![](../../../../../Volume%20X%202021-22/LWN%20LOGO%20RJ%20PNG.png) |
WE ARE ADAPTIVE
WRESTLING-SPECIFIC MEDIA |
|
Favaza ends an
eight-year drought for the Bulldogs |
LHSAA State
Wrestling Tournament |
Division I - 106
Pounds |
August 20th, 2023| Written by:
Staff Writer |
Place |
1st |
2nd |
3rd |
4th |
5th |
6th |
Podium |
![](../../Awards/Podiums%20Division%20I/D%20I%20Podium%20Thumbnails/D1%20106%201st%20Favaza_small.JPG) |
![](../../Awards/Podiums%20Division%20I/D%20I%20Podium%20Thumbnails/D1%20106%202nd%20Barnett_small.JPG) |
![](../../Awards/Podiums%20Division%20I/D%20I%20Podium%20Thumbnails/D1%20106%203rd%20Oubre_small.JPG) |
![](../../Awards/Podiums%20Division%20I/D%20I%20Podium%20Thumbnails/D1%20106%204th%20Finders_small.JPG) |
![](../../Awards/Podiums%20Division%20I/D%20I%20Podium%20Thumbnails/D1%20106%205th%20Cook_small.JPG) |
![](../../../../../Images/School%20Logos/St.%20Amant.jpg) |
Name |
Samuel Favaza |
Michael Barnett |
Anthony Oubre |
Michael Finders |
Alex Cook |
Johnny Laris |
School |
Fontainebleau |
Jesuit |
Brother Martin |
Airline |
Hahnville |
St. Amant |
Seed |
5 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
NS |
4 |
Record |
41-9 |
23-9 |
40-7 |
31-6 |
19-6 |
36-8 |
Class |
10 |
9 |
9 |
10 |
9 |
12 |
Fontainebleau high school had not won a Division I state championship since
Ethan Eisenhardt slipped past Lafayette's (and then Mizzou's) Rodrigo Diaz 3-2
in 2015. Sophomore Samuel Favaza put an end to that with a fall over
Jesuit's third-seeded Michael Barnett in 4:17.
The Division I seeding committee might not have known what to do with Favaza.
He had not competed at 106 lbs. all season. He did well at 113 lbs.,
winning the Bulldog Brawl at home, the Zachary Big Horse, the Titan Invitational
and the St. Tammany Parish Championships. His struggles came twice from De
la Salle's Dylan Duvernay (D3 1st x2), Jesuit's Bodi Harris (D1 1st),
Southside's Kael Reaux (x3), a split with Holy Cross' Vincent Vidacovich (D1
3rd) and an SV loss to Brusly's Braylin Poston (D3 5th). He had no
experience this season with any of his opponents in this event and the top four
seeds did well competing the vast majority of their matches at 106 lbs.
All of Favaza's opponents were also freshman, save St. Amant veteran Johnny
Laris, who was a senior. Oubre was no ordinary freshman, as should be
expected with the #1 seed, and after a Favaza takedown and three reversals, the
two went into a Sudden Victory period. A great Oubre shot was met with a
better Favaza counter, which he turned into a pin by spladle with 29 seconds
remaining.
The Blue Jay freshman Barnett, rather unbelievably, did not win a single
tournament in the 2022-23 season. He placed second at the Zachary Big
Horse, third at the Warrior Open, the Border Wars (no small feat, that) and
fifth at the Louisiana Classic. Winning this match would have relieved a
lot of Blue Jay angst. But just getting there was enough to avoid a tie
with Catholic. Well, not at the time, as a lot of post-semifinals efforts
helped just as much. Unexpected things happened to the Blue Jays in this
event. Some could be viewed as negative, some as positive, while others could be viewed as
"That just wasn't supposed to happen." No matter how one views them, it
worked.
Oubre wasted little time in earning third. Less than three minutes,
actually.
![](../../Match%20Photos/Division%20I/D1%20Photos%20Thumbnails/Cook%20Beats%20Straps_small.JPG) |
In December I recall telling Hahnville freshman
Alex Cook, while he was helping breakdown the Tiger Clash, "Don't let
the straps beat you," when he was having a little argument with the
straps for the mats. He won that argument eventually, albeit I
imagine he forgot that I photographed it. At the state
championships the Hahnville freshman lost in the first round to
second-seeded Michael Finders. He then won four straight matches
until falling to the top-seed Oubre in the consolation semifinals.
He faced the senior Laris in the match for fifth-place and won 7-2.
Do not expect Master Cook's first round match at the 2024 state
championships to be against the number-two seed. It well well may
contain the number-two seed, though. |
Early Championship Rounds
|
R1: (2) Michael Finders (AIR) pinned Alex Cook (HNV) in 2:50 |
|
R1: Micah Tran (CHL) pinned Kendall LeRay (BRD)
in 1:11 |
|
R2: (7) Holden Wempren (EA) pinned Jack Gabel BR) in 0:23 |
Back to Top
Quarterfinals
|
(1) Anthony Oubre (BM) pinned (8) Gavin Meadows (ZAC) in 1:36 |
|
(5) Samuel Favaza (FNT) defeated (4) Johnny
Laris (StA) 6-1 |
|
(3) Michael Barnett (JES) pinned (6) Scott Cascio (StP) in 1:06 |
|
(2) Michael Finders (AIR) pinned (7) Holden Wempren (EA) in 2:00 |
Back to Top
Semifinals
(5) Samuel Favaza (FNT) pinned (1) Anthony Oubre (BM) in 6:31 |
(3) Michael Barnett (JES) defeated (2) Michael
Finders (AIR) 14-4 MD |
Back to Top
Consolation Rounds
|
C2: Caleb Walker (SUL) pinned Drake Comeaux (ACA) in 2:33 |
|
C2: Brock Breaux (HC) defeated Caleb Walker
(SUL) 10-6 |
|
C2: Alex Cook (HNV) defeated Scott Cascio (StP) 12-8 |
Back to Top
Championship Consolation Rounds
(1) Anthony Oubre (BM) pinned (2) Michael Finders (AIR) in 0:31
to place 3rd |
Alex Cook (HNV) defeated (4) Johnny Laris
(StA) 7-2 to place 5th |
Back to Top
Finals
(5) Samuel Favaza of Fontainebleau pinned (3)
Michael Barnett of Jesuit in 4:17
Jesuit freshman
Michael Barnett was not supposed to be a big factor re the
Division I team championship, but he became one when he won his
semifinals match. He looked to be more of one after taking
down the fifth-seeded Fontainebleau sophomore Favaza. But
that only lasted about a minute. Favaza escaped with two
seconds remaining and owned the second two minutes 5-0, bringing
a 6-2 lead into the final two minutes. The memory of a true
sexagenarian is suspect at best, but it could not have been, of
all people, the Jesuit photographer who told the editor that
Favaza was a "pinning machine," or something of that nature.
Whoever it was, 43 seconds into the last period Favaza scored a
fall, and what might have been a Blue Jay cushion for the
Division I championship was taken away. |
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