The Louisiana High School Athletic Association (LHSAA) says that an ongoing Internal Revenue Service audit of the years 2004 through mid-2007 is in the final stage of resolution. 

Donaldsonville's Quentin Davis took lead of the game early on against St. James Wildcats on Saturday evening. The tigers delivered a 21-point lead escaping with a victory of 74-53.
"St. James is competitive, there is not much I need to say here to these guys, they know how tough St. James is," Donaldsonville head coach Greg Hill said. "In the first half we came out entirely too hype, we just had to calm it down some."
St. James cut it to 14-11 in the first quarter with J. Smith adding a three-pointer with only seconds' left to give the Wildcats a three-point lead.
"It was a well played ball game," said Hill. "We got off to a fast start, but we are getting better each game. We have made improvements and the progress is going good. The bottom line is we have been working hard, and we played as hard as we could tonight."
Quentin Davis led all scorers with 20 points for Donaldsonville (12-13). Devin Breaux added 14 points; Aikee Turner provided 12, and Darvelle Allen with ten.
Donaldsonville built their lead, 50-45, in the third quarter and kept the tempo going from there.
"The flow was great tonight after we slowed the tempo down," said Hill.
Tre' Sullivan's pass to Davis inside opened the fourth quarter for a basket and one.
Donaldsonville closed out the game on Quentin Davis's possession of the ball and Donaldsonville Tigers conquered a win of 74-53.
 

 It was the battle of the Bulldogs on Jan. 13 as the Ascension Catholic Lady Bulldogs defeated the visiting White Castle Lady Bulldogs 50-38.
 It was a dogfight in every sense of the word as players from both teams dove on the floor for loose balls and fought for position in a physical game.  Ascension Catholic was able to build a sizeable lead in the first half behind great ball movement, solid team defense and hot shooting from Alyce Dominique and Alison Falcon.
On the other side of the ball, White Castle was unable to find the bottom of the net, as the team failed to connect on several point blank shots.  Despite White Castle’s size advantage, they trailed Ascension Catholic heading into halftime 21-12.  White Castle Head Coach Tammy Pierce commented on her team’s strategy going into the game.  “We knew we had a height advantage and we were going to try to get the ball inside.  We knew they weren’t going to play us man to man. We were looking for the zone and we were looking for more outside shots to fall and they just weren’t there,” said Pierce.
The second half proved to be much of the same as Ascension Catholic managed to keep a double-digit lead throughout the third quarter.  Down the stretch, Ascension Catholic was able to withstand a late fourth quarter run by White Castle, who pulled within single digits with two minutes to play in the game.
Ascension Catholic Head Coach Blair Bagala was able to rally his girls to put the game away.  “I told them we were trying to force it too much because we were close to victory, so I told them to just settle down and make good passes and take good shots,” said Bagala.  Ascension Catholic converted key free throws and broke White Castle’s full court press for fast break lay-ups to put the game out of reach.
White Castle was led in scoring by Ronquel Gibson with 13 points and Erin Allen, who added 12 points including two 3-pointers.  Falcon finished with a game-high 18 points and Dominique finished with 15.  Krystal Knight also scored in double figures for Ascension Catholic with 10 points.
Bagala talked about his team’s ability to successfully execute the game plan.  “Basically we knew they like to get it inside. On defense we had to make sure they beat us outside and force them to shoot 3s.  On offense we tried to just work the ball around and get some good picks and some easy looks because we knew they were really physical down low,” said Bagala. 

Well since last week I've gotten a little more news about the fishing in our area. One angler has caught a few sac-a-lait in one section of the Amite/Blind River basin. I can't reveal the spot under a threat of retribution.
In another area, many miles away in the basin, another angler had three bites and hooked what he said was a really nice bass, but it got off before it could be landed. "Are you sure it wasn't a choupique?" His answer was, "No! I saw it!" Under intense interrogation using very bright and hot lights, we surmised he was telling the truth and gave him the benefit of the doubt.
So, I've been getting a lot of questions about the fate of our fishing area and are there any plans for restocking by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries. I made contact with Bo Boehringer the Press Secretary of the department to get an answer.
Mark Lawson, a department biologist assigned to our area gave me a call and I questioned him about our local concerns. "Lyle, we stocked catfish and sac-a-lait in the late fall right after the hurricanes did their damage and the oxygen levels came back to good numbers." I asked him about long range plans for the stocking of other species.
"We will stock in the Amite/Blind River basin for three more years. Fingerling bass will be stocked in April with more catfish in the fall. We will also stock bluegill in the fall along with the catfish. Usually we're concerned with predation by other fish and have to be a little careful about where we put them but after a fish kill of this magnitude, but that probably won't be a concern."
"The early predictions were a three to five year span for the fishery to make a comeback, but this area generally makes a good recovery, so we're very hopeful that in three years it will be pretty good," Lawson said.
Most of the time I don't feel we get a very good bang for our tax dollars but this is one bright spot in our government. Our Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries takes very good care of the resources we are blessed with in the Bayou State.
But all hope is not lost on the freshwater fishing side. You don't have to travel very far to have the opportunity to catch some fish. Fishing in the Spillway and the Lake Verrett area has been pretty good of late for bass and sac-a-lait.  Fishing out of Bayou Black has really been good for bass, panfish and even a redfish or two mixed in the with the others.
One thing you might want to consider would be to try new places. On the north shore of Ponchatrain is the Tangipahoa and Tchefuncte Rivers that are a lot like the Amite River. Upriver to mid-river is marked with highland banks sporting Cypress trees and piers dotting the shore. Mid-river to the lake is swampy to marsh with run outs.
 

The Ascension Catholic High School Cross-Country team recently completed its most successful season in school history.
Both the Boys' and Girls' team placed fourth at the LHSAA State Meet. The girls' were lead by Aimee Prejeant who placed ninth. The boys were lead by Taylor Cavalier, third place and Jesse Pizzolato who placed ninth. All 14 ACHS runners (seven boys and seven girls) scored in the top 50 runners at the State Meet.
Recently, senior leader Blake Gregoire was selected to the Track and Field Coaches Association Class A Cross-Country Academic All-State Team.
Taylor Cavalier was selected Honorable Mention on the Advocate's Baton Rouge Area All Metro Team. Cavalier, a sophomore, was the only Class A runner selected to this team.
Other runners participating at the State Meet were girls': Jamie Boudreaux, Beth Bellina, Molly Mallory, Miranda Chiquet, Rebecca Cavalier, and Amy Gregoire. Also competing for the boys': Patrick Brou, Joe Canetella, Justin Rivers, Trey Capello, and Zach Capello.
Ronald Bagala, head coach, Blair Bagala, assitant coach, C.J. Ryan, Rocy Capello, and Joe Cavalier coaches the teams.
 

The weekend of February 13 through February 15, 2009, the 10-year-old Donaldsonville Biddy Girls traveled to Denham Springs to play in an Invitational Tournament. The following teams were in the tournament: Slidell, Thibodaux, Live Oak, Walker, Donaldsonville, and Denham Springs.
The first 3 games consisted of pool play to determine where each team would be placed in the bracket for tournament play. Donaldsonville girls had only two days of practice before traveling as well as their regular season games ended the night before the tournament started. The girl's lost to Slidell and Denham Springs in pool play. Each game the girls played the fans could see improvement. Then the girls turned everything around and got on the winning track with a big win against Walker.
We were seeded number two in the bracket. We beat Live Oak, Slidell, and Denham Springs to make it to the championship game of the tournament. Here, we had to meet up with Slidell one more time. In order for Slidell to get here they had to play two straight games. The championship game was the third straight game for them, and the third time we would face off against them. At this point, both teams were tired from a long weekend of traveling and playing basketball. Both teams put up a very valiant effort with Donaldsonville girls coming out on top.
At the tournament there was also a free-throw shooting contest for the players. Jasmine Worley, Ambrosia Johnson, Meagan Brooks, and Maya Vaughn participated in the event that consisted of about 45 contestants. Meagan Brooks won first place in this event and brought home the first place trophy. Over the weekend, we walked away with two first place trophies and the entire team received a medal. 
Jason Worley, Anita Johnson, and Lathaught Delaney coached the girls over the weekend.
The 2008-2009 10 year old girls' All-Stars Team members are: Jasmine Worley, Ambrosia Johnson, Janira Collier, Jare Birdis, Jalyncea Ben, Meagan Brooks, Shaquendes Joshua, Maya Vaughn, Nekyla Williams, Breanna Barnes, Kiyah Delaney, and Sharan Turner.
Please come out and continue supporting the girl's as they continue working to achieve their goal of making it to the 2009 International Tournament in Abbeville on March 27-April 1st.
 

Last Thursday Lady Tigers hosted Riverside Academy in the first playoff game of the season. Dominating the second half Lady Tigers ended with a win 74-42.

Donaldsonville High running back Bryant Dunn was indefinable on the field while earning several honors last fall.
Dunn’s strength and multifaceted ability led him to electing to sign with Southeastern University in Hammond on National Signing Day last Wednesday amongst family and coaches.
“I am excited about my decision. I can’t wait to begin this next chapter of my life. I am a Lion now,” Dunn said. “On a visit, I liked it, I felt it was the best place for me.”
“I felt that the coaching staff and teammates will look after me on and off the field,” he added.
As a senior, Dunn claimed a total of 20 touchdowns, and a total of 1,1662 rushing yards for the season.
Dunn participated in the Red Stick Bowl in Baton Rouge in December.
He is a two-time District 7-2A Offensive MVP and honorable mention All-State selection. He is a three-time All-Metro selection by the Advocate newspaper in Baton Rouge. He rushed for 1,662 yards and 19 touchdowns on 195 attempts. He went over the century mark eight times and had a career high 323 rushing yards against Dunham. Dunn also caught 14 receptions for 117 yards and one touchdown and threw for four more scored on 5 of 8 passing for 122 yards.
With the Lions team adding a new line up to its roster for the upcoming season, Head Coach Mike Lucas felt positive about his decisions.
“We feel great about this class,” Lucas said. “We approached it a bit differently this year. This year, we had specific needs that we felt like we needed to go after. I’m very pleased with my coaching staff and everyone at the University that helped during our recruiting weekends. We feel like we’ve really improved our football team with the specific needs that we have.”
Dunn said he looks forward to what the years bring. He also thanked his coaches over the years that lead him to this point.
“Although I played under Coach Terence Williams for one season, he taught me so much on and off the field, people like that you never forget,” said Dunn. “I can’t thank him enough.”
 

Ascension Catholic’s Matt Pearce knew the University of Central Arkansas was a perfect fit for him after visiting the college last December. He made it official when he signed a letter of intent to play football for UCA Wednesday morning in front of the student body at Ascension Catholic’s gymnasium on National Signing Day.
Pearce recalls the offer from UCA.
“They offered me over the phone, and I immediately became excited about football, and nervous about school,” he said.
Pearce said he plans to major in Business, and says that the football program focuses on academics a great deal.
Pearce said he is looking forward to leave in the summer for training and to start his college career.
Pearce is a two-time 9-A all-district selection, and a two-time Class A Academic All-State Selection. He is a 2009 River Parish/Bayou Bowl All-Star Game participant, and a three-time 9-A all-district selection in basketball.
Head Coach Rick Bolotte said, “Pearce is a great athlete. I know he will do well. “He was a top receiver this year, but UCA wants him a defensive end.”
“I am proud of him and I know he will make us proud,” Bolotte added.
Pearce said that his father and Coach Troy Leboeuf were instrumental in this process as well.
“I can’t thank them enough, because without them this would not be possible,” said Pearce.
“I basically just showed him the ropes, helped paved the way, but Matt dedicated himself for this. He said his goal was to get a scholarship, and he did just that,” said Leboeuf.
“We love him, and we look forward to him doing really well,” he added.
University of Central Arkansas signed a total of 29 signees on last Wednesday for National Signing Day.
 

MIAMI -The first time was a charm for the New Orleans Saints.
The 43-year-old franchise made its first appearance in the Super Bowl Sunday, and claimed a 31-17 win over the Indianapolis Colts.
Saints quarterback Drew Brees was chosen the game's MVP. He tied a Super Bowl record with 32 completions.
Indianapolis threatened to tie the game late in the fourth quarter as quarterback Peyton Manning, a New Orleans native, led his Colts down the field.
Second-year cornerback Tracy Porter, a Port Allen native, stepped in front of a Manning pass for an interception, which he returned 74 yards for a touchdown.
The Saints overcame a 10-0 early deficit to win.
Kicker Garrett Hartley brought the Saints back with two long-distance field goals, including a 46-yard kick that cut the Colts' lead to 10-6 at halftime. Hartley became the first player in Super Bowl history to make three field goals of more than 40 yards in the same game.
The Colts took an early lead after Matt Stover hit a 38-yard field goal and Manning connected with Pierre Garcon on a 19-yard touchdown pass.
After a pair of Hartley field goals, Brees threw a 16-yard touchdown to running back Pierre Thomas, giving the Saints a 13-10 lead.
Former LSU running back Joseph Addai put the Colts back int the lead when he ran for a 4-yard touchdown.
Hartley kicked a 47-yard field goal to cut the Colts lead to 17-16.
Brees followed with another scoring pass, hitting tight end Jeremy Shockey on a 2-yard touchdown. A two-point pass from Brees to wide receiver Lance Moore gave the Saints a 24-17 lead. Moore's catch was first ruled incomplete, but a replay review reversed the call.
Wide receiver Marques Colston finished with seven catches for 83 yards. Wide receiver Devery Henderson, a former LSU standout, had seven receptions for 63 yards.

 

Track season has begun for all High Schools. However, the team from Donaldsonville High School that many are used to seeing has made some changes over the past few months. 
One of the major differences is that this year the Tigers are participating in both indoor and outdoor track under the leadership of a new coach, Trent Ellis.
"The difference [between indoor and outdoor track] is there aren't as many events in indoor track as outdoor track and they do not have as many teams competing indoor," said Coach Trent Ellis.
Ellis brings to Donaldsonville High a brand new track program and holds an impressive coaching resume. Ellis coached a club team (Future) for 12 years. He also coached at Baton Rouge High, Scotlandville High, Baker High, and Christian Life Academy. His credentials do not stop there. He has also coached on the collegiate level at the University of New Orleans (UNO) up until the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. Under his belt he has collected a State Championship title and two state runners - up titles.
Academics play a big role in the Athletics program at Donaldsonville High, and track and field is no exception. Each student is expected to maintain a 2.5 grade point average and a minimum of 17 on the American College Test (ACT), needed for colleges and universities. Track has led to many college opportunities for those who participate, offering scholarships for most.
Like all great teams the assistant coaches are a big part of the foundation.
Teremine White, Ajia Morand, Latrice Duncan, Nakiya Walker, Brian Richardson, Ricky Semien, and Raquel Walker all hold an important duty for the track and field team. Not only do they help with practices and training the athletes they also play a major part in fundraising and many other aspects.
"The girls are training to be more competitive on both the district and regional levels," Ellis said.
The team consists of many underclassmen this year. Brionka Dunn, Beaunca Lewis, and Maiya Miles lead the pack as female athletes to look out for in the future. A collective amount of strong runners are expected to join the Tigers when basketball season concludes.
A part of the program consists of excessive training. The athletes warm up and do muscle building exercises that range from weight- lifting to training with the medicine ball.
In the past couple of months the Tigers were prepping for their first indoor track meet. Coach Ellis said he was quite pleased and the team even managed to come out with first place in the 800-meter relay. The winners of this event were Justin Breaux, Jordan Rosemond, Shaqueel Babin, and Javontae Wilson. They blasted past the finish line with a time of 1.33 minutes.
Ellis acknowledged that there were some technical glitches that the team had to work on, however, he was overall pleased with the outcome of their first indoor meet. Ellis says that the track program is here to take their claim and plan on stopping at nothing less than a state championship.

The Varsity and Junior Varsity Track schedule is as follows:

February 9-10 LSU last chance Qualifier
February 20- State Indoor Meet (LSU)
February 27-  "Ronnie Rabalais" Tip Off Meet- Donaldsonville
March 5- West Feliciana Invitational
March 12- Scotlandville
March 13- Southern University-Johnny Thomas memorial track meet
March 19- John Williams Invitational @ Port Allen
March 20- East Ascension Invitational
March 26 "Legends" Invitational- Donaldsonville
April 1-4- Texas Relays - University of Texas at Austin
April 9- Tiger Classic- Donaldsonville
April 16- St. Amant
April 21-(Wednesday) District 7-2A Championships - Donaldsonville
April 27-(Tuesday) Regionals- Donaldsonville
May 6-(Thursday) State- LSU
 

Last Friday Episcopal High School hosted the Donaldsonville Tigers in a district match up. With great athletes on both teams the Episcopal Knights prevailed with a one point win.
The Tigers leading scorers were Devon Breaux and Lorenzo Collins. They held 19 and 10 points respectively. Not far behind was Kelvon Davis with eight. Quentin Riley, Darvelle Allen, Aikee Turner, and Jared Cole all helped the Tigers to put points on the scoreboard.
The Episcopal Knights pushed forward to a victory by the third quarter, and the Tigers remained in the race until the last second. 
B. Bridgewater was the star for the Knights. Having only 54 points for the whole team Bridgewater carried 32 alone. Teammate V. Dellocono put up seven and W. Patrick helped with four being the leading scorers of the game.
The final buzzer and a score of 55-54 defeated the Tigers by one point.
 

Two games decided by five points highlighted an exciting night as the Ascension Catholic High School boys and girls basketball teams lost to visiting West St John.  The Lady Bulldogs started off very slow and trailed 27-9 at the half.
A second half surge fueled by a pressing defense and timely buckets put the Lady Bulldogs up by two with 30 seconds to play.  West St John answered and took a two-point lead with 21 seconds left. 
Coach Tricia Palermo set up the Lady Dogs to tie the ballgame but a shot was missed with less than five seconds to go to secure a 49-47 West St John victory. 
Junior Elaine Pearce led the Lady Bulldogs with 19 points; Juniors Tykean Wise and Alyce Dominique had 16 and 13 respectively.  Freshman Nancy Guillot added two points and five steals.  The Lady Bulldogs are 3-2 in district play with upcoming games against White Castle, St John and Country Day this week.
 The ACHS boys’ basketball team led for most of the game versus West St John but the Rams were able to win 44-41. 
ACHS led 26-18 at the half but West St John outscored the Dogs 26-15 in the second half.  Coach Willie Depron's club had opportunities to pull away in this game but give credit to a determined Rams team for not allowing that to happen in Donaldsonville. 
The Bulldogs were balanced in scoring led by Junior Myron Dominique with 10 points.  Other scoring came from Seniors Greg Carter with eight, Matt Pearce with six, Jesse Pizzalato with five and Brandon Burns with four.  Junior Myles Hayel had five and Junior Kolby Martinez had four.  The Dogs dropped to 8-13 overall and 1-3 in a very tough district that includes top 10 teams in Christian Life, White Castle and East Iberville.  The Dogs will be back in action this week with a game at White Castle and home versus St John.