by George Mahl Sports Editor

In some ways, it feels like 2003 has just began. When in reality it is only hours away from ending. I still remember the first sporting event I covered in 2003.

The River Parish shootout, which was played at Reserve Christian, featured all eight River Parish schools and Dutchtown.

For some reason I remember each game being decided by more than 10 points.

February was a fun month for me. Some basketball teams started to separate themselves from the rest of the pack, while others were scratching and clawing just to get into the playoffs.

The end of the month bought forth a wacky turn of events travel wise. I was supposed to fly from New Orleans to Houston then on to Memphis for the Tyson versus Etienne fight. Due to weather problems and other things, however, I ended up flying directly into Memphis and on a totally different airline.

Thank God my luggage did not get lost. I went to Memphis only to see a 49 second knock out by Tyson. Thankfully, I did not have to pay to see it.

February also meant that several high school football players signed college scholarships. Throughout the rest of the year, we saw several teams in many different sports win district championships as well as State Championships. I think it is a tremendous accomplishment for any student athlete to achieve this.

Without a doubt the most exciting month of the year locally was December. It was the month in which several prep football playoff games came down to the wire. It was a month in which three River Parish teams won state titles. I am not one to go out on a limb and make “bold” predictions, but here is a guess at what might happen.

As far as college recruiting goes, I am going to predict the following players will sign with Tulane: Thomas Augusta (WSJ), Josh Lumar (WSJ) and Sandy Harris (WSJ).

Over at East St. John, highly touted wide receiver Reggie Joseph will sign with Colorado, while Destrehan defensive end Darryl Richard will take his game to Notre Dame.

Hahnville running back Darius Reynaurd will be playing for Indiana next year. I think I am right when I say that Ryan Perrilloux (East St. John), Tyrell Fenroy (St. Charles Catholic) and Patrick Jackson (West St. John) will all be able to get a tuition-free ride during college after next season.

Let’s hope 2004 is exciting as 2003 was.

Happy New Year!