Local highschool soccer playoff action

A couple of St. Tammany Parish boys' soccer teams continued to make their mark in the LHSAA state playoffs winning in yesterday's quarterfinals to advance to the semifinals, which need to be played by this Saturday.

In Division I, the No. 2 seed St. Paul's Wolves were victorious stopping No. 7 Captain Shreve 4-1 last night at Hunter Stadium on a second-half hat trick by Cameron Robinson, the Wolves' leading scorer. St. Paul's Davis Neitzschman netted a goal in the ninth minute to give the Wolves the early advantage. Grant Hebert and Byron Morgan were credited with excellent ball movement setting up Neitzschman. St. Paul's coach Sean Moser named Christian Caragliano, the Wolves' MVP. The Captain Shreve Gators tallied the equalizer in the 30th minute. The Wolves' 24-1-1 will battle the No. 6 Jesuit Blue Jays Saturday at Hunter Stadium with the game time still to be determined. Jesuit, the defending Division I champions, after they secured a thrilling 2-1 victory over St. Paul's in last year's championship tilt. St. Paul's and Jesuit have established themselves as the two premier boys Division I soccer clubs in the state representing the Northshore and the Southshore as they have met for the coveted state championship for the last three years. The Blue Jays have bragging rights winning two of the three state championship matches. Saturday's rivalry semifinal match has the makings of being a special encounter for both clubs as they try to advance to the championship match scheduled for Friday February 28th at Tad Gormley Stadium.

In Division III quarterfinal action, the No. 2 seed Northlake Christian School Wolverines kept their championship hopes alive earning a hard-fought 1-0 victory over No. 7 Holy Savior Menard on a goal by Mason Morise. NCS, 20-3-2, advances to the semis, and will host No. 6 Newman at Wolverine Stadium. NCS coach Nick Chetta named his back line as the defensive players of the match with Josh "Catfish" Landry posting the Wolverines' third consecutive playoff shutout, registering three saves on free kicks. Coach Chetta said, his team still has "unfinished business" reference getting back to the state championship game.

In Division II quarterfinal action from yesterday, the No. 4 seed Lakeshore Titans came up short falling to No. 5 St. Thomas More 2-0. Lakeshore trailed 1-0 at the half. Lakeshore coach Andrew Knock named Ethan Leger his top defender, while keeper Jordan Hall netted three saves. The Titans, who finish the season 14-5-3, will be appearing tomorrow night with their head coach on Northshore Sports broadcasting live from WOW Cafe in Covington. Join me for tomorrow night's show, which airs from 7-8 p.m. 

Two St. Tammany Parish volleyball teams advance to state semifinals

The LHSAA/State Farm Volleyball State Tournament was held Thursday through Saturday at the
Pontchartrain Center in Kenner. Two of our St. Tammany Parish teams made their way to the Saturday's semifinals.
In Division II action, the No. 2 seeded Lakeshore Lady Titans fell in their semifinal match being downed by No. 6 seed Vandebilt Catholic, 25-14, 25-23, 25-14. Lakeshore finished 36-7 under second-year head coach Jennifer Hebert. The Lady Titans' Erin Schenck  powered down 11 kills with four blocks playing well at the net. Maddison Grapp connected for 19 assists, while Brooke Blackshear and Kacey Freeman pulled up 16 digs each.  
In the other semifinal match, St. Scholastica Academy, the No. 5 seed, came up just short falling to No. 1 seed and eventual state champion St. Thomas More, 25-21, 25-22, 25-23 in a highly competitive semifinal match. SSA coached by Pete Bertucci, finished 26-16. Jessica Lucio topped the Doves with 10 kills, seven digs and an ace, while Maddie Morris contributed 8 kills, three digs and an ace. Emma Estapa connected for 29 assists and Madeline Luke pulled up seven digs. In Friday's quarterfinal match, SSA squeaked past, No. 4 Ben Franklin, dropping the first two games before making a comeback to win the next three sets to advance. Morris spanked 16 kills with seven digs and two aces, while Lucio nailed 15 kills and added 11 digs. Gabby Chaix finished with 12 kills and two blocks in the quarterfinal victory. Estapa totaled 45 assists. Madeline Luke added 13 digs and Natalie Helm netted four blocks for the Doves.

St. Tammany Parish volleyball results

In local volleyball action, the Northshore Lady Panthers upped their district record to 5-1 and
8-9 overall, sweeping Slidell, 25-14, 25-20, 25-13 led by the consistent play of Hailey
Kirkpatrick, who polished off a match-high 20 kills with 9 digs, and 5 aces. Hannah Epperley
delivered 27 assists and 5 digs, while Adora Anadi contributed 6 kills with 2 blocks. Kacie
Brandt finished with 6 kills and Katherine Cognevich netted 5. Slidell's Erica Bennett
knocked down 6 kills followed by Jaslyn Bright with 5. Riley Herdliska connected for 18 assists
and Kacie Livingston pulled up 6 digs to pace the Lady Tigers, who slipped to 1-5 in district
play.
Mandeville's Lady Skippers evened their district mark at 3-3, topping the Covington Lady Lions,
by identical 25-9 scores in all three sets. MHS, 8-12 overall, was led by Caroline Hasse with 9
kills and 6 blocks. Marissa LeCompte netted six kills and added four blocks as the Lady Skippers
controlled play at the net. Sarah Rinaudo contributed 18 assists with four aces. Ali LeBlanc finished with 9 digs followed by Amber Sheffield with 5. Covington, 6-12, had 10 kills from Douglisha Hamilton with Bella Biondini passing off for 10 assists. Donna Montgomery added 8 digs for the Lady Lions.
Mandeville hosts the Ponchatoula Green Wave tomorrow afternoon at 5 in a Pink Game to benefit the Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center fund.
The Lakeshore Lady Titans topped SSA, 25-18, 25-22, 25-17 at home yesterday. Lakeshore moved
to 24-4 and 3-0 in district. SSA, 16-9, suffered its first district loss and is  2-1.
Lakeshore's Raven Daniels, Madison Grapp and Skylar Pepper delivered five kills each, while
Grapp netted 14 assists. Brooke Blackshear served five aces and Daniels added 3. Daniels
also had 5 blocks and Grapp added 4. Kacie Freeman pulled up 17 digs with three aces. Julia
Dean contributed 6 blocks.
SSA's Maddie Morris topped the Doves with 5 kills, 5 digs and 3 aces. Alexis Barcia and
Jessica Lucio added four kills each. Emma Estapa totaled 18 assists with six digs, while Natalie
Helm pulled up 3 digs with 3 blocks.  Northlake Christian School 18-8 and 1-1 in district returns to action this afternoon on the road against District foe Archbishop Hannan. The varsity only match gets underway at
4 o'clock.

   

Four St. Tammany football teams remain unbeaten

On the high school football scene,
four St. Tammany Parish teams remained unbeaten. The Northlake Christian School Wolverines rolled
past Pearl River 53-22 in the Friday night game of the week, broadcast by the Lake. NCS moved to
3-0, while Pearl River slipped to 0-3.
NCS senior running back Taylor Mussachia delivered a solid performance, tallying three
touchdowns, gaining 133 yards for the Wolverines. QB Josh O'Rear contributed 104 rushing yards and 109 through the air, rushing for two TDs and passing for two. O'Rear hooked up with Stefon McElveen and Zach Odenwald. Pearl River's Devan Penton tallied twice and Michael Meneffe scored once for the Rebels.
NCS opens District 7-2A play on the road Friday, traveling to Springfield, battling the Bulldogs.
Pearl River travels to Biloxi to meet St. Patrick High School out of Mississippi.
Lakeshore's Titans remained unbeaten Friday, holding off the previously unbeaten Slidell Tigers, 28-27 in overtime. Dylan Fields hit Rex Shepherd in overtime for a score and Ryan Miller converted the game-winning extra point.
Slidell's Montel Williams shined in defeat, scoring four touchdowns, rushing for 332 yards.
He has nine TDs on the season.
Archbishop Hannan remained unbeaten, trimming De La Salle 20-17 in overtime. The Hawks' Payton
Hudson, delivered the game-winner on a 28-yard field goal. Hannan opens district play, hosting
Pine.
Northshore kept an unbeaten slate, topping Salmen, 13-6, to win the Spanther Bowl. The
Panthers are 3-0 under interim head coach Mike LaBourdette. Northshore hosts Covington to open
District 6-5A play.