Bayou expecting strong season

By Mark Stowers
Winn Scott has coached at Bayou Academy for 12 years. He’s had a lot of players and logged a lot of time on sidelines and has seen plenty of wins. Every coach and every player dreams big - replete with a net cutting and a state championship trophy glistening in each teammate’s grasp. The desire, sweat and the imagination have always been there but now there is some “size” to back up such a dream – and possibly make it a reality.

Now neither Scott nor his players will allow themselves to look that far down the road. They’ve compiled an 8-2 record so far this season on the backs of some “tall boys.” Bayou has eight players that exceed six feet in height – including the starting five. And that advantage mixed with basketball skill has led the team to some impressive stats thus far. A #7 state ranking in 1A, an average of 58 points, three blocks, 39 rebounds and nearly five steals per game along with 530 total points and 304 rebounds in ten games.
“Last year we went 19-10 and went to the playoffs,” Scott said. “We’re excited but it’s a long season and we’ve got a long way to go. We’ve got some improvements to make but I’m excited about what we can potentially be.”

And that excitement exudes beyond the coaching box as fans have picked up on the team’s heightened success.

“I haven’t seen fans at boys games like this in a long time,” he said. “Even on the road we have a pretty big following.”

And it’s not just the Varsity but the junior high and both girls’ teams are winning as well providing the school and county a wealth of excitement. But the boy’s team with its wealth of height that literally has Scott looking up.

“We’ve got five seniors and three that start – Michael Portner, Caleb Pilgrim and Grey Clark,” he said. “The other two, Tyler Kitchings and Chantz Arbuckle are both juniors.”

Three starters have already surpassed 100 points – Portner with 138, Pilgrim with 132 and Kitchings with 103. So Scott has a quiver full of offensive weapons and has more on the bench to choose from when needed. But so far the team hasn’t relied on any one person to carry them, it’s truly been a one for all and all for one type of Colt team.

“We play as much team ball as I’ve seen in a long time,” he said. “They like to share the wealth. They’re not selfish players by any means.”

Of the starters, Scott noted that one in particular has literally grown over night.

“Tyler hitting his growth spurt has really helped him a lot. He’s been the man down low. He’s averaging 10 points a game and 10 rebounds,” Scott said. “He grew about six or seven inches this summer. He’s really come around.”

And he likes his team to keep things up-tempo on the court but knows they can handle what the opposition throws at them.

“Chantz is a great up-tempo point guard. We’re a very inside-out team. We like to get it inside to Caleb or Tyler or Grey and if they double down on them we’ll take it back out for the open shot. Michael is a really good three-point shooter and he’s a really good driver. He likes to get to the rim. And Caleb is usually double-teamed but that doesn’t matter, he can score regardless.”

The team is 3-1 in conference play and in second place. Scott’s focus is to keep the team reeled in with their eyes and minds on the next opponent – not anything down the road.

“We talk alot. We practice for the team we’re going to play that week,” he said. “We focus on the job at hand and take care of business. It’s been a great ride so far and I’ve enjoyed every second of it.”

Beyond the starters, Scott has relied on Peyton Aldridge as his sixth man this season.

“He does a really good job when he comes in. He’s a three-point threat and he’s just a sophomore. He really makes people guard him because he can shoot the ball as well as anybody we have on the team,” he said.

And when Aldridge comes in to spread the defense, Kitchings “goes down low and that’s by far where Tyler is better.”

And even though there’s been some exciting games when the team is in uniform, the practice scrimmages have been pretty active and sometimes more eventful than the games.

“I would love to give more guys more playing time but its hard to break up that flow,” he said. “The good thing about practice is I can put five on five and that five will really push the starting five. I’ve probably got three other guys who could start on other teams. They’re just not the starters yet but they could be game changers. I’m still figuring them out and in January when we get into those three games a week stretches we’ll definitely need more subs off the bench.”

Tuesday night the Colts traveled to Delta Academy in Marks, Ms for a rematch with the Raiders who handed them their first loss of the season. “You could literally see the blood in their eyes. They wanted redemption and we got it 66-63 in one of our best games so far this season,” added Scott.

Tyler Kitchings scored a season high 18 points, 17 rebounds with four blocked shots and one steal, followed by Michael Portner with 17 points and six rebounds, Caleb Pilgrim with 15 points and 12 rebounds and Chantz Arbuckle with 14 points and three rebounds.

The Colts improved their record to 8-2 and travelled to Marvell Academy on Friday night for a non-conference matchup but no score was available as of press time.

The Colts will have a 22 day break before their next game due to the Christmas holidays but that will not stop head coach Winn Scott from drumming up some scrimmage games during the break to keep the boys in rhythm.

Bayou will return to action in January with a conference packed second half of the season with Deer Creek on January 8 at home and Briarfield on the road on the 11^th.