A 27-win basketball season would be a reason for celebration at most Louisiana high schools, but it it business as usual at Bossier High.
The Bearkats have 27 or more wins in each of their last 11 seasons, including this one. All but two of those teams won 28 or more games.
Four senior starters on this Bossier High team are 6-5 Rashard Owens, 6-4 Tevin Robertson, 6-0 Demonta Wills and 5-11 Deorvion Robinson. The fifth starter is 6-2 junior Devonte Hall.
Robertson is the team’s top scorer, averaging 15 points per game. The others are averaging 10 points per game.
Coach Jeremiah Williams’ Bearkats need three wins in the state playoffs to extend their Bossier Parish record streak of 30-win seasons to five. All of the last four Bossier High teams reached the state finals, with the 2010-11 team capturing the school’s second state championship in boys’ basketball with a 59-48 win over Peabody (Alexandria) in the title game.
That team posted a 33-2 record, but that wasn’t Williams’ best season record at Bossier High. The 2009-10 Bearkats were 38-2, but came up short in the championship game.
Since a 3-2 start this season, the Bearkats’ only loss in their last 25 games was a one-pointer (43-42) to Ouachita in Airline’s Doc Edwards tournament. Ouachita is ranked No. 2 in Class 5A by the sports writers. Scotlandville is No. 1 in 5A.
Bossier High won its first state championship in boys’ basketball in 1960, when a Bearkat team coached by John McConathy set a Caddo-Bossier record for total wins that still stands with a 41-4 record, beating DeLaSalle 39-35 in the championship game – played in the little gym at the end of the school building that is now known as the girls’ gym. The E.L. Reding Gym was built a few years later.
Cecil Upshaw and Dennis Kile were All-Staters for the 1959-60 Bearkats.
The first Bossier High team that reached the state finals in boys’ basketball was the 1948-49 team, coached by Frank Lampkin. That team dropped a 46-27 decision to Many in the Class A title game, finishing the season with a 28-12 record. Bobby Ray McHalffey and Tommy Woodall represented the Bearkats on the All-State team.
Haughton is the only Bossier Parish school that ever won back-to-back state titles in boys’ basketball. The Bucs were Class A state champs in 1967-68 with a 29-9 record and in 1968-69 with a 38-9 record. Both of those teams were coached by Billy Montgomery, who was selected Class A Coach of the Year in 1967-68. Haughton’s Kenny Covington was the All-State Most Valuable Player both years. Teammate Benny DePrang joined him on the All-State team in 1968-69.
Jerry Byrd is the former sports editor of the Bossier Press-Tribune and an award-winning columnist. You can contact him by E-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
