By DOUG IRELAND, Journal Sports
Power rankings at the middle of the high school football season aren’t necessarily the best barometers of the pecking order for the LHSAA postseason.
But they provide clues.
That’s encouraging for Booker T. Washington (4-1), which moved into the Select Division II top 10 this week. The Lions climbed two spots from 11th to ninth. The top eight teams after 10 weeks get first-round playoff byes.
It’s also exciting for their rivals, the unbeaten Green Oaks Giants, who jumped two places to second in Non-Select Division III. Solidly in position for a bye, Green Oaks (5-0) has district tests against Homer and Calvary ahead, with a shot for a very favorable postseason draw.
Last week’s Loyola-Calvary collision wound up a walk-over for the Cavaliers, 52-24, despite the Flyers entering as the No. 3 team in Select Division III and Calvary three spots back. But Loyola’s much tougher first-half schedule kept the Flyers from spiraling downward, and in an ironic twist, Calvary climbed into a fourth-place tie with the team they overpowered last Friday night.
Another power ratings quirk showed up in Select Division I, where Captain Shreve entered its District 1-5A game against Evangel four slots ahead of the No. 17 Eagles in the power rankings. The order is reversed now following Evangel’s 46-0 blowout of the Gators.
Unbeaten Haughton didn’t move up after beating Parkway 55-36, standing pat at ninth in Non-Select Division I. The Bucs might slip next week despite winning, because they will play for the fourth time against a lower division opponent (St. Frederick).
The Select Division I standings present an interesting matchup Thursday when two 0-5 teams, Byrd and Huntington, meet in a 1-5A contest at Lee Hedges Stadium. Each squad almost broke through last Friday. They are tied in the 23rd position, just inside the playoff cutoff, at midseason.
The LHSAA power rankings system factors in game results, strength of schedule and to some degree, point differentials.
The power rankings after the end of the regular season set the playoff brackets in each division. In Non-Select divisions, 28 teams qualify; 24 go to postseason in the Select divisions.
Here are LHSAA power rankings through five weeks for all 19 local teams, along with the top-ranked team in each division statewide:
NON-SELECT DIVISION I
1, Barbe, 15.20; 9, Haughton, 13.20; 16, Airline, 11.60; 23, Parkway, 10.40, 29, Benton, 9.25.
SELECT DIVISION I
1, Archbishop Rummel, 16.00; 14, Evangel, 10.80; 17, Captain Shreve, 10.00; 23, Byrd, 8.00; (tie), Huntington, 8.00.
NON-SELECT DIVISION II
1, Neville, 16.80; 28, Bossier, 10.90; 34, Northwood, 8.40; 38, Woodlawn, 7.60.
SELECT DIVISION II
1, Patrick Taylor, 14.00; 9, Booker T. Washington, 12.40; 24, Southwood, 8.40.
NON-SELECT DIVISION III
1, Marksville, 15.20; 2, Green Oaks, 14.80
SELECT DIVISION III
1, Notre Dame, 16.00; 4, Loyola, 13.60; (tie), Calvary, 13,60; 32, North Caddo, 7.00; 35, Magnolia School of Excellence, 6.40.
NON-SELECT DIVISION IV
1, North Iberville, 14.80; 41, Plain Dealing, 4.90