Sports

LAKE CHARLES – Lacassine’s magical season came to a tough ending Monday night on the floor of the Burton Coliseum, as No. 1 Simsboro used a big second-half surge to take down the feisty Cardinals by a final of 70-51. Lacassine finished their season with a sparkling record of 32-7 overall, earned a district 6-B championship and advanced to Marsh Madness for the first time in 15 seasons. The Cardinals and head coach Micah Rasberry made huge strides in getting the proud Cardinal program back in the limelight of Class B basketball after struggling through a rebuilding phase. Rasberry discussed what this group of players has done in order to buy in to his culture and create the winning attitude they displayed all season.

CROWLEY – After opening the Crowley High School Tournament with a 3-1 win over Welsh, the Jennings Bulldogs split a pair of contests over the weekend to finish the event with a 2-1 record. The Dogs hammered Westminster Christian Academy 15-2 on Friday evening, then dropped a tough one to Warren Easton out of New Orleans on Saturday by a final of 10-9. The Dogs ifted their overall mark to 3-5 on the season with the two wins, and will return home this week to host the Jennings High School Tournament Thursday, Friday and Saturday at Danny Reed Field. The Dogs will play Rayne, Southside High and New Iberia Senior High in the event.

MANGHAM - The No. 7 Elton Indian boys basketball team traveled to Mangham Friday night to play the No. 2 Delhi Bears in the quarter finals of the playoffs. Playing in their first quarter final round since 2005, the Indians never trailed in the first half. Elton led 25-23 at halftime, but the Bears offense would outscore the Indians 48-33 in the 2nd half and take a 71-58 win.

LACASSINE – For the first time in 15 years, the Lacassine Cardinals punched their ticket to the “Big Dance” Friday night when they defeated Doyline 74-66 at Juneau Gymnasium. The No. 4-seeded Cardinals handed Doyline only their third loss of the season in the quarterfinal tilt, and advanced to play No. 1 Simsboro last night at Burton Coliseum in Lake Charles at the LHSAA’s Marsh Madness Tournament. The Cardinals upped their dazzling mark to 32-6 on the season, while Doyline ended their year with an impressive 29-3 overall slate. The Cardinals placed a trio of players in double figures in the epic contest, with Aaron Garcia leading the way with his 21-point outburst. Kane Broussard continued to keep his impressive postseason alive by popping in 18 tallies, while Taiwan Jones hit double figures with 17 of his own.

OBERLIN – The Lake Arthur Tigers picked up a pair of wins at the Oberlin High School Tournament on Saturday by defeating Lacassine 17-7 and Hornbeck 14-10. The wins upped the Tigers’ overall mark to 4-2 on the young season, and Lake Arthur will follow that up with a busy 5-game stretch this coming week.

CROWLEY – Jennings senior pitcher Clay Broussard accomplished one of baseball’s rare feats on Thursday night when he strung together seven innings of no-hit baseball to help the Dogs defeat parish rival Welsh 3-1 at the Crowley High School Tournament. Broussard was able to ring up nine strikeouts over his seven frames, and allowed four free passes to Welsh hitters. Greyhound hurler Cale Navarre was pretty dominant himself, as he allowed just three runs to the Dogs and struck out five Jennings hitters in his complete game effort. With the win, Jennings improves to 2-4 on the season, while the Hounds fall to 3-3. Both teams were back in action on Friday and Saturday at Miller Stadium in Crowley for multiple contests.

JENNINGS HIGH SCHOOL

HAMMOND – The Lake Arthur Lady Tigers and Amite Lady Warriors have become quite the familiar playoff foes despite being separated by a whole state, having played each other in the last three seasons with huge implications always on the line. Lake Arthur had won the previous two meetings going into Wednesday afternoon’s semi-final battle at the University Center on the campus of Southeastern Louisiana University, however the Lady Warriors would turn the tide by earning a trip to the Class 2A state championship contest with a 74-44 win over the Lady Tigers. No.1 Amite used a violent and quick pressing defense, and placed four players in double figures in claiming the big victory.

LACASSINE – The No.4 Lacassine Cardinals picked up their first win in the Class B state playoffs after earning an opening round bye by toppling Singer by a final of 75-58 at Juneau Gymnasium Tuesday night. The win propels the Cardinals into the quarterfinals tonight when they host No. 5 Doyline with a berth in the 2022 state tournament on the line. The Cardinals used a 40-point outburst from freshman Kane Broussard to help catapult them into the second round. The sharp shooting youngster canned a whopping nine 3-pointers in the contest, and scored 29 of his 40 in a huge second half surge by the homestanding Cards. Leading just 28-25 at the intermission, Lacassine outgunned Singer 27-8 in the third frame to pull away from the upset-minded Hornets for the 17-point victory.