Maybe we shouldn’t be surprised that Charlie Flynn this past weekend became the first golfer from Alexandria to play in a PGA Tour event in almost 50 years.

He was a phenom as a 7-year-old first-grader. In his first competitive event that year, a 9-hole tournament at Copper Mill in Baton Rouge, he shot a 2-over-par score of 38 for a first-place tie. He went on to excel in junior golf, high school and college. Two years ago, he was runner-up in the Louisiana State Amateur tournament.

As a senior at Louisiana-Lafayette, he helped ULL win the Sun Belt Conference golf championship in the spring of 2023, and he turned professional soon after, playing on the All Pro Tour (APT), a minor-league level tour that makes Alexandria one of its annual stops at the OakWing Golf Course. He has had three top-25 APT finishes.

On Thursday, Sept. 26, he went to Deerfield Country Club in Canton, Miss., to try to qualify for the Monday qualifying tournament for this past weekend’s PGA Tour’s Sanderson Farms event in Jackson, Miss. He shot 2-under-par and tied for 14th – the top 15 qualified — to barely make it to Monday’s big qualifier on the same Deerfield course.

That’s where things got dramatic for Charlie, whose parents, John and Kristy Flynn, were on hand to cheer him on. In this tournament, the top four qualify for the PGA Tour event. Sitting at 3-under-par after the turn, he began the back nine by rolling in a 40-foot putt for an eagle. He finished 6-under-par, tying him for fourth, which forced a sudden death playoff to determine the last qualifier.

Charlie, 24, and Dawson Armstrong, a 29-year-old Georgia native who has had three top-5 finishes on golf’s Triple-A level Korn Ferry Tour, dueled for the PGA Tour invitation.

“Before teeing off, I was nervous,” said Charlie. “I knew the gravity of the situation. But I kept breathing, taking big breaths to calm down.”

Flynn had a precarious start at the par-5 10th, driving into the left rough, then landed his second shot about 20 yards shy of the green in the rough. Armstrong, meanwhile, hit a perfect drive and then sailed a 235-yard approach shot to within 5 feet for a chance at an eagle.

“I thought, ‘This could be over quick,’” said Charlie, who chipped out of the rough to within 7 feet and knocked in the birdie putt.  Armstrong’s eagle putt slid by the right edge for a tap-in birdie, and the two went to a second playoff hole, No. 9, a par-4.

On that hole, it came down to a 3-foot putt that Charlie needed to make to advance to his first PGA Tour event. “I felt my knees wobbling and my adrenaline surging,” he said. “I got over the putter and stroked it, and it went in. I dropped my putter and put my hands over my face.

“There was just so much gratitude,” he went on, “so much raw emotion. I thought back on the whole journey and the sacrifices, not only that I made but that others made for me.”

He first went over to Armstrong and gave him a hug, and he “let out a few tears of joy and sympathy for Dawson.” And Dawson congratulated Charlie.

What Charlie Flynn, the one-time kid prodigy, did with that 3-foot putt is become the first man from Alexandria since Earl Humphries to earn the right to play in a PGA Tour tournament. Humphries, probably the top amateur golfer in Cenla in the ’90s, qualified for five PGA Tour events in 1976 but never made a weekend cut.  Back problems – two slipped discs – cut short his professional golf career.

To go to the Country Club of Jackson’s Sanderson Farms event as a player, and practice on the range a few yards away from his childhood idol Rickie Fowler and get to meet some of the pros like Aaron Baddeley, Keith Mitchell and Justin Hadley, was “super cool,” Charlie said.

He didn’t make the cut for the weekend, shooting 5-over for the first two rounds, but the two guys he played with – Frenchman Paul Barjon and 2021 Pepperdine graduate Joe Highsmith – both did.

He did get to reunite, too, at the event with 10-year PGA Tour veteran and two-time tour winner Brice Garnett, whom he first met as a youth when Garnett played a few years on the Adams Pro Tour at OakWing. Garnett stayed with the Flynns at their house each of the three years he played in Alexandria.

“We became good friends, and he has been a cool mentor,” said Charlie. “After I qualified, he was one of the first to reach out and congratulate me. He showed me the ropes out there. He let me play with him in a practice round, and I talked with him and picked his brain. And he kept it relaxed.”

He was given a bag of the finest golf balls, and someone set him up with a caddie for the first time. Even though it’s back to the mini-tour grind, when you are your own caddie, Charlie, having tasted what it’s like to play at the top level, wants more of the high life.

Next up: Q-school, short for qualifying school. The first of a three-stage qualifying series is next week at the Rockwall Golf and Athletic Club near Dallas. The goal is to advance through all three stages to earn full PGA Tour membership for a year. The consolation prize could be a ticket to play on the Class AAA Korn Ferry Tour for the upcoming year.

Charlie made it to the second stage last year.

“I know it’s something I can do,” he said. “I know can play. It makes me want to work harder and yet take it one day at a time.”

Alexandria Senior High wasn’t challenged by once-powerful Many in the Trojans’ homecoming game last Friday and that 69-7 victory didn’t influence their place in the Louisiana Sports Writers Association’s weekly Top 10 high school football poll.

But their next game will.

The Trojans host West Monroe Friday night to begin District 2-5A competition. The Rebels from Ouachita Parish are getting votes in the 5A poll.

ASH’s district also includes No. 1 Ruston and No. 5 Neville. ASH hosts Ruston Oct. 25 and Neville in the regular-season finale Nov. 8.

The Trojans remained at No. 6 in Class 5A this week and are the only Rapides Parish team ranked, or even receiving votes. However, a local Class 4A team, Tioga, is responsible for a shift in the Class 3A rankings. The Indians rolled over Jena 65-26 last Thursday and the Giants fell out of the Top 10 in their class.

Class 5A

School (1^st place votes), record, total voting points, previous ranking

1. Ruston (12)                         5-0, 144, 1

2. Karr                                     4-0, 132, 2

3. Acadiana                             4-1, 120, 3

4. Catholic-Baton Rouge        3-1, 97, 4

5. Neville                               5-0, 95, 5

6. Alexandria                         5-0, 78, 6

7. Zachary                              3-1, 75, 8

8. Archbishop Rummel          4-1, 41, 7

9. John Curtis                         2-2, 27, 10

10. Central                              5-0, 25, NR

(tie) Airline                             5-0, 25, NR

Others receiving votes: St. Augustine 15, Mandeville 14, Brother Martin 13, Terrebonne 9, West Monroe 5, Hahnville 5, Parkway 4, Dutchtown 3, Covington 2.

Class 4A

School (1^st place votes), record, total voting points, previous ranking

1. Teurlings Catholic (12)       5-0, 144, 1

 2. North DeSoto                      3-2, 121, 2

3. E.D. White                          4-1, 118, 3

4. Lutcher                                4-0, 103, 5

5. St. Thomas More                2-3, 96, 6

6. Archbishop Shaw                3-2, 72, 9

7. Cecilia                                 3-2, 60, 7

8. Opelousas                            1-4, 56, 4

9. Franklin Parish                    4-1, 44, 7

10. Lakeshore                          5-0, 41, NR

Others receiving votes: Westgate 20, Leesville 19, West Ouachita 18, Plaquemine 7, Franklinton 3, Vandebilt Catholic 2, McDonogh (35) 1, Minden 1.

Class 3A

School (1^st place votes), record, total voting points, previous ranking

1. University (12)                    4-1, 144, 1

2. St. James                             3-1, 131, 2

3. Bunkie                                 5-0, 119, 4

4. Jennings                               4-1, 96, 7

5. Northwest                             3-2, 69, 9

6. John F. Kennedy                  1-4, 67, 3

7. Amite                                    3-2, 54, NR

8. Jewel Sumner                        4-1, 51, 8

9. Bastrop                                  4-1, 45, 5

10. Sterlington                           2-3, 38, 10

Others receiving votes: Madison Prep 33, Jena 29, Erath 15, De La Salle 13, Pine 5, Iota 4, Lake Charles College Prep 4, Kaplan 1, Westlake 1.

Class 2A

School (1^st place votes), record, total voting points, previous ranking

1. Newman (8)                        3-0, 134, 1

2. Calvary Baptist (1)             3-2, 128, 2

3. Oak Grove (1)                     4-1, 118, 3

4. Dunham (2)                         5-0, 117, 4

5. Ouachita Christian               5-0, 94, 5

6. Catholic-New Iberia            4-1, 84, 6

7. Mangham                             4-1, 52, 10

(tie) Lafayette Chrisitan           1-4, 52, 7

9. Episcopal-Baton Rouge        4-1, 50, 8

10. Ferriday                               5-0, 47, NR

Others receiving votes: Pope John Paul 24, Union Parish 12, Notre Dame 20, Kinder 2, DeQuincy 1.

Class 1A

School (1^st place votes), record, total voting points, previous ranking

1. Vermilion Catholic (11)      5-0, 143, 2

2. Haynesville                          5-0, 126, 3

3. Southern Lab (1)                  3-1, 124, 1

4. Ascension Catholic              2-1, 51, 8

5. Riverside                              2-2, 74, 4

6. St. Martin’s                           4-1, 62, 5

7. Catholic-Pointe Coupee        4-0, 60, 10

8. Covenant Christian                5-0, 54, NR

9. Kentwood                               3-2, 51, 6

10. Opelousas Catholic               4-1, 41, 7

Others receiving votes: Ascension Episcopal 33, St. Edmund 30, Jeanerette 19, Logansport 12, St. Frederick 10, Hamilton Christian 1, North Iberville 1.

The Alexandria Museum of Art invites the public to celebrate their signature arts event, the Farm to Forest Plein Air Festival. This multi-day festival will bring artists to Central Louisiana to paint “en plein air” – outdoors! Artists from around the country will be arriving in Alexandria to capture the beauty of its everyday surroundings. 

The festival will be held from Thursday, October 10, 2024, 10am to Sunday, October 13, 2024, at 4pm, at the Alexandria Museum of Art. The final events of the festival – the Palette Party Awards and Final Sale – will be held on Sunday, October 13, 2024, at 4pm. 

More information on the festival can be obtained at farmtoforestpleinair.com or by calling Catherine McCrory Pears at 318-443-3458.

Arrests are accusations not convictions.

October 3

Christopher Johnson, 50, Ville Platte — OWI 1st, speeding, 12:05 am, $1,100 bail.

October 4

Troy Nasello, 47, Alexandria — OWI 1st, improper lane usage, 4:42 am, $1,100 bail;

Casey White,18, Florien — OWI 2nd, open container, seat belt violation, careless operation, 8:20 pm, $1,800 bail.

October 5

Jerry Baker Jr., 53, Alexandria — OWI 1st, open container, improper lane usage, texting while driving, 2:06 am, $1,300 bail;

Jacob Burnett, 29, Soddy, TN — OWI 1st, open container, speeding, expired MVI, contributing to delinquency, possession/purchase

alcohol by minor, illegal possession stolen things, 7:31 pm, $2,800 bail;

Christopher Constantine, 28, Pineville — OWI 1st, improper driving on left, 3:28 am, $1,100 bail. 

October 6

Edward Hicks, 21, Effie — OWI 1st, speeding, 2:52 am, $1,100 bail;

Tylor Sylvester, 32, Alexandria — OWI 1st, wrong way on one-way, open container, resisting, 9 pm, $1,800 bail. 

Arrests are accusations not convictions. 

October 6

Kenshala Bowers, 20, Alexandria — battery on police officer, disturbing peace, $1,259 bail:

Randy Perry, 42, Alexandria — aggravated battery, contempt, $2,500 bail.  

This date: 8 arrests, 6 including one or more contempt counts and 3 with previous arrest. 

September 21, 1961 – October 5, 2024

A Memorial Service, celebrating the life of Daniel G. “Danny” Hebert, Jr., will be held at 11:00 a.m., Saturday, October 19, 2024 in the Chapel of Hixson Brothers Funeral Home, Pineville, with Pastor Robby Poole officiating.

Visitation will be held Saturday, October 19, 2024 at Hixson Brothers Funeral Home, Pineville, from 9:00 a.m. until time of service.

Danny, age 63, entered eternal rest on, October 5, 2024 at CHRISTUS St. Francis Cabrini Hospital, in Alexandria.

Born on September 21st, 1961, he spent his life serving others. Danny never met a stranger, and loved to share his faith in Jesus Christ with all he encountered. Danny had a head strong, no quit attitude, which was a necessary characteristic for all he endured in his life. Danny always carried his burdens, though life was not easy, and always found a way to help others carry theirs. “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” 2 Timothy 4:7

He was preceded in death by his mother, Billie C. Hebert.

Those left to cherish his memory are the mother of his children, Debbie Beaubouef Hebert; his children, Samantha Dupuy (Terry), Katie Williams (Kyle), Lorali Hebert, and Bradford Hebert.

His pride and joy were his 6 grandchildren, Leah Ducote (Gavin), Laken Dupuy (Ean), Hayden and Makynzi Bonnette, and Kade and Kylie Williams; 3 great-grandchildren, Kalani, Stella, and Tag, along with a host of other family members and friends.

The family would like to thank the Doctors and Staff of Cenla Heart Specialist of Cabrini for their dedication to Danny throughout his career, also to his loyal employee, Kenny, for his service for over 20 years.

In 1962, 24-year-old junk dealer Luigi Lo Rosso was clearing out the cellar of a villa on the southern Italian island of Capri.  As with anyone who is tasked with this sort of cleaning, Luigi had three basic categories of items; things to keep, things to throw away, and, most difficult of all, things he was unsure of.  Luigi usually took only a few seconds to decide where to place each item.  Then, Luigi found a rolled-up canvas.  He quickly unrolled the painting and glanced at a distorted image of a woman.  Luigi noticed a signature in the top left corner but did not recognize the artist’s name.  As quickly as he had unrolled it, he rolled it back up.  He placed it in the keep pile and kept sifting through the items in the cellar.  Once finished with the task, Luigi returned to his home in Pompeii with the items he had deemed good enough to keep.  He sold some of the items, usually “for next to nothing,” but not the distorted paining.  He bought a cheap frame to hold the painting and mounted it to the wall.  Luigi’s wife was less than impressed.    

Two years later, Luigi and his wife had a son they named Andrea.  As the boy grew up, he was always aware of the painting because his parents argued about it regularly.  There were times when the family considered getting rid of the hideous painting.  They considered throwing the painting away.  “My mother didn’t want to keep it,” Andrea explained.  “She kept saying it was horrible.”  For some reason, the painting remained there on the wall of the Lo Rosso home.  One day, Andrea’s aunt gave Andrea an encyclopedia of art history.  Andrea immediately thought about the horrible painting on their wall.  He flipped through the book and found a similar painting of a distorted lady.  It appeared that the painting shown in the encyclopedia was of the same lady in the painting that had hung on their wall for decades.  The paintings were not identical but had noticeable differences.  The title of the painting in the book was “The Buste de Femme.”  Andrea learned that the painting was a distorted image of the artist’s mistress, a French photographer and painter named Dora Maar.  Andrea looked at the top left corner and realized that the signatures were almost identical.  Andrea kept telling his father that the paintings were similar, and the signatures were similar, but Luigi remained unconvinced. 

As the years turned into decades, Andrea remained curious about the painting.  In 1999, the painting Andrea saw in the book, “the Buste de Femme,” was stolen from a luxury yacht belonging to Saudi billionaire Sheikh Abdul Mohsen Abdulmalik Al-Sheikh.  Andrea thought about the painting that still hung on his family’s wall.  Twenty years passed.  Then, in March 2019, after a four-year search, Arthur Brand, known as the “Indiana Jones of the art world,” found and returned the stolen painting.  Again, Andrea thought of the painting that his father had found all those years ago. 

Andrea took the reins and sought the advice of the experts at the Arcadia Foundation, a company which specializes in attributions, restorations, and valuations of art works.  Cinzia Altieri, a handwriting expert working at the Arcadia Foundation, confirmed the signature on the painting. After an intense investigation, Luca Marcante, president of the Arcadia Foundation, concluded that the painting that Luigi found amongst the junk in that cellar in 1962, which hung on Luigi’s wall in a cheap frame for more than six decades, is an original, authentic painting by Pablo Picasso.  Its value has yet to be determined.

Sources:

1.     Angela Giuffrida, “Painting found by junk dealer in cellar is original Picasso, experts claim,” The Guardian, October 1, 2024, accessed October 2, 2024, https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2024/oct/01/painting-found-by-junk-dealer-in-cellar-is-original-picasso-experts-claim.

2.     “Stolen Picasso portrait of Dora Maar found after 20 years,” BBC, March 26, 2019, Accessed October 2, 2024, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-47704194.

By JIM BUTLER

A majority of GAEDA board members are asking the district attorney and/or the legislative auditor to recover funds they claim were inappropriately and improperly paid to the board’s former attorney.

John Callis, with a letter of support from Greg Upton, John Carroll and Chris Patel, also uses that assertion as basis of a complaint to the State Board of Ethics against board members Curtis Lewis and Paula Katz and a bar association complaint regarding attorney Tiffany Sanders.

The filing is the latest salvo between members new to the board and those of longer tenure, indicating detente sought by the administration and others may be on shaky ground.

At issue is $9,025 paid Sanders for hours billed after she was fired at an April 25 board meeting. Some of the hours were prior to that, some after, records indicate.

The complaint alleges Sanders refused to accept the termination and billed for nine additional hours, at $250 per, of work after the separation.

On April 30, the record shows, GAEDA received a bill from Sanders. On May 2, Upton via email, told Acting Director Angela Varnado she had no authority to process or pay legal bills, which were to be forwarded to him for board meeting agenda action.

A few days later, with no intervening board session, the complaint asserts, Varnado processed a check payable to Sanders, then signed by Lewis and Katz, for $9,025, covering billings before and after her termination. The unauthorized work, the complaint notes, amounted to about $5,000.

That check was issued, the complaint says, without board knowledge or approval, and not discovered by the petitioners until July.

On May 23 the board rejected 3-4 a motion by Lewis to hire Sanders in a temporary basis. The same four had voted to fire her.

Varnado, promoted to executive director in mid-February at a meeting since ruled in violation of the state public meetings law, has since served as acting director.

The reconstituted board is beginning a search for a director to succeed the one who retired for medical reasons on December.

On Thursday, October 3, at approximately 2:54 p.m. the Alexandria Police Department responded to a fatal crash in the 1400 block of MacArthur Drive, which occurred in a parking lot. The incident involved a single vehicle, whose driver experienced a medical episode, rendering him unconscious while behind the wheel. 

Tragically, the vehicle struck two pedestrians. One pedestrian was immediately transported to a local hospital for treatment. Sadly, the other pedestrian, identified as 79-year-old Merry S. Smith, was pronounced deceased at the scene. 

This is an ongoing investigation, and more details will be shared as they become available. 

If anyone has any information about this incident or any other type of crime in the Alexandria area, please contact the Alexandria Police Detective Division at the phone number 318-441-6416, or APD Dispatch (318) 441-6559. You may also email information to detectives at: APDDetectives@cityofalex.com. 

For a cash reward, call Crime Stoppers of CenLa at (318) 443-7867. The Crime Stoppers P3 Tipster App can also be downloaded to leave tips and get a claim number for a cash reward at p3tips.com/community/mobile. 

On Saturday, October 5, at approximately 12:30 PM, officers from the Alexandria Police Department responded to reports of a shooting in the 300 block of Harold Glenn. Upon arrival, officers discovered two individuals who had sustained gunshot wounds. Both individuals were promptly transported to a local hospital for treatment. Their injuries are reported to be non-life-threatening.

The incident is currently under investigation, and the Alexandria Police Department is asking anyone with information related to this case to come forward. No further details are available at this time.

If anyone has any information about this incident or any other type of crime in the Alexandria area, please contact the Alexandria Police Detective Division at the phone number (318) 441-6416, or APD Dispatch 318-441-6559. You may also email information to detectives at: APDDetectives@cityofalex.com.

For a cash reward, call Crime Stoppers of CenLa at 318-443-7867. The Crime Stoppers P3 Tipster App can also be downloaded to leave tips and get a claim number for a cash reward at p3tips.com/community/mobile.

The Rapides Parish Police Jury has announced a Community Job Fair at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Branch of the Rapides Parish Library on Wednesday, October 23, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The event is being hosted by Police Juror Ernest Nelson, who is the District D representative and the Workforce Development and Grants Committee chairperson, and will bring local employers to connect with job seekers in District D. The event is a collaboration between the Police Jury and The Louisiana Workforce Commission. 

For more information or questions, please contact 318-767-6030. 

By BRET H. MCCORMICK, Journal Sports

Senior Travis Adams scored a career-high five touchdowns as Tioga’s offense erupted in a 65-26 victory over Jena last Thursday night. 

Adams rushed for 241 yards and four touchdowns and also scored on a 2-yard touchdown pass from junior Cace Malone, who completed 18 of 19 passes for 247 yards and two touchdowns. 

Tioga coach Kevin Cook said his team’s performance Thursday night was “definitely right there” among the most efficient offensive performances during his tenure. 

The Indians threw just one incomplete pass in the game, averaged 9.5 yards per carry and didn’t punt against the Giants.

“You can’t argue with that,” Cook said. 

The two teams traded touchdowns in the first quarter as Jena’s Daniel Hatcher scored the first of his two touchdowns before Adams’ touchdown reception. Following a 1-yard touchdown by Kenny Ponthier and Hatcher’s second score, the game was tied at 14 in the second quarter.

That’s when Tioga’s nearly-flawless offense took over. 

Malone connected with junior Kervin Johnson for a 34-yard touchdown, and Adams broke free for a 45-yard run to put Tioga ahead by two scores. Ethan Bridges’ 27-yard field goal as time expired gave the Indians a 31-14 lead at the half. 

Adams added 51-yard and 16-yard TD runs in the third quarter sandwiched around Malone’s 22-yard touchdown, and what was a close game early became a blowout with a 52-14 Tioga lead. 

“Right before halftime we caught some momentum, and that’s not something they could overcome,” Cook said.

Adams added his fifth and final touchdown, a 9-yard run, early in the fourth quarter as the Indians won their second consecutive game. 

Buckeye scored on its first and last drive of the second half to add to two first-half Kolt Vercher touchdowns as the Panthers defeated Menard, 27-20, to win the Squirrel Bowl last Thursday night. 

Vercher scored on 7- and 3-yard runs in the first half to counteract two Menard defensive touchdowns and even the score at 14 at halftime. Austin Parra returned an interception 25 yards for a score, while Sam Brocato scooped up a fumble and raced 70 yards for a score. 

Kadin Grimmett gave Buckeye a 20-14 lead when he hit Haidyn Boone on a 24-yard touchdown, but Menard answered to tie the score on a 2-yard QB keeper by Jake Vaughn.

The game remained tied the entire fourth quarter until the Panthers struck the final blow in the final minute as Grimmett pulled and kept on an option read, then ran off the right tackle for a 9-yard touchdown with 31 seconds remaining. 

Peabody (2-3) fell behind in the first quarter of its Homecoming contest against Washington-Marion, but the Warhorses’ offense righted the ship en route to a 37-12 victory on Saturday. 

Senior Larry Roberts III tossed three touchdown passes, including two to star senior TJ Hullaby, who followed up last week’s standout performance in which he scored five times in the first half. 

“TJ is an exceptional talent,” Peabody coach Harry Coleman said. “He runs routes well. He catches good. He’s got exceptional speed. TJ is a ball player, man. You can’t deny him. You’re going to have to double or triple him.”

After Washington-Marion scored early in the fourth quarter to cut the Warhorses’ lead to 23-12, Peabody pulled away thanks to Roberts’ second TD pass to Hullaby and a TD pass from senior James Lucas to Tru Martin. 

Jacob Miranda didn’t get double-digit tackles for the first time this season, but he made up for it by scoring his first touchdown to lead Pineville to a 32-20 Homecoming win over Red River.

Miranda, the Rebels’ star senior safety, scooped up a third-quarter fumble and scampered 50 yards into the end zone as the Rebels opened up a 32-12 lead and held on for the victory.

Carter Smith tossed two first-quarter touchdowns to senior Landon Grimes, and Ayden Tate added a second-quarter score to give the Rebels (3-2) a 20-12 lead at the half. 

Tate added a second rushing TD in the third quarter and finished with 121 yards on 20 carries. 

Alexandria Senior High made easy work of winless Many in a 69-7 Homecoming victory to improve to 5-0 on the season. 

JT Lindsey rushed for 125 yards and three touchdowns as the Trojans scored on their first seven possessions of the first half. Karsen Sellers completed 9 of 12 passes for 142 yards and four touchdowns, including a 58-yarder to Alex Fontenot to start the second half. 

The Trojans got touchdowns from seven different players in the game. 

Junior quarterback AJ Butler and sophomore tailback Tyler Bowman scored three touchdowns each to lead Northwood-Lena to a 52-0 Homecoming victory over Tensas. 

Bolton fell to 0-5 on the season with a 46-8 loss to Grant. 

Journal Sports contributor LaMar Gafford assisted with this report. 

The Louisiana Christian University football program tasted defeat on its Wildcat Field turf for the first time since September 25, 2021, a span of 14 games and 1,106 days, against the Aggies from Oklahoma Panhandle State on Saturday, with the ‘Cats throwing incomplete into the end zone as time expired in a 48-40 setback.

The Wildcats led 31-27 at halftime, but Panhandle State had a 21-9 advantage afterward although LCU had a big offensive output – 36 first downs and 606 total yards.

The visitors burned their hosts with three long plays: a 75-yard Jamarian George touchdown run to cut into a 24-14 LCU second-quarter lead, then two pivotal TDs in the second half. After an early Wildcats field goal in the third period, Draylon Robinson raced 96 yards with the kickoff to draw Panhandle State even at 34. Five minutes later, George galloped 57 yards to put the visitors ahead to stay, 41-34.

Down 48-40 (due to a blocked extra point after LCU’s last TD with just over four minutes left), the Wildcats took over at their own 35 inside two minutes to go and moved to the OPS 27, but two passes fell incomplete to end the game.

Louisiana Christian dipped to 1-4 overall and 1-2 in the Sooner Athletic Conference. Oklahoma Panhandle moved up to 3-2 overall and 3-1 in the Sooner.

LCU’s Daylon Charles had a first half for the ages, rumbling for 120 rushing yards and a career-high three touchdowns while averaging 7.5 yards per tote before the break, ending the afternoon at 156 yards from scrimmage (140 rushing and 16 receiving).

Taevion Cunningham did most of his damage in the final 30 minutes against the Aggies, totaling a career-best 151 yards on the ground for a pair of scores, one of which being a personal-long 59-yarder which was critical to his 7.2 yards per carry line.

ASH product EJ Scott, fresh off his record-breaking 10-catch, 270-yard outburst at Wayland Baptist, followed that up with another 100-yard showing. The freshman topped the wideout corps at eight receptions and 104 yards, tacking on 17 rushing yards as well.

River Thompson connected on a career-best 60 percent of his attempts, going 24-for-40 and 269 passing yards. But he suffered three interceptions, one that started a scoring drive by the visitors.

Trace Williams doubled his career catch total coming into the tilt with OPSU, bringing in six balls for 59 yards while Ethan Christman caught a career-most five passes for the exact same amount of yardage.

David Voorhies III registered his first multi-pass breakup outing as a Wildcat with two, and forced his second fumble of the campaign. The lockdown defensive back and owner of a PBU in 16 straight contests, Pop McGhee, added one more batted ball to his resume and fell on top of the pigskin that Voorhies III popped free, the first recovery of his storied career.

Levi Hilborn drilled both of his field goal attempts from 35 and 33 yards away in addition to touchbacks on three of the seven kickoffs by LCU.

Jermarian Jackson went for a season-high five tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss, a half-sack and he added a QB hurry.

Brody Page has emerged as a disruptive force on the opposite side of Logan Brimmer, notching a personal-best of four tackles and 1.5 TFLs plus his second sack of the season while Brimmer picked up his first game with multiple TFLs in 2024 at two plus a quarterback hurry.

Khalil Brisco recorded his third takedown behind the line of scrimmage and second sack in game number five, Dwayne Scott took down the signal-caller for his first career half-sack in addition to five total tackles, and Jaden Jones once again led the defense in ballcarriers brought down to the ground with six.

Next, the Gridiron Cats travel to Stafford, Texas in the Houston area for a non-conference game against North American University, at 3 p.m. Saturday.

While Louisiana Christian University welcomed many international students who traveled thousands of miles to attend college this semester, few traveled as far as new mathematics faculty member Dr. Ashar Ghulam.

Ghulam moved this summer from Lahore, Pakistan, his hometown of more than 13 million residents, of whom are more than 96% Muslim, to live in Pineville, a town of 15,000, and work at a Christian university.

To say his life has changed seems to be more than just a bit of an understatement.

However, Louisiana itself was not new to him or his family.

Ghulam, who was raised in a Christian family, studied at Forman Christian College University in Lahore when it was run by Government. Previously this university was run by Presbyterian missionaries. He earned his master’s from the University of the Punjab, also in Pakistan.

He spent a few years teaching mathematics in high schools. Then in 2003, martial law was declared, and the Army took over. The government had previously taken over control of the Forman Christian College University, Lahore and eliminated the role of the Christian missionaries.

“The head of the Army, he was a former student, and he helped the missionaries regain control of the Institute, and it was returned to the Presbyterian missionaries,” Ghulam said. “At that time, they were looking for faculty, and I joined there.”

He worked there from 2003-2010, when he applied for and was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to study at LSU. He earned his Master of Science and Ph.D. in mathematics while he was there.

Ghulam, along with his wife and three children spent several years in Baton Rouge while he was studying. It was his first time in America, he said.

“The first six months were very hard,” Ghulam said. “I was alone, but when my wife and kids arrived things got better.”

His oldest child, Isaac Ashar, was 5 then. He is now a freshman studying computer science at LCU. (It is common practice in Pakistan to give the son the most commonly used name of his father as his last name).

Ghulam said finding a church with a good fellowship was central to his happiness in his new home. It was there he met U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, who was a U.S. representative at the time. Cassidy was his oldest son’s Sunday School teacher.

However, he returned to Pakistan in 2016. A condition of the Fulbright Scholarship program is that recipients must return to their home country for at least as long as their scholarship lasted.

In 2024, a position opened at LCU, and with the reference of Sen. Cassidy, and his exceptional credentials, his family made the move back to Central Louisiana.

“Dr. Ghulam was for over 20 years a professor at Forman Christian College in Lahore, Pakistan near the border with India,” said Vice President of Academic Affairs Dr. Henry O. Robertson. “As a Christian committed to Jesus Christ, he worked there faithfully and was a blessing to his students. His students are working and getting higher education in different parts of the world. He has worked for the Higher Commission of Pakistan(HEC), also. He is widely published, cited dozens of times, and has been a presenter at international conferences. We welcome Dr. Ghulam and his family to the LCU family and value the stature he brings to the mathematical field here on this campus.”

Ghulam said the biggest challenge is the increased use of technology in the classroom. Student behavior is also different, but having taught in graduate school at LSU, he was accustomed to American students.

The software that Americans universities use is considered quite costly in Pakistan, he said. But he is learning and willing to learn even more new things.

On the personal side, he said he finds the food in Louisiana to be milder than he is used to eating. Even though Cajuns are known for their heat, Pakistani and Indian food has much more kick. So he said they are learning to like ‘mild’ flavors.

Isaac said the biggest difference for him is the lack of shopping here.

“In Pakistan, there are corner shops everywhere,” he said. “Overall, I like living in Pineville, it’s just much smaller than I am used to.”

But that’s just fine with them.

“I’m comfortable here,” Ghulam said. “And my son is happy here. It is God’s plan that we are here, and it was not easy to come here from our country to be here for work. We are starting a new life here, with more opportunities for our children.”