Local athletes, team successful in 1999
Published 12:00 am Thursday, December 30, 1999
MICHAEL KIRAL / L’Observateur / December 30, 1999
LAPLACE – The year 1999 will go down as another memorable one for the River Parishes sports scene. Local teams challenged for state titles innearly every sport and athletes from the area were national as well as local stories.
L’Observateur looks back at 10 of the moments that made 1999 so memorable.
1. The year began with River Parishes athletes being nationally recruitedand ends with still more catching the eyes of recruiters around the country.
Two of the biggest names to sign in football in February were East St.
John defensive lineman Greg Gathers and St. James running back ChadJasmin, both of whom were among the top prospects in the state at their positions. Gathers signed with Georgia Tech and became a starter as afreshman. And Jasmin inked with Clemson.Others signing on National Signing Day were St. Charles Catholic’s JohnPrice with Nicholls State and Kenny Ordeneaux with Northeast Louisiana.
Nicholls State also got West St. John’s Torrian Thomas and PendarvisMorris and Destrehan’s Lance Carter. Destrehan’s Marcus Bates signed withMcNeese State while Hahnville’s Karone Champagne headed to Southern Mississippi. St. James’ Chad Smith went to Norfolk State while LaPlace’sCornell Bazille signed with Memphis.
East St. John’s Clement Carter signed with Southern Mississippi forbasketball. Riverside’s Quinton Terrio is also shooting hoops in collegeafter signing with Belhaven College.
In baseball, Riverside’s Joey Poirrier signed with McNeese State and teammate Casey Duhe inked with Collin County College. And Lutcher’sCleavon Webster signed with Southern.
On the softball diamond, Riverside’s Tanya Teague signed with Chipola College. Lutcher’s Erin Hymel, Candice Millet, Katie Cashio and Jenee’Weber all signed with Southeastern Louisiana while Cindy Guidry headed to Okaloosa-Walton College. And West St. John’s Reshonn Saul signed withMississippi Valley.
West St. John track standouts Niesha Green and Crystal Stipe both signedwith Mississippi Valley. Riverside’s Amanda Roussel received ascholarship from Northeast Louisiana while Destrehan’s Amanda Spivey signed with LSU. Destrehan’s Carlos Eugene signed a track scholarshipwith Louisiana Tech while the school also had Kelly Neal signed a swimming scholarship with Kentucky.
As the year comes to an end, local athletes are once again being heavily recruited. New LSU football coach Nick Saban made East St. John his firstvisit to check out receivers Roy Del Williams and Chris Bush. West St.John receiver Donriel Louis has already verbally committed to the Tigers.
And once local players reached the next level, they have been quite successful. East St. John’s Gerald Williams helped Atlanta advance to theWorld Series. Macky Waguespack of St. Charles Catholic wasSoutheastern’s Male Athlete of the Year after setting the school record in three categories. St. Charles Catholic’s Jenny Leier was an honorablemention NAIA all-American in volleyball for Loyola.
Rondell Mealey of Destrehan became LSU’s sixth all-time leading rusher.
Riverside’s Jimmy Dottolo was an all-conference selection at Mississippi College. Gathers, Kerry Watkins, Corey Sewell and Edward Reed wereamong other local athletes making a big impact on the national college scene.
*** 2. When Reserve Christian began its first basketball season in the LHSAA,few would have predicted that the Eagles would become history makers.
But Reserve Christian did just that making a memorable journey to the Top 28 tournament in Lafayette. By doing so, they became the first St. JohnParish team to make the tournament since Second Ward in 1973 and the first River Parishes school since St. James in 1986.Along the way, the Eagles went 30-16, captured the 13-B championship, and upset Mt. Hermon on the road. In the playoffs, Reserve Christiandefeated Georgetown, Episcopal of Acadiana and Bethany Christian to reach the Class B semifinals.
There, the Eagles faced a Gibsland-Coleman team that had lost in the state semifinals the year before and included Bernard King, one of the top players in the state. The Bulldogs went into the game as the top-rankedteam in the state with a 41-3 record. But it was the Eagles that lookedtournament tested early on, jumping out to a 7-0 lead. King and theBulldogs then woke up, going on a 11-2 run that led to a 84-55 victory.
*** 3. Four state championships in four years. That was the accomplishmentthe seniors on the Lutcher boys’ swim team achieved in their prep careers.
This time, the margin was a little closer than it has been in the past as the Bulldogs had to hold off River Parishes rival St. Charles Catholic, 316-271. St. Charles Catholic took an early lead by winning the 200-yardmedley relay with the Bulldogs tying Parkview for second.
T.J. Millet helped the Bulldogs rally, winning the state championship in the50-yard freestyle. Lutcher then pulled away in the 100-yard freestyle asMillet placed second, Josh Sylvest fourth, Tyler Murray sixth and Cody Jackson seventh. Victories in the 200- and 400-yard freestyle relayssealed the win.
*** 4. Before the 1999 season, a chance at the Class 3A baseball statechampionship seemed like a distant dream for the Lutcher Bulldogs. Afterall, coach Matt Dornier had resigned as head coach after leading the Bulldogs to seven straight playoff appearances and the team had gone 1- 13 the previous summer in American Legion play.
But new coach Scott Tribble quickly got the Bulldogs believing in themselves again. Remembering the previous summer, the players workedday in and day out to improve themselves. That hard work paid off asLutcher placed second in District 10-3A with an 18-9 regular season record. The Bulldogs then dispatched of Parkview Baptist, Pearl River,Notre Dame and Benton to advance to the finals.
There, Lutcher met district rival and defending state champion E.D. White.The Bulldogs jumped out to a 1-0 lead on a home run by Tray Haydel. ButJake Ritchie then held Lutcher in check the rest of the way and a six-run sixth inning gave the Cardinals an 11-1 win.
*** 5. River Parishes athletes spent a lot of time on the stand at the statetrack and field championships at LSU in May – the winner’s stand that is.
Five athletes brought back first place honors from the event.
Destrehan’s Traun Smith led the way, setting a state record in the triple jump with a jump of 50-1 1/2. The event would turn into a River Parishessweep as Destrehan’s Carlos Eugene placed second and East St. John’sChris Bush was third.
Destrehan had another record holder in Amanda Spivey. Spivey cleared thebar at 8 3/4 in the high jump to set the Class 5A record. She also placedthird in the triple jump.
West St. John’s Donriel Louis went into the Class 2A meet with a case ofthe flu. He quickly recovered, however, jumping 6-2 to win the high jump.He also placed seventh in the triple jump and helped the Rams’ 800-meter relay team to a second-place finish.
Riverside’s Amanda Roussel won her second straight Class 2A high jump title with a jump of 5-6. The senior later added a sixth-place finish in thetriple jump.
Lutcher’s Thomas Ricks and Williams Adams made the Class 3A javelin event a family affair as Ricks won the title with a throw of 186-7 and Adams was second with an effort of 178-9. The Bulldogs’ Kenneth Johnsonalso had a second place finish in the 200-meter dash and a fourth-place time in the 100.
*** 6. The 1999 prep football season saw new faces along the sidelines asHahnville’s Lou Valdin and St. Charles Catholic’s Frank Monica took over ashead coaches.
Valdin, who led East St. John to playoff appearances in 1996 and 1997before resigning to become a defensive assistant at Hahnville in 1998, replaced Scott Hildebrand after a 1-8 season. Valdin led the young Tigersto the brink of the playoffs with a 5-5 record.
Monica took over at the beginning of spring practice, replacing Wayde Keiser who resigned after a 5-6 season and an 11-straight playoff appearance. Monica led St. Charles Catholic to a 2-8 record in 1999,including an upset of Christian Life.
The year ended with another coaching change. Destrehan’s Scott Martinresigned after five years and four straight district championships, a first in school history, to become the head coach at Neville High School. Martinhad led Destrehan to four straight playoff appearances, including a quarterfinal berth in 1998 and a bi-district berth this year. His successorhad not been named as the year ended.
*** 7. It was another memorable prep football season for the River Parishesas six teams reached the state playoffs.
The team that went the furthest was West St. John which advanced to theClass 2A semifinals for the third straight season. West St. John began theseason with a win over St. James, the Rams’ first victory over their WestBank rivals since the early 1990s.
The Rams, who started the season as the top-ranked team in Class 2A, would go on to place third in District 9-2A with a 7-2 record.
West St. John rallied past St. Helena in bi-district before avenging anearlier loss to Riverside in the regionals. The Rams then rallied past Manyto advance to the semifinals where they loss to eventual state champion Iota.
St. James overcame an early-season school-wide boycott to finish 9-3 andadvance to the quarterfinals. Their cross-parish rivals, Lutcher, defeatedthe Wildcats for the first time since 1995 in capturing its first outright title since 1983. The Bulldogs, who played the toughest schedule in Class3A, advanced to the regionals before falling to Teurlings.
Riverside was also ranked No. 1 in Class 2A during the season beforefinishing at 9-1. The Rebels defeated Jonesboro-Hodge in bi-districtbefore falling to West St. John.East St. John also advanced to the regionals for the third straight seasonafter finishing the season second in District 7-5A with a 7-3 record. TheWildcats loss to Catholic in the regionals. Destrehan captured its fourthstraight district title before losing to Holy Cross in bi-district, finishing the season at 8-3.
*** 8. Lutcher native Lionel Washington had a busy two weeks in January andFebruary.
The former NFL star with St. Louis, Denver and Oakland was named the St.John Parish Recreation Director in January, a post that was vacant since Louis Lipps was dismissed the previous year. Parish President ArnoldLabat had supervised the program in the interim.
But Washington, who had headed the Lionel Washington Football Camp since 1992, did not hold the position for long. At the beginning ofFebruary, Washington accepted an offer by Green bay to become the Packers’ defensive backs coach under new coach Ray Rhodes.
*** 9. A higher classification proved to be no obstacle for the St. John ParishWarriors who won their second straight national title in Plaquemine in March.
The Warriors captured the 11-year-old national Biddy Basketball championship, defeating New Orleans in the championship game. St. Johnhad won the 10-year-old championships in 1998.
St. John defeated Mandeville, Vermilion and Plaquemine in pool play beforegetting by Kenner, New Orleans and JPRD West to advance to the championship game. The Warriors competed in the Double A division aftercompeting in Single A last year.
Members of the St. John Parish Warriors were Kendall Diggs, DemondCarter, Ryan Stipe, Lecardio Joseph, Dana Stipe, Darryl Morris, Juan Joseph, Jarvis Sanders, Ryan Perrilloux, Jamal Breaux, Denarold Anderson and Ricardo Porter. The team was coached by Eric Rogers, Deidre Joseph,Lowel Gauff and Raphael Neal.
*** 10. Local golfers had quite a year on the links, both at the prep andsummer tour levels.
Destrehan’s Ryan Dishongh shot a two-over-par 74 to capture the Region 3-I golf title at Willowdale Country Club in April. St. Charles Catholic’sChristie Pickering shot a two-day total of 184 to place sixth at the state girls’ golf tournament at Eastover Country Club in April.
The Riverside golf team broke the school record for lowest round twice during the season on its way to the Division IV, Region III title. The Rebelswent on to place third in the state in Division IV. Hahnville placed 14th inDivision I.
Riverside’s Brett Bergeron set a school record of his own by shooting a 32 on the front nine at a match at Riverlands Country Club. He would cap theprep season with a seventh-place finish at state.
Bergeron would go on to have a stellar summer season. In July, he won theboys 14-15 age division at the Gulf States PGA Junior Maxfli Championship at Castlewood Country Club in Jackson, Miss. Bergeronwould go on to receive the tour’s Tommy Moore Player of the Year award after placing first overall at the Alex Invitational and winning his age group at the Maxfli Junior PGA Championships and the Shreveport Junior Open.
LaPlace’s Leisl Hasbrouck won the girls’ overall championship at the Gulf States PGA Junior Maxfli Championship in July. She also placed fifth atthe Junior Rice Planters tournament in Charleston, S.C. and 30th at theMaxfli PGA Junior girls championships in August.
Jeffrey James also had a memorable season. The 19-year-old LaPlacenative shot a three-under-par 141 to capture the Louisiana Scratch Tour event at The Oaks in Pass Christian, Miss., in July, becoming the youngestplayer to win the event. His second-round score of six-under-par 66 was atour record. James would go on to win the Men’s Club Championship atBelle Terre Country Club in August.
Andrew Coleman, 11, of LaPlace, swept his Compaq Classic/NOGA Junior Tour events over the summer, including the Colin Cup and City Championships. He also placed second to Phillip Kelly at the Belle TerreJunior championships.
Destrehan’s Scott Martin won a Scratch Tour event at Santa Maria in Baton Rouge in July. Karen Bouloucon of Destrehan placed first in the first flightat the Louisiana Women’s Mid-Amateur Championships at Shenandoah Country Club in July. In August, Don Savoie Sr. of LaPlace teamed withZachary’s Jim Pecoraro to win the Louisiana Golf Association Senior 4- Ball championship.
Return To Sports Stories
Copyright © 1998, Wick Communications, Inc.
Internet services provided by NeoSoft.
Best viewed with 3.0 or higher