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