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North Louisiana sent five teams to Burton Coliseum in Lake Charles to various Division III through Division V semifinals in the Ochsner Marsh Madness Boy’s Basketball Championships. Four of those five reached the championship. Only reason five couldn’t have made it was that Zwolle and Gibsland-Coleman faced each other in the Division V semifinal which turned into a controversial classic. Winnfield, Calvary Baptist, Lincoln Prep, and Zwolle advanced to the state championship. The Zwolle Hawks were the only team to bring back a state championship to Northwest Louisiana as they captured the Division V Non Select State Title.

The Mansfield Wolverines took the Ochsner LHSAA Indoor Track Meet State Division 2 Championship on Saturday afternoon at LSU’s Carl Maddox Fieldhouse. Mansfield won the title scoring 46 points and edging out University Lab with 41 points. Nick Davis won the 400 m run in 49.32 seconds. Davis also claimed a state runner-up as part of the 4 x 200 relay. Mansfield was edged out by Lake Charles College Prep by 0.17 seconds. Other members of the 4 x 200 are Jaden Ross, Isaac Jenkins, and Nick Bailey. Bailey also finished second in the high jump. Bailey's jump of 6 ft 1.5 in was enough to garner a state runner-up. Senior Isaac Jenkins finished fourth in the high jump with a 6ft 0.5 in the jump. Jenkins also grabbed bronze in the long jump with his 20 ft 7.75 in the long jump. Sophomore Jaden Youngblood won the 60 m hurdles in 8.16 seconds.

The first round of the LHSAA soccer playoffs started this past week fir Division IV. Loyola boys and girls and the Calvary girls all had local matches while the Calvary boys had to travel south.

The LHSAA Soccer season came to an end for both the boys and girls on Monday and a quick turnaround for the announcement of the playoff brackets on Tuesday. The first round of the playoffs will be played between Wednesday, February 1, and Sunday, February 5.

The last full week of the regular season took place before the playoffs are released on Tuesday. One district game was left to play as Evangel and North Caddo were pushed off from Tuesday to Friday. The North Caddo boys season ended on Friday.

The Loyola Flyers and Lady Flyers clinched district titles last week with wins over Calvary on Thursday night. Both Loyola boys and girls have finished the district 3-0-0. Calvary girls finished tied for district runner-up with Evangel at 1-1-1. Evangel will finish as the boys’ district runner-up at 2-1-0.

Local teams kicked off their 2023 powerlifting meet last weekend. Teams headed all over the state to begin their season. Here is a recap of last week's meets:. Calvary Tri-Meet (Calvary/Castor/Ringgold)

Week 9 saw the start of district play in Division IV District 1. Loyola and Calvary boys soccer is starting with a 1-0 record with wins against Evangel and North Caddo, respectively. Same for the girls as Loyola and Calvary start with 1-0 records in the district.

At the beginning of 2023 although the majority of the area is still out of school had a full slate of games over the week. District 1-A started district play towards the end of the week. Haynesville, Homer, and Ringgold all took wins on the boys’ side. Haynesville and Plain Dealing girls started 1-0.

Loyola and Calvary went back into action this past week after the holiday break. . Congratulations to Casey Wall from Loyola Flyers and Addison Stevenson for the Calvary Lady Cavaliers each had a hat trick.

Last week's tournaments ruled the schedule. Minden hosted the annual Holiday Classic Tournament. Teams such as Minden, Lakeside, Green Oaks, Gibsland-Coleman, Ringgold, Homer, Haughton, North Caddo, Loyola, and Calvary.

Four teams from Northwest Louisiana remain in the LHSAA football playoffs. Three of them are from Division III and Division IV Nonselect playoffs. The fourth is North Desoto Griffins making their first trip to the semifinals in Division II.

Division IV District 1 had an impact this season for North Louisiana volleyball in the playoffs this season. Three of the six teams hosted first-round playoff matches. Loyola was one match away from making an appearance in the state tournament. Calvary made a second consecutive trip to the state tournament taking Notre Dame to the limit in five sets in the quarterfinals.

The soccer season kicked off last week mainly for the girls squads around the area. Calvary participated in the Haughton Cranberry Classic Tourney. The Cavaliers advanced with a 2-2 tie over Airline that resulted in PK’s. The Lady Cavs got the shutout against Northwood. North Caddo Lady Titans also pulled the clean sheet against Southwood. Loyola went 2-1-1 in its invitational tournament which featured South Louisiana powerhouses St. Scholastica, Baton Rouge, Northshore, St Thomas More, Lakeshore, and Archbishop Hannan along with local team Byrd, Caddo Magnet, and Parkway.

Class A and 2A decided to join the party last week. Many teams have a good number of their players still on the gridiron. Class B and C have alright played a good amount of games. Ringgold boys ran the gauntlet of the Lakeside tournament. Doyline’s Jamaria Clark put 50 on 5A Byrd Yellow Jackets on Monday. All the action has just started. Coaches get your scorebooks in so we can get these shining stars seen.

The Calvary Cavaliers boys swim team captured a Division IV state runner-up in the Ochsner LHSAA State Championship Meet at SPAR Aquatic Center in Sulphur on Thursday Afternoon. Calvary boys scored 245 points while state champion Pope John Paul II High School scored 375. Calvary boys won 5 races in individual competitions and relays. Zachary Ponder, Sam Ponder, Eli Haase, and Joshua Roper were state champs in the 200 Yard Free Relay in 1:33.16 and state runner-up in the 200 Yard Medley Relay. Junior Zachary Ponder became state champion in the 200 Yard IM and 100 Yard Backstroke. Joshua Roper took the state title in the 50 and 100 Yard Freestyle races. Sam Ponder took home silver in the 200-yard IM and 100-yard Backstroke.

The Calvary Lady Cavalier (23-7) volleyball squad is headed back to Lafayette to the Ochsner LHSAA Volleyball State Tournament. They advanced to the Division IV quarterfinals with a 3-0 (25-8, 25-11, 25-10) win over Thomas Jefferson. This will be back-to-back years that the Lady Cavs are competing. Last year was the first time that a team north of Alexandria had broken into the state volleyball tournament.

The Region 1 Division IV cross country meets were held last Thursday in Ruston. These races are the qualifiers for the state cross country meet to be held on November 14 at Northwestern State University in Natchitoches. The top eight teams in each regional race qualify for state. If a team does not qualify via team, they have to finish in the top 25 individually to qualify for the state meet.

The RRHSC Championships were held in Ruston at Lambright Sport and Wellness Center on October 29. Byrd took the top in both the men's and women's team competitions. Calvary boys swim team finished third being edged off second by one point to Alexandria High School. The boys' 200 yd medley relay took top honors. Members of the relay were Sam Ponder, Zachary Ponder, Joshua Roper, and Elijah Haase. Zachary Ponder won the 200-yard IM and finished second in the 100-yard backstroke. Joshua Roper finished second in the 100-yard freestyle and third in the 50-yard freestyle. Sam Ponder completed the 200-yard IM in fourth and fifth in the 100-yard backstroke. Elijah Haase took fourth in the boys' 200-yard freestyle. Calvary girls finished fifth in the team competition. Claire Roper took second in the 200-yard IM race and third in the 100-yard backstroke. Roper also was part of the 200 yd medley relay and 200-yard freestyle relay that finished fourth in both races. Liberty Haase, Katherine Kent, and Audrey Wages were the other members of the girls' relay team.

The LHSAA released the Division III and IV playoffs on Sunday morning. The new format of Division is based on enrollment and separated by the new definition of Select and Nonselect. The number of teams qualifying also changed to 28 for non-select and 24 for select. This will open up four first-round byes in the non-select divisions and eight in the select divisions.