High School on SI recaps the first round of the Louisiana high school football playoffs. Check out the surprises and noteworthy bi-district games.
Barbe didn’t look like an underdog at No. 7 Northwood-Shreveport, blowing out the Falcons 49-21 for its fifth straight win. LSU baseball commit Jordin Griffin rushed for 260 yards and six touchdowns, according to Lee Hiller of The Shreveport-Bossier Advocate.
That sends the No. 26-seeded Buccaneers (6-5) into the regional at No. 10 West Monroe, its heated rival in baseball. Back in 2012, Barbe rallied from a 42-21 deficit after three quarters to edge the Rebels 49-48 in the Class 5A football semifinals.
Westgate, one of our sleeper picks, destroyed Airline 49-14 in a rematch of last year’s regional won by the Vikings. The No. 16-seeded Tigers cruised to a 43-7 halftime lead and held LSU four-star receiver commit Kenny Darby – who played quarterback much of the game – to 2-of-8 passing for nine yards with two interceptions and 35 yards on nine carries.
Sophomore QB Noah Antoine passed for 220 yards on six completions and four touchdowns, according to statistician Aaron Comeaux. Brock Mitchell ran for a score and caught a 58-yard TD pass. Cayden Lancelin caught two passes (both TDs) for 86 yards. The Tigers (7-4) travel to No. 1 Ruston in a rematch from two years ago.
Westgate coach Ryan Antoine / Mike Coppage
The bracket gods didn’t do Acadiana any favors. After a hard-fought victory over District 3-5A rival Carencro in Week 10, the Rams had to play the Bears again. Fortunately for coach Doug Dotson, Acadiana was up to the task in taking its second single-digit win over the No. 19-seeded Bears (6-5). It was the eighth straight win for Acadiana (8-3), which will take on No. 3 St. Augustine (9-1).
Our first regional upset pick in this bracket is No. 11 Archbishop Rummel (7-4) over No. 6 Tioga (8-2). The Raiders beat Holy Cross 24-3 in the first round. and in district prevailed 24-0. Catholic League programs like Rummel have owned Class 4A schools since the divisional playoff format was created. Two weeks ago, Tioga gave up 61 points to Franklin Parish.
St. Paul’s hammered No. 24 Pineville 56-7 to set up a second-round game at No. 8 Evangel Christian. The No. 9 Wolves (9-2) will put their talented secondary against the state’s premier passer in ECA 2027 QB Peyton Houston.
Division II Nonselect
-No. 21 Wossman and coach John Diarse eliminated No. 12 Minden 35-14. The Wildcats are 5-6, although one of its losses was a forfeit of a Week One win over Bastrop. The south Monroe school makes the trip to No. 5 Plaquemine (10-1), which blanked Livonia 55-0 and hasn’t lost since Week One (to Zachary).
-Harry Coleman nabbed his first playoff wn as Opelousas head coach. The No. 19 Tiger, who aren’t far removed from a Division II nonselect state title, shut out No. 14 Pearl River 13-0 and will be at No. 3 Belle Chasse (9-1).
Division II Select
-No. 17 Northside beat No. 16 Landry in 27-20. Landry was coming in hot with a win over John F. Kennedy, but coach Jacarde Carter’s Vikings would not be denied despite oming into the game on a three-game losing streak. QB Chace Dugas scored the winning TD. Peyton Boyd sealed the deal with an interception. The Vikings (6-5) will travel to No. 1 St. Charles Catholic (9-1).
Peyton Boyd, Northside / Mike Coppage
Division III Non-Select
-No. 5 Erath vs. No. 12 Union Parish is one of the most interesting round two matchups in Division III nonselect. The 11-0 Bobcats are having their best season ever. On Friday, Union Parish pulled away from No. 21 Rayville to advance 41-18. The Farmers will bring a rich pedigree of postseason success (three state titles) to Vermilion Parish. A few years ago, Union knocked off another Vermilion Parish team (Abbeville) on the road in the Class 3A quarterfinals.
Erath coach Eric LeBlanc / Mike Coppage
-In more Vermilion Parish news, No. 20 Kaplan claimed a 33-18 win at Pine to set up a second-round game at No. 4 Kinder (10-0). Pirates coach John Thompson is in his first year after serving as an assistant at Vermilion Catholic.
Division III Select
-A Division III select second-round game to keep an eye on wil be No. 18 De La Salle at No. 2 Notre Dame. Both teams played a tough schedule. Notre Dame’s only losses are to 10-0 Teurlings Catholic and 9-1 Lafayette Christian, the No. 2 and No. 1 seeds in their divisions. De La Salle has won five of six games after an 0-5 start. The Class 3A Cavaliers lost by one point in district to John F. Kennedy and routed No. 15 Episcopal 45-14 on Friday.
-Another D3 select game that looks like a great matchup is No.. 10 Amite at No. 7 Lafayette Renaissance. which will move up from Class 2A to Class 4A next year. Amite, a Class 3A school with a long history of success, thumped No. 23 Cohen 59-20. LRCA is in only its second year of playoff contention. Tigers’ quarterback Kennan Brown (2027) is nearing the 40-TD passing mark.
-Reigning D3 select champion Catholic New Iberia got five rushing touchdowns from Owen Morris, who had to move from RB to quarterback after senior Xander LaBauve was injured in the No. 9-seeded Panthers’ 52-0 win over No. 24 Glen Oaks. Catholic NI is at No. 8 Bunkie (9-1) next.
Division IV Non-Select
-No. 1 Haynesville (10-0) will host arch-rival No. 16 Homer in Division IV nonselect. The Golden Tornado and the Pelicans had their longstanding rivalry profiled more than 40 years ago in the Louisiana Life magazine. Homer (6-5) edged No. 17 Franklin by one point (21-20).
-Other Division IV nonselect second round games to watch include No. 11 Elton at No. 6 North Iberville and No. 12 Welsh at No. 5 Logansport. Will the favored Bears be able to contain Elton tailback Makelin Lemoine? Welsh (5-6) is an upset pick to win by Hayden Lessard of Louisiana HS Football. The Class 2A Greyhounds are out of the powerful District 6-2A (Lafayette Christian, Notre Dame, Lafayette Renaissance).
-No. 16 Opelousas Catholic drilled No. Ascension Catholic 35-7 in Division IV select. The Vikings (7-4) have been shorthanded with injuries to running back Royce Butler and four-star WR Roderick Tezeno. Next week, they’ll have a rematch at district rival No. 1 Westminster Christian-Opelousas (10-0). Mac Proffitt kicked a last-minute field goal in the Crusaders’ 24-22 win over Opelousas Catholic during the regular season.
-Westminster Christian-Lafayette won its first playoff game ever. Coach Kent Gable and the No. 20 Chargers, who have been rolling behind the running of 2026 Gavyn Hebert and 2029 Pierce Gable, upset a tough No. 13 Sacred Heart team. Next up will be another District 5-1A foe in No. 4 Catholic Pointe Coupee.
-The Division IV select bracket has more fascinating matchups, puncutated by a showdown of blue-blood small schools No. 10 Southern Lab vs. No. 7 Ouachita Christian. A couple of years ago, the Kittens returned an interception for a score in waning moments of a semifinal win over OCS. No. 8 Covenant Christian vs. No. 9 St. Edmund is another must-see.
-Also in D4 select, No. 11 Kentwood comes to No. 6 Ascension Episcopal in a second-round matchup from last year. The game was close when Ascension Episcopal QB Brandon Mitchell left with injury. Kentwood went on to win handily. The Blue Gators have Mitchell and underrated prospect DJ Kelly on the roster again. Kelly was sidelined by injury in Week One last year.
DJ Kelly, Ascension Episcopal / Mike Coppage
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