Fall sports about to give way to championships

As the 2022 fall sports seasons entered the championship playoffs over the past two weeks, we witnessed:

• Dominican even its District 7-I series with Mount Carmel and regain the No. 1 seed in the Division I playoffs over its rival Cubs on points.
• A blue (and white) tsunami of Jesuit distance runners practically sweep the District 9-5A boys’ cross country meet following Mount Carmel’s lead in the earlier girls’ event.
• Holy Cross and Jesuit clash on the football field in that series’ 100th anniversary. Jesuit won for the 61st time.
• Archbishop Hannan’s volleyball elites claim the Division III No. 2 seed in search of their fifth consecutive state championship this week in Lafayette.
• St. Charles Catholic defeat Newman, 17-13, to win the District 10-2A title and the No. 2 seed in the D-III playoffs, while De La Salle breezed past its 10 regular-season opponents to gain the No. 3 seed in select Division II.

A busy period, indeed. So, let’s review:

CROSS COUNTRY –
Mount Carmel’s sophomore sensation Catalina Reichard finished a full second ahead of Dominican’s Morgan Trauth to win the District 9-5A girls’ cross country meet in the time of 17:58.06. Reichard’s individual win, coupled with top 10 finishes by five other Cubs runners, gave MCA 11 points and a four-point victory over the small field of rivals.

Senior Jack DesRoches escorted a wave of Jesuit runners across the City Park finish line to gain the boys’ individual and team titles. Trailing the Blue Jay senior were six teammates who occupied the next eight spots to give Jesuit a total of eight points and a nine-point victory over runner-up Brother Martin and three other schools.

Following DesRoches, whose winning time was 14:29.87, were Brady Mullen (14:36.29), Robert Buisson (14:49.86), Patrick Doud (14:52.73), Leland Crawford (15:02.41) and Michael Vocke (15:13.92).

VOLLEYBALL – Dominican (40-3) put itself in position to repeat as the Division I champion as the No. 1 seed for the state tournament. After winning playoff matches against Barbe and Hahnville in six easy games, Dominican will next face district rival Archbishop Chapelle (23-15) in the quarterfinal round at the Cajundome.

Meanwhile, Mount Carmel will play its final matches under coach and athletic director April Hagadone, a St. Bernard Parish Hall of Famer with a remarkable record of 606-92 and eight state titles. A state runner-up over the past two seasons, Mount Carmel enters the tournament with a 35-3 record and the No. 2 seed.

A rubber match between the two for the state championship 135 miles from their homes could be in the offing on Nov. 12.

Hannan (32-7) is the No. 2 seed behind Division III leader Dunham, a team the Hawks defeated twice in their tournament on Oct. 8. A rematch could be imminent.

Also in the state tournament field are Pope John Paul II, a five-time Division IV champion since 2014 and the No. 2 seed with a 25-8 record, and a pair of Division II local Catholic schools – Academy of Our Lady and St. Scholastica.

Volleyball has always been a popular sport in the archdiocese. This year 13 local teams made the state playoffs and six have advanced to the tournament field.

FOOTBALL – As noted earlier, St. Charles Catholic and De LaSalle are the best of the 10 local Catholic schools to make the select division playoffs. Both earned bye dates in the first playoff round.

Since winning the Division III state championship last year, St. Charles has lost three games (to 4A powers Teurlings Catholic and De La Salle and to 3A St. Martinville).  But the Comets swept through their small district to gain the No. 2 seed.

A bye gives them a week off before likely being paired with No. 15 Ascension Episcopal, No. 7 North Caddo and/or No. 10 Parkview Baptist in subsequent rounds. And it’s quite possible Comets will meet Newman again at 3:30 p.m. on Dec. 9 for the championship.

De La Salle has been tested twice during the season by St. Paul’s (16-14) and East Ascension (20-13). Holy Cross gave the Cavaliers a battle before falling, 28-22, but no team has matched their point production of 342 points over 10 games.

So, the Cavs await the winner of Vandebilt Catholic vs. Landry, either of which they should eliminate in the regional round. But ahead is a possible matchup with Lafayette Christian, the 2021 D-III runner-up and a definite title contender this year.

With longtime coach Hank Tierney back in the Archbishop Shaw fold, the football team is the Division II No. 7 seed with a week’s rest before the playoffs. The Eagles’ first test will come from Livingston Collegiate, a school on Dwyer Road that gained the No. 10 seed in its third year fielding a team.

Shaw’s greatest test will come in the regional round if the Eagles face No. 2 Teurlings Catholic, whose only loss was a 35-30 shootout with district rival St. Thomas More, the D-I top seed.

As the third-best team in the “Catholic League,” St. Augustine (7-2) will meet the winner of the Brother Martin-Woodlawn game in a week. The Purple Knights edged Martin, 14-13, on Nov. 4.

Archbishop Rummel hosts John Ehret, while Jesuit travels to Huntington and Holy Cross visits St. Paul’s in other games involving District 9-5A members.

Archbishop Hannan will face Kenner Discovery in the opening round of the select Division IV playoffs. The winner meets Kennedy in the regional round.

[email protected]