District Champions!

VILLE PLATTE -- The Ville Platte High Bulldogs reached one of their main goals Friday night when they secured the District 6-2A title with an 81-57 blowout win over the Welsh Greyhounds.
Ville Platte improves to 24-3 on the season and finishes league play with a record of 7-1. The Bulldogs will take a short hiatus and await the playoffs which begin in 12 days.
After the game, Ville Platte head coach Tommy Jones talked about the importance of winning the district title and what lies ahead for his team.
“It feels good to take home the district title,” stated Jones. “Even though we did not go 8-0 like we wanted to, the players worked hard to accomplish this goal. They played a hell of a game tonight.”
“Right now we are going to give the team a whole week off and then start the playoff run with fresh legs,” Jones continued. “We have a couple of players injured, so the time off will allow them to heal.”
Playing in front of their home crowd allowed Ville Platte to jump out to a tremendous start. Jahmal Byers hit a three-point shot to open the game and the Bulldogs were off and running.
Trying something new on the defensive side of the court, Ville Platte utilized a 1-3-1 trap to create a number of turnovers that they were able to convert into quick and easy points in their transition game. By the time Welsh knew what had hit them, the Bulldogs held a 14-2 lead with 5:07 left to go in the first quarter.
The Greyhounds could never gain any footing on offense the rest of the quarter, as Ville Platte continued to create basket after basket. With two seconds to go, Byers struck again, hitting another shot from downtown to give the Bulldogs a 24-7 lead when the opening period came to a close.
“We challenged the team before the game to come out faster than we have the last few games,” said Jones. “I thought we did a great job of executing the trap, considering it was the first time we have used it all year long.”
Ville Platte began the second quarter on fire from outside the arc. Tyler Jones ripped the nets for back-to-back baskets, including a three-pointer, to put the Bulldogs up 29-7.
The Greyhounds answered with two buckets of their own to trail 29-11 with 5:24 left in the period. However, Ville Platte steadily responded every time Welsh thought they may have some momentum going.
With 2:08 remaining in the half, the Bulldogs held a commanding 41-18 lead. Over the final two minutes the teams traded points, putting the score at 45-22 as the two squads headed into the locker room.
Welsh came out in the third quarter with some renewed energy on defense by putting some half court trapping pressure on Ville Platte. That pressure created some missed opportunities for the Bulldogs, especially from three-point land.
After the first four minutes of play in the period, the Greyhounds found themselves on an 8-4 run, cutting the Ville Platte lead down to 19, 49-30. Never-the-less, the Bulldogs found a way to