Each week the Panther Play by Play will review the athletic contests from the previous week and look forward to the coming week’s action.
Want to come out and cheer on the Panthers? Tickets for all home events can be purchased online.
Cross Country
The Woodlawn High Cross Country team had another solid performance this weekend. The Panthers competed at Highland Road Park for the first time this season in the St. Joseph’s Academy Invitational.
Both the boys and girls fields were the largest field that our Panther runners had seen this season. However, this did not deter the runners from giving their all. Sophomore Ty Davis and Freshman Kailyn Lebrun each had standout runs for the Panthers. Both runners had times that placed them in the top-20 all-time at Woodlawn High School.
Next up for Cross Country: Saturday, October 14 – Zachary High School Bronco XC Stampede
Football
The Freshman and JV Football teams began the week Monday night by hosting Walker in a double header at Panther Stadium.
The sub-varsity teams once again proved up to the challenge. The freshmen team started the night off with a victory, defeating the Wildcats by the score of 22-20. The JV team fell short after not converting all of their two point conversions, 24-22. Both teams fought hard and made Woodlawn fans proud.
Friday night saw the Panthers face another top-five 3A opponent. Woodlawn High traveled to St. James to face the Wildcats. Woodlawn played a strong first half, and found themselves trailing by only two points at half, 9-7. Unfortunately for the visiting team, St. James was able to score twice in the second half while holding the Panthers out of the end zone. The final score was 22-7.
Next up for Football: Tuesday, October 3 – Freshmen and JV vs. Zachary; Friday, October 6 – Varsity at Zachary
Swim
The Woodlawn High Swim team traveled to Lafayette on Saturday, September 30th to participate in the Open Meet held at Crawfish Aquatics Lafayette. The boys team came away with a strong third place finish, while the girls finished 8th.
The boys were led by three relay teams that had top ten finishes, and a host of strong individual performances. John Cador and Reagan Rodgers finished 7th and 8th in the 100 yard backstroke, and Norman Collins just missed a top ten finish, finishing 11th. Panther swimmers also finished strong in the 100 yard freestyle. James Skiles (4th place), Ben Mackay (8th place), Zack Lemoine (10th place), and Rodgers (13th place) all finished in the top 15.
In the 100 yard breaststroke, Mackay (10th place), Skiles (11th place) and D’ontrell Dyson (15th place) all had top finishes. Lemoine (11th place), Collins (14th place), Alex Collins (16th place), and Christian Dorsey (24th place) all had strong races in the 50 yard freestyle to help score points for the Panthers.
Next up for Swim: Sunday, October 1 – Capital City Swim League at Crawfish Aquatics Bluebonnet
Volleyball
The Lady Panther Volleyball team had an extremely successful week, going 3-0. The Lady Panthers moved to 11-8 on the season with a week to go before District 4-5A play begins.
Woodlawn started the week traveling to Loranger for a three game series with the Lady Wolves. The ninth graders fell in the first set by the score of 25-18, but fought back in the second set, winning 25-18. Unfortunately, the young Lady Panthers could not pull out the victory, falling 15-13 in the third set. The JV team fought hard in both sets they played, but fell 25-19 and 25-21. The two setbacks to start the night did not foreshadow the outcome of the varsity game, as the Lady Panthers came out swinging. After three sets, Woodlawn had the win (25-14, 25-18, 25-14).
Tuesday night saw Woodlawn host Liberty in a JV/Varsity doubleheader. The JV Lady Panthers fought hard, pushing Liberty to three sets before falling 25-16, 21-25, and 15-9. However, just like the night before, the varsity team bounced back in a big way for Woodlawn. In an exciting contest in front of a supportive home crown, the Lady Panthers fell 25-20 in the first set. The second set would not be decided at 25, as Woodlawn needed an extra point to defeat Liberty, 26-24. With the score knotted at 1 set a piece, Woodlawn dominated the third set, 25-13. However, the Lady Patriots found a way to win the fourth set, 25-16. With the match on the line in the fifth set, Woodlawn found a way to come away with the win, 15-11! Branderia Graham and Taliyah Kirby combined for 22 kills and 4 blocks, and Kelis Conley added 20 assists to the stat line.
There was no rest for the weary Lady Panthers, as they were right back in the gym Wednesday for another three game series versus Doyle. Woodlawn’s sub-varsity teams each fell in two sets, but the pattern of the varsity team winning the night continued. The home fans had less anxiety than Tuesday night, with Woodlawn finishing the match after three sets (25-19, 25-17, 25-21). Graham and Kirby had 12 and 11 kills, respectively. Junior Amelie LeMaire added 9 kills for the Lady Panthers.
Next up for Volleyball: Monday, October 2 – JV/Varsity at White Castle; Wednesday, October 4 – Freshmen/JV/Varsity at U High; Saturday, October 7 – Varsity at Academy of Our Lady Tournament
Winter Sports Practice Underway
Boys’ and girls’ basketball, boys’ and girls soccer, powerlifting, and tennis are all practicing in preparation for their upcoming seasons.
