Sports

Are you ready for some football?

LAKE ARTHUR — The Lake Arthur Tigers come into the 2025 season with high hopes after a 5-5 campaign last season. The Tigers advanced to the bi-district round of the Division IV playoffs a year ago, making the trip up to Ferriday in a controversial contest.

The Jennings Bulldogs are coming off a 2024 season in which they dominated both the district and non-district competition. The Dogs finished with a 9-1 regular season, with only a blemish to a semi-final Iowa team in week one. The Dogs concluded the season by earning a topfour bye in the Division II Non-Select state playoffs, but ran into a buzzsaw in defending state champion Opelousas High School in the regional round of the playoffs. The Dogs are back in 2025 with plenty of weapons and are primed to make yet another run in the postseason behind a strong nucleus of returners and talented newcomers.

WELSH — The Welsh Greyhounds are looking at a tall task as they prepare for the 2025 gridiron season. The Hounds must replace 16 seniors who helped lead Welsh to the state quarterfinals last season before a loss to Haynesville. Many of those athletes also helped propel the Greyhound baseball team to the state championship contest.

WELSH — The boys of summer. That’s the title that has followed baseball players from Little League to the Major Leagues. What boy hasn’t dreamed of being Hank Aaron knocking homers over the fences against all competition. What young man hasn’t dreamed of being in the position of winning the championship by delivering the walk-off hit. What young pitcher hasn’t dreamed of pitching like Nolan Ryan or Justin Verlander or being a closer like Mariano Rivera, who has saved a major league record 652 games for the New York Yankees. To make those dreams have a chance of becoming a reality requires unbelievable work and dedication to the goals that a player sets for himself.

Bloodlines have always run deep when it comes to Jennings Bulldog football, with families making up traditions that will last a lifetime. Brothers, sons and fathers have played a huge role in building the legacy of the Bulldogs over the 100-plus years of a tradition- rich program.

ELTON — The Elton Indians have stormed back from the days of having no football team at all. The Indians registered a strong 8-4 record last season and made it to the regional round of the state playoffs. Now the Indians hope to build on that success with a strong nucleus returning from last year’s team.

SINGAPORE (AP) — Katie Ledecky has ceded a tiny bit of ground in other events, but she’s still unbeatable in the 1,500meter freestyle.