Basketball, soccer, wrestling create busy sports weekend in Northwest Louisiana

Posted by author February 14, 2025 Sports

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The biggest event may be the Battle of the Boot basketball showcase at Woodlawn, featuring a matchup between Calvary Baptist and Red River.
The Loyola and Calvary girls soccer teams are also competing for a spot in the LHSAA finals.
The LHSAA Wrestling Championships will be held at the Brookshire Arena, with the North DeSoto Griffins looking to defend their Division II team title.

It wouldn’t be hard to make a case that despite the LHSAA Wrestling Championships taking place in Brookshire Arena this weekend and the Loyola and Calvary girls soccer teams vying for a chance in the LHSAA finals Friday afternoon, that the biggest athletic event of the weekend will take place inside the Woodlawn gym.

The Battle of the Boot will feature 12 Northwest Louisiana boys basketball teams going head-to-head in a fundraiser for the Knights’ athletic department. While several of the matchups could be testy, the top game in the state will be played Saturday night when Select Division III No. 1 Calvary Baptist matches up with Non-Select Division III No. 1 Red River. It’s public school versus private school powers with both favored to bring a state title back to North Louisiana.

“A game of this magnitude will help us prepare mentally as we approach the playoffs,” Red River coach Dadrian Harris said. “Even though we are both No. 1 in our respective divisions, we go in as the underdogs, which we are no stranger to being.”

Jomello McDonald (10.6 points), Jayden Wells (10.2) and Warren Bowman (7.3) will lead the way for the Bulldogs while the balanced Cavaliers will depend on Tyrone Jamison Jr. (15.0), senior Bubba Strong (10.4), Robert Wright (10.1) and Jaiden Hall (10.5), a foursome that average in double figures.

“This is exactly what we need before the playoffs,” Calvary boss Vic Morris said. “They’re a good team — they made it to the state championship game last year. I know their goal is to win it all this year. I’m expecting a playoff-type atmosphere.”

Tickets are $15 for the entire day of six games. Attendees will receive an armband and can come and go as they desire with food available at the gym, according to Woodlawn coach Kenny Wayne Goldman.

Meanwhile, soccer takes centerstage Friday afternoon with the Loyola, Bossier and Calvary boys hoping to defeat opponents that could land them in next week’s finals. The Byrd girls host Lafayette at 5 p.m. Friday for the right to advance to Hammond. Across town, Calvary has reached the semifinals for just the second time in school history and they’ll visit No. 1 Loyola, which makes title games as often as Kansas City advances to Super Bowls.

Bossier City’s Brookshire Arena will host thousands of wrestlers and wrestling fans Friday and Saturday, including several Shreveport area wrestlers hoping to become state champions. The North DeSoto Griffins are the defending Division II team champions. This year, the LHSAA will girls have wrestling in conjunction with the guys.

Battle of the Boot

When/where: Saturday at Woodlawn High School

11 a.m. Loyola vs. St. Fredrick; 12:30 p.m. Northwood vs. Ebarb; 2 p.m. Bossier vs. Evangel; 3:30 p.m. BTW vs. Mansfield; 5 p.m. Woodlawn vs. Byrd; 6:30 p.m. Calvary vs. Red River

Admission: $15 for all 6 games

Jimmy Watson covers Louisiana sports for the USA TODAY Network. Email him at jwatson@shreveporttimes.com and follow him on Twitter @JimmyWatson6.