NewsBreak Original

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.

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.

The District 3-2A had a strong year as the Many Tigers grabbed its second state title in three years. The state championship run reflected on the all-district list as the Tigers added 13 to the first team list. m.

The Many Tigers and the Homer Pelicans will be making return trips to Caesar’s Superdome for Ochsner’s LHSAA Prep Classic. Many will be making its fourth consecutive state championship and competing for the Division III Nonselect title. Homer will be competing for the Division IV Nonselect title and making it for the second consecutive year after an 82-year drought before last year’s Class A title run.

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.

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 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.

The LHSAA released the volleyball brackets on Monday afternoon and some local teams discovered where they sat in the bracket. All teams in District 1 Division IV qualified. Magnolia School of Excellence in Division V did not qualify.

The Glenbrook Apaches claimed the District 1-A district title with a win over defending Class A state champ Homer Pelicans on Thursday night. Glenbrook changed course and scored on the ground attack. Maddox Mandino had 5 carries for 60 yards and two touchdowns. Ty Feaster took the quarterback keeper into the end zone. The defense was a key factor for the Apaches. Landry Powell had 16 tackles and 3 sacks. Rhett Johnson piled on 15 tackles. a sack, and a forced fumble. Maddox Mandino and Garrett Brown each had 10 tackles. Tre Kent snatched an interception along with 8 tackles. Toby Haulmark took 5 tackles. Cason Clemmons also had an interception.

The last week's surge for the playoff push. The playoffs will be announced on Monday, October 31. Calvary looks to be a No. 4 seed and that would assure two home playoff matchups. Those two wins and the next stop will be a second consecutive year to the state tournament in Lafayette. Loyola at No. 9 will at least get a shot at a first-round matchup. Many at No. 15 will get them a home first-round match. North Caddo is sitting at No. 21 and will be on the road first round. Red River may be ranked outside the top 32 but enough teams will not have the 20-game minimum that the Lady Bulldogs will be pushed up into the playoffs. Mansfield and Magnolia will not qualify for the playoffs. Teams could opt out of playoffs and could change their positioning.

Calvary became the Division IV District 1 champ this week with wins over Loyola, Mansfield, and Many. The Lady Cavaliers finished 5-0 in the district and were 15-0 on sets record. This was the third consecutive district title for Calvary and the first Division IV district title.

Two more weeks in the volleyball season and the playoff picture is starting to clear up. North Caddo crossed the 20-game threshold and joined Calvary and Loyola in not having to be reshuffled. Many is on the cusp of reaching that goal. Mansfield got their first win of the season with a district win over Red River.

Calvary continues to top the Division IV District 1 lead at 2-0 with a win over North Caddo this week. Loyola also had their first district win of the season with a win over Red River. As of Sunday, Many and Mansfield had not played district yet. That match will come on Monday evening when they face each other. North Caddo sits at 0-1 after their loss to Calvary. Red River dropped to last 0-2 in district play.

The volleyball season is closing in on district play now. Calvary currently sits at top of Division IV District 1 with a 2-0 record. Loyola is half a game back at 1-0. Many and Mansfield are tied for third with no district games yet. North Caddo is in fifth at 0-1. Red River is last at 0-2. Magnolia SOE currently is in last place in Division V District 1.

Week 4 is already upon us for the volleyball season. District has started and getting close to playoffs. Calvary and Loyola headed down south to Baton Rouge and competed in the Rumble In The Jungle tournament. The Lady Cavaliers finished third with a 3-1 record. North Caddo had a great week with wins over Evangel and Mansfield. Mansfield finally got to kick off their season last Monday.

The Many Tigers (4-0) grabbed a victory over one of the most anticipated matchups of the regular season. The Tigers burned the field with 484 yards rushing against the Green Wave (3-1). Jeremiah Jones had 21 carries for 205 yards and two touchdowns. Trent Williams carried 7 for 122 yards and a touchdown. Tackett Curtis had 3 carries for 73 yards and a touchdown.