“I’m not jealous at all when he plays running back,” he adds. “I just try to play my role and do my part. Being a leader is the most important thing.”

Contact JJ at johnjamesmarshall@yahoo.com

For Angel, the devil is in the details

/ Megan Lowe

BATON ROUGE – No doubt that the little girls with the tiaras sprinkled through the Monday night Pete Maravich Center crowd were disappointed that their “queen” was missing in action against a non-conference humpty for the second consecutive game.

LSU first-team all-America forward/diva Angel Reese is supposedly serving a suspension handed out by LSU head coach Kim Mulkey.

Mulkey won’t say why she suspended the 21-year-old Reese. Or how long Reese is suspended. Or if Reese will be in uniform when the No. 7 Lady Tigers play a pair of games this Thanksgiving weekend in the Cayman Island Classic.

“Sometimes you want to know more than you’re entitled to know,” ’ol Stonewall Mulkey told inquiring media after LSU leveled Texas Southern, 106-47. “I’m going to protect my players always. It’s like a family.

“If you do some discipline of your own children, do you think we’re entitled to know that?”

Well, Kim, maybe not.

But my kid doesn’t have an NIL evaluation of $1.7 million, including endorsement deals with Mercedes-Benz (which she drives) and Reebok just to name a few. My kid didn’t decide to brand herself as an outspoken “I’m just being real” African American female role model, capitalizing on her Final Four “authenticity” last April when LSU won its first NCAA national championship.

My kid didn’t do Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue photoshoots or star in commercials or seem to be everywhere at once this past summer, mentally and physically exhausting herself trying to be too many things to too many people.

My kid didn’t trademark the nickname “Bayou Barbie” or suddenly have a family-appointed team of business advisers. My kid didn’t know how to handle the one-year avalanche of sudden fame and fortune. My kid didn’t have all the passion and enjoyment of playing the game she loved sucked out of her.

My kid didn’t appear to be dead on arrival for a stunning 15-point season-opening loss, despite playing on a team with the most talent in women’s college basketball. My kid never looked as if she had an on-court persona transplant, going from a relentless hustler, who fought to the death for offensive rebounds last season, to someone who gets brushed aside as if she were lint.

In her almost 40 years as a college coach, including 24 as a head coach, the one non-negotiable thing that will get a player in Mulkey’s doghouse is simple.

When it comes time to lace up the sneakers for practices and games, you play hard, you play defense, and you don’t put yourself above the team.

And if you’re a player and want to be coached with relentless intensity to take your game to new levels, you seek to play for Mulkey.

That’s why Reese, a fourth-year junior, transferred to LSU last season from Maryland. She wanted a coach who would constantly push her and rarely be satisfied. At the same time, she also would love and protect her and have Reese’s back.

Mulkey learned her coaching chops from Louisiana Tech’s Leon Barmore, her college coach and one-time boss, as well as the late Pat Summitt, the legendary Tennessee head coach who was Mulkey’s coach in the 1984 Olympics.

Both coaches demanded much from their players and could burn a hole through them with a simple glare when things went awry. Both coaches were also probably more appreciated by the ones they guided later in life, 10 to 20 years down the road, rather than in the moment.

Exactly when Reese started testing Mulkey’s patience heading into this season isn’t clear. It’s probably something that could have been building during preseason practices, and Mulkey didn’t hide her disappointment in the lack of hustle by her returning starters Reese and Flau’jae Johnson in the opening loss to Colorado.

Since then, despite missing a game with the flu and then coming off the bench the next two games, Johnson has played as if her hair was on fire.

Reese? Not so much.

In last Tuesday’s home matchup vs. Kent State, Reese played just 13 minutes, notching 11 points and 5 rebounds. She was benched for launching (and badly missing) a 3-pointer with the game just 45 seconds old.

And now since Mulkey has an abundance of talent landing the best recruiting class in the nation heading into this season, she can sit Reese for the entire second half vs. Kent to send a not-so-subtle message.

That’s the last time the general public has seen Reese in over a week. Her only communications to the outside world have been through her social media accounts.

She told her 2.6 million Instagram followers “Please don’t believe everything you read.”

On her TikTok account with 2.6 million followers, she thanked her boyfriend and Florida State men’s player Cam’ron Fletcher for sending her flowers. “Knowing I carry the weight of the world on my shoulders & every day isn’t easy for me, you always ALWAYS make sure I’m good,” Reese wrote in the caption.

If Reese thinks LSU can’t win without her, she’s wrong. It just can’t win a second straight national championship without her.

Mulkey abhors losing. But she would hate it even more if she sacrificed her unyielding principles to allow a player to return who wants to be the hub rather than one of many talented spokes in the wheel of fortune and fame.

“You always have to deal with locker room issues,” Mulkey said. “I can never think of a time where I didn’t deal with issues. There’s not a coach in America that doesn’t deal with issues. You just deal with it, you make the best decisions and you love on ’em (her players).”

Who else would kick a player off her Baylor team as Mulkey did with Alexis Morris after her freshman season in 2017-18 and then re-sign her in 2021-22 when Mulkey became LSU’s coach?

Not only did Morris average 16.8 points in last season’s NCAA tourney, including 24 per game in the Final Four, but she earned her college degree.

Just as Mulkey pieced together last year’s 34-2 team that played its best ball of the year in its six-game NCAA tourney run, she’s doing the same with this season’s squad with or without Reese.

Now 5-1 after that opening loss to Colorado, you’re beginning to see LSU’s new transfers and freshmen find their way into their roles as Mulkey experiments with different lineups.

Hailey Van Lith, the No. 1 rated player in the transfer portal from Louisville, is starting to mesh her scoring (11.8 points) and her playmaking skills (a 28/12 assists to turnover ratio) alternating between point guard and shooting guard.

Annesah Morrow, the No. 2 rated player in the transfer portal from DePaul, is quickly blossoming as a tough, undersized 6-foot forward who’s third in the nation in steals with 23.

True freshman guard Mikaylah Williams of Bossier City Parkway High is averaging a team-leading 19.2 points and is shooting a ridiculous 56.7 percent behind the 3-point arc.

Sophomore center Sa’Myah Smith has become an inside force as a scorer (13.7 ppg), rebounder (8.5 rpg) and shot blocker (1.5 bspg).

Since Reese is surrounded by more talent, she should realize she can play even harder than last year in shorter bursts because she no longer has to carry the load.

Here’s hoping Reese finds her “why?” again, rediscovering the sheer fun of being a part in the sum of the whole.

“We’re a funny team,” Van Lith said. “We always have a joke going. We like to laugh. That’s our biggest bonding moment.”

Angel, there’s nothing like being just one of the girls. Leave your tiara at the locker room door, stow away your “brand” and whatever image you think you should be and just enjoy what you do so well.

Ball out.

Contact Ron at ronhigginsmedia@gmail.com

What’s everybody having for Thanksgiving dinner?

/ Megan Lowe

JOURNAL STAFF

We all have our favorite dishes to enjoy on the dinner table at Thanksgiving.

Some of us cook. Some of us stay out of the kitchen. Some go outside, to the grill, the smoker, or the fryer.

We all watch football. The local high school football coaches certainly do.

We asked them what they like on their plates on Thursday, and if they are involved in getting it there, for this week’s Shreveport-Bossier Journal Coaches’ Roundtable.

JUSTIN SCOGIN, Airline – “I do none of the cooking and we usually go to my parents. My favorite dishes other than ‘all of them’ are as follows:

“Dressing with cranberry

“Turkey with gravy

“Mashed potatoes with gravy

“Corn casserole

“Sweet potato casserole

“Green bean casserole

“And all of the pies to finish it up.

“I’m a big fan of Thanksgiving.”

GARY COOPER, Booker T. Washington – “My favorite Thanksgiving dishes are dressing and smoked turkey and ham. Not a huge fan of fried turkey. During Thanksgiving, my pops and I spend that Tuesday night and all day Wednesday smoking turkeys, hams, or whatever meat for family and friends. We’ve done that for years.”

DENNY DURON, Evangel – “Don’t do any cooking … but I love the dressing and gravy!”

REYNOLDS MOORE, Benton – “Fried turkey changed my life when I had it for the first time in college.

“My father-in-law taught me how to fry them and now he sits back and makes me do it. My wife does the rest. My daughter Gracie makes me pecan pies.”

STACY BALLEW, Byrd – “Turkey and dressing is all I need. And no, I am not a cook!”

JAMES BRADFORD JR., Green Oaks – “My favorite dishes were always my aunt’s seafood gumbo and my mom’s broccoli cheese casserole. My wife has begun perfecting her turkey wings!! I do cook regularly, but I rest my talents on holidays!”

CLINT WALKER, Plain Dealing – “Fried turkey, green bean casserole, and bread stuffing. Of course all of those are my grandmother’s recipes. Then chocolate pie.

“I can cook the turkey and a couple of other things, but I leave it to others for the rest.”

MIKE GREENE, Loyola – “My mother used to make some homemade rolls that she did twice a year, Christmas and Thanksgiving. We fought over them and everyone kept a count on how many each family member ate. If you ate too many, you were called out in a hurry!

“I was the professional taster, and I was good at that, so I never had time to cook!”

COY BROTHERTON, Parkway – “I’m not a big traditional Thanksgiving guy. My favorite Thanksgiving food is probably the roll.

“I don’t do any of the cooking either, luckily the original Coach Brotherton is cooking ribs this year.”

CHASE THOMPSON, North Caddo — “I think the most important and underrated dish in all of Thanksgiving is the deviled egg. Then the second most important item is the banana pudding!

“I love to cook but I can’t out-cook my parents and grandparents yet!”

AUSTIN BROWN, Northwood – “I smoke the turkeys. Been practicing last few days since my season ended early. Gives us lunch meat for the week!”

And to polish it all off, a unique treat.

STEPHEN DENNIS, Huntington – “My wife makes a sweet potato dish with sliced sweet potatoes, heavy whipping cream, Asiago cheese, and onions. It’s a different twist on the sweet photo casserole that we are all used to, but I absolutely love it!!!”

Remembering sickbed glory on Thanksgiving Day ’74

/ Megan Lowe

Rarely does a Thanksgiving come and go that I am not reminded of Thanksgiving, 1974.

I was 23 and single at the time and living in Shreveport, where I worked for the Shreveport Journal, a splendid afternoon paper that competed with Shreveport’s morning paper, the Times. But I had been ordered by my doctor to return home for a few weeks to New Orleans, where I could be cared for and fed properly to recover and heal from mononucleosis and a mild case of hepatitis.

Home around Thanksgiving that year was more like a sick bay because my younger brother, Peter, at age 13, was in a makeshift downstairs bedroom, healing from a broken leg. I was quarantined in the upstairs “boys” bedroom. No visitors allowed. The doctor hadn’t prescribed any medicine for me but insisted I get plenty of rest and eat well. The second part was something mom took as her responsibility and did so above and beyond the call to duty. 

The NFL football game on TV that Thanksgiving Day was between two bitter rivals, the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins, and my parents let me watch it on the portable, black-and-white TV that was usually in the kitchen. That was a great tonic for this lonely soul, especially since the game was a classic. The Cowboys rallied from a 16-3 deficit, but Captain Comeback, Roger Staubach, the veteran starting quarterback, didn’t direct the rally. 

Dallas’ backup quarterback — baby-faced rookie Clint Longley – who had never played a down of professional football, came off the bench to deliver the game of his life, after taking over for an injured Staubach. He fired a 35-yard touchdown pass to future Louisiana Sports Hall of Famer Billy Joe Dupree. He engineered a 70-yard scoring drive capped by a 1-yard TD run by Walt Garrison. Finally, with 28 seconds left and no timeouts remaining, he connected with Drew Pearson for a 50-yard touchdown pass that gave the Cowboys a 24-23 victory.

My instinct, after such an epic contest, was to want to write about it, but I was away from the office, without my typewriter and without a telecopier to transmit it back to the Journal. My father, upon hearing of my plight, pointed to the bulky, black typewriter on the old-fashioned desk in the middle of the two beds.

“You want to write a column?” he asked. “Well, have at it.”

“It’s going to be too dated to use by the time I get back to Shreveport,” I said. 

“Call your boss and see if he’ll take your column on the game, even if it’ll be late, and you could mail it,” he suggested.

I called Jerry Byrd, the legendary Journal sports editor at the time, and he heard me out.

“If it’s good enough,” he said with some of his usual stuttering, “it won’t matter if it’s a month late. Go ahead.”

Thus it is my column on that game, which was voted by ESPN in 2008 as the second best game in the history of Texas Stadium, ran in the Dec. 3, 1974 edition of the Shreveport Journal. 

Some footnotes are necessary about Longley. In the 1976 Cowboys training camp, Longley, according to a book written by teammates Cliff Harris and Charlie Waters, sucker punched Staubach in the locker room, and another time, Longley challenged Staubach to a fight during practice. Staubach agreed but on a different field after practice, and there proceeded to “beat the hell out of him,” according to former personnel director Gil Brandt. Longley was quickly traded to the San Diego Chargers, where he flamed out quickly, and never played in the NFL again.

That trade to the Chargers, incidentally, got them a couple of guys they later traded to land the No. 2 pick in the ’77 draft, Heisman Trophy winning running back Tony Dorsett, who promptly led the Cowboys to the Super Bowl XII championship.   

Longley did have a brief stint with the Toronto Argonauts in the CFL, and do you know where he finished his playing career? A bit ironically for this former Shreveport sports scribe, who wrote from his sickbed about Longley’s surprising Thanksgiving Day heroics, he closed his football career with the minor league Shreveport Steamer.    

Bob Tompkins enjoyed a 43-year newspaper career as an award-winning writer and editor, serving the last 39 years at the Town Talk in Alexandria through most of 2015. He is a member of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame as a past winner of the LSWA’s Distinguished Service Award in Sports Journalism. An Alexandria resident, Tompkins is a contributing columnist sharing his talents with Rapides Parish Journal readers.

BPCC falls in 4 OTs at Markray Classic

/ Megan Lowe
JUST SHORT: BPCC fell in four overtimes in the Decari Markray Classic on Tuesday at the Billy Montgomery Gym. (Journal photo by LEE HILLER)

JOURNAL STAFF

Bossier Parish battled visiting East Central Community College to four overtimes before falling, 105-103, Tuesday afternoon in the final game of the Decari Markray Classic held at the Billy Montgomery Gym.

East Central (4-4) got out to a six-point lead, 104-98, with a little more than a minute left in the fourth overtime and held on for the win. it wasn’t able to keep a seven-point lead in the first overtime.

Braylan McNeal scored 18 of his 33 points in the four extra periods, two coming off an alley-oop inbounds pass with five seconds to go in the first overtime that tied the score 74-74 and sent the game into a second overtime.

McNeal was joined by John Awoke, who also scored 33 — 18 in regulation.

The only other double digit scorer for BPCC (4-5) was Jahlil Bethea with 17 points.

In the first game, Panola outlasted a pesky Delgado, 82-66, and in the final game, Doyline High School rolled past Plain Dealing, 64-35.

A letter to Heaven

/ Megan Lowe

Blessed does not even begin to describe how fortunate I have been during my lifetime. Not everyone gets the opportunity to grow up in an East Texas community like Mt. Pleasant.

My journey has been one of love, challenges and commitment from a couple who, unable to have children of their own, decided to take on the role of being parents to a young boy who had all kinds of issues. I was a child trying to overcome so many learning deficiencies like dyslexia and an attention span that was beyond short.

But every successful person has someone who laid the foundation to success. For me, that was Laverne and Loyd Graf, Jr., known as “Uncle Junior” to family and friends.

I was born on March 7, 1961, in Richmond, Texas just south of Houston, to a mother who had just remarried and had a history of not being responsible. My biological dad (who I never met) had nothing to do with me and never attempted to reach out and make a connection.

By the age of five, I was literally running the streets ‘til all hours of the day and night. Everyone knows the so-called neighborhood “brat.” I was that annoying kid who had zero accountability.

After struggling through the first grade and failing the first half of the year, my Aunt Laverne and Uncle Junior entered my life, and it’s why my life completely turned around.

Below is a letter to Heaven I’m writing to acknowledge how thankful I am for their love and support, which has led to my success as a person and as an athlete. By the age of 10, they legally became Mom and Dad. Here’s my letter to them:

Dear Mom & Dad,

I don’t even know where to start other than from the beginning, when you and Dad decided to make a difference by taking on a huge challenge of a young boy who had all kinds of issues. My issues as a lost young boy ran deep, but you felt I was worth saving and took on the huge unselfish and challenging responsibility of turning my life around.

Your guidance and direction were very much needed, but more important was the love you gave me. This was a love I had never felt before but knew was something I truly needed. You helped me become a more confident young man and to believe in my abilities to have success in life. You saw at an early age that God had blessed me with a special gift athletically and did everything you could to help me develop that talent.

Mom and Dad, just recently I was inducted into the Mt. Pleasant High School ISD Hall of Fame. As much as I wanted you to be there, a few tears fell that night as I felt your presence.

Without both of you, this great honor never would have been possible. You sacrificed your time and money to support me and my dreams. There were the many hours and days of taking me to a practice and sitting in a parking lot waiting for me to get through, or driving all across the state of Texas, following and encouraging me and my teammates to be the best we could be.

Many times, you humbled me and brought me back down to earth when I got the big head. Mom, you especially had a way of making me realize that I was not any bigger or better than anyone of my teammates.

You both taught me the value of hard work and a good work ethic. If you want to achieve your dreams, you must put in the time.

To both of you I say thank you! Thank you for taking on the challenge of adopting and raising a young boy who faced so many obstacles. Any award or honor I have received is an honor and an award for both of you.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you and I look forward to the day we will once again be together chasing our heavenly dreams. I love both of you and I’m so thankful for the day you drove to Houston in 1968 and picked up a young boy looking for hope and someone who cared.

Love and miss you,

Steve

It’s amazing what can be accomplished by anyone who has the blessing of being raised by good parents who love and support their children.

If you have parents of this caliber, be thankful as you’re truly blessed.

This is such a special time of year with Thanksgiving approaching and is the perfect time to reflect on the blessings that have come your way.

I would like to thank each and every one of you who take the time to read my articles each week, and wish you a happy Thanksgiving!

Contact Steve at sgraf26@yahoo.com

Thanksgiving pause, but we’ll be back Friday

/ Megan Lowe
FOLLOW HER LEAD:  Kim Mulkey led the LSU women’s basketball team to the national championship last season. (Photo by KRISTEN YOUNG, LSU Athletics)

JOURNAL STAFF

“It’s Thanksgiving. Let’s don’t ever forget that. It’s a special time of the year.”

Kim Mulkey said that this week, and it’s always hard to disagree with LSU’s national champion women’s basketball coach.

The team that produces your Shreveport-Bossier Journal is taking a holiday break. There will not be a Thanksgiving morning edition.

With Friday comes shopping and plenty of football to watch, and your SBJ will be back to preview that night’s LHSAA football quarterfinal playoff games hosted by Airline and Calvary, and that afternoon’s Bayou Classic between Grambling and Southern. We’ll have John James Marshall’s always outstanding Friday column, and Glynn Harris’ outdoor observations that otherwise run each Thursday.

So pardon us as we pause with no edition Thursday. We’ll be back in your e-mail Friday morning at 6:55, online at ShreveportBossierJournal.com and on our Facebook page with the coverage you can’t get anywhere else.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Centenary hosts 72nd Wideman Piano Competition December 1-3

/ NPJ

Centenary’s Hurley School of Music is proud to once again host the Wideman International Piano Competition, celebrating its 72nd year in 2023. The competition will run December 1 through 3 in Hurley’s Anderson Auditorium. The event is free and open to the public on Friday and Saturday. Patrons attending the finale rounds on December 3 are encouraged to make a donation of $10 per person to help support the competition.

The 2023 Wideman Competition features 34 international contestants representing Armenia, China, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, the Philippines, Portugal, Russia, Russia/Israel, South Korea, Taiwan, and the United States.

The contestants study at premier music schools in the United States, including the New England Conservatory, The Juilliard School, University of Miami, Frost School, Curtis Institute of Music, Manhattan School of Music, Eastman School of Music, the San Francisco Conservatory, Park University, University of Michigan, Southern Methodist University, University of Iowa, University of Texas, Texas Christian University, Mannes School of Music, Oberlin Conservatory, University of Missouri- Kansas City, and Rice University.

The Wideman Competition was founded in 1950 by the late Nena Plant Wideman, a prominent Shreveport piano teacher, concert pianist, and member of the Centenary College piano faculty, and by the late John Shenaut, conductor and founder of the Shreveport Symphony Orchestra. Alon Goldstein, winner of the 1996 Wideman competition, is the current artistic director, assisted by Regina Tanujaya.

The first rounds of competition will be held Friday, December 1, from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. and Saturday, December 2, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Finale performances will be Sunday, December 3, beginning at 1:00 p.m. Doors open 15 minutes prior to the start time for each event. Please check the Wideman website for updated information.

More information about the Wideman Competition is available at widemanpianocompetition.com.