By DOUG IRELAND, Journal Sports
Some of the top contests this week involving local teams could have big impact on LHSAA power rankings that determine playoff byes and pairings.
Haughton’s visit to Airline Friday in a battle of District 1-5A co-leaders is a high stakes game in the rankings as well as putting the winner closer to the district championship.
After beating Byrd 43-33 last week, the Bucs (7-0) remained No. 8 in Non-Select Division I. The top eight teams after 10 weeks in all eight divisions get first-round playoff byes.
The Vikings (6-1), who have won three straight, are 14th, in position to host a first-round playoff game.
Another local unbeaten, Green Oaks (6-0), was open last week but due to results of the Giants’ opponents, didn’t fall out of No. 2 in Non-Select Division II. The Giants actually closed the gap between them and No. 1 Jena.
Undefeated Calvary (7-0) remains fifth in Select Division III and has a big power points game ahead. The Cavaliers step away from their dominance of District 1-2A and head to New Orleans to play the No. 1 team in Select Division II, Archbishop Shaw, which has a slight edge (13.92-13.87) in power points over Calvary.
Loyola (4-3) got a forfeit win over Carroll and edged above the bye line, moving up a spot to No. 8 in the same division.
Parkway moved up four spots, to 21st, in Non-Select Division I.
The biggest jump was by a red-hot Northwood team, which soared nine slots forward, to 23rd in Non-Select Division II on the strength of blowout wins the last two weeks over district foes Booker T. Washington and Minden.
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 seven weeks for all 19 local teams, along with the top-ranked team in each division statewide (rankings movement in parenthesis):
NON-SELECT DIVISION I
1 (no change), Barbe, 14.59; 8 (no change), Haughton, 13.13; 14 (down 1), Airline, 11.63; 21 (up 4), Parkway, 10.61, 31 (down 1), Benton, 8.77.
SELECT DIVISION I
1 (up 1), Edna Karr, 15.71; 13 (down 1), Captain Shreve, 11.02; 16 (down 1), Evangel, 10.42; 25 (down 1), Huntington, 8.16; 27 (up 1), Byrd, 6.74.
NON-SELECT DIVISION II
1 (no change), Neville, 16.67; 23 (up 9), Northwood, 10.77; 34 (down 1), Bossier, 9.12; 41 (no change), Woodlawn, 5.67.
SELECT DIVISION II
1 (no change), Archbishop Shaw, 13.92; 14 (no change), Booker T. Washington, 11.51; 25 (no change), Southwood, 8.45.
NON-SELECT DIVISION III
1 (no change), Jena, 14.73; 2 (no change), Green Oaks, 14.31.
SELECT DIVISION III
1 (no change), Notre Dame, 15.48; 5 (no change), Calvary, 13.87; 8, (up 1), Loyola, 12.81; 30 (up 2), North Caddo, 7.72; 34 (down 1), Magnolia School of Excellence, 6.29.
NON-SELECT DIVISION IV
1 (up 1), East Feliciana, 15.06; 41 (no change), Plain Dealing, 6.83