By Shannon Wright
As the final seconds ticked off the clock in Hicks Tuesday night, the high school basketball careers of the last two members of Doyline’s State Championship team came to an end.
The final score of 64-55 was not in Doyline’s favor but the numbers on the scoreboard are no reflection of the hard work and dedication of these two seniors over the last few years.
“It’s been a great pleasure watching them mature from kids to outstanding young men on and off the court,” said assistant coach Rod Clark.
Damarion “Tamp” McLendon and Zach Normand were both 7th graders on Doyline’s State Championship team and finished their high school careers with an impressive 153-21 record, 6 District Championships and a State Championship ring.
From that championship season to their final game Tuesday night against No. 5 Hicks on the road, in the second round of the LHSAA Boys Basketball playoffs, these two young men have had an experience that most players never will.
Not only is their overall record incredible but they were both coached by their fathers – Michael Normand, head coach, and Rod Clark, assistant coach.
“Being coached by my dad has been both a blessing and a curse,” Normand said. As the son of the head coach, he said he felt added pressure to make sure his teammates, and everyone else, knew he wasn’t just given his position because of who he was, but he had worked hard and earned that position.
Being a senior came faster than expected for McLendon and it hasn’t been easy, but he said, “It’s even more exciting having my pops alongside of me throughout my high school journey.”
Not only have these two been held to high standards by their dads, but they have been on the team so long that they’ve played with some of the best to come through Doyline. They saw firsthand the work ethic of players like Decari Markray and Juicy Clark.
“I think some of that stuck with them,” Normand said. “Tamp and Zach have been great leaders for this team. I really hope the younger guys on the team paid attention to their work ethic because they were the guys that never missed workouts, never skipped out on drills and also gave everything they had during practice and games.”
With a start like theirs, this may not have been the ending they would have hoped, but neither they nor this young team went down without a fight.
The Panthers fell behind quickly by 16 points in the first quarter, so they had to work their way out of that hole. With only 3 players having any playoff experience, the playoff jitters may have ruled the first six minutes of the game. They came out in the second half with determination and ended up closing that gap to only 9 points.
“I’m proud of the heart our team showed to fight their way back into the game,” Normand said.
The Panthers were led by Tamp McLendon, with 13 points and Sophomore, Jay Patterson, with 25 points but Freshman, Isiah Key stepped in and put up 8 points and Zach Normand got 5 on the board.
The No. 12 seed Panthers ended their season 22-9.
