Lady Warriors defeat Sacred Heart in the Turkey Tourney Finals

The championship game of the 2016 Turkey Tournament pitted the Oakdale Lady Warriors against the host Sacred Heart Lady Trojans. After 32-minutes of physical play, it was the Lady Warriors who emerged victorious winning 57-37 and bringing home the trophy.
"In the finals we got to meet up with Sacred Heart which I knew would be tough to (beat) being they are the home team," said head Lady Warrior coach Ted Fontenot. "I think we came out fired up and played some great defense. The game was back and forth in the second half, but our team was able to control the game to win it."
The Lady Warriors began the tournament in the opening game Monday morning at 9:30 AM with a win against Crowley. "Well last year we came to this same tournament and lost to Sacred Heart and Crowley in the same day and were out of it in one day," said Fontenot. "That is a testament if how young we were. This year I was happy to be playing Crowley first so our players could remember. We controlled that day from the beginning."
They then defeated Pine Prairie in the semi-final matchup the next afternoon. Fontenot said about the game, "I knew it would be a good test for us by the way they play." He continued, "After the first quarter, I think we took control of that game and went on to win."
The Lady Trojans began the tournament with a win against St. Ed's Monday evening at 6:30 and needed an overtime period to defeat Oak Hill 46-44 in their semi-final game.
In the finals Ke'Maesha St. Andre scored the opening basket and was fouled. The three point play was good. Sanaa St. Andre on the next possession drained a layup then got a steal and went coast-to-coast for the score. Andie Landry for Sacred Heart scored on the assist from Catherine Poche to trim the lead to four at 7-3.
Setorie St. Andre scored to get the two points back. Ke'maesha St. Andre made both free throws to put her team up 13-5 before scoring to go up 15-5 as a timeout was called on the court at the 2:22 mark of the first quarter. At the end of the first quarter, Oakdale led 15-5.
Ke'Maesha St. Andre scored the first points of the second quarter and followed it up with another basket. Tresunda Joseph got in on the scoring to go up 21-5. The Lady Warriors clearly started to out physical their opponent.
Landry scored a trey making the score 23-8, and Sydney Shiver hit another trey on the next possession as the Lady Trojans reached double digits in scoring. Poche got two more points for her team as the Lady Trojans were down by 10 at 23-13 before the Lady Warriors extended the lead to 12. At the half the Lady Warriors led 26-13.
Sanaa St. Andre hit a trey coming out of the halftime break. A timeout was called on the court at the 6:09 mark of the third quarter with Oakdale leading 33-18. Sanaa St. Andre drained a three pointer from the corner of the key to go up 36-19 and added to her point total with another basket. Oakdale maintained the momentum as it was getting all the rebounds
Poche was at the line for two shots at the 3:28 mark of the third quarter with the score 38-24 and the student section starting to come to life. A timeout was c.alled on the court with 24.9 seconds on the third quarter clock as Lady Warriors lead 38-26. Poche was at the line and split the pair before Alexis Davis got the offensive rebound and the basket closing out the third quarter. After three quarters of play, the Lady Warriors led 40-27.
Annabeth Briley scored an old fashioned three point play to begin the final quarter for the Lady Trojans. Later in the quarter Ke'Maesha St. Andre stole the ball away and capitalized at the basket to go up 47-30. She then lands hard on the court and went to line where she made both free throws. Shouts of "you gotta get the rebound" echoed through the Trojan stands as the coach Stephanie Fontenot implored with her team. Shiver in a last ditch effort hit a three making it a 20-point game with under a minute left, which was the eventual final point margin.
"I was proud of the way we competed in this tournament," Fontenot said. "And I was glad for the players that we won it. We do need to work on staying out of foul trouble, but with that I saw some good play from our bench players like Annishia Moton and Alexis Davis. Overall I feel all five starters played well all three games, and our two seniors really stepped it up in these games with their leadership and play."
The Lady Warriors have two more road games against Basile on November 29 and against Avoyelles Charter on December 1 before heading home to begin a homestand against Vinton on December 6.

Lady Warriors begin the season with a 3-1 record

The Lady Warrior basketball squad kicked off its regular season going 3-1 in the opening week.
The week started Tuesday night with a 48-25 win on the road at Opelousas Catholic. "I took control of the game from the tip off, and (we) played well," said head coach Ted Fontenot. "Sanaa St Andre had a triple-double with 14 points, 10 rebounds and 11 steals.  KaMeasha St Andre had a double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds."
KaMeasha St Andre shot 10 for 17 from the field at a 59% clip, and Sanaa St Andre shot six for 16 at a 38% clip. Sanaa St Andre added to her point total by going two for six from the three-point range. Leading the way from the free throw line were KaMeasha St Andre going one for three and Treshunda Joseph who went one for two.
A night later Fontenot's team began play in the Avoyelles Tournament with a 72-46 win against host Avoyelles. "We had 18 turnovers in the first half which found us down by 3 at the half," said the coach. "(But) we only had three turnovers in the second half. We pulled away in the fourth quarter outscoring them 24-2."
Propelling her team to the win was KaMeasha St Andre with her second double-double in as many nights. She scored 38 points to go with her 12 rebounds. Twelve of her points came from the free throw line in 14 attempts. Joseph was next in line in the scoring leader category with her 17 points, and Sanaa St Andre also added a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
The tournament concluded Saturday with the team going one and one in the Win-Loss column. The loss came by one point to Pineville by a score of 41-40, while the win came in the night cap agaist J.S. Clark as the Lady Warriors dominated 46-8.
"In the Pineville game, we came out slow," said Fontenot. "I think we were intimidated by their post player so we did not want to take the ball inside the lane. In the second game, we were better than (J.S. Clark), and we took control from the start. In the second half, our young players got to play which was good for them to get experience."
The team competes Thanksgiving week in Sacred Heart's Turkey Tournament in Ville Platte where it meets up with Crowley in the opening contest.

The Lady Warriors kick off the season in the jamboree

The Lady Warriors of Oakdale got the basketball season kicked off last Thursday night as they played host against Elton in the jamboree and came away with the 33-11 win.
"On jamboree night the girls played well, and we lead the entire game," commented head Oakdale coach Ted Fontenot. "I am very pleased with our team and the way they played tonight."
Leading the way on offense for the Lady Warriors was KeMaesha St Andre with her 11 points in the two 10-minute halves. Sanaa St Andre scored nine points and recorded five rebounds along with four steals, and Brianna Hargrove scored five points to go with her six rebounds. Setorie St Andre recorded eight rebounds and Treshunda Joseph got three steals, and each scored four points.
Fontenot's team gets the regular season started at Opelousas Catholic before travelling to Marksville for the Avoyelles Tourney at Avoyelles High. The tournament wraps up Saturday, November 19 as the Lady Warriors play Pineville at 10:30 AM and JS Clark at 3:00 PM.

The Road to the Dome begins for Oakdale

The Road to the Dome began Friday night for the sixteenth seed Oakdale Warriors as they hosted the seventeenth seed West St. Mary Wolfpack, but the clock struck midnight on the home team's season as it lost 14-13.
"You can never be satisfied in the playoffs unless you win your last game," said head Warrior coach Randall Gordon. "We lost our first game so you can imagine our disappointment. It was great to have a home game even though our crowd wasn't as large as we had hoped. We knew going in we had a tough task. West St. Mary was very talented at the skill positions which we knew but their lineman played better than we expected. The problem was our offense played behind the chains all night, and On defense we made them drive the field but busted plays is how they scored."
The game remained scoreless eight minutes into the second quarter. That is when Jason Pierre squirted along the left side on a quarterback keeper for a 22-yard touchdown run. The scoring drive was aided and abetted by a facemask penalty against the Warriors. The two-point conversion was good as the Wolfpack led 8-0 with 4:02 on the second quarter clock.

Terrance Holmes then returned the kick to the 38 yard line. He crossed midfield as a flag went down for holding against Oakdale. On first and 20 from the 28, Slate Jordan completed a pass complete to Holmes as the Warriors got back to the original line of scrimmage. After a loss of eight yards, Jordan's pass was thrown into coverage and was intercepted. The Wolfpack took over inside Warrior territory on the 48.
The Warriors got a breath of fresh air as they picked up a Wolfpack fumble, but Jordan's pass was intercepted on the next play from scrimmage. The time on the first half clock expired, but two seconds were put back on the clock following an unsportsmanlike penalty against the Wolfpack. Oakdale got the ball back, and Jordan found James Evins in the end zone for the score. The extra point was good as Oakdale trailed 8-7 at the half.
Each team went three-and-out to begin the second half. On the Wolfpack's second possession, Holmes picked off the pass from Pierre and returned it 80 yards for the score to give the Warriors the lead. The two point conversion attempt was no good as the Warriors lead 13-8 at the 5:20 mark of the third quarter.

The Warrior defense was pitching shut down innings until just over five minutes left in the game as the Wolfpack regained possession on the Warrior 31-yard line. The visitors gained 13 yards to the 16 yard line. Evins stopped the run for 2nd and 10, before the Wolfpack was flagged for illegal substitution. Pierre's pass was complete for third and three from the eight yard line for a first and goal. A timeout was called on the field after a gain of 1 with 3:09 remaining in the game. West St Mary then scored on a busted play from two yards out. The two-point try was stopped as the Wolfpack led 14-13.
"At the end they outplayed us and their speed was too much for us," Gordon said. "We made too many mistakes mentally, physically, and in preparation to win a playoff game. Our younger guys will have to learn from this experience where we don't have this let down again. We are losing 10 seniors who played their last game and they will be missed."

Oakdale Lady Warrior preview

                Ted Fontenot begins a new season at the helm of the Oakdale Lady Warrior Basketball program and has high expections.

                "This season I am looking for some good things from this team," Fontenot said. "We return four starters from last year and three other players that played a lot last year.  We added a good ninth grade class to our roster which makes for a good mixture of 15 total basketball players."

                Returning to the starting lineup are seniors Treshunda Joseph and Setorie St. Andre, junior Brianna Hargrove, and sophomore KeMaesha St. Andre. Fontenot said his seniors, "had good seasons for us last year, and I’m looking for them to lead our team in the right direction this season." He went on to say, "I could not ask for better young women to captain our team this year. Treshunda (Joseph) is one of the best defensive players I have ever coached and I am looking for her to produce on the offensive side of the ball this season. Setorie (St. Andre) is one of the best shooters on our team, and I know she will improve her game as the year goes on."

                 "Brianna (Hargrove) is our starting center and does a good job on rebounding and blocking shots in the middle for us, I am looking for her to score more points for us this season," said Fontenot about his junior starter. "KeMaesha (St. Andre) started last year for us, and I am looking for some great things from her this season."

                Also returning for the 2016-2017 season are juniors Alexis Davis and Ayana Jones and sophomores Annsia Moton, Asiauna Baltzar, and Destiny Monday. "Alexis Davis is our first player that comes off of the bench and is a very good defensive player also," Fontenot said. "Ayana (Jones) has improved her game this year and I am looking for her to give us more minutes this season. Annsia (Moton) is a player that improved a lot this summer, and I look for her to give us some good minutes this season."

                Joining the squad this year as freshman are Sanaa St. Andre, Carlissa Spikes, Trenika Joseph, Lauren Holmes, Tynisha Murray, and Stassi Adams. "We also added a good ninth grade class highlighted by Sanaa St. Andre and Lauren Holmes who played well this summer," said Fontenot. "Overall we have the team that can win the district championship and go deep into the playoffs."

                The Lady Warriors kick off the season with the Oakdale Jamboree November 10, 2016, and close out the month with a trip to Opelousas Catholic on the 15th before competing in the Avoyelles and Sacred Heart Tournaments. District play commences December 27, 2016, with a road contest against the Eagles of Menard.

Oakdale boys basketball preview

Changes are coming to the corner of 13th St. and Warrior Dr. this season for the Oakdale boys basketball team. Some changes will be more obvious than others such as new uniforms and a new head coach.
"Going into my first season at Oakdale, I wanted to try to generate some excitement about the upcoming season and a new beginning for the Oakdale Basketball Program, said first year  head coach Dustin Howard. "I thought new uniforms were an immediate need as well as something the players would be excited about and could be proud of.  I contacted Mr. (Kelly) Brown and spoke with him about helping us out."
Brown is the project manager at Roy O. Martin and presented a check to Howard and six of his players for $1000.00 to purchase an away set of basketball game uniforms. "Roy O. Martin is proud to support our educational partners," he said in a statement. "Investing in our local youth, such as through our Wood Works program and involvement with various athletic programs, speaks to out value of commitment to the communities we serve. Good luck to Coach Howard and his hard working team of Warriors in their upcoming season."
"Huge thanks to Roy O Martin Oakdale for helping us out, we are very appreciative," said Howard. "When the Oakdale Booster club found out Roy O. Martin was helping us with an away set of uniforms they decided to buy us some Home White Uniforms to match. It is great to work and coach in a community that is so supportive. I'm very excited about the future of Oakdale Basketball."
The Plainview native Howard comes to Oakdale via East Texas Baptist University in Marshall, Tx., where he was head women's basketball coach. His first year there in 2013 he earned the American Southwest Conference Coach of the Year award. Prior to that he was head girls coach at Plainview where his team won the Class C State title in 2010 and was state runner-up in 2011.  Howard was awarded Coach of the Year honors while there in 2010 and 2012.
The difference now for Howard is that he is now coaching boys basketball. "After 15 years coaching girls basketball, the switch to boys has been a breath of fresh air," he said. "It's something I've always been interested in doing, and this was the perfect time."
Howard is appreciative of the opportunity here coaching at Oakdale. "My wife and I recently had our first child (a son) and we wanted to share that with family so with both our families living in the area, becoming the boys basketball coach at Oakdale was the only job in the area that I was interested in. When it came open, I called and talked with Mr. (Brad) Soileau and Coach (Randall) Gordon, and I'm glad they considered me. I already love it here and it's somewhere I want to be a long time."
While in college at Louisiana State from 1999-2003, Howard was on the front row of the Pete Maravich Assembly Center for every basketball game watching Stromile Swift, Toris Bright, Collis Temple, III, Ronald Dupree, and Darrell Mitchell. "I'm still angry about Ball State beating (LSU) in the NIT at home," he said. "But I'll never forget beating Number 1 Arizona and rushing the court."
Howard hopes to bring that brand of exciting basketball to the Oakdale program. "I am very excited about this season," he said. "We are a young team over all with so young players with a lot of potential. We also have a mixture of older guys that are solid basketball players and strong leaders. This first season is going to be fun. Our goal as a team is to have a winning season, compete in the district and make the playoffs."
When asked about the style of play he brings to the table, Howard responsed "We plan to play fast when it benefits us and plan to focus on half court defense and rebounding." He continued, "We can shoot it a little outside and have a couple players that can flat score. If we really work on defense, we should be fun to watch."
The season kicks off with the Oakdale Jamboree November 10, 2016. The team then closes out the month of November with a game in Basile on the 29th and begins the month of December at Avoyelles Charter on the 1st. The home opener is the next day on December 2, 2016, as the Warriors host Lake Charles College Prep, and district play begins December 30, 2016, with a home game against Pickering. The December schedule also includes a homecoming for Howard as his team visits Plainview December 20, 2016.

Sacred Heart visits Delcambre with playoffs on the line

The regular season came to an end Friday night as the Sacred Heart Trojans went on the road and defeated the Delcambre Panthers 48-27. With the win the Trojans evened up their overall 2016 record to 5-5 and improved their stock regarding playoff implications.
The two teams traded scores early as the game was tied up at 13 to close out the first quarter. In the second quarter, Delcambre found some momentum scoring on back-to-back possessions. The Panthers went up 27-13 with 4:11 on the clock before the half. The rest of the game was all Trojans as the defense came up big after a slow start and as the offense continued to fire on all cylinders.
"We wanted to establish our run," said Trojan head coach Josh Harper. "The main focus was running out of our spread formation, which is what hopefully springboards us to next year."
Harper went on to credit his offensive line. "But none of that can be done unless the offensive line does what they did," he said. "We finally moved some pieces around during the week. We found a group that kinda was gelling, and those guys can't do what they do if it wasn't for the guys up front."
On the other side of the ball, Harper made a few adjustments between the halves that paid dividends for his team. "We just told the guys to play hard, play fast, play physical and go hit somebody," he said. "And they did. They hit them in the mouth in the second half, and the defense stepped up big. We didn't give up a point in the second half. I'm proud of the defense and the total effort by the team."
"I thought our kids played hard,"conceded head Delcambre coach Marc Broussard. "We came out and played well in the first half, and in the second half Sacred Heart came out and just moved the football. Hats off to them. It was a good football game. They played better than us tonight."
The Trojans tied the game at 27 with 6:05 on the third quarter clock. The drive began as the football came to rest on the Trojan 44 yard line following a Panther punt. J.T. Harper carried across the 50 for a second and three before Wesley Launey completed a pass to Daniel Scully for a first down on the Panther 40. Launey then pitched back to Gautreaux who picked up enough for another first down at the 29 yard line. Launey completed two consecutive passes before Harper gained six yards to the eight yard line bringing up second and four. Launey then kept the ball himself as he ran in for the score.
Harper got the fourth quarter started with a touchdown run from 13 yards out as Sacred Heart took the 33-27 lead at the 11:31 mark of the final quarter of play in regulation. The Trojan defense then pitched a shut down inning as Delcambre went three-and-out. After a Delcambre miss play on the punt, the Trojans scored a quick touchdown on a run from Harper and extended the lead to 41-27 following the two-point conversion reception to Alec Gotro.

After another shut down inning from the Trojan defense, the offense picked up a first down on the 39 yard line. Harper on the next play from scrimmage took the football 36 yards to the three yard line for a first and goal situation. The Trojans scored another touchdown earning style points in the rankings, and the point after was good for a 48-27 Trojan advantage with 6:31 remaining in the game.
With the win against Delcambre and with Pine's 19-17 win over St. Thomas Aquinas, Sacred Heart got a bump in the rankings and now awaits its fate when the playoff seedings are announced.

Oakdale visits Menard with much on the line

Playoff implications are on the line this week as the Oakdale Warriors travel to Alexandria to take on district rival Holy Savior Menard with both teams separated by a game in the District 3 2-A standings.
"We want to execute on all phases of the game to have momentum going into post season play," head Warrior coach Randall Gordon said. "If we win we will host a home playoff game, but if we lose we will possibly travel. With us controlling our own destiny in as far as where we will play is very exciting. We believe we have great fans and a great home game atmosphere and our seniors want to earn another home game."
Menard is coming off a game at Pickering last week where it came back from 14 points down at halftime to win 21-20. The Eagles of Menard with the win inched ahead of Pickering in the district standings, but the teams remain in a second place tie. The teams sit at 3-1 in district behind the undefeated Many Tigers.
Oakdale sits at third place in the district standings with a 2-2 record. The Warriors evened up their district mark with a 50-21 win over Bunkie last week on Senior Night. "On offense when you don't have to punt one time, you have had a great night on offense," said Gordon about his team's performance against Bunkie. "Our three main offensive stat guys James Evins, Terrance Holmes, and Slate Jordan had big nights with the support of the rest of the offensive players. I think we have a little more confidence on offense than we did earlier in the year which is showing as we execute our offense."
The line in the standings is not the only the line the Warriors have to contend with Friday night. Gordon says his offense will "have their hands full" on the line of scrimmage. "Their defense is lead by defensive tackle Will Bordelon and line backer Sean Badeaux, said Gordon. "Bordelon is 6'3" 300-pounds and is very aggressive on the defensive line. Behind him is  Badeaux who is a very aggressive line backer who we will have to find every offensive snap. Their defense likes to stop any big plays by putting two safeties deep and make you make mistakes."
Menard is as tough offensively as it is on defense. "They have one of the best running games in the district with running back Landon Baronne," Gordon said. "Quarterback Brenner Roy has a strong arm and a very good passing game. We will have to be ready to defend for four quarters."