2018 Regular Session ENROLLED
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 63
BY SENATOR ERDEY AND REPRESENTATI VE POPE
A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
To commend the 2017-2018 Walker High School Wildcats boys basketball team on winning
the Louisiana High School Athletic Association Class 5A state championship, an
historic accomplishment for this team, its school, and its city.
WHEREAS, for the first time in the history of the boys basketball program at
Walker High School in Walker, Louisiana, the team brought home the state championship
trophy with a win over defending champion Landry-Walker High School of Algiers,
Louisiana, in the 2017-2018 championship game for the Louisiana High School Athletic
Association Class 5A; and
WHEREAS, the championship game was a perfectly fitting final act for the season,
an awesome come-from-behind overtime win for the Walker Wildcats by a score of
sixty-two to fifty-seven; and
WHEREAS, while the entire city of Walker was cheering the basketball team on to
victory, a fascinating backstory was also in its final act, one that began on a basketball court
nine years earlier, with a team of six and seven year olds competing in the Biddy Ball
League; and
WHEREAS, that Biddy Ball team finished second in the nation, losing the final game
by only a single point, but the members of that team, their coaches, and their parents, never
gave up on the dream of a championship; and
WHEREAS, members of that Biddy Ball team who filled the ranks of the
Walker High School squad this year included: Josh and Jalen Cook, Darius Hampton,
Dalton Moore, Trent Montgomery, Jalen Perkins, Quaeshon Clark, Calvin Watson, and
Le Davis, a group who, by their own admission trust each other implicitly, know each other's
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tendencies, and what each other likes to do, as well as how to get everyone involved in the
game; none of which is a small component when building a championship team at any level;
and
WHEREAS, six Wildcat seniors suited up for the state high school class 5A
championship game, who were all veterans of that Biddy Ball game in which they came so
close, but fell short by a single point; and
WHEREAS, since the Biddy Ball team members all live in Walker, where most lived
near each other, and led by their parents and coaches, Louis Moore, father of player
Dalton Moore, and Eric Cook, father of current senior Josh and sophomore, Jalen, continued
to enjoy the tutelage of their fathers and all the benefits of playing with a core group of boys
who were teammates, but became, also, best friends and are often known as simply
"The Walker boys"; and
WHEREAS, Walker Wildcats basketball coach, Anthony Schiro, felt fortunate to
welcome these players who were not only good basketball players and athletic young men,
but he credits their ironclad bonds of friendship among both the children and their parents
with building a trust that continues to serve these players on the basketball court and beyond;
and
WHEREAS, Coach Schiro continued, saying that the reputation of the Walker boys,
who were dedicated cadre of both well-coached, hard working, and physically gifted
basketball players, preceded them as they dominated at every level and he looked forward
to the challenge of integrating them into his Wildcat program; and
WHEREAS, additionally, the city of Walker as a whole watched and waited for this
exceptional group of young men to emerge on the high school basketball scene and make
their mark in Wildcat boys basketball history; and
WHEREAS, with the pressure to achieve from outside the school confines which was
considerable, that anticipation of others was secondary to what the Walker boys expected
of themselves; a championship at the state level was the only acceptable outcome; and
WHEREAS, the guidance of Coach Schiro, his assistants Eric Cook and
Connor Locke, all three Walker natives and alumni of the high school, and assistant coach
Donnie Goodson, who has worked for Schiro his entire tenure at Walker High School,
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merged this core of players with other talented role players to form a cohesive and,
eventually, very successful team; and
WHEREAS, Jalen Cook, though younger than some of the Biddy Ball team, was the
hub of that team, and this year at Walker High School he, and other Biddy Ball participants,
joined Jacobi Scott, Jordan Hoggatt, Graham Smith, Brian Thomas Jr., and Keondre Brown
rounding out this championship squad; and
WHEREAS, the result of so much time spent playing basketball together and
becoming best friends in the process, it could be said, was the creation of a team with players
who could regularly finish each other's sentences off the court and who possessed an innate
understanding of each other and a familiarity when they stepped on the basketball court; and
WHEREAS, in the 2016-2017 season the Wildcats won a playoff game for the first
time since 2000, and while they advanced no further that year, the stage was set for a
monumental senior push toward that ultimate goal of a state championship for Walker High
School; and
WHEREAS, in 2017-2018 Walker earned their berth in the championship game with
a dominant state semifinal victory over Natchitoches Central by an overwhelming score of
eighty-nine to sixty-three, setting the stage for what turned out to be a dramatic
championship performance; and
WHEREAS, the bittersweet aspect of playing their last game together after more than
nine years as teammates, was washed away with a come-from-behind overtime victory, the
most exciting way to win any basketball game; and
WHEREAS, in the season that brought all dreams to fruition, individual
achievements were reached: Dalton Moore was the first of four Wildcats to score more than
one thousand points in his high school career and Darius Hampton also reached the one
thousand point threshold in the semifinal game against Natchitoches Central, by scoring a
season high twenty-one points; and
WHEREAS, additionally, underclassmen Jalen Cook led the team with an average
of eighteen points scored per game and Brian Thomas knocked in twenty points and grabbed
eight rebounds on his way to being voted the Most Valuable Player of the championship
game, a particularly notable an achievement for a freshman; and
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WHEREAS, from the nucleus of the Biddy Ball team when the players were six and
seven years old, through many years of playing together on the basketball court and building
friendships that transcended basketball, with the addition of key newcomers, and dedicated
coaches, the Walker High School Wildcats saw their years of commitment, hard work, and
brotherhood result in the dream of their young lives being realized, that they are the
2017-2018 Louisiana High School Athletic Association Class 5A state champions, a
distinction to last a lifetime and a proud first for their school and their city.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
commend the 2017-2018 Walker High School Wildcats boys basketball team on winning the
Louisiana High School Athletic Association Class 5A state championship, an historic
accomplishment for this team, its school, and its city.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to
Coach Anthony Schiro in care of Walker High School in Walker, Louisiana.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
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