By LEE BRECHEEN, Louisiana Football Magazine
For the first time in 21 years, no Shreveport-Bossier school remains in the LHSAA football playoff semifinals.
Hopefully you can still enjoy my two cents on predicting who will make it to the Superdome for the Prep Classic next week. I made my picks from the standpoint of seeing all the remaining teams at least once this season, either in person or on tape. Here we go!
Division IV Select: No. 1 Vermillion Catholic plays host to St. Martin’s (New Orleans) in Abbeville, but I see No. 4 St. Martin’s surprising VC. St. Martin’s has a RB who I don’t think can be stopped. Remember Harlem Berry, a sophomore. He runs a 4.4 40-yard dash, is a superior athlete and is going to be at or near the top of Louisiana’s Class of 2025. I’ll also predict right now: he becomes an LSU Tiger.
Monroe powerhouse Ouachita Christian, the third seed, meets Ascension Catholic (10). I will go with another upset, Ascension Catholic on the road in Monroe in a close game.
Division III Select: No. 8 University Lab in Baton Rouge just pounded No. 1 Newman in New Orleans (49-13) and many believe the Cubs are on their way. Up next is another Baton Rouge team, Dunham (4). Last week I said the Calvary-Dunham survivor would win it all. Since the summer, I’ve thought Dunham was on that path. The Tigers lived up to billing last week and will again.
Tradition-rich Notre Dame of Crowley meets St. Charles Catholic (2) from Laplace. Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame coach Lewis Cook has the Pioneers (3) primed. Notre Dame, right now, is the better team.
Division II Select: Here’s another team coached by a Louisiana Sports Hall of Famer, another one of the winningest coaches not only in our state, but in the entire country. Jim Hightower’s top-ranked St. Thomas More Cougars from Lafayette face E.D. White (4) from Thibodaux, who edged Evangel a couple of weeks ago. I think the only difference here is homefield. STM will prevail in front of their 8,000-plus fans.
Talk about a crosstown rivalry, this is it. Also in Lafayette Friday night, it’s Teurlings Catholic (2) against Lafayette Christian Academy (6). All the players grew up on the same side of town, some in the same neighborhood. I am taking Teurlings in an upset (even though they are ranked higher).
Division I Select: Here’s a big-time matchup in the large school division. New Orleans’ Brother Martin (13) has five losses, but impressively bounced Northwood last Friday. Carencro (8), just north of Lafayette, is another powerhouse program. Even though Carencro is seeded higher, I think Brother Martin has a better team and more talent.
We have a heavyweight fight in River Ridge between John Curtis (2) and Baton Rouge Catholic (3). The Bears are going for their sixth straight trip to the state championship game. Curtis — with 26 state championships — has another Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame coach, the great J.T. Curtis, who will next year become the winningest high school football coach ever in America. His Patriots are talented – ask Byrd’s Yellow Jackets, who saw first-hand last Friday — but Catholic is the team to beat in this division. The Bears overpowered Edna Karr, the the most talented team in the state, last Friday.
Division IV Non-Select: Lots of people hope for a rematch of one of the state’s most tradition-rich rivalries between Claiborne Parish neighbors. Both are hosting their semifinal games Friday.
Haynesville coach David Franklin should get the Class A Coach of the Year award. The Golden Tors (5) are rebuilding but have battled their way into the semis. Hence, I’m taking the more talented Oak Grove Tigers (8), also a young team from near Monroe.
In the other semifinal, 12 miles south in the parish seat, it’s an even matchup between two more north Louisiana teams, Mangham (3) and defending state champion Homer (2). Both have skill and size. I am going with Mangham on the road. The Dragons are loaded with a big senior class and their most talented team in years. This should be a great game.
Division III Non-Select: I am taking the running game of top-seeded Many, and the Tigers’ homefield advantage, over a talented St. James (4) club.
Union Parish (3) and the state’s career rushing king, LSU commit Trey Holly, benefits from being at home and will hold off a talented Amite (7) squad that won a state title by outslugging Many last year.
Division II Non-Select: Dennis Dunn has won many state championships at Evangel. Now he has a real contender at North DeSoto (4). In a close game, I like the Griffins on the road upsetting No. 1 Iowa (FYI, you say it Eye-oh-WAY) from 20 minutes east of Lake Charles.
I am going with West Feliciana (2), from the outskirts of Baton Rouge, at home over a pretty talented Lutcher (6), from the banks of the mighty Mississippi. This will be a Cajun country showcase.
Division I Non-Select: In the big boy matchups of Class 5A, the game of the week in the state is at Hoss Garrett Stadium just off I-20 in Ruston. I am taking the home team, Ruston’s Bearcats (1), with their massive defensive line to slow down Zachary (5) and Alabama commit Eli Holstein, a dynamic QB. I don’t believe the Broncos will be able to contain the Bearcats’ attack, strong up front and talented at every skill position.
Destrehan (3) looks like a college team off the bus and plays like one, and should top a very talented Westgate team (10), another defending state champ.
Next week, I’ll predict the Prep Classic state championships.
Contact Lee at lbrecheen@aol.com