Post by Scott Crawford on Feb 26, 2012 22:22:26 GMT -6
"A History of the Boys State Championships in Louisiana High School Soccer"
By Scott Crawford of LAprepSoccer
Last edited February 13, 2014
This season's state championships mark the 28th year that the LHSAA has recognized Louisiana high school soccer state championships. Soccer, however, has a long and largely unknown history in Louisiana, thanks in part to the many immigrants who flocked to the port of New Orleans in the 1850s. Though Native Americans in Louisiana a thousand years ago were known to play a game much like soccer, the modern sport of soccer came to the state through New Orleans, thanks largely to Scottish, Irish, English, Italian and German immigrants. At the turn of the century, the game became popular within the nativist athletic clubs of New Orleans and Shreveport.
It was also at the turn of the century that high school soccer began in Louisiana. The first known game took place in 1905 between the Holy Cross Tigers of the Lower 9th Ward and the Sacred Heart College. Holy Cross, with its large student-boarder population from Central America, maintained a soccer team through the 1920s. Youth soccer was also played at Hope Haven, a Catholic orphanage in Marrero, near Archbishop Shaw High during this period.
There is no evidence of youth soccer in Louisiana during the 1930s and 1940s, but in 1955, Fortier High and Country Day played each other. That game marked the beginning of the rise of youth soccer in Louisiana. Much of that growth was thanks to Honduran-born Carlos Ross Mitchell (1910-1981). Mitchell helped establish club soccer in the state, founding the Honduras Soccer Club (1959), the Louisiana Soccer Football Association (1966), and the Olympia Soccer Club (1966).
Modern Louisiana high school soccer would begin shortly after the founding of the Louisiana Soccer Football Association. In 1968, Arbishop Rummel High's Brother Al LeBlanc, with the help of Mitchell and Jefferson Parish Recreation Department leader Dave "Pro" Scheuermann, organized the first known interscholastic soccer league in Louisiana. There were only four teams: Rummel's 9th grade team, the Jefferson Saints, Our Lady of Lourdes in Violet, LA, and the Costa Rica Juniors. This league consisted of both high school teams and club teams. It should be noted, however, that Holy Cross High School fielded a team, but did not join this original interscholastic league. Though we recognize Rummel as winning the first interscholastic soccer championship, the team Holy Cross fielded that year was without question the best high school team in the state in 1968. In the Spring of that year, Holy Cross traveled to St. Louis, the birthplace of American high school soccer. There, in the Midwest Junior Cup (today, the James P. McGuire Cup), the Latin Tigers of Holy Cross lost to eventual national champion, St. Phillip Neri, 0-7. St. Phillip Neri, like some of the earliest soccer teams in New Orleans, was a team associated with a Catholic parish or neighborhood, not a school.
In the Autumn of 1968, several New Orleans schools formed the Greater New Orleans Interscholastic Soccer Football League. This league became the New Orleans Interscholastic Soccer League, which existed until the end of the 1982 season. High school soccer expanded outside the New Orleans Metro area in the early 1980s, leading to the formation of the Louisiana Interscholastic Soccer Association. The L.I.S.A. existed from the Fall of 1982 to the Spring 1986. Soccer had become so popular by the Fall of 1986 that the LHSAA formally recognized high school soccer as a sport. At the end of that season, in 1987, the first official state championship was played at Newman. Jesuit defeated Rummel 1-0.
The first players in the earliest years of high school soccer learned the sport from family members and in playground soccer. The New Orleans Recreation Department (NORD) and Jefferson Parish Recreational Department (JPRD) were amongst the earliest playground soccer leagues. Playground soccer was the original feeder program to high school soccer. Although many people believe that high school soccer comes from club soccer, high school soccer predates club soccer in Louisiana. The earliest known club programs began with the Lafreniere Soccer Club in 1974. Lafreniere would soon be joined by clubs throughout the state: Baton Rouge Soccer Association (1975); Slidell Youth Soccer Association (1976); Lafayette Youth Soccer Association (1978); Northeast Louisiana Soccer Association (1980); St. Charles Soccer Club (1982); Covington Youth Soccer Association (1982). High school soccer benefited greatly from these soccer clubs. If one goes through the LAprepSoccer Playoff Archives, he is able to see that schools near these clubs began doing very well about ten years after the club's founding.
Important dates since then include the 1989-1990 season, when soccer's popularity increased enough to warrant splitting soccer into two divisions. As the sport became statewide more organization was needed. In 1993, thanks to St. Louis-born Gerry Mueller, the Louisiana High School Soccer Coaches Assocation (LHSSCA) was established. Amongst the LHSSCA's major accomplishments in recent years include establishing an All-Star Game (July, 2009) and switching from a district-based playoff bracket to a meritorious seeding based playoff bracket beginning in the 2008-2009 season. Soccer continued to spread throughout the state. With around 110 schools participating at the start of the 1995-1996 season, soccer split into three divisions, in which it has remained split to the present (2013).
From 1974 to 1986, owing to the fact that there were very few teams outside the New Orleans region, all championship games were held in Pan American Stadium in New Orleans' City Park. This venue hosted all the girls championship games from 1980 to 1986, as well as the JV championship games as part of a day-long festival of soccer. When the LHSAA sanctioned a championship in soccer for boys and girls beginning in 1987, the championship site moved. Championship game participants decided where the game would be hosted the week of the game. Pan American Stadium, which saw so much championship soccer, would host only a handful of championships after 1987. The last boys championship would be the fabled 2000 Championship between Brother Martin and Jesuit. An estimated crowd of 5,000 showed organizers that soccer had outgrown Pan American.
LAprepSoccer was born during this period. Hoping to improve rankings, increase access to scores and standings, promote sportsmanship, and archive the results of high school soccer, Scott Crawford founded what was called the Matt Parker Fan Club in the Fall of 1999. The website quickly grew in popularity and was organized at LAprepSoccer the following year. Through the years, it has grown with the sport and has become the premier high school sports website in Louisiana.
Beginning in 2000-2001, corporate sponsorship set boys and girls Division I and III championship venues. These initial games were held in Tad Gormley Stadium in New Orleans' City Park. As a result of Katrina, they moved to Lafayette for a season, before a contingent from Shreveport won the LHSAA bid and hosted the Division I and III championships for four seasons ('07,'08,'09,'10). In 2011 the state championships returned to New Orleans. In 2012, Division II joined Divisions I and III in the championship venue.
Here is a list of all the known state championship games. If you know of any of the missing information, please contact me or post here. Hyperlinked scores bring the reader to newspaper articles of the games, all compiled by Scott Crawford.
Governing bodies of Louisiana high school soccer:
Interscholastic Junior Soccer League: I.J.S.L. (1967-1968)
Greater New Orleans Interscholastic Soccer Football League: G.N.O.I.S.F.L. (1968-1971)
New Orleans Interscholastic Soccer League: N.O.I.S.L. (1971-1982)
Louisiana Interscholastic Soccer Association: L.I.S.A. (1982-1986)
Louisiana High School Athletic Association: LHSAA (1986-present)
1967-1968 (Interscholastic Junior Soccer League)
Rummel 2 Jefferson (JPRD) Saints 0 (at Jefferson Playground)
1968-1969 (Greater New Orleans Interscholastic Soccer Football League)
Olympia defeated Holy Cross
1969-1970 (Greater New Orleans Interscholastic Soccer Football League)
Olympia defeated Fortier
1970-1971 (Greater New Orleans Interscholastic Soccer Football League)
Olympia defeated Redemptorist NOLA** (at City Park)
1971-1972 (New Orleans Interscholastic Soccer League)
Redemptorist NOLA 4 Olympia 1 (at City Park) April 3, 1972
1972-1973 (New Orleans Interscholastic Soccer League)
Champion: Holy Cross (8-0-3)***
Runner-Up: Rummel (9-1-2)
1973-1974 (New Orleans Interscholastic Soccer League)
Rummel 2 Bonnabel 1 OT (at Pan American Field) February 16, 1974
1974-1975 (New Orleans Interscholastic Soccer League)
Rummel 2 Bonnabel 1 (at Pan American Stadium) February 22, 1975
1975-1976 (New Orleans Interscholastic Soccer League)
Country Day 3 Bonnabel 2 (Pan American Stadium) February 14, 1976
1976-1977 (New Orleans Interscholastic Soccer League)
De La Salle beat Country Day****
1977-1978 (New Orleans Interscholastic Soccer League)
Warren Easton beat Newman (St. Martin's) February 28, 1978
1978-1979 (New Orleans Interscholastic Soccer League)
Warren Easton 5 Jesuit 1 (at O. Perry Walker Field) February 24, 1979
1979-1980 (New Orleans Interscholastic Soccer League)
Warren Easton beat Newman (OT) (Pan American Stadium)
1980-1981 (New Orleans Interscholastic Soccer League)
Warren Easton 4 Bonnabel 2 (at Pan American Stadium) February 21, 1981
1981-1982 (New Orleans Interscholastic Soccer League)
De La Salle 4 Shaw 2 (at Pan American Stadium) March 10, 1982
1982-1983 (Louisiana Interscholastic Soccer Association)
Warren Easton 1 Jesuit 0 (2OT) (at Pan American Stadium) March 12, 1983
1983-1984 (Louisiana Interscholastic Soccer Association)
Jesuit 2 Warren Easton 1 (at Pan American Stadium) March 17, 1984
1984-1985 (Louisiana Interscholastic Soccer Association)
Slidell 3 Mandeville 2 (2 OT) (at Pan American Stadium) February 16, 1985
1985-1986 (Louisiana Interscholastic Soccer Association):
Slidell 4 Ben Franklin 1 (at Pan American Stadium) March 20, 1986
1986-1987 (LHSAA):
Jesuit 1 Rummel 0 (at Lupin Field, Newman) March 28, 1987
1987-1988:
Slidell 7 Comeaux 1 (at Episcopal of Baton Rouge) March 26, 1988
1988-1989:
Slidell 2 Northshore 0 (at Slidell High) February 25, 1989
1989-1990:
Div I: Catholic BR 2 De La Salle 1 2OT (at Baton Rouge High) February 24, 1990
Div II: Episcopal School of Acadiana 3 Vandebilt 2 (at Episcopal School of Acadiana)
1990-1991:
Div I: Catholic BR 3 De La Salle 1 (at Westdale Middle School Baton Rouge) February 23, 1991
Div II: Woodlawn 2 Episcopal School of Acadiana 1 (at Woodlawn Baton Rouge)
1991-1992:
Div I: Slidell 4 Catholic BR 1 (at Westdale Middle School Baton Rouge) March 1, 1992
Div II: Vandebilt 4 St. Thomas More 1 (at Comeaux)
1992-1993:
Div I: Catholic BR 2 Slidell 0 (at Slidell High) February 27, 1993
Div II: Newman 2 St. Thomas More 1 (at Lupin Field, Newman) February 20, 1993
1993-1994:
Div I: De La Salle 3 Jesuit 2 (at Roosevelt Mall in N.O. City Park) February 26, 1994
Div II: Bishop Sullivan 1 Vandebilt 0 (at Woodlawn BR) February 19, 1994*
1994-1995:
Div I: Jesuit 3 Catholic BR 2 (at Rebel Field, R.E. Lee) February 25, 1995
Div II: Newman 1 Episcopal School of Acadiana 0 (at Lupin Field, Newman) February 18, 1995
1995-1996:
Div I: Mandeville 2 Jesuit 1 (at Ecole Classique) February 26, 1996
Div II: Loyola 2 Baton Rouge 1 (at Caddo Parish Stadium) February 17, 1996
Div III: Vandebilt 2 Newman 1 (at Terrier Field, Vandebilt) February 17, 1996
1996-1997:
Div I: Acadiana 3 Jesuit 1 (at Pan American Stadium) March 1, 1997
Div II: St. Paul’s 2 Baton Rouge 0 (at Rebel Field, R.E. Lee) February 22, 1997
Div III: St. Louis 4 St. Martin’s 0 (at St. Martin’s) February 22, 1997
1997-1998:
Div I: Acadiana 1 Lafayette 0 (at Mighty Lion Stadium, Lafayette) February 28, 1998
Div II: St. Paul’s 2 Baton Rouge 0 (at Rebel Field, R.E. Lee) February 25, 1998
Div III: St. Louis 3 Newman 1 (at St. Louis Catholic) February 28, 1998
1998-1999:
Div I: Jesuit 3 Acadiana 0 (at Zephyr Field, Metairie) February 27, 1999
Div II: Woodlawn BR 5 St. Paul's 1 (OT) (at Hunter Stadium, St. Paul's High) February 24, 1999
Div III: Newman 4 Parkview Baptist 2 (at Lupin Field, Newman) February 27, 1999
1999-2000:
Div I: Brother Martin 3 Jesuit 0 (at Pan American Stadium) February 26, 2000
Div II: St. Paul’s 3 Woodlawn BR 2 (OT) (at Woodlawn BR) February 23, 2000
Div III: Parkview Baptist 2 Loyola 1 (OT) (at Caddo Parish Stadium) February 26, 2000
2000-2001:
Div I: Brother Martin 1 Acadiana 0 (at Tad Gormley Stadium) February 28, 2001
Div II: St. Thomas More 3 Parkway 1 (at Independence Stadium) February 21, 2001
Div III: Newman 2 St. Martin’s 0 (at Tad Gormley Stadium) March 1, 2001
2001-2002:
Div I: Jesuit 3 Brother Martin 0 (at Tad Gormley Stadium) February 23, 2002
Div II: Vandebilt 2 South Terrebonne 0 (at Terrier Field, Vandebilt) February 23, 2002
Div III: St. Martin’s 3 St. Louis 1 (at Tad Gormley Stadium) February 22, 2002
2002-2003:
Div I: Jesuit 2 Lafayette 1 (at Tad Gormley Stadium) March 8, 2003
Div II: Vandebilt 2 Neville 1 (at Terrier Field, Vandebilt) March 6, 2003
Div III: St. Louis 3 St. Thomas Aquinas 0 (at Tad Gormley Stadium) March 7, 2003
2003-2004:
Div I: Lafayette 1 Jesuit 0 (at Tad Gormley Stadium) February 28, 2004
Div II: Ben Franklin 0 Vandebilt 0 (BF 3-1 in PKs) (at Terrier Field, Vandebilt) February 28, 2004
Div III: St. Louis 6 St. Martin’s 1 (at Tad Gormley Stadium) February 27, 2004
2004-2005:
Div I: Jesuit 3 Lafayette 2 (OT) (at Tad Gormley Stadium) February 26, 2005
Div II: Vandebilt 1 Ben Franklin 0 (at Buddy Marcello Stadium, Vandebilt) February 26, 2005
Div III: Newman 3 St. Martin’s 2 (at Tad Gormley Stadium) February 25, 2005
2005-2006:
Div I: Carencro 3 Fontainebleau 1 (at ULL Soccer Complex) March 4, 2006
Div II: Vandebilt 8 East Ascension 0 (at Spartan Stadium, East Ascension) March 4, 2006
Div III: St. Louis 3 Teurlings 0 (at ULL Soccer Complex) March 3, 2006
2006-2007:
Div I: Jesuit 2 St. Paul’s 0 (at Independence Stadium) February 24, 2007
Div II: Vandebilt 3 East Ascension 0 (at Spartan Stadium, East Ascension) February 24, 2007
Div III: St. Louis 1 Teurlings 0 (OT) (at Independence Stadium) February 23, 2007
2007-2008:
Div I: Caddo 2 Woodlawn 1 (at Independence Stadium) February 23, 2008
Div II: Teurlings 1 Vandebilt 1 (Teurlings 4-2 in PKs) (at ULL Soccer Complex) February 16, 2008
Div III: St. Thomas Aquinas 1 Newman 0 (at Independence Stadium) February 22, 2008
2008-2009:
Div I: Jesuit 3 Captain Shreve 1 (at Independence Stadium) February 28, 2009
Div II: Teurlings 4 Loyola 1 (at Messmer Stadium, Loyola Shreveport) February 21, 2009
Div III: Newman 2 University 1 (2OT) (at Independence Stadium) February 27, 2009
2009-2010:
Div I: Jesuit 2 Lafayette 1 (at Independence Stadium) February 27, 2010
Div II: St. Louis 2 Vandebilt 1 (at Vandebilt) February 27, 2010
Div III: Newman 2 University 1 (at Independence Stadium) February 26, 2010
2010-2011:
Div I: St. Paul’s 2 Jesuit 1 (at Tad Gormley Stadium) February 26, 2011
Div II: St. Louis 1 Vandebilt 0 (at McNeese State University Soccer Complex) February 26, 2011
Div III: Northlake Christian 3 Ben Franklin 0 (at Tad Gormley) February 25, 2011
2011-2012
Div I: Jesuit 3 St. Paul's 2 (at Tad Gormley Stadium) February 25, 2012
Div II: St. Louis 1 Ben Franklin 0 (at Tad Gormley Stadium) February 24, 2012
Div III: Country Day 1 Northlake Christian 0 (at Tad Gormley Stadium) February 25, 2012
2012-2013
Div I: Jesuit 2 St. Paul's 1 (OT) (at Tad Gormley Stadium) February 23, 2013
Div II: St. Louis 3 Beau Chene 0 (at Tad Gormley Stadium) February 23, 2013
Div III: Episcopal BR 2 Newman 1 (OT) (at Tad Gormley Stadium) February 22, 2013
2013-2014
Div I: St. Paul's 3 Grace King 0 (at Tad Gormley Stadium) February 28, 2014
Div II: Ben Franklin 3 Vandebilt 2 (OT) (at Tad Gormley Stadium) February 27, 2014
Div III: Lusher 3 Northlake Christian 2 (at Tad Gormley Stadium) February 26, 2014
2014-2015
Div I: St. Paul's 3 Jesuit 0 (at Tad Gormley Stadium) February 28, 2015
Div II: Vandebilt 0 Ben Franklin 0 (Vandebilt 6-5 in PKs) (at Tad Gormley Stadium) February 27, 2015
Div III: St. Louis 1 Northlake Christian 1 (SLC 3-1 in PKs) (at Tad Gormley Stadium) February 26, 2015
2015-2016
Div I: St. Paul's 3 Acadiana 0 (at Tad Gormley Stadium) February 27, 2016
Div II: St. Thomas More 1 Holy Cross 0 (at Tad Gormley Stadium) February 26, 2016
Div III: St. Louis Catholic 3 E.D. White 2 (at Tad Gormley Stadium) February 25, 2016
Div IV: Northlake Christian 2 Newman 1 (at Tad Gormley Stadium) February 24, 2016
2016-2017
Div I: St. Paul's 5 Catholic (BR) 1 (at Tad Gormley Stadium) February 24, 2017
Div II: St. Thomas More 2 Alexandria 1 (at Tad Gormley Stadium) February 24, 2017
Div III: St. Louis Catholic 2 Episcopal (BR) 1 (at Tad Gormley Stadium) February 22, 2017
Div IV: Newman 6 Episcopal School of Acadiana 1 (at Tad Gormley Stadium) February 22, 2017
2017-2018
Div I: Jesuit 2, St. Paul's 1 (Sudden Death) (at UL Lafayette Soccer Stadium) February 24, 2018
Div II: Holy Cross 3, Beau Chene 1 (at UL Lafayette Soccer Stadium) February 22, 2018
Div III: Vandebilt Catholic 2, ED White 1 (PKs) (at UL Lafayette Soccer Stadium) February 21, 2018
Div IV: Episcopal School of Acadiana 5, Northlake Christian 0 (at UL Lafayette Soccer Stadium) February 24, 2018
2018-2019
Div I: St. Paul's 3, Jesuit 0 (at UL Lafayette Soccer Stadium) February 23, 2019
Div II: Holy Cross 1 (3), Lakeshore 1 (1)(PKs) (at UL Lafayette Soccer Stadium) February 21, 2019
Div III: University 5, Loyola College Prep 4 (OT) (at UL Lafayette Soccer Stadium) February 20, 2019
Div IV: Northlake Christian 2, Isidore Newman 1 (at UL Lafayette Soccer Stadium) February 23, 2019
2019-2020
Div I: St. Paul's 2, Catholic BR 0 (at Strawberry Stadium) February 29, 2020
Div II: Holy Cross 1, St. Thomas More 0 (at Strawberry Stadium) February 27, 2020
Div III: University 1, Vandebilt 0 (at Strawberry Stadium) February 26, 2020
Div IV: Isidore Newman 1, Episcopal BR 0 (at Strawberry Stadium) February 29, 2020
2020-2021
Div I: Catholic BR 2, St. Paul's 0 (OT) (at Strawberry Stadium) February 27, 2021
Div II: Holy Cross 3, Benton 0 (at Strawberry Stadium) February 26, 2021
Div III: Lusher 2, ED White 1 (at Strawberry Stadium) February 25, 2021
Div IV: Pope John Paul II 2, Episcopal BR 1 (at Strawberry Stadium) February 24, 2021
2021-2022
Div I: Catholic BR 1, Dutchtown 0 (at Strawberry Stadium) February 19, 2022
Div II: St. Thomas More 1, East Jefferson 0 (at Strawberry Stadium) February 16, 2022
Div III: University 3, Vandebilt Catholic 0 (at Strawberry Stadium) February 15, 2022
Div IV: Isidore Newman 1, Pope John Paul II 0 (at Strawberry Stadium) February 14, 2022
Footnotes:
**In 1980, Redemptorist became Redeemer-Seton, which closed following Hurricane Katrina.
***No championship game was played. Champion decided February 27, 1973.
****(Unknown date, but JV championship was held on February 5, 1977 at Pan American Stadium)