JOURNAL STAFF
Round 2 of the LHSAA football playoffs tonight includes home action for three of the most explosive teams in the Shreveport-Bossier Journal coverage area, while Loyola heads to Baton Rouge after a smashing victory last week.
12-St. Paul’s (7-4) at 5-Northwood (8-2)
Where: Jerry Burton Stadium
Series: First meeting
Last week: St. Paul’s beat Holy Cross 24-21; Northwood had a bye
Rankings: Northwood received votes in the LSWA’s 4A poll
All-time playoff record: St. Paul’s 13-25; Northwood 11-25
Radio: Northwood (Miracle 89.1 FM, http://69.64.65.171:8192/kflo)
Notables: Head coach Austin Brown is counting on his team’s postseason experience to be a factor. Northwood has played in 12 playoff games in the last five years. “And when you look at who we’ve lost to, it’s some of the best teams in the state,” he said. Carencro, Warren Easton and Edna Karr are three of the teams to knock out the Falcons . . . Former Northwood head coach Jim Gatlin will serve as honorary captain for the Falcons this week . . . Brown has reminded his team — often — on what to expect from St. Paul’s. “The message this week is that this is a disciplined, (Class) 5A team. Everybody they put on that field is going to do what they are supposed to do. You don’t always see that in the regular season. They won’t make one single mistake all game long. We just have to be better than them in matchups that favor us” . . . Northwood running back Quintavion Brown has rushed for 1,054 yards and 19 touchdowns . . . Quarterback Mason Welch has thrown for 1,647 and is the school’s No. 2 career passing leader . . . Northwood has won its opening playoff game six times in its last eight playoff appearances.
12-Northlake Christian (8-3) at 5-Calvary (8-2)
Where: Jerry Barker Stadium
Series: First meeting
Last week: Northlake Christian beat Houma Christian 40-7; Calvary had a bye
Rankings: Calvary is 5th in the LSWA’s Class 2A poll
All-time playoff record: Northlake Christian 4-12; Calvary 33-14
Radio: Calvary (The Promise 90.7 FM, http://69.64.65.171:8192/kflofm2)
Notables: The Cavaliers carry a seven-game win streak into Friday’s matchup. Calvary allowed a total of seven points in its past three games … the Cavaliers are 33-14 all-time in the postseason and have won at least one playoff game for 16 consecutive seasons. The only time they didn’t win at least one postseason game was their first attempt (lost to Crescent City in first round of 2005 Class A playoffs).
11-Loyola (6-4) at 6-Episcopal (9-1)
Where: Memorial Field at Episcopal Stadium, Baton Rouge
Series: First meeting
Last week: Loyola beat St. Thomas Aquinas 61-14; Episcopal had a bye
Rankings: Episcopal is No. 9 in LSWA’s 2A poll
All-time playoff record: Loyola 33-37-2; Episcopal 15-25
Radio: none
Notables: The Flyers have not won a playoff game in South Louisiana since shocking Riverside (Reserve) in the 1994 semifinals … Loyola hasn’t beaten a higher-seeded team since 2008, when the Flyers did it twice … Quarterback Cooper DeFatta has gone for 1,000 yards passing and has either thrown or run for 23 of Loyola’s 40 touchdowns this year … Linebacker Gray Deason’s 118 tackles are the most by a Flyer since 2018 and is 41 more than the next leading tackler … Running back Trace Wall is now in the Flyers’ Top 15 in career rushing with 1,690 yards … Last week’s 170 yards allowed on total defense was the fewest all season and the 432 yards in total offense was five away from the most all season.
10-Parkview Baptist (9-2) at 7-North Caddo (7-3)
Where: Sanders-Prudhomme Stadium, Vivian
Series: First meeting
Last week: Parkview beat Menard 31-0; North Caddo had a bye
Rankings: Parkview received votes in LSWA’s 3A poll; North Caddo received votes in LSWA’s 2A poll
All-time playoff record: Parkview 57-23; North Caddo 4-17
Radio: North Caddo (KNCB 1320 AM, K104 FM)
Notables: Coach Johnny Kavanaugh had a new experience last week managing the bye week and waiting to find out who his Titans would play in the second round. “I wasn’t sure about it at first,” Kavanaugh said. “It felt odd. It was a new experience, but it helped us heal up. We had fun with it, too. We had a Titan Bowl on Thursday where our younger players, who don’t get much playing time got in full gear and played a game. Our seniors served as assistant coaches. It was a lot of fun” … When Kavanaugh and his staff watch film of Parkview Baptist there are several takeaways. “Their linebackers are the strength of their team,” Kavanaugh said. “Their inside the box defense is talented. They are very good on special teams. They have a kicker who can kick it out of the back of the end zone and kick long field goals. That is something we don’t see much. Overall, their size is a factor. They are much bigger than we are” … The best environment the Titans have seen at Sanders Prudhomme Stadium this season was their game with Calvary. It was their homecoming game and 2,700 people were in attendance. It was the largest crowd coach Kavanaugh has seen in his five years in Vivian. He is hoping Friday’s second-round playoff game — only the second home second-round playoff game in school history — exceeds the Calvary game in terms of attendance. “I’m a little worried about the cold weather,” Kavanaugh said. “When the weather gets cold during hunting season it has a tendency to keep people away. We will have plenty of coffee and hot chocolate. I think it will great environment for high school football.”
