The sun shines brightest after the rain.
There’s not a better example of that than over the last year of prep athletics, particularly in St. John Parish. While Hurricane Issac threatened to render our local sports almost irrelevant, the resiliency of our prep athletes and coaches were on full display as St. John  arguably had its most successful all-around year in prep athletics in quite some time.
Though St. John’s football teams got off to a slow start after the storm, things returned to form in a hurry. West St. John won its football district and finished as a state semifinalist. St. Charles Catholic won its district and put together an eight game winning streak. Riverside reached the state quarterfinals behind an explosive offense. And East St. John overcame the loss of its school, fieldhouse and weight room as well as an 0-3 start to reach the playoffs.
But that was just the beginning. Riverside’s boys basketball team and St. Charles Catholic’s boys swimming teams each emerged with state championships.
The West St. John girls basketball team and Riverside’s softball teams finished as state runner-ups. The Rebel volleyball team advanced to the state semifinals. The East St. John boys basketball team tied its program record for wins, and the Riverside basketball and soccer girls set new marks. The East St. John and Riverside girls track and field teams each won their districts comfortably. The St. Charles softball team extended their streak of Sulphur visits to an incredible nine times, while the Lady Comet swimmers finished as state runner-up.
Of course, that isn’t to forget the tremendous year that St. Charles and St. James parishes both put forth. In football Lutcher put together an undefeated regular season, while Hahnville shook off a winless predistrict to capture an undefeated district crown. Lutcher’s girls power lifting team captured its seventh state title while the Bulldogs’ soccer team finished as a state semifinalist. Hahnville, Destrehan and Lutcher are continuing to impress in baseball.
Congratulations to all of local athletes for a tremendous 2012-13 campaign. May all of your success continue.