By LEE BRECHEEN, Louisiana Football Magazine
Thanksgiving is special for the teams around the state who have reached Round 3 of the LHSAA football playoffs, the quarterfinals, with every team still alive looking ahead at the dream come true of playing for a championship in the Superdome three weeks from now.
Four Shreveport-Bossier teams are in the hunt. Most media around the state are picking against all four. I live in Baton Rouge, but between traveling the state in the spring and catching games all season long either in person, on a stream or a replay, I see a lot of high school football. I like two local teams to reach the semifinals with “upset” wins Friday night.
In Division 1 Non-Select, No. 6 seed Parkway hosts 14th-seeded Ouachita Parish, located on the east edge of Monroe, playing out of powerful District 2-5A.
Ouachita has one of the best defenses in the state and one of the very best players, tackle Dylan Berryman (6-2, 325), who is built like an All-Pro player and plays like one.
Parkway will counter with one of the most underrated offenses in Louisiana led by senior quarterback Kaleb Williams, a very accurate passer, who has a lot of skill surrounding him, like the versatile Tony Gladney and a very talented Gary Burney at receiver.
The Panthers’ defense is very good as well, and needs to be at its best Friday night. Ouachita has one of the fastest players in Louisiana in RB/WR/KR Macario “M.J.” Dade Jr. (5-7, 160) who runs a legit 4.3 in the 40 and has run 10.22 in the 100 meters, fastest in Louisiana last spring.
After seeing both teams play, I believe it will come down to special teams and whoever plays a cleaner game. Avoiding penalties and limiting turnovers will win this game with two really good defenses battling all night. I am going with Parkway in a nailbiter at Preston Crownover Stadium, in one of the best defensive games in the state this week.
The Division I Select contest of local interest sends No. 8 Evangel to New Orleans to play No. 1 Edna Karr. The Cougars are undefeated in their last 24 games. Karr is built like a college Division 1 football team with a ton of prospects and a 33-man senior class.
Karr QB John Johnson, who recently committed to Washington State, had six total touchdowns passing and running in the last playoff game against a really good Jesuit Blue Jays team. Johnson has close to 10,000 total yards in his career.
Evangel’s dynamic QB Pop Houston, committed to LSU for the Class of 2027, has over 4,500 total yards and 52 touchdowns this year. He has a chance to go over 10,000 total career yards in the next game and still has another year of high school left. The Eagles have some top-quality receivers, and college prospects up front on both sides along with LB/FB Damari Drake.
This game will come down to Evangel, which has a Class 2A enrollment but is playing up in 5A, overcoming less depth than Karr and being able to match a nationally-ranked team score for score.
If anyone could pull off the upset it would be Evangel and the explosive offense they have. I expect a high-scoring game but Karr will be tough to beat because if they don’t blow you out, their depth wears down everybody they play.
The other game being played locally, along with Parkway in Bossier City, is the Division II Select contest hosted by second-seeded Loyola against defending state champ Archbishop Shaw. This will be the Flyers’ toughest test yet.
I think Loyola will score some points but stopping No. 7 Shaw will be tough because of its big, athletic offensive line. Shaw is as athletic on both sides of the ball as anyone Loyola has faced.
But I see some Messmer Stadium magic. I am taking Loyola in a close game because they are at home and they have one of the best offenses in Louisiana led by junior QB Bryce Restovich.
The Division III Select game sending Calvary to Jewel Sumner is a really fascinating matchup. Calvary is in the quarterfinals every year, it seems. This is the first time ever for Jewel Sumner.
I think the coaching honors at the end of the season should go to the Calvary coaches if they can win this game. Two of the state’s best players not many have heard of in recruiting are Sumner’s RB/LB Jamohn Dyson (6-1, 195) who has 4.5 speed and LB/DE Collin Mack (6-1, 225) with 4.6 speed. QB Eli Neyland (6-4,195) runs the Cowboys’ Wing T like it should be done. This is probably the most talented offense Calvary has seen – and that includes Class 5A Neville.
Calvary has had a great year with a young team but this Sumner squad is a much more experienced team playing at home. I have seen both play and I will go with Jewel Sumner.
All three teams are still playing in adjacent DeSoto Parish. I expect unbeaten District 1-4A champ North DeSoto to move on, but don’t see Logansport or Mansfield making it past road games on Friday.
Contact Lee at lbrecheen@aol.com
(Lee Brecheen is the longtime publisher of Louisiana Football Magazine, covering all of the state’s high school teams each year since 1997. He’s been tracking high school recruits since 1992. Free content can be found at the website lafootballmagazine.com. Lee hosts a podcast with guests from around the state — The Sports Scouting Report with Lee Brecheen, available on YouTube).