Sports

Elton High School’s own Jocelyn Ahshapanek is competing this weekend in the 2026 Notah Begay III Junior Golf National Championship Qualifier in Mississippi. School officials are excited to celebrate Ahshapanek’s success.

Friday night at Jerry Simmons Stadium in Jennings, the 2026 regular season kicked off for the Bulldogs of Jennings High and the Bears of Church Point in a game dominated by the visiting Bears by a score of 24-8.

KAPLAN — The Welsh Greyhounds used a balanced offense and a tenacious defense to open their 2026 gridiron season with a resounding 51-16 win over the Abbeville Wildcats here Friday night. Welsh Head Coach Ronnie Courville notched his first openingseason win with the victory. “We had lost the first game of the season in all three years since I became the head coach of Welsh, and I told the kids that we were going to change that stat this year,” commented Courville. “I was very happy with the effort in all three phases of the game, and especially coming back from the way we started and not letting that first Abbeville score phase us. We pretty much played very well overall tonight and that’s a great way to start the season.”

ALEXANDRIA — The Lake Arthur Tigers overcame a sluggish start and a host of penalties to gain win number one of the season with a 41-12 victory over the Menard Eagles here Friday night. “Things just didn’t go our way in the first half,” commented Tiger Head Coach Cody Gueringer.

ELTON — It was the “Battle of the Bayou,” and the winner got bragging rights for 2026. It was the first game of the season, with the winner getting a 1-0 start.

Foo Facts Foo Fact of the Game: The Class 3A Bulldogs offense turned two of three Broncos turnovers into touchdowns to give Jennings a 20-0 win over Class 5A Sam Houston in the Bolton Ford Jamboree. Captains: Ayden Guintard, Neyten Vargas, Joseph Sonnier and Niko Easton.

WELSH — The Welsh Greyhounds will open their 2026 regular season on the road, as they will travel to face the Class 3A Abbeville Wildcats Friday night in a non-district clash. The Wildcats’ football fortunes have fallen on hard times recently, but a new face is directing Abbeville these days. “Brent Indest is their coach now, and he has been tremendously successful everywhere he goes,” commented Welsh Head Coach Ronnie Courville. “We are talking about a coach who someday soon will probably be voted into the Louisiana Hall of Fame as a coach. He is an extremely accomplished coach who absolutely knows football.”

LAKE ARTHUR — The Lake Arthur Tigers will kick off their regular season by traveling to face Holy Savior Menard Friday night. The Tigers, under the direction of new coach Cody Gueringer, will look to sustain the momentum from their jamboree win over Hanson Memorial last week. Menard posted a 7-5 record last season and made it to the regional round of the playoffs before losing to Newman.

After a long summer of work by Jennings High players, coaches and staff, the wait is over. On Friday night, all that work will begin to pay off as the 2026 edition of the JHS Bulldog football team returns to Jerry Simmons Stadium when the hometown Dogs take on the Bears of Church Point. Friday night will mark the 13th meeting of these two teams, with the Bulldogs leading the series 9-3. The last meeting was in the second round of the 2019 playoffs in a game won by Jennings 14-13. The Bulldogs are coming off an impressive win against Sam Houston last Thursday in the Broncos Jamboree in Moss Bluff. The Bears, playing in the Erath Jamboree, lost to Kaplan by a score of 17-14.

ELTON — In a game known to local high school football fans as “The Battle of the Bayou”, the Bearcats of Basile High School will invade Cleave Beard Stadium in Elton to take on the Elton High School Indians Friday night. The winner will claim bragging rights between the two schools separated by just six miles.