BATON ROUGE - Rick Gaille's valiant battle against cancer has come to an end. Gaille, who coached St. James high school to 169 career wins and three LHSAA state championship appearances, was diagnosed with cancer just a year ago. 

Gaille's sister Linda wrote in a Facebook post, "My brother Rick Gaille was a magnificent coach and competitor. Today he took his last breath after a battle with cancer. The struggle is over and he is finally at peace."

Gaille spent 19 years as St. James head coach before stepping following the 2010 season. He compiled a 169-72 overall record with the Wildcats.