Disclaimer: I am not posing as sportswriter by any stretch of the imagination. There shall be no judgement passed on my ignorance of all of the proper sports terms. This is a feel good story and not meant for ESPN. (But if they wanted to share this story they could)
Unless you have been living under a Natchitoches Parish sized rock you are probably well aware that two of Natchitoches Parish public schools won the right represent their respective schools in the Louisiana High School Athletic Association Basketball State Championship game.
What a beautiful and historic ride this week has been for those of us who love high school sports.
The ride began a few days ago when our neighbor, Red River Parish, who is highly competitive, talented and somewhat of a rival won their bid to play in the LHSSA Boys State Championship game by beating Donaldsonville 56-45. All of the rivalry went straight out the window quicker than the cold air-conditioned air on a hot summer day.
Rivalry who? Lakeview High School’s fan immediately started cheering them on with well wishes in hopes they can clinch their first title since 1999. Lakeview’s epic cheers for them could be heard all the way across Red River!
The next day it was Red River’s turn cheer on their fellow-rival… The Lakeview Gators made their visit to Lake Charles in hopes of winning the right to play in their division’s LHSSA State Championship game. Lakeview ate and left no crumbs as they beat Pickering 54-26.
The internet went wild! The Chiefs and the Bull Dog’s fans were ecstatic for the Gators. Social media was ablaze with all of the basketball love.
Collectively, the Red River Bull Dogs and Lakeview Gators then turned their attention to the Natchitoches Central Chiefs. They wanted their other area high school to make it to the Marsh Madness in Lake Charles too. Social media was flooded with well wishes from across the Red River. The Chiefs knew they had work to do, big shoes to fill and an absolute obligation to beat Ruston High School so they could complete the trifecta of area high schools headed to the championship game.
After a close game, filled with highs and lows, the Chiefs pulled it off. While they are no stranger to State Championship games…. they will compete in their first state title game since 2021. Natchitoches Central beat the Ruston Bearcats 60-56.
The very minute it was public that the Chiefs won (there was drama with live stream…no one who was watching at home had finger nails left) the internet went crazy again. Bull Dogs and Gators were congratulating the Chiefs. Chief fans were congratulating Gators and Bull Dog fans. It was complete positivity pandemonium. My Facebook feed was complete basketball love fest and I was here for it.
With so many reasons to be divided our athletes, parents, fans and coaches chose to acknowledge that this is a historic time for basketball in our area. Period. Every single one of these teams have an excellent history of winning programs, talented athletes and coaches who care. There is so much negativity and bullying on our social media feeds these days but none of it could be seen this week. All we have been seeing is one school supporting another school supporting another school during the most memorable time of their highs school lives. This has truly been the week that basketball brought our community together.
You will have three chances to show your support to these outstanding teams.
Lakeview High School takes on Franklin at 4:00pm on March 8th.
Red River will face Marksvilled at noon on March 9th.
Natchitoches Central will play Ponchatoula at 8:00pm on March 9th.
Wouldn’t it be a historic sight to see a sea of maroon, hunter green and royal blue filling the stands for all three games?
Reba Phelps jreba.phelps@gmail.com
