By GEORGE MAHL

The biggest high school sporting event to happen in the River Parishes, other than the football jamboree, has to be the annual River Parish Shootout.

Before anything else, I must thank Reserve Christian School boys basketball coach Timmy Byrd and RCS principal Phil Brown for their great hospitality as hosts for this first-class event. Things ran extremely smooth and went off without a hitch.

Fans should also appreciate the prep coaches in the area for coming together for what could have been a difficult scheduling process. A packed house for the early games paved way for a standing-room-only crowd at night for the last two games.

It got to be so crowded that security instructed the people watching in the hallway to move to the balcony above the floor. By 1 p.m., I was in my seat ready for the action to get underway.

The games, however, didn’t begin until 1:30 p.m. This gave me a chance to talk with coaches and players about the new year and other non-basketball-related items. For example, Hahnville coaches Brian Lumar and Kevin Robicheaux were talking to me about their trip to Disneyworld with the team over the Christmas holidays.

Other coaches were hoping for a television to be in the hospitality room so they could enjoy the NFL playoffs when they were not playing.

The shootout games began at 1:30 as scheduled. By about 2, Lutcher had already put away Dutchtown. I think Lutcher coach Mike McNamara and I were two of the few people who stayed until the event’s final horn, which occurred at about 9 p.m. With his legs crossed and legal pad in hand, I thought for a minute Coach Mac was a college scout and not a high school coach.

While some of the players did as well as I expected, some did not. What I was glad to see was the fact top scorers, such as Demond Carter (RCS) and Ryan Perrilloux (ESJ), did not need to have huge games in order for their teams to win. I was glad to see some teams not rely on just one player get the job done.

As the afternoon and evening moved on, the crowds got bigger and louder. Thunderous dunks from HHS starter Brett Naquin and Destrehan’s Donald Pollard rattled the roof above “The Nest.”

I think Byrd summed it up best when he said, “Today was a good day for the River Parishes.” I could not agree more.

GEORGE MAHL is a sportswriter for L’Observateur. He may be reached at 985-652-9545.