In overwhelming
Jesuit (New Orleans), 52-15,
St. Augustine (New Orleans) gave no reason
to doubt that it should continue as the state's unanimous No.1-ranked
Class 5A boys basketball team.
Junior guard
Javan Felix scored 24 of
St. Augustine's first 40 points as the Purple Knights improved to 21-3
overall and 2-0 in District 10-5A. Jesuit actually led after the first
quarter, 5-4, before St. Augustine took its first lead and went ahead
for good on
Deion Taylor's layup with an assist from Felix.
St.
Augustine opened up a 22-9 halftime lead and ran away from the Blue Jays
in the second half while holding them to three field goals in 34
attempts (8.8 percent) for the game.
"Our shooting is a tribute to
them," Jesuit coach Chris Jennings said. "That's part of who they are.
They defend, they are big, quick, and they can shoot, and also score in
the post. There is a reason they have not lost to a team in the state of
Louisiana. They are very good."
DANTE' BUTLER COMMITS TO TULANEAll-State running back
Dante' Butler of Brother Martin (New Orleans) committed to Tulane after becoming Brother Martin's single-season and career rushing leader.
Butler, a 5-foot-10, 205-pounder, rushed for 2,543 yards and 32 touchdowns last football season while averaging 211.9 yards per game. He finished his four-year career with 5,135 rushing yards and 75 touchdowns. He chose Tulane, which was the first school to offer him a scholarship, over Pittsburgh, Southern Mississippi, Miami of Ohio and Northern Illinois.
Butler, who is a full qualifier, said "education was first and foremost" the reason for his decision. "Plus, my whole family and all of my friends can come to see me play. That was the main reason right there."
Butler will make his only official visit to Tulane on Jan. 28-29. Butler said he had hoped to make some trips earlier but couldn't because of his basketball commitment. Butler helped Brother Martin win the 2010 Class 5A state basketball championship.
Butler's commitment followed one from St. Thomas More (Lafayette) tight end
Evan Tatford, a 6-6, 230-pounder. Tatford said he also had offers from the universities of Louisiana at Lafayette and Monroe, Memphis, Miami of Ohio, McNeese State, Northwestern State and Southeastern Louisiana.
GIRLS BASKETBALL, BOYS SOCCER POLLS ARE OUTThere was little uncertainty in the latest boys soccer rankings, with both
Jesuit (New Orleans) in Division I and
St. Louis (Lake Charles) in Division II receiving all 10 first-place votes and 100 points overall. Jesuit stands 15-0-1, while St. Louis is 21-3-1.
The top spot in Division III belonged to
Northlake Christian (Covington), which received eight first-place votes and 98 points overall with its 17-4-2 record.
The girls basketball rankings were even more clear-cut, as
Denham Springs took over the No. 1 spot in Class 5A with a 24-0 record, eight first-place votes and 129 total points.
Bastrop (20-0) topped Class 4A with 11-first place votes and 132 points. Likewise in Class 3A for
Avoyelles (Moreauville), which shared Bastrop's record.
Also earning unanimous selection were
Aquinas (Hammond) in Class 2A at 23-2,
Arcadia in Class 1A at 17-5 and
Fairview (Grant) in Classes B-C at 32-2.
LAGARDE PASSES AWAYLegendary state sports figure M.L. Lagarde has died at 82 after seven decades in athletics that took him in many different directions.
Lagarde ended his career as an administrator at Tulane – his alma mater – but he also had worked as a sportswriter and a school headmaster after an athletic career in which he was a highly decorated junior tennis player.
At the age of 15, Lagarde as a playground supervisor co-founded the Catholic Youth Organization and New Orleans Recreation Department tennis programs.
Lagarde graduated from St. Aloysius (New Orleans) in 1945 and began coaching at his alma mater in 1949 while still attending Tulane. He began as an assistant football, basketball and baseball coach and took over as head basketball and baseball coach in 1952. St. Aloysius won state basketball championships from 1951-53 while losing only three games during that period.
He moved across town to Jesuit in 1954, where he served for 10 years in the same capacity. He helped guide teams to 12 city and eight state championships. He also coached in a pair of high school all-star games.
Lagarde then moved into private business, while covering high school and college sports for The Times-Picayune for 15 years. He spent 31 years at Tulane as sports information director, assistant athletic director and associate athletic director before retiring in June 2005.
Lagarde was inducted into the Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame in 2007 and twice was recognized by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association with its Distinguished Service Award in Journalism.
ALEXANDRIA BOYS SOCCER ROUTS TIOGAIf
Alexandria had beaten Tioga 7-0 in football, it would have been considered a defensive struggle. Since the two played boys soccer, it was simply another easy victory for the state's second-ranked team in Division II.
Devon Bouie delivered a hat trick with three first-half goals after senior Cody Lafleur had scored the game's first two goals. With ASH (18-3-4) holding a 6-0 halftime lead, Coach Sons Pathoumthong liberally substituted in the second half.
"What we really want to do is get our guys ready for the playoffs (by) getting a good rhythm with our starters and getting some of our younger guys on the field and building some depth," Pathoumthong said.
