Sports

Two Vermilion Parish football teams almost pulled off first round upsets in the playoffs.
North Vermilion, the No. 26 seed, lost to No. 8 Ridgewood 20-17 on the road.
No. 26 Gueydan Bears lost in overtime to No. 10 Montgomery, 38-30.
At the 8:26 mark in the second period, North Vermilion was down 14-3.
With 23 seconds left before halftime, North Vermilion scored when quarterback Garrett Becker threw a 39-yard touchdown pass to Malik Criner. The extra point was missed, and NV had new life, down 14-9, at halftime.

What a difference a year makes.
The Vermilion Catholic Screaming Eagles soothed the memory of last year’s playoff exit with a dominating 40-7 first-round victory over visiting St. Martin’s Episcopal Friday night.
In a performance sure to make a statement, first-year coach Brady Thomas saw his squad build a 40-0 halftime lead before coasting home.
The 33-point win was a mirror-like reversal of 2016’s 33-0 opening loss to Cedar Creek, a setback that stuck with the Eagles.

KAPLAN - The Kaplan Pirates moved on to the second round of the Class 3A playoffs by knocking off KIPP Renaissance Bobcats 35-7 in ED Douglas Memorial Stadium.
No. 5 Kaplan entertains No. 12 Iota, who beat Patterson, 48-21, at home on Friday.
The Pirates ran for 392 yards while holding the Bobcats to 6 yards rushing and 114 yards passing.
Pacing the Pirates’ rushing attack was Kaplan tailback Mac Thibeaux. Thibeaux who ran for 159 yards on only 12 carries in the first half.