Chris Singleton|The Courier

Terrebonnes Maason Smith picks LSU over Georgia, Alabama and Miami

Terrebonne football player Maason Smith picked LSU during Wednesday's National Signing Day.

Chris Singleton, The Courier

The year 2020 will never be forgotten by area sports fans.

The Courier and Daily Comet sports staff took a look back at the Top 10 local sports stories for 2020.

The COVID-19 pandemic affected sports on professional, collegiate and high school levels in 2020.

Area high school sports teams faced restrictions due to the virus, ranging from limited crowds at games tothe constant canceling and rescheduling games dueto positive tests and contact tracing. Athletes and coaches were forced to go through many screenings and temperature checks to play.

The Louisiana High School Athletic Association canceled thespring sports regular season and championships due to rising cases in April, butit returned to action later in the year with its fall sports seasons in football, volleyball, cross country and swimming.

The virus forced Nicholls States men and womens basketball teams to end their seasons early when the Southland Conference basketball tournaments were canceled in March. The NCAA also canceled the spring sports season due to the pandemic.

The Southland Conference postponed its fall sports seasons (football, volleyball and soccer) to the spring of 2021. Nicholls will play a six-game conference schedule in football this spring.

The LSU football team made history by winning the college football national championship game over Clemson in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans on Jan. 13.

LSU finished 15-0 and won its fourth national championship in school history. The Tigers were coached by Ed Orgeron, a Larose native and former South Lafourche football player.

Former Thibodaux High School and Louisiana Tech University standout Amik Robertson was drafted by the Las Vegas Raiders in the 2020 NFL Draft in April.

Robertson, a 5-foot-8, 187-pound cornerback, was selected with the No. 139th pick in the fourth round.

Robertson has recorded four tackles in eight games for the Raiders this season.

Former Terrebonne High defensive lineman Maason Smith captured the attention of the college football world when he signed with LSU on Dec. 16.

Smith picked LSU over three other finalists Georgia, Alabama and Miami.

Smith, who stands at 6-foot-5 and weighs 316 pounds, is ranked as the nations top player according to Rivals.com.

The New Orleans Saints have continued their recent dominance of the NFC South Division.

The Saints won their fourth straight division title with a 52-33 win over the Minnesota Vikings on Dec. 25. They managed to do it despite missing quarterback Drew Brees and receiver Michael Thomas for several games due to injuries this season.

Former South Terrebonne coach Richard Curlin retired after 30 years as head coach of the Gators in January.

He amassed a 164-156 overall mark and led the Gators to the 1991 Class 4A state title.

For the third straight year, Vandebilt Catholics girls cross country team emerged victorious at the LHSAA state championship meet in November.

The Lady Terriers placed four runners in the top 10 of the Class 4A race. Junior runner Ella Chestnut was first overall in a time of 18 minutes, 51.4 seconds.

It was the fourth championship in school history for the Lady Terriers. They also won it in 2016.

E.D. White won the Division III state championship in boys and girlsswimming and the Class 3A state title in boys and girlscross country.

It was the fourth title in a row for E.D. Whites boys swimming team and sixth in school history. E.D. Whites girls won the state titlefor the eighth time.

In cross country, E.D. White boys won it for the 18th time and girls for the fifth time.

E.D. White senior swimmer Jacques Rathle, a Auburn signee, closed out his prep career with a banner performance at the Division III state meet in November.

He set new Division III and composite state records in the 200-yard individual medley (1 minute, 46.45 seconds) and the 100-yard breaststroke (54.40 seconds). He helped E.D. Whites relay teams set two more Division III state records in the 200-yard medley relay (1:36.16) and the 400-yard freestyle relay (1:10.34).

Rathles performances helped the Cardinals win their fourth straight Division III boys state championship. He earned the Division III Most Outstanding Swimmer award for the fourth straight season.

Houma native and former Terrebonne High School standout Justin Williams, now a member of the St. Louis Cardinals, recorded his first Major League hit with a single through the right side of the infield in Game 1 of a doubleheader at the Milwaukee Brewers in September.

Williams, an outfielder, had previously been called up by the Tampa Bay Rays in 2018 but did not record a hit.

There was no Minor League Baseball this season because of the pandemic. Williams was called up from the Cardinals alternate training site and as the 29th player on the roster. He participated in summer camp with the Cardinals.

Read the original:

The Courier/Daily Comets Top 10 sports stories of 2020 - Houma Courier