News Archives - Page 29 of 32 - Woodlawn High School

Panthers Take Early Lead, Look to Continue Improvement

Sep 13, 2016

By Lillian Khemmanyvong ‘17

The Woodlawn Panthers lost their second game of the season Friday night against the Destrehan Wildcats in a 34-7 game.

The Panthers ran out to the field for the first quarter, ready to start the game strong.

“We took the things that happened last game and learned from them. It’s a learning process; each week we’ve got to get better,” head coach Daniel Luquet said. “This is why you play an early season (schedule) before district, so you give yourself a chance to correct things and by the time you get to district, you’ll be rockin’ and rollin’.”

Woodlawn’s offense prepares for the snap against Destrehan on September 9, 2016.

Destrehan scored on the opening kickoff but missed the extra point, taking the early lead in the game by the score of 6-0. Woodlawn quickly recovered from the touchdown and pushed to hold them in the first quarter. Woodlawn’s senior running back Javin Myers carried the ball for 14 yards on the drive, although it was not enough for the Panthers to score. Despite Destrehan scoring the first touchdown, the Panthers defense fought to get the ball back. On 1st and 10 junior linebacker Shaun McCray sacked Destrehan’s quarterback Kohen Granier, preventing them from gaining a first down. The team then threw an incomplete pass on third down and resorted to punting the ball. On the next drive, Myers picked up 3 first downs and gained 65 yards on 5 carries, giving the Panthers an opportunity to take the lead. With 3:44 left in the first quarter, junior Xavier Lodge took the snap from center and scored from 6 yards out for the Panthers. Jacob Barnes added the extra point giving Woodlawn the 7-6 lead. Throughout the game the Panthers strived to hold Destrehan, but missed opportunities prevented the Panthers from keeping the lead. The Wildcats scored three more times in the first half and once in the second half.

Javin Myers carries the ball against Destrehan on September 9, 2016.

Having lost the game Friday night, there were some small victories for the team. Myers led the team with 25 carries for 146 yards. The team only committed two penalties. Although it has already been a rough start for the Panthers, it is only the second game of the season, leaving room for the team to build on their performances.

Woodlawn’s next game will be on the road, Friday September 16, against Lafayette at 7:00 pm.

Robotics Competition Draws Large Crowds, Large Robots

Sep 9, 2016

Woodlawn’s Robotics Team, Panthrobotics, held its fourth annual Dow Red Stick Rumble on August 27th, 2016. Twenty one teams from Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi competed in this year’s FIRST® Robotics Game, Stronghold, in the Woodlawn High Gym. Approximately fifteen hundred people attended this free event and witnessed 120 pound robots vying to capture their opponent’s tower.

After forty intense matches, the second seed alliance; Team 4587, Jersey Voltage from Houston Texas, Team 4107, Team Storm from Gulfport Mississippi, and Team 4978, Tiger Robotics from Baton Rouge, Louisiana advanced through the elimination bracket to clench the victory as champions of the Rumble.

Teams also brought in supplies to be donated to people affected by the 2016 Flood. Over 100 book-sacks filled with school supplies, six 40 gallon totes of toiletries, food-stuffs, toys, and other items were donated to Woodlawn to distribute to those who were in need.

Many thanks go to the Partner Sponsor of the event, Dow Chemical, who is also a major sponsor of the team. Thanks also goes to Indiana’s AndyMark for providing food for all of the volunteers and teams on Friday evening.

Volleyball Continues to Improve Despite Losses

Sep 9, 2016

After a good showing in the South Louisiana Invitational this weekend (2-2), the volleyball team dropped two in row this week.

On Wednesday, the Lady Panthers went five sets in a hard fought match against False River Academy. The Panthers won the first set, but lost the second. They fought back from 23-17 to win the third set 29-27. The Lady Panthers lost steam after winning a hard fought fourth set. False River finished off the match with a strong finish in the fifth.

On Thursday, the Lady Panthers squared off with Baton Rouge High. The Lady Panthers looked strong with a tremendous offensive effort by Kerri Williams who had 8 kills, four aces, along with a block, but it was not enough to overtake the strong offensive effort by the Bulldogs.

The Lady Panthers will see action this Monday at Southern Lab.

Panthers Have Strong Showing at First Cross Country Meet

Sep 8, 2016

Missing three weeks of practice is never easy on a team. It certainly hasn’t been easy on the Panther Cross Country team, who was only able to get in one week of solid training before the first meet. But it was a great week of training and the team is off to a great start.

This past Saturday the boys and girls teams competed at the St. Michael’s Bayou Boogie cross country meet at Highland Road Park. The boys team was led over the 3-mile course by senior Khidhr Al-Mustafa in a time of 19:57, followed 20 seconds later by fellow senior Brandon Williams.

Senior Darmar Galvan (21:42) and junior Saulomon John (22:10) were followed closely by sophomore Marshall Bayles and junior Joshua Stephens. The varsity squad finished behind the host team, but ahead of district rival Plaquemine and cross town rival Broadmoor.

Alexis Martin and Melissa Grant push toward the finish line at Highland Road Park on September 3, 2016.

The girls team was led by juniors Alexis Martin and first time racer Melissa Grant. The Lady Panthers put in solid efforts and covered the first mile of the course with the leaders before sliding to the middle of the pack late in the race.

Coach Wallace commented on the performance with both teams, “The plan for today’s races was to treat it like any other workout. Let’s just get out there and get a feel for the course and the race conditions”. He went on to say that, “We have missed a lot of workouts due to things beyond our control, but with school re-starting and the team getting back into a normal workout routine, we are going to improve quickly and will be very strong 12 weeks from now at the state championship meet. This team is like a car with no brakes, we are only going faster and faster”.

The cross country team will be in action Saturday, September 10 at the Episcopal Round Table Run at Highland Road Park. The girls varsity will run at 8:30 am, followed by the boys varsity at 9:15

Woodlawn Off to a Slow Start

Sep 5, 2016

By Lillian Khemmanyvong ‘17

In its first game of the season, Woodlawn did not have the start it had hoped for, suffering a 41-20 loss against the Hahnville Tigers.

“We just have to start faster. That’s all it is. When we continue to start in the third quarter and teams are already up a lot on us, it’s hard to come back,” head coach Daniel Luquet said. “It’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon. We just have to continue to get better, and that starts Monday.”

Early in the third quarter, Woodlawn junior running back Joshua London had a 70-yard reception from quarterback Devin Whiting. A roughing the passer penalty against Hahnville added 13 yards to the play. On the next snap, running back Javin Myers scored on a 13-yard touchdown to cut Hahnville’s lead to 27-6.

Woodlawn senior defensive lineman Kendrell Shaw sacked Hahnville quarterback Austin Perrin as Hahnville seemed to get tired and make minor mistakes. But it did not stop the Tigers from scoring two more touchdowns, as they went up 41-6.

Sophomore WR Bryson Reaser makes a catch in traffic Friday night at Hahnville.

The Panthers pulled closer and got into scoring territory with a 34-yard run by Myers. On fourth down, Bryson Reaser caught a 10-yard touchdown pass and Jacob Barnes added the extra point to move the score to 41-13. Woodlawn was given another opportunity to score when Hahnville’s punter’s knee touched the ground while fielding a snap. With only 1:47 left in the fourth quarter, Myers broke through middle of the field for a 7-yard touchdown to make the score 41-20.

Although the scoreboard didn’t show it, the Panthers seemed to improve since the Jamboree, gaining 13 first downs and 312 total yards and only committing two penalties.

Myers finished with 17 carries for 91 yards with two touchdowns and also had three catches for 17 yards. Whiting threw for 203 yards, and London was the top receiver with 84 yards.

Woodlawn’s next game will be at home against Destrehan September 9 at 7:00 pm.