Submitted by Coach Osborne;  Photo by Bre' Allen

The Central swim team improved for the third meet in a row last Saturday.  The girls team scored 123 points which is 45 points higher than their previous high score, and placed 6^th overall.  Meanwhile the boys finished in 6^th place with 145 points which was just one point behind 5^th placed Dutchtown.

                Matthew Arnold continued his outstanding freshman season qualifying for the state meet in two more events.  Matthew has now qualified for state in five events.  He finished 8^th in the 100 freestyle with a time of 57.37 seconds.  Then he finished 4^th in the 500 freestyle with a time of 5:43.03.

                Thee boys 100 yard freestyle was one of the Wildcats’ most impressive events.  Tanner Stockton shaved fifteen seconds from his time just two weeks ago, finishing in 1:11.98.  Meanwhile, Aaron Raggio cut 5 seconds off his time and finished in 1:06.36.  Sean Murphy also showed great improvement in the 500 yard freestyle.  He finished 9^th with a time of 6:32.30, which was 10 second faster than the last meet.

                Beyond individual success, Coach Lagroue, Coach Osborne, and Coach Prejean were excited about individuals who performed well for their team.  Tara Termini, Kade McAdams, and Ben Curry entered three difficult events for the first time because they knew they could score points for their team.  Tara Termini was one of only 11 girls to event attempt the 100 yard butterfly.  Tara scored 9 points for the girls in that event.  Ben Curry is in his first year on the swim team, yet entered the 200 yard freestyle and scored 3 points for the boys team.  Another first year swimmer, Kade McAdams, entered the 200 yard medley which is an event he has only been practicing for two weeks. 

                All of the relays improved their times.  The boys 200 yard medley relay finished in 2:10.40, which was a 7 second improvement over the last meet.  The girls 200 yard freestyle relay was 5 seconds faster with a time of 2:10.34.  The boys 200 yard freestyle relay cut 4 seconds and finished 5^th with a time of 1:49.72.  Members of the girls relays were Mary Catherine Hodges, Jessica Hooper, Becka Lizarraga, and Emerald Roney.  Members of the boys relays were Matthew Arnold, Kade McAdams, Sean Murphy, Daniel Parker, and Aaron Raggio.

                The Wildcats next meet is in three weeks On October 29 at Crawfish Aquatics.

By Josh Walker

            In another classic rivalry game between Central and Zachary, it was the Broncos came out on top with a 42-38 win. The Wildcats fumbled the opening kickoff, and Zachary scored a touchdown on a three-play drive. Zachary scored again on a touchdown pass from Mason Pace just five minutes later to take a 14-0 lead, but then the Wildcats came alive. Brett Courville had a 21-yard touchdown run and a two-point conversion pass to John Davis to cut the lead to 14-8. Courville also had a one-yard touchdown run in the second quarter while the Broncos scored two times to take a 28-14 lead.

            Zachary scored again to open up the second half to take a 21-point lead. The Wildcats mounted an 11-play, 68-yard drive capped off by a 17-yard, fourth down touchdown pass from Courville to Gary Triplet. After a Bronco fumble on the first play from scrimmage in the fourth quarter, Courville scored his third rushing touchdown of the game to make the score 35-30. The Wildcats got the defensive stop they were looking for when Tim Colomb intercepted a Mason Pace pass on the Bronco 36-yard line and returned it to the 20 to set up a Zack Evans two-yard touchdown run. Evans would also run the two-point conversion in to take a 38-30 lead with six minutes to go. Unfortunately, the Broncos took advantage of those six minutes as they drove 78 yards in two minutes to take the lead that would be the final score at 42-38. The Wildcats did get the ball again and looked to be moving down the field before a holding call killed any chance of scoring.

            The Wildcats had their best offensive game of the season Friday night by getting 413 yards of offense (272 rushing, 141 passing). Brett Courville shined again, scoring four touchdowns. He completed 12 out of his 25 passes for 141 yards and ran the ball for 80 yards on 21 carries. Zack Evans was the Wildcats leading rusher with 89 yards on 12 carries. Gary Triplet ran for 74 yards, and Devon Gales ran for 29. Gales also led the Wildcats in receiving yards with 60. Zack Hetrick came up with a big 35-yard reception, and Jeremy Anderson had a 20-yard reception.

            Central’s defense looked shaky at times but came up with some big plays to keep the Wildcats in the game. They forced two second half turnovers that led to 15 points. Freshman Kevin Henry and Zach Hetrick led the Wildcats in tackles with 8 each. Antonio Ragusa had 7 1/2, and Logan Metcalfe had 7.

            After the game, Coach Dotson said, “I’m proud of you guys. It took a lot to come back from 21 points down and make a game of it. We just have to keep working hard at it.” It was impressive to see this young team battle back as well as they did. It looked like one of the classic Central teams. Although it was heartbreaking to see the game end the way it did, the Wildcats proved that they wouldn’t quit. That’s something that will never change.

Do you enjoy athletics?  Do you believe it is important for our Central youth to have the opportunity to compete in athletics in a safe organized manner?  Then call about coaching a Central Biddy Basketball team.  We have many boys that want to play in the league, but there are not enough coaches at this point.
 
If you are interested, please contact: Scott Osborne at sosborne@centralcss.org or 262-2780 Ron Lewis at rlewis@centralcss.org or 262-2780, or  Tommy Abbott at 504-722-6638 (cell) 225- 261-9580 (home) at tdabbott@bellsouth.net.

Submitted by Paul Dufour

The Baton Rouge Softball Chapter of the LHSOA will hold a General Meeting at the Jefferson Highway Park located at 8133 Jefferson Highway on October 16, 2011 at 6:00pm.  The park is located on Jefferson Highway between Cypress Lakes Drive and Wrenwood Blvd.
 
We welcome all Veteran, Rookie Umpires as well as umpires from River City to attend to discuss the transition into the LHSOA, our contract status as well as our current membership status. We will also discuss the Assignment Coordinators minutes from this Sunday’s meeting as well as a Question and Answer session.
 
Please contact Paul Dufour with any questions or for directions at 225-505-1287 or email him at LHSOA_softball@att.net.

Submitted by John Kennedy, CMS Football Coach

A small group of footballers showed back up for their final football game of the season to win a thriller in overtime 22-16 against Baton Rouge Christian. Brant Guerin scored first for the Wildcats on a 46 yard run in the second quarter. Down 16-6 at half, the defense stopped any offensive threat by an interception by Jamille Jones and big stops by Jacob Coates, Josh Herbert and Telly Roper. Late in the 3rd quarter Josh Dejean tackled a Patriot running back in the end zone to cut the score to 8-16. Late in the 4th quarter Kyle Kennedy connected on a 56 yard TD pass to Matthew Pihl, then threw a 2 point conversion to Trenton Guay to tie the score. In overtime the defense dominated the Patriots by not letting them get a yard, then on the Wildcats second play of overtime, with big blocks by Joel Robinson, Brennon Landry and Ethan Delaughter,  Pihl scored on a 3 yard run to finish the scoring. The Wildcats would like the thank the fans, their parents and the newspaper for support this season.

Submitted by Tyler Wales

ZHS Broncos 42, Central Wildcats 38

Game start time: 7:00 PM; Game length: 2:55

Friday, October 7, 2011 (07:00 PM)
League game at Central Middle School

ZHS Broncos 42, Central Wildcats 38

Friday, October 7, 2011 (07:00 PM)
League game at Central Middle School

ZHS Broncos 42, Central Wildcats 38

Central Wildcats Drive Charts

ZHS Broncos Drive Charts

Submitted by Josh Kennedy

The 7th grade ended their season last night 3-3 with a 18-12 victory over Northeast Middle at Zachary. Josh Herbert scored two touchdowns, one from a pass from Daryl Levigne and a 34 yard run. The last TD was an interception by Jude Fontenot. The Wildcats played well on both sides of the football all year. The coaching staff is looking forward to these kids being in 8th grade next year. The young Wildcats would like to thank the teachers, students and administration, and mostly their parents, for their support.

By Josh Walker

Central (2-3) opens 4-5A district play at home with the Zachary Broncos (4-1) Friday night. The Wildcats will go for their fourth straight win over the Broncos in a game that will show who is the favorite to win the district this year. The Broncos were picked by the coaches before the season as the favorite to win district. They return 14 starters (8 on offense, 6 on defense), the most of any team in district. The Wildcats look to get back to their winning ways against the best offense that they have faced up to this point. They will have their hands full with a very balanced spread attack with three running backs and a good passing attack.

Friday night’s game will also be the Hall of Fame Game as the Wildcats honor the 1992, 1993, and 1994 state championship baseball teams. Come support the current and former Wildcats in what should be another great game between rivals.

Submitted by Janet Stevens

At this Friday's home football game against Zachary, volunteers will help to collect money from anyone who would like to donate to the Whitney Taylor Scholarship Fund.  Each year, the Whitney Taylor Scholarship will go to the Central High Football Player who exhibits leadership on the team.

By Josh Walker

            Central got off to a promising start Friday night but was unable to keep up the pace in a 35-14 loss to the St. Amant Gators. The Wildcats went 94 yards on their opening drive and scored a touchdown on an 8-yard Brett Courville run. Courville also ran in the two-point conversion to go up 8-0. The Gators countered with a touchdown on their first drive to cut the lead to one. Central’s next drive ended with a turnover on downs after a failed fake punt from their own 25-yard line. St. Amant kicked a 24-yard field goal to take a 10-8 lead. Gary Triplet scored the Wildcats only other touchdown in the second quarter on a 58-yard touchdown run. The St. Amant defense completely shut down the Wildcat offense in the second half, forcing four turnovers on downs, an interception, and a punt. Three of these drives started in Gator territory but the Wildcats were not able to capitalize on the good field position.

            The Wildcats ended up with 303 yards (186 rushing, 117 passing). Triplet ended the night with 58 rushing yards and 75 receiving yards. Courville went 9-23 passing with 117 yards and an interception and also had 68 rushing yards. Zach Evans had 42 rushing yards and 16 receiving yards.

            The Wildcat defense had trouble slowing down the St. Amant offense allowing 356 yards (122 passing, 234 rushing). The Gators scored on six out of their eleven drives. There were some positives though. The Wildcats forced two fumbles recovered by Logan Metcalfe and Dillon Brumfield. Paul Broussard led the Wildcats in tackles with 6 1/2. Logan Metcalfe and Zach Hetrick each had 6 tackles, and Antonio Ragusa had 5.

            After the game, Coach Dotson described the as a “hard one to swallow. We have to put this one behind us and realize that non-district play is over.” He also said that the Wildcats need to take advantage of situations that they are put in. Finally, he said, “We can compete with anyone on our schedule.” The Wildcats certainly can but will need complete game efforts in order to do so.