Monthly Archives: February 2017

GONZALES A former East Ascension High assistant athletic trainer and health teacher has pleaded guilty to prohibited sexual conduct with a 17-year-old female student last year, part of a plea agreement that allowed him to avoid jail time.

Louis Carl Aguillard, 34, 39340 Hunter's Trace, Prairieville, received on Monday a suspended six-month jail sentence with six months probation, during which he cannot teach or coach, his plea agreement says.

Aguillard must also pay a $1,000 fine and give 100 hours of community service.

Tyler Cavalier, spokesman for the 23rd Judicial District Attorney's Office, said the victim did not want to testify at trial, which was set to start Wednesday morning in Gonzales.

"We feel that based on the circumstances surrounding the case, with the victim not wanting to testify, we had the best possible outcome," Cavalier said Wednesday.

He noted the suspended prison sentence and fine were the maximum allowed by the charge to which Aguillard pleaded, which was prohibited sexual conduct between an educator and a student.

Aguillard, who was an assistant trainer for all of the Gonzales high schools youth sports programs, had worked at East Ascension High since 2014 but stopped working there some time before his arrest May 25, school officials said.

After a weeklong investigation, Aguillard turned himself in to police May 25, the same day that students finished school for the year. Police said at the time thata teacher had reported concerns to a faculty member who shared those concerns with police.

Prosecutors later charged Aguillard with felony malfeasance in office and the misdemeanor count to which he ended up pleading Monday at the Parish Courthouse Annex in Gonzales.

The felony malfeasance count was dropped as part of his plea Monday before Judge Thomas Kliebert Jr. of the 23rd Judicial District Court, online minutes say.

Online records show Aguillard's license to teach has been expired since August. Under state law and licensing rules, the conviction would have been grounds for suspending or revoking his license, a state education official said.

Aguillard's attorney, J. Rodney Messina, did not return a message for comment left Tuesday evening. Assistant District Attorney Shawn Bush prosecuted the case.

Follow David J. Mitchell on Twitter, @NewsieDave.

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Former Ascension schools teacher pleads guilty to sexual contact with student - The Advocate

This feels so strange it might as well be a Tuesday. Or a Thursday.

For the first time in the (storied?) history of WAC Wednesday, New Mexico State is not batting leadoff. That spot belongs to Cal State Bakersfield, which snapped the Aggies 20-game winning streak, and shed nationwide light on what WAC followers have known all year.

The Roadrunners are good.

Their suffocating defense was on display against NMSU, as they limited the leagues most efficient offense to a season-worst 0.75 points per possession. Much of this was due to constant pressure on the perimeter from Dedrick Basile, Jaylin Airington and Brent Wrapp.

Damiyne Durham was on display too.

His 13 first half points created separation that CSUB would never relinquish. If youre looking for the type of combustible, streaky shooter that could carry a team in March, hes it. The talented sophomore takes 43.0 percent of his teams shots when hes on the floor, the highest rate in the country.

The win also might have had some program-building significance. Last years WAC Tournament thriller aside, the Roadrunners had never beaten NMSU in 12 all-time regular season meetings.

We havent scored the ball well against them. Weve always been able to defend them pretty well, but we havent scored well enough to win games like we did tonight, Rod Barnes said in a release after the game.

The Roadrunners avoided a letdown and took care of business against UTRGV, behind Durham (17 points) and Matt Smith (13 points, 10 rebounds), who scored in double figures for the sixth straight game. Coupled with NMSUs loss in Phoenix, CSUB moved into sole possession of first place at 8-1.

With that, we get our first non-NMSU Twitter embed of the season. Youve earned it, CSUB.

On to the power rankings:

Last week, we talked about NMSUs perimeter depth. Ready for a 180?

The Aggies have a talented four-man perimeter rotation, along with three other players that have seen time this year. But their potential depth took a major hit when the team announced that Sidy NDir - who was the teams leading scorer when he was injured in December - would not return this year.

Paul Weir thinks the team may be taxed.

Paul Weir says on his postgame radio interview that the players might be tired and that he may have pushed them too hard with the new style.

NMSU is playing faster this year than it did the last few seasons under Marvin Menzies, and has used the press frequently. The tired theory certainly seemed to fit as GCU went on a late 19-0 run (more on that below) to finish off the Aggies on Saturday. It was almost jarring to see the bottom fall out after NMSU had come out of the half slicing the Lopes on the interior to build a 10-point lead.

Braxton Huggins may be especially feeling the effects of a big uptick in minutes. Hes averaged just 7.8 points over the past six games, while shooting 8-for-37 (21.6%) from three.

The good news for NMSU?

The eight team league means that the Aggies play just four games from now until March 4.

How do you sum up GCUs whiplash finish against NMSU?

"Unbelievable," GCU head coach Dan Majerle [said in a release]. "We came out in the second half and there was a point they were shooting 81 percent from the floor. I mean they went on a run, they went up 10 and we had to find a way to get tougher. We did that.

The Lopes 19-0 late second half run dealt the Aggies their second consecutive loss.

Defensively, the entire team seemed to pitch in, whether it was a Dewayne Russell steal, Darrion Clarks rebounding, Gerard Martin taking a charge or Oscar Frayer playing tough man defense on Ian Baker. The Aggies also simply just missed some open shots, which may speak to some tired legs.

The win must be a great late season treat in the final year GCU wont make the trip to Las Vegas. But there may be a bigger prize in play.

Winning out, with a little help, would see the 6-3 Lopes tied atop the league. This wont be easy, as theyd need to sweep their next two games on the Northwest swing, and then win a seriously difficult game in Bakersfield to close the season.

The scenario also requires CSUB to drop a non-GCU game, and for NMSU to lose again too. For what its worth, kenpom.com projects both teams to finish at 12-2, just out of the Lopes grasp.

In a season full of twists, UMKC is trending upward at the right time.

Were just trying to get into a groove going into the conference tournament to end the year. Its the best time to get rolling, LaVell Boyd said after Roos beat UVU last week.

UMKC got off to its best start since 2001-02 at 6-2, but then fell into a valley. Martez Harrison was removed from the program, and the Roos endured a 1-8 stretch that included no Div. I wins in the month of December.

Yet theyve come out the other end. Theyre above .500 and have won four-straight games, punctuated by a 30-point win against Seattle last Saturday that pushed their league record to 6-4. If the WAC has a middle tier below CSUB/NMSU/GCU, the Roos have set themselves apart.

Kareem Richardson and his staff appear to be pushing all the right buttons.

Kyle Steward is playing the best basketball of his career and has blossomed into a consistent scoring threat alongside Boyd. Fellow seniors Dashawn King, Darnell Tillman, Broderick Newbill and Broderick Robinson are all playing quality minutes. And the youth has developed too, with freshman Xavier Bishop playing good defense and taking some of the playmaking burden off of Boyd.

Last week the claim was made that UVU had never produced an NBA player. Courtesy of UMKCs great play-by-play announcer Steven Davis, this was wrong: current Phoenix Sun Ronnie Price is a proud UVU alum and hall of famer. And hes had an impressive NBA career to boot, which is now going on 11 seasons.

CSU Bakersfield at Utah Valley | Feb. 16, 9:00 PM ET | UVU TV

Calling the Wolverines an enigma might be lazy, but thats where were going. Theyve run the spectrum this season from puzzling losses (CSU at home), to valiant defeats (NMSU at home) to thrilling wins (at BYU). Isaac Neilson can be a force down low and if the three-pointers fall, they can beat anyone in the league. Is this a trap for CSUB?

Though the Grammys are in the rear view mirror, were still feeling musical. Heres hoping this list doesnt disappoint like James Hetfields microphone.

See the rest here:

WAC Wednesday: CSUB's ascension, iconic songs and more - Mid-Major Madness

Parish wrestlers compete in LHSAA tournament

Last weekend, the Allstate Sugar Bowl LHSAA Wrestling Tournament was held at the CenturyLink Center in Bossier City.

In Division I, the St. Amant Gators finished in sixth place with 161.0 points. The East Ascension Spartans finished ninth with 130.5 points and the Dutchtown Griffins came in at No. 23 with 36.5 points.

Three parish wrestlers made it to the finals. In the 126-pound weight class, Brier Babin, of St. Amant, placed second as he lost the final match to Jared Thieler, of St. Pauls, in a 9-3 decision. The 182-pound class final featured two parish wrestlers: Sage Nugent, of St. Amant, took on Sidney Mitchell, of East Ascension, and won the state title in an 8-4 decision.

When the game started in Dutchtown on Friday night, the East Ascension Spartans were still undefeated in 5-5A district play, but you couldnt tell it by the way the Griffins started off.

The Griffin defense was the factor early on and stifled the Spartan offense, keeping the score low and close in the first quarter. The Spartans offense picked it up a little in the second quarter, but the Griffins still kept it close with the score 42-38 in the fourth quarter.

The Spartans (23-6, 8-0) finally pulled away from the Griffins (16-11, 3-5) in the final five minutes of the fourth quarter and finished with the 55-42 win to stay undefeated in district play.

Spartan guard Jimel London led all scorers with 13 points and LeAaron Cain added 10 points, but the surprise of the game was Justin Harris and Cameron Wire combined for 23 points, six rebounds and two blocked shots. Shedrick Smith finished with 8 points.

Neil Caldwell and Brumfield led the Griffins with 8 points each.

The Lady Spartans basketball team finished the season with two impressive wins over St. Amant 68-28 and Dutchtown 76-39. Head coach Dennis Chandler said he hopes his team will ride the wave into the playoffs as the Spartans finish 23-1, 10-0 in district play and a 22-game win streak. EAs only loss was at the start of the season (second game) to A.J. Ellender from Houma in tournament play.

East Ascension has six seniors on the team but relies on its bench as well, with some sophomores and freshmen who are well-equipped to contribute to the team effort.

In a close contest, East Iberville handed the Ascension Catholic boys a 62-60 defeat on Feb. 7. East Iberville's offense was too much for the Bulldogs to handle and went into halftime down 40-19. The Bulldogs mounted an impressive second-half comeback by outscoring the Tigers 31-22 but came up 2 points short.

Jacoby Stewart led the Bulldogs with 20 points, while Kebori Hunter tossed in 18, Jamill Truxillo scored 9, Jamar Barber 7, Kevin Gautreau 3 and Jevon Yarbrough 3.

The Bulldogs dropped another close one on Feb. 10 when they lost to St. John 43-45.

After holding a slim 18-17 halftime lead, the Donaldsonville Tigers ripped off a 21-point third quarter that paved the way for their 57-52 win over the Parkview Baptist Eagles on Feb. 7. Jacoby Simon led all scorers with 29 points. Terry Holmes added 8, Ladarius Jackson threw in 7, Dwayne Johnson scored 5, JaCoby Smith scored 4, and J. Williams and E. Wilson scored 2 each.

The Tigers lost to University Lab School 54-92 on Feb. 10.

The Donaldsonville Lady Tigers played the Lady Eagles pretty close for three quarters, trailing 26-23 at halftime and 43-36 at the end of three quarters. Parkview blew things open in the fourth quarter and outscored Donaldsonville 31-12 and went on to a 73-50 victory.

It took a while, but after a regulation game, one overtime period and some extra time, the St. Amant Gators overcame the Denham Springs Yellow Jackets and came away with a 3-2 win. The win advances the Gator soccer team to the quarterfinals in the state tournament.

St. Amant opened up the scoring and took the lead in the seventh minute when Briggs Bourgeois sent in his trademark long throw to Caleb Cretini, who struck a header into the goal. After what seemed like an eternity with plenty of physical play, Denham Springs tied the match in the 66th minute when Cameron Hamby hit a header from a corner kick.

The eighth-seeded Gators took the lead again in the first overtime period when Matt Parker scored in the 96th minute. It took only a minute for the ninth-seeded Yellow Jackets to tie the game when a long ball got by the Gators into the net.

In the second overtime, Bourgeois made another long throw in and Parker did it again with another header, winning the game for St. Amant and sending the team into the quarterfinals of the Division I playoffs for the first time since 2011.

St. Amant will have played three-time defending state champion and No. 1 seed St. Pauls by press time in the next round.

Registration for the West Ascension Youth Baseball and Softball has begun and will run through April 1. League play runs April through early June for boys and girls ages 4 to 15. Forms can be downloaded by going to ascensionparish.net and clicking on "Departments" then "Recreation."

The league play in Donaldsonville will consist of T-ball (4 to 5 years old), machine pitch (6 to 8 years old), kid pitch (9 to 10, 11 to 12 and 13 to 15 years old). Registration forms will be sent home through area schools. Call Director Troy LeBoeuf at (225) 715-7389.

The temptation is great to start this column off with, Man, springtime is here because of the mild weather we are having, but it is only the second week of February. Theres a good possibility that we still have some cold weather in the works, but its going to be hard to turn things back as far as fishing is concerned. So its time for a State of the Pier address.

About three weeks ago, I went to one of the spots where dipping crawfish is usually good. I made a few rakes with my net to see how the crop might be going and found plenty of crawfish, but alas, they were small, too small to fish with, so back in the water they went.

Fast forward three weeks and I tried a different spot and they had grown quite nicely. Most were big enough for catching bream (which is one of my favorite ways to catch them) and a few were big enough to use for catfish. This was just about a perfect combination: a warm weekend and just the right bait to spend a day on my pier and give the crawfish a try.

I baited up the three rods I keep on the pier on a recent Thursday night to get a little head start and went to bed in anticipation of catching a few fish, especially the bream to have a fish fry.

The good thing about this kind of fishing is that you dont need to be in a big hurry. My sweetheart and wife of 38 years made us some coffee after getting up about 6:30, and we sat around sipping our hot beverages and enjoyed some conversation around the Food Channel and Fox News. About 7:30, I headed down to the pier and started my day on the dock.

Before we get started with the actual fish catching, lets talk about how easy it is to do this. First comes the bait. You can go to a big-box store or tackle shop and buy an affordable dipping net. Then you have to find a location to catch the crawfish.

They are in ditches, but you have to find the ones that hold some water just about year-round and have some type of vegetation. Try a few different spots until you find them. A few dips is all it takes to find out if theyre there.

In late winter, the adult crawfish have had their little ones in the ground. When the days start getting longer, they venture out into the ditches and start to feed and hence grow. Once they get too big for panfish, they can be used for catfish or other bigger fish. But when they are small, just about anything eats them. Just think about how much you like to eat crawfish. Theres no wonder why fish love to eat them, too.

Next comes the setup: A cane pole or small spinning or spin cast rod and reel will do. Fishing on the bottom is my most productive technique this time of year. Tie a No. 4 or No. 6 hook on the end of the line and put a small split shot weight about 4 inches above the hook. The slower the fall the better, so use as small a sinker as you can to make sure the presentation is slow. The water is still cold this time of year, so the fish arent quite as active as when the water is warm.

Insert the hook at the tail end of the crawfish and thread it up to the head. Let the bait down to the bottom and slightly pop it up 5 or 6 inches and let it slowly sink back down every 10 seconds or so. The bite could come as a slight tap you feel, but usually they hit it on the fall, so paying attention to the line for any type of movement is important. Sometimes the weight and bait just stops falling. Set the hook if there is any doubt.

When the line was baited up and dropped into the water, the action didnt start right away. Ive found it takes about five to 10 minutes for a fish to find your bait and hit it. Sure enough, about five minutes in, the first bream got hooked. It was too small, so back in the water it went.

But that started the process. When one fish bites, it scatters scent from the crawfish it tries to eat, so that draws other fish. They also come to see what the commotion is all about. Theyre kind of curious, just like people. Sure enough, it all started to happen. I caught another and then another. The process repeated itself every time I quit fishing and went inside. When I returned, the same scenario repeated itself.

So, how did things turn out? Not too shabby. I finished catching over 60 bream, keeping 27. One bass fell victim to the crawfish, one sac-a-lait and 17 catfish hit the live box. Some of the catfish came on the rods I had set out, but most of them were caught on my spinning rod and baby crawfish, including the biggest one, a 3-pound channel catfish. So, the State of the Pier is pretty good.

On Feb. 11, the second of three Bass Nation High School qualifying bass tournaments was held on the Calcasieu River. Eight Ascension Parish teams competed, and four of the teams finished in the top 50 for the event that featured 124 teams of anglers. Awards were given to the top 15 teams that took part in the event.

Sam Bergeron and Andres Barletta fished the event and placed seventh, bringing in five bass that weighed in at 8.95 pounds. The team also had a 3.26-pound big bass. Finishing in 14th place was the team of Cade Fortenberry and Brennan Paxton. The two anglers also weighed in five keeper bass for a total of 7.21 pounds.

John White and Connor Kuriger weighed four for 5.70 pounds and a 26th place finish, while Bryce Schexnaydre and Kade Duplantis weighed 4.31 pounds and 40th place. Grant Bourque and Ethan Smart weighed 3.38 pounds and finished 50th.

The top two teams might not have won the event, but their two combined finishes in the first two tournaments have them one and two in the total standings. Bergeron and Barletta are on top of the standings, while Fortenberry and Paxton are only 6 points behind. The final high school qualifier will be held out Bayou Segnette on March 25.

If the boys can hold their spots through the next event, the top two teams qualify for the National High School Tournament on Kentucky Lake through the qualifiers. Also, the top two finishers from state tournament head to the nationals. Good luck to the two teams.

Lyle Johnson covers sports for The Ascension Advocate. He can be contacted at reelman@eatel.net or ascension@theadvocate.com.

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Ascension Athletics for Feb. 16, 2017 - The Advocate