By DAVID ERSOFF, Journal Sports
The LHSAA boys soccer state playoffs begin this week, with Shreveport-Bossier well represented among the traditional state powers, especially in Division III.
The Loyola Flyers earned the top seed in that bracket and the Bossier Bearkats are No. 3. They played to a scoreless tie at Bossier Monday night.
There are no first-round games that are a rematch of local teams playing during the regular season. Today’s bad weather might impact two local teams but both Airline and Evangel are playing in New Orleans where no heavy rain or storms are expected.
Captain Shreve opens the Division I playoffs at home Friday as the repeat champions of the Shreveport-Bossier Journal Coaches Poll of local teams.
Division I
No. 7-seeded Captain Shreve – No. 1 in the final Shreveport-Bossier Journal Coaches Poll — will host No. 26 Woodlawn of Baton Rouge Friday at 6 o’clock at Lee Hedges Stadium. If the Gators advance, they will face the winner of 10th seeded Brother Martin and No. 23 Airline.
The Airline-Brother Martin contest in the Crescent City kicks off at 4:30 today at LaFreniere Park.
No. 15 Byrd will host H.L. Bourgeois (18th seeded) Saturday morning at 10:30 on campus. If the Yellow Jackets advance they will likely go to New Orleans to play No. 2 Jesuit, likely to dispatch No. 31 Ponchatoula in the first round.
No. 20 Benton travels to No. 13 Lafayette, game date and time still TBA as of Wednesday evening. If the Tigers pull the upset, they will face the winner of No. 4 Catholic of Baton Rouge and No. 29 Destrehan
Division II
No. 16 Northwood will host No. 17 Riverdale Saturday at 6. The winner will probably collide with top-seeded Teurlings Catholic which hosts No. 32 Tioga in the first round.
Caddo Magnet, seeded 23rd, will travel to New Orleans for a meeting Friday at 3 agaisnt No. 10 Archbishop Rummel. The Mustangs aim for the upset and a shorter second-round trip to either No. 7 Prairieville and No. 20 Comeaux.
No. 27 Parkway heads to No. 6 Pineville for a Saturday 11 a.m. contest. A Panthers’ surprise would advance them against either No. 11 Ben Franklin or No. 22 South Terrebonne.
Division III
Friday at 6 at Messmer Stadium, top-seeded Loyola will host No. 32 Washington-Marion. Barring an upset loss, the Flyers will host the winner of the 16-17 matchup between De La Salle and Livingston Collegiate.
Another state championship contender, No. 3 Bossier, opens at home against No. 30 Buckeye on Friday at 5. A win moves the Bearkats forward against either 19th-seeded Minden or No. 14 Parkview Baptist.
Division IV
Calvary gets a home game and the 13th seed hosts No. 20 Lycee Francais de la Nouvelle Orleans at 3:30 Friday. The Cavaliers have a potential Round 2 matchup at No. 4 Ouachita Christian, which plays No. 29 Highland Baptist in the first round.
Evangel, seeded 23rd, has a 7 p.m. contest tonight at Pan Am Stadium in New Orleans against No. 10 Sarah T. Reed. Next would be likely be another trip south to visit No. 7 Covenant Christian, which has No. 26 Houma Christian to open the playoffs.
Gators rule final SBJ Coaches Poll again
Captain Shreve used a 2-0 victory over Loyola and a Monday night 1-1 tie against Byrd to repeat as champion of the Shreveport-Bossier Journal Boys Soccer Coaches Poll. They were voted at the top of the inaugural poll last season.
The question of settling the Nos. 2 and 3 spots was not answered as Bossier and Loyola played to a 0-0 draw Monday night at Bossier. The Bearkats and the Flyers have been flipping the second spot all season long. We could get the final answer in the state finals, with Loyola seeded first and Bossier at No. 3. In the SBJ poll, they finished, fittingly enough, tied for second.
The remainder of the Coaches Poll remained the same, despite a few results that could have resulted in changes. Byrd had a good finish, beating Benton 5-2 and the tie with Shreve got the Yellow Jackets closer, but not enough to crack the top three. Northwood survived a scoreless tie with Magnet to stay in the sixth spot.
Final 2025 SBJ Coaches Boys Soccer Poll
Rank Team (1st) Record Pts Last week
1 Captain Shreve (8) 17-5-4 62 1
T2 Loyola 16-2-6 47 2
T2 Bossier 15-6-2 47 3
4 Byrd (1) 12-5-3 41 4
5 Benton 11-11-1 27 5
6 Northwood 11-2-3 16 6
7 Airline 10-5-3 9 7
Also receiving votes — Magnet (1), Calvary (1), North DeSoto (1)
Contact David at dersoff@bellsouth.net
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