Let’s look at this past year with appreciation and know that the preparation for 2025-26 has already begun.
Fall sports
Football, cross-country, swimming and volleyball get the school year started and there are plenty of accomplishments to be recognized.
Football in the parish saw the emergence of a new school competing at the varsity level for the first time, the Prairieville Hurricanes. The Hurricanes joined fellow Ascension parish teams; Dutchtown, East Ascension and St. Amant in District 5-5A. They finished with a 2-8 record but gained experience as they head into their second season of varsity football.
St. Amant and Dutchtown made the playoffs and had good seasons. Donaldsonville won a playoff game before falling in the regionals to district rival, St. James.
Ascension Catholic made the deepest run in the parish, falling to Ouachita Christian in the semifinals of D4 select.
New coaches will be taking over at Ascension Christian and Ascension Catholic. Taylor James takes over for Lowell Narcisse at Ascension Catholic and looks to continue the winning tradition for the Bulldogs. Conrad Gayle takes over at Ascension Christian for Rohan Davey, with the intention of building his own program.
Several outstanding seniors have graduated including Ascension Catholic's Chad Elzy, who set several records and will be continuing his football career at Kentucky State.
Watch out for new stars to emerge in the parish, it should be another exciting season for football in 2025.
The volleyball season was highlighted by another outstanding run by Dutchtown to the D1 quarterfinals. The Lady Griffins graduate some top talent but will be a force again in 2025.
East Ascension advanced to the second round and St. Amant made the playoffs. Watch out for Prairieville in its second season under Chandra Ewen.
Ascension Catholic made the deepest run in the parish losing to Westminster Christian in the D5 semifinals. The Bulldogs return some key pieces and should be strong again. Ascension Christian won a playoff game and returns some key pieces.
Cross country is a difficult sport to compete in, but the Dutchtown Griffins showed the parish why they are among the best. The Griffins made strong showings at the state meet in the boys’ and girls’ division.
St. Amant finished 11th overall in the D1 girls division and Dutchtown finished 16th. Junior Ella Willoughby finished fourth overall for the Gators.
The Dutchtown boys finished fifth overall in a loaded D1 division. Senior Mason Heffernan was 24th overall for the Griffins. Ascension Catholic boys lose their top two runners in Ansel Cantin and Aiden Crochet, and will be in a rebuilding mode.
St. Amant and Dutchtown had solid swim seasons on the boys and girls side with several underclassmen returning.
Winter sports
Kicking off the winter sports are basketball, powerlifting, indoor track and field, soccer and wrestling. Several parish schools made nice runs in the playoffs and several key players will return to lead in 2025-26.
Boys and girls’ basketball in the parish had strong runs with the East Ascension boys making a run to the D1 nonselect quarterfinals. The Spartans were district champs and return key pieces for coach Troy Green. St. Amant made the playoffs after the Gators had to endure several injuries during the season.
Prairieville and Dutchtown just missed the playoffs on the boys side and return some key players. Donaldsonville boys made the deepest playoff run in the parish, falling in the D3 nonselect quarterfinals. The Tigers return plenty talent and should be poised to make a run in 2025-26.
Ascension Catholic won a district title, edging out Ascension Christian. The Bulldogs and Lions lost in the second round of the D4 select playoffs. Ascension Christian coach Angelo Montalbano is moving on to a new job and the Lions will be looking for a new leader.
On the girls side, East Ascension won a playoff game and St. Amant made the playoffs. The Prairieville Hurricanes made history by making the playoffs — they will be better in 2025-26, watch out. Ascension Christian made the playoffs with a young squad. Ascension Catholic made the deepest run in the parish, falling in the D4 select quarterfinals. The Bulldogs return a good nucleus with the Brown twins, they will be juniors.
Powerlifting continues to grow and the Ascension Catholic boys continued their dominance in D5 with their third state championship in four years. Coach Delmond Landry graduates champions in Mace Melancon and Aiden Paine, but returns several guys that scored key points led by sophomore state champion Raif Melancon.
Dutchtown, St. Amant, EA and Prairieville all have solid programs on the boys' and girls’ side. The Dutchtown boys, led by coach Wade Hooper, finished third overall in state led by state champ Josh Thompson. The Dutchtown girls finished fourth in state led by state champ Emma Corona. The St. Amant girls and boys power lifting programs are established and continue to push for a state championship.
Soccer is strong in Ascension Parish with the Dutchtown boys leading the way. The Griffins fell to eventual state champion St. Paul in the D1 quarters. St. Amant and EA faced each other in the first round with the Gators winning. On the girls' side, Dutchtown, St. Amant and EA made the playoffs with the Gators and Griffins winning a playoff game.
Wrestling continues to grow in the parish with Dutchtown, East Ascension and St. Amant finishing in the top 10 in D1 on the boys side. The East Ascension girls had the strongest finish, placing sixth overall .
East Ascension girls had the best showing in indoor track with a sixth-place finish. On the boys' side, newcomer Prairieville led the parish with a 19th-place finish.
Spring sports
In spring, what is usually the busiest season of all, our teams had strong showings in baseball, softball, bowling, golf, outdoor track and field, gymnastics and tennis.
Baseball is always strong in the parish, and Dutchtown and Ascension Christian had the best showings on the boys side. The Griffins fell to powerhouse Barbe in the quarters. The Lions fell to Ouachita Christian in the quarterfinals, as well. Both teams graduate key players, but return some talented players as well. Brandon Bravata led his team to the playoffs and will be stepping down as the Gators head coach. Caleb Ricca takes over a talented Gator team in 2025-26. Ascension Catholic made the playoffs and lost to Riverside in the D4 select regionals.
Softball is strong as usual in Ascension Parish led by Dutchtown, St. Amant, East Ascension and Ascension Catholic. The Griffins, led by coach Nancy Ensminger, lost 3-2 to Sam Houston in the D1 nonselect finals. The Griffins had a magical season, and I expect them to compete in 2025-26 for another title. The Gators rinse and repeat with their playoff runs. They lost to state champion Sam Houston in the semifinals. Fear not, they will be back with several starters returning for coach Amy Pitre.
East Ascension, led by coach Toni Ricca, had a great season, losing to rival St. Amant in the quarters. The Spartans are right there with their district rivals and look to knock the door down in 2025-26. Ascension Catholic was an out away from advancing to Sulphur. The Bulldogs and coach Stacie Grant have a nucleus returning in 2025-26. Ascension Christian made the playoffs and won a game; they lost to district rival Ascension Catholic in the second round. Prairieville was very competitive in its first season, watch out for the Hurricanes.
Outdoor track in the parish had success led by Tennessee commit Kiristen McGirt of East Ascension. She went out with a bang winning the shot put and the discus at the state meet. All of our teams competed at a high level in very competitive divisions.
Bowling was successful in 2025-26 with the Dutchtown girls making it to the finals falling to Archbishop Chapelle. St. Amant was a semifinalist. East Ascension, St Amant and Dutchtown made it to the second round on the boy’s side.
Girls gymnastics continues to grow with Dutchtown and St. Amant leading the way into 2025-26.
Golf on the boys' side was led by Ascension Catholic placing eighth in state led by senior John Clay Cancienne.
Congratulations to all of the athletes that participated in the 2024-25 school year, you should be proud of your work. We can’t wait to see what the 2025-26 season has in store for our teams.
Troy LeBoeuf covers sports for the Ascension Advocate. He can be reached at troyleboeuf@hotmail.com or ascension@theadvocate.com or on Twitter @Troyleboeuf.
