LAKE CHARLES – From Day 1 of the Dadrian Harris era at Red River High, Jomello McDonald said one message has been constant.

“Defense wins championships,” McDonald said after Red River eliminated No. 8 Donaldsonville in the Division III Non-Select boys basketball playoffs.

Turning defense to offense is why the No. 13 seed Bulldogs (23-14) are playing for a state championship.

Red River will attempt to add its first championship banner under its new name Saturday when the Bulldogs butt heads with No. 6 seed Marksville (21-16) at noon in McNeese State’s Burton Coliseum.

Fans who can’t make it in person can watch the action on the free LHSAA Network television app.

Despite Red River being a household name in the Top 28 with nine trips since 1999, no current Bulldog was on the last Red River team to make it this far in 2020.

Harris was an assistant on Keith Johnson’s staff that pushed to the Top 28 in 2018 and 2020, and now Harris has this program back in just his second season as head coach. He has made a total of four trips as an assistant and once as a player at Castor High.

“There has been a lot of work behind the scenes that has gotten us where we are now,” Harris said. “The players and coaches work extremely hard every day to be better in every aspect of the game we love so much.

“So yes, to build this program back up has been a journey that I would not have wanted to travel with any other group of young men. I don’t think many realize how hard it is to get (to the Top 28), and it’s an amazing feeling. But the job isn’t finished. We’re not satisfied with just going. I want to put my team in the best position to win the championship.”

Marksville has never won a state title, making its lone appearance in a 2005 blowout loss to Richwood.

The story was different in this semifinals as Marksville upended Richwood, 60-52, to reach the championship stage. Marksville also knocked off No. 3 Winnfield in the quarters, a team that beat Red River twice this season.

Defense is the most important factor as to why Red River is playing for a title, which would be the program’s fourth overall (three under Coushatta High in 11 championship appearances, the last in 1999). Red River made the title game in 2003 and 2006, both losses.

Red River trailed Donaldsonville with 3:30 remaining but used its defense and transition offense to end the game on a 14-4 run to skate to a 54-45 win.

The Bulldogs excel at making opponents execute in the halfcourt, either forcing turnovers or bad shots that lead to long rebounds and runout opportunities.

That component has been a key to Red River upsetting No. 4 Vinton, No. 5 Madison and No. 8 Donaldsonville, all away from home in the playoffs.

Defense travels.

“Coach tells us to work hard every day in the gym,” said McDonald, who scored 11 points in the semifinals while Warren Bowman scored a team-high 14 points. “We’re going to bust our tail and do the dirty work, and we did that.”

Much like Tuesday’s semifinal game, Red River had a slow start to its season.

But the Bulldogs were more than battle-tested, trading blows with teams like Class 5A Captain Shreve, Class 5A Airline, Class 4A Bossier, Class 2A Calvary Baptist, No. 3 Winnfield and District 3-2A champion Lakeview, who is playing for the Division IV Non-Select title today.

Red River split a season series with Richwood and lost a close matchup with No. 1 seed French Settlement, whom Donaldsonville took care of in the quarters.

While many may see the No. 13 seed and be surprised that Red River is still standing, the Bulldogs aren’t.

“We’ve stuck together, and we worked hard every day,” Harris said. “We lost a heart breaker to Ville Platte last year in the second round.

“Ever since that loss, we took that and ran with it. I’m so proud of these guys.”

A team that started the season 7-7 but has won nine of its last 10 games needs just one more win to hang its first championship banner as Red River High.

“It was hard, we started off really slow,” said Jayden Wells, who scored nine points. “We didn’t know what to do with everything.

“We hit a groove in late December, and we got here.”

 

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