Edna Karr captures tournament title

Published 6:30 am Friday, December 31, 2021

ST. MARTINVILLE — Edna Karr was crowned champion of the St. Martinville Senior High Darrel Mitchell Sr. Holiday Classic on Wednesday following a 44-35 victory over Breaux Bridge.

The tournament, which was previously called the Holiday Shootout, was played over four days and featured teams from across Louisiana. Many Teche Area teams were present, including Franklin, New Iberia Senior High, Westgate and, of course, St. Martinville Senior High.

Former longtime St. Martinville coach and tournament namesake Darrel Mitchell Sr. said the tournament was a great success, and having the event named after him was a humbling tribute to his years of service as head basketball coach.

“I thought it went well,” he said. “It’s nice, for all the work I put in this school since ‘82, it’s been a long time. It is definitely an honor.”

The championship game featured the 2019 4A state champions, Breaux Bridge High School, facing off against a talented Edna Karr team. The Cougars took an early lead as Breaux Bridge struggled to find their rhythm against taller and faster opposition.

Edna Karr nearly doubled Breaux Bridge’s points going into halftime with a 27-14 lead. The Tigers started the second half strong, scoring 6 unanswered points before Karr found its footing.

Tired bodies and tired minds on the Breaux Bridge team proved to be the difference in the fourth quarter, as Edna Karr forced mistake after mistake from the Tigers.

“In the first half I told the kids that they played amazing defense, especially in the second quarter when we held them to 3 points,” said Edna Karr coach Taurus Howard.

“I told them that their coach was going to get after his team and get them fired up. We knew they were going to go on a run, so we wanted to just absorb it and go on our own run.”

Howard said the tournament was a fantastic experience for his team and he plans for Karr to attend again in the future.

“I want to give a shout out to St. Martinville,” he said.

“We usually come here, but we haven’t in the past two or three years, but even back then they put on an excellent tournament. I told coach that we’re coming every year. They run a good tournament, they’re very hospitable. The quality of the teams is always very good.”