JOURNAL SPORTS
Calvary and Dunham, two semifinal underdogs who won on the road Friday night, will square off for the first time in three years in the LHSAA Select Division III state championship game that will kick off Thursday night at 7 in New Orleans at the Caesars Superdome.
Calvary, the sixth seed, knocked off No. 2 Notre Dame Friday night 34-28 in overtime in Crowley.
A half-hour east in Lafayette, fifth-seeded Dunham got a two-point conversion with 1:46 to go and then finally stymied No. 1 Lafayette Christian Academy to claim a 49-48 shocker.
The Cavaliers-Tigers championship contest will be the last of three games on the first of three days in the LHSAA’s Allstate Sugar Bowl Prep Classic.
Three years ago, the teams met in Baton Rouge on a rain-soaked field Nov. 25, 2022, in a state quarterfinal, won by Dunham 50-35.
Calvary went unbeaten the next season, winning the 2023 state title 34-28 in its first Superdome appearance by rallying past St. Charles Catholic, making a fourth-and-1 stop at midfield with 44 seconds left and five plays later getting the winning 20-yard Abram Wardell to Kolby Thomas touchdown with 18 seconds to go.
Last year, Calvary was on the verge of a return trip before Catholic-New Iberia pulled off a stunning 33-31 victory at Jerry Barker Stadium in a semifinal contest, scoring a touchdown with 1:02 left, converting an onside kick and a fourth-and-10, and getting the decisive field goal with a second left.
Dunham, the top seed, reached the 2024 state finals but Catholic staged a goalline stand in the last minute by intercepting Tigers’ sophomore star Elijah Haven in the end zone on fourth down to prevail 31-28.
The state championship schedule and semifinal results:
2025 LHSAA ALLSTATE SUGAR BOWL PREP CLASSIC
Caesars Superdome, New Orleans
THURSDAY
Non-Select Division IV Final
No. 1 Haynesville (13-0) vs. No. 2 Mangham (11-2), noon
Select Division IV Final
No. 5 Ascension Catholic (11-2) vs. No. 2 Riverside (11-1), 3:30
Select Division III Final
No. 5 Dunham (12-1) vs. No. 6 Calvary (12-1), Thursday, 7 p.m.
FRIDAY
Non-Select Division II Final
No. 1 North DeSoto (13-0) vs. No. 2 Iowa (13-0), noon
Non-Select Division III Final
No. 1 Jena (12-1) vs. No. 2 Sterlington (11-2), 3:30 p.m.
Select Division II Final
No. 1 St. Charles (12-1) vs. No. 7 Shaw (9-4), 7 p.m.
SATURDAY
Non-Select Division I Final
No. 1 Ruston (11-2) vs. No. 14 Ouachita (10-4), noon
Select Division I Final
No. 1 Edna Karr (13-0) vs. No. 3 St. Augustine (12-1), 3:30 p.m.
FRIDAY’S SEMIFINAL SCORES
Select Division III
(5) Dunham 49, (1) Lafayette Christian 48
(6) Calvary 34, (2) Notre Dame 28, OT
Non-Select Division I
(1) Ruston 21, (13) Zachary 17
(14) Ouachita 14, (2) Neville 7
Non-Select Division II
(1) North DeSoto 58, (5) Plaquemine 44
(2) Iowa 28, (3) Belle Chasse 21
Non-Select Division III
(1), Jena 30, (12) Union Parish 6
(2) Sterlington 63, (3) St. James 24
Non-Select Division IV
(1) Haynesville 47, (4) Jeanerette 6
(2) Mangham 48, (3) South Plaquemines 14
Select Division I
(1), Edna Karr 17, (4) Catholic-BR 10
3) St. Augustine 31, (2) John Curtis 29
Select Division II
(1) St. Charles 34, (4) University 27
(7) Shaw 27, (6) Vanderbilt Catholic 0
Select Division IV
(5) Ascension Catholic 45, (1) Westminster Christian 14
(2) Riverside 42, (6) Ascension Episcopal 14