Rayville Hornets one game away from title
The Welsh Greyhounds raced into town but left quieter than they came in as the Rayville High School Hornets broke the century mark for the third consecutive playoff game 107-57.
If there was any doubt it was after the Hornets did a little racing themselves, rushing out to a 11-2 lead. Welsh, to their credit, went ahead 14- 13 but then Rayville scored 19 unanswered points at 32-14. For all intents and purposes it was over as the Hornets limited the Greyhounds to 5 points in the second quarter.
This set up a semi-final game with the #4 seed Ville Platt that was played this past Monday in Burton Coliseum in Lake Charles. This Bulldog team had lost only three games all year so now the Hornets would finally meet some competition, at least one would reasonably think.
Not so, Rayville won 115-52. This just doesn’t happen in a playoff game, especially in the semi-finals. But it did. Unheard of, four playoff games with a hundred or better. Before I get into details lets look at the buzz around the state that backs up my belief that this is not a good team, but a great team.
In an earlier article I wrote that a team like this comes along once in a century except in Rayville; here it happens two years in a row. Last year we were 35-0, remember. In my estimation this team is as good, if not better. This first comment is from my own sister-in-law, Kaye Hill, when she watched them play for the first time, “They are spring-loaded and are virtually flying.” I wish I had said it for that comes close to summing it up.
Dr. Ineichen was talking to an excited fan at the tournament who was so proud of her team. She asked Peaches who her team was and she answered that it was the Rayville Hornets. The fan said, “Oh, the talked about team.” Basketball fans across the state know of this team. Talk about putting a town on the map!
Our mayor, Harry Lewis, has a great cordial relationship with the fellow mayor of Ville Platt, Jennifer Vidrine. The Bulldogs haven’t had a lot of success against the Hornets, but this was to be their year. With good-natured bantering she was telling him what they were going to do. Our mayor, not wanting to burst her bubble, didn’t go into any superlatives about his Hornet team. He simply said, “This team is for real.” I couldn’t have said it better.
Overheard in a local eatery were a couple of big farmers or ranchers. Well, I guess they were big; one was talking about overseeing 4,500 acres. Somehow one of them said, “You know I don’t care anything about basketball but this Rayville team is fun to watch. They put on quite a show.”
I have always tried to impress upon you what an exceptional group this is. Now you have one last chance to see them in action in the finals in Lake Charles. Game time 6 p.m. Friday. It’s worth the trip.
The Hornets will play the #7 seed, Port Allen.