Sports Archives - Page 27 of 30 - Woodlawn High School

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.

Woodlawn Stumbles in Jamboree

Aug 28, 2016

By Lillian Khemmanyvong ‘17

The Woodlawn Panthers suffered a 27-7 loss against McKinley in the East Baton Rouge Parish Football Kick-Off Classic on Friday night.

Although it was a rough night, it was only a jamboree which leaves plenty of room for improvement to prepare for the next game.

When asked what can be changed in order to perform better in the next game, Woodlawn Head Coach Daniel Luquet explained, “You can’t take your time, you can’t start slow… when that whistle blows and the ball is kicked off, you have to be ready at 7:00 not 7:15.”

When Woodlawn ran back out to the field for the second half, it was noticeable that they were ready to finish strong despite the slow start.

Javin Myers looks for running room versus McKinley.

Woodlawn only allowed McKinley to score once after halftime, then senior Javin Myers had a 51-yard run with nine yards added because of a facemask penalty to set Woodlawn up at the McKinley 9-yard line.

Junior running back Allen St Cyr had a 7-yard carry on first down and then on second down, senior quarterback Devin Whiting scrambled to the left for a 2-yard touchdown pass to sophomore wide receiver Bryant Jacob. Sophomore kicker Jacob Barnes added the extra point.

In the first half, McKinley’s Josh Quiett scored the first touchdown but the team missed the extra point and took a 6-0 lead. At one point, junior safety Xavier Lodge forced a fumble from a McKinley player but the ball bounced into the arms of wide receiver Lewis Littlejohn, who scored another touchdown for the opposing team. The Woodlawn Panthers strived to turn the game around, but the ball just didn’t seem to fall into their hands like it did for McKinley.

Xavier Lodge (2) and Shaun McCray (49) combine to bring down a McKinley ball carrier.

Woodlawn managed to come together and push towards putting themselves on the board. Woodlawn senior defensive back Trey Hardnett had a 13-yard interception, but it was not enough for Woodlawn to score as the first half ended with McKinley leading 21-0.

Although the night was difficult for the Woodlawn Panthers, the team was led by Whiting, who started at quarterback due to Brian Byrd’s unfortunate injury during a scrimmage against Live Oak.

The senior completed 60 percent of his passes and showed leadership for playing his first game as the starting quarterback.

“When he trusts himself and realizes he is as good as the guys around him, he plays well,” Coach Luquet said. “And that’s what he did, he played well after he believed in himself.”

Woodlawn’s first official game will be held at Hahnville on September 2 at 7:00pm.

Roaring to Run

Aug 23, 2016

The 2016 Panther cross country is roaring to run.

Last year’s squad saw many highlights and records broken. The girls’ team set its best overall team score at the state meet. The boys came in with their second best team time in school history. But that was last year.

Senior Captain Shelby Sanchez will be a key member of this year’s team.

This year’s girl’s squad will be led by senior Captain Shelby Sanchez and school 3 mile record holder Alexis Martin. The girls are ready to put in the work to again improve the team’s time and score at the state meet. Alexis, who set the school record with a run of 21:24, has been working hard this summer by training on the hills of Highland Road Park and in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas. Alexis is in her 3rd year of competitive running, has set a goal of being the first Lady Panther to go under 20 minutes in the 3 mile race. Luckily, she has the teammates to help her accomplish that goal. Shelby finished last season with the team’s second best time, 22:45. Junior Melissa Grant is a new member of the team this year but has proven herself to be a talented runner and tough competitor. Having Shelby and Melissa on her heals at practice every day will be just the motivation Alexis will need to go under the 20 minute mark.

The return of Presley White from basic training with the U.S. Military will have her in great shape to begin her senior season. Presley is a talented runner, hurdler and all-around athlete. Senior Makenzey Heughan, who was sidelined most of last season due to medical issues, has had a great summer of workouts and looks to be returning to top form. Two other first year runners, sophomore Alexis Aucoin and freshman Aimee Martin, also had great summer workouts. Along with senior Lillian Khemmanyvong and junior Ashton Howard, the girls look to be a major part of the success of the Lady Panther squad this season.

The 2016 Boys squad has set high expectations on itself and comes full of confidence in their ability and a desire to put in the hard work that they know will help them to finish as one of the top 10 teams in the state. The squad is led by senior Khidhr Al-Mustafa. Khidhr has a personal record of 16:52 over a 3 mile course that is only 8 seconds behind the school record that was set in 2005. Khidhr had a great outdoor track season, qualifying for the regional meet in the 1600 and 4×400 meter relay. He has also spent his summer running in a summer track league, where he qualified for the AAU Junior Olympics in both the 2000 meter Steeplechase and 4X800 meter relay.

Senior Brandon Williams was also a part of the WHS 4×400 meter relay team at the regional meet. In his first season running cross country, Brandon posted a personal record of 18:26. After another year on the track and a great summer of work, “The Blur” is ready to get back to work and challenge Khidhr for the school record.

Alexis Martin looks to lead the Lady Panthers this year.

Two returning sophomores, Marshall Bayles and Coby Sanchez, are prepared to push those seniors every day in practice and in meets. Marshall is coming off an excellent freshman season where he improved his time from a 27:07 to 20:38. He has set a personal goal of going below 19 minutes in 2016. Coby suffered a leg fracture in the third week of the season but looks to be back in top form this year. In his 1st race of the 2015 season he posted a run of 20:13. Coby has plans of going sub 18 this season and in setting a new school record in the pole vault.

A great addition to the team this year is junior Saulomon John, who was not eligible in 2015 due to transfer rules. The good news: he’s eligible now! Saulomon posted a mark of 19:38 in a measured practice run last year and has a goal set of going under 18 minutes this season. He promises to be a key piece to the team’s success, along with seniors Darmar Galvan and Logan Fontenot, junior Joshua Stevens and sophomore JC Jett.

The boys and girls will see their first action of the season on Saturday, September 3rd, at 8 AM at Highland Road Park as we will participate in the St. Michaels Bayou Boogie Cross Country Meet.