Top of 4A summit a bit too high for talented Knights

    I believe St. Augustine has had about enough of Class 4A competition and can’t wait to move back up to 5A in 2013.
    “When we dropped to Class 4A, people were telling me, you’ll dominate those teams,” St. Aug principal Donald Boucree was asying as we filled our cars with gas for the long ride back from Ruston.
    But Boucree knew better. St. Augustine may have dropped in class by enrollment, but certainly moved up in class and caliber of competition.
    Frankly, 4A has been stronger than the highest classification for nearly a decade.
    The Purple Knights, seeded No. 2 for the state playoffs based on their power rating and the fact that just two Louisiana teams had beaten them this season, made it to the finals of the tournament.
    But they more than met their match in defending 4A champion Peabody in the one game they wanted to win.
    Like St. Aug, Peabody of Alexandria is a former member of the Louisiana Interscholastic Athletic Literary Organization (LIALO). The two schools played each other before the LIALO’s consolidation into the LHSAA in 1970.
    Peabody taught the Purple Knights a bitter lesson by taking an early lead and increasing it to a 58-41 victory.
    Clearly, Peabody was the better team, as proven by its 35-1 record and by its ability to keep the Purple Knights far enough away from the goal to render their usually tenacious offensive attack anemic.
    The Knights had trouble getting the ball into the paint and when they did, there were big hands in their faces. And when they missed their field goal attempts, they rarely got a second look at the goal.
    Peabody won in all statistical departments. The War Horses outscored the Knights in every period, especially the first with an 11-2 run that put them deep into a Purple hole.
    The Knights’ offense generated scoring averages that were far below their norms: .381 from the field and .353 (that’s 6 for 17) from the free throw line.
    Granted, the officiating crew had hair triggers on their whistles and the result was that Peabody shot 36 free throws, more than double St. Aug’s freebies, and scored on 23.
    The rhythm was lost early and never came back. It’s a shame because this was one of the school’s best teams and admittedly the best group head coach Clifford Barthe has fielded in his six years.
    Many of the key players who led the Purple Knights to a 36-4 record – the most wins in the school’s basketball history –  ended their careers heartbroken. Javan Felix (a Texas signee), Deion Taylor (Richmond), Sydie London, Roland Daniels, Kris Raphael and backups Kendall Jones, Chad Aubert, Quinton Williams, Clyde Butler and Matthew Boudreaux will not be back.
    The leadership next season will be in the hands of junior center Craig Victor, six other underclassmen and a very good junior varsity.
    The revolving cycle of high school sports continues. Old  faces we are used to cheering leave and are replaced by new faces. It’s a microcosm of life. Still, I’ll miss this bunch for  quite a while.
    So bring back the Catholic League. Competition will be feverish every night, and the opportunity for a team from that district to prevail in the playoffs will be greater in 5A. The case in point is Brother Martin, a No. 21 seed with a 21-12 record, which made it to the semifinal round.
    The Purple Knights easily beat their Gentilly rival twice.
    Ron Brocato can be reached at [email protected].