[12/5/01]St. Aloysius guard Justin Williams, one of the team’s top scorers, has left the school and transferred to McCall High in Tallulah.

Williams, who lives in Tallulah, said the combination of evening practices and the commute were hurting his academic performance.

“That was the main reason, really,” Williams said. “I didn’t get a chance to do as much homework and my grades were slipping.”

Williams was quickly turning into a two-sport star for the St. Al, averaging about 15 points per game in basketball after enjoying a breakout season in football.

The fullback led the Flashes in rushing, gaining 919 yards and seven touchdowns on 136 carries.

“We hope this is a good move for him, but we’re going to miss him,” St. Al football coach Jim Taylor said. “It just means that other kids will have to work harder, and it will give other kids a chance to play some.”

Williams said he plans to play both sports at McCall, which has advanced to the Louisiana Class 2A football playoffs each of the past two seasons and won the Class 2A title in basketball last season.

St. Al basketball coach Paul Hayden said he was surprised by the decision he didn’t learn of it until Monday afternoon, after Williams had already transferred but both Hayden and Williams said that there were no hard feelings.

“We left on good terms,” Hayden said.