SLS 18RS-3542 ORIGINAL
2018 Regular Session
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 228
BY SENATORS PERRY AND CORTEZ
COMMENDAT IONS. Commends St. Thomas More High School on winning the state
lacrosse championship.
1 A RESOLUTION
2 To commend St. Thomas More High School of Lafayette, Louisiana, on winning the
3 Louisiana High School Lacrosse League state championship.
4 WHEREAS, to win the state championship, the St. Thomas More Cougars defeated
5 defending state champion, St. Paul's High School of Covington, Louisiana, by a score of
6 twenty to ten on Sunday, April 29, 2018, at the St. Thomas More Cougar stadium; and
7 WHEREAS, the Cougars captured their first state championship since 2011 and
8 handed the St. Paul's Wolves their first defeat of the season while repaying a loss to the
9 Wolves earlier in the year; and
10 WHEREAS, the St. Thomas More team dominated from the opening faceoff of the
11 contest, taking a four to zero lead in the first five minutes of the game, quickly putting St.
12 Paul's on the defensive and sending a strong message regarding the likelihood of the Wolves
13 repeating their earlier win over the Cougars; and
14 WHEREAS, as the game progressed, the barrage of scoring continued and St. Paul's
15 was unable to match the prolific scoring of the St. Thomas More Cougars, never coming
16 closer than a three point deficit; and
17 WHEREAS, the Cougar coaches and team strategy for the championship game was
18 to start out strong, hoping to bring the hometown crowd to life early and disrupt the favored
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SLS 18RS-3542 ORIGINAL
1 St. Paul's Wolves; and
2 WHEREAS, with a first quarter advantage for the Cougars of six goals to one, the
3 strategy of being aggressive from the beginning paid and the Wolves never led in this game
4 playing the entire contest, struggling from behind, a position that does not lend itself to
5 establishing a rhythm to their play; and
6 WHEREAS, the Louisiana High School Lacrosse League named two Cougars as
7 Most Valuable Player, Mason Duhon on offense with six goals and three assists, and Austin
8 Gauthier on defense with eight ground balls and one goal; and
9 WHEREAS, offensive firepower and defensive plays were spread among thirteen
10 Cougars scoring goals, assisting, and excelling on defense, and they were: Luke Adams with
11 four goals and two assists, Tyler Attales with two assists, Andrew Bayard with an assist,
12 Anthony Benton with an assist, Logan Campbell with fifteen faceoff wins, Michael Furka
13 with one goal, Cade Hernandez with three goals and one assist, Baxter Heggie with one goal,
14 George Hollier with ten saves, Jack Rozas with one goal, and Logan Stinson with three goals
15 and five assists; and
16 WHEREAS, the winning of a fourth state championship for St. Thomas More might
17 not have been the expected outcome for those outside the Cougar family, but the entire 2018
18 Cougar lacrosse team proudly brought the state championship back to their school and its
19 storied program, and relished being state champions themselves; and
20 WHEREAS, the St. Thomas More team is coached by five alumni, all former
21 members of Cougar state championship lacrosse teams: Byrnes Tatford, head coach and
22 class of 2008, and assistant coaches who were all members of the 2011 team; David Escott,
23 Matthew Hindelang, Alex Smith, and Hunter Stinson; and
24 WHEREAS, with a proud tradition in the sport of lacrosse, the 2018 St. Thomas
25 More Cougar team worked diligently, practiced hard, and played well all season on road to
26 bringing home the 2018 Louisiana High School Lacrosse League state championship.
27 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
28 does hereby commend St. Thomas More High School of Lafayette, Louisiana, its team and
29 coaches on winning the Louisiana High School Lacrosse League 2018 state championship.
30 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to
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1 Coach Byrnes Tatford on behalf of St. Thomas More High School in Lafayette, Louisiana.
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Mary Dozier O'Brien.
DIGEST
SR 228 Original 2018 Regular Session Perry
Commends St. Thomas More High School of Lafayette, Louisiana, on winning the Louisiana
High School Lacrosse League state championship.
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