By MATT VINES, Journal Sports
The actual playoffs may still be two weeks away, but a few teams are in ‘must-win’ mode to keep their postseason hopes alive.
We’ll take a look at games featuring one or both teams who have a lot riding on tonight – whether that be for a playoff spot or for a first-round home playoff game.
As a reminder, Select division brackets include 24 teams and eight first-round byes while Non-Select divisions have 28 teams and four first-round byes.
Want to look at any number of playoff scenarios on your own? Try the new predictive Football Powerboard tool at Louisiana VS All Yall.
Huntington (2-6, 2-2) at Benton (4-4, 2-3)
The classic must-win scenario, but not for you think.
Benton is on the outside at No. 31 (D-I Non-Select) and the Tigers will almost surely need wins against both Huntington and Southwood to punch their ticket.
The Raiders are currently in at No. 23 (D-I Select) having won two of their final three games, but Huntington would feel more secure with at least one win against either Benton or Natchitoches Central (0-8, 0-4).
Lose both, and Huntington might just lose the final spot to a surging Byrd bunch they edged earlier this month.
The Raiders scored a huge win against Captain Shreve this past week (28-21) and want to keep the good feels going after an 0-5 start that included four losses of 20 points or more to a power-packed schedule, ended by a heartbreaker in the final minute to a ranked Class 4A Franklin Parish bunch.
Need a little extra spice for this one? Benton coach Stephen Dennis built Huntington into a District 1-5A contender and regular playoff participant in his eight seasons. He moved across the Red River after the 2024 season.
Now he’s trying to return Benton to that status as the Tigers have missed the last two postseasons.
Byrd (1-7, 1-3) at Parkway (4-4, 2-2)
The Yellow Jackets are sitting at No. 26 (D-I Select), but the math isn’t as bad as one would think.
One win against either Parkway or Captain Shreve is likely to push the Yellow Jackets in, but The Hive doesn’t want to put it all on the rivalry that is Byrd-Shreve.
Byrd is coming off its first win of the season against a Pop Houston-less Evangel, and wants to continue the pain for a Parkway bunch that has lost three of its last four.
Christian Maxie has a shot at more history, needing 18 points to tie Byrd’s all-time career scoring record. He already owns the career rushing mark at 4,126 yards and could surpass Byrd’s single-season rushing mark of 1,845 yards (Brandon Nightingale). Maxie has 1,561 yards, including 210 yards and three touchdowns this past week against Evangel.
A playoff berth could certainly help assure he reaches all of those marks.
But Parkway is in a more interesting situation. The No. 20 Panthers could play themselves into a home playoff game with wins against Byrd and Airline (6-2, 3-1).
Or the Panthers may be biting their nails to get in at all with two losses.
Beat Byrd, and Parkway will know it at least has a postseason spot locked up.
The Panthers led East Ascension (7-1) at the half (25-21) before another challenging second half allowed one to slip through their paws (48-32 loss).
Parkway has lost second-half leads to Captain Shreve, EA, and nearly Loyola this year, while a competitive game against Dunham turned into a blowout with a poor second half.
Woodlawn (0-8, 0-4) at Bossier (3-5, 1-3)
The Knights are mathematically out of it at No. 41 (D-II Non-Select), but the No. 33 Bearkats (D-II Non-Select) might just claw their way in.
Bossier will need this victory and tons of help, or this victory and a monumental upset of undefeated North DeSoto (8-0, 3-0).
That’s difficult without quarterback Montrevell Lewis, but the Bearkats did handle Southwood (34-12) without him. They are 1-5 since his leg injury.
Woodlawn does have three losses within one score – Carroll (20-14), Minden (21-14) and Southwood (28-22).
Airline (6-2, 3-1) at Evangel (4-4, 3-1)
Both teams have home playoff spots up for grabs, and a win for either might just tie the knot.
No. 15 Airline (D-I Non-Select) is on the inside track, and a win against either Evangel or Parkway may be enough.
The funny thing about D-I Select is that it’s top heavy, so even at No. 19, Evangel may just need one win to get a first-round home game.
The Eagles are still in the district mix despite their slip against Byrd, and wins against Airline and Haughton to end the season will clinch Evangel at least a share of the title.
They’ll likely have to do it at least one more week without quarterback Pop Houston (shoulder). Freshman Briggs Berlin played admirably in relief this past week, completing 16 of 26 passes for 225 yards and three touchdowns with two interceptions.
But Evangel missed Houston more as a runner as the Eagles struggled to help Berlin on the ground.
North DeSoto (8-0, 3-0) at Booker T. Washington (6-2, 2-1)
The Lions check in at No. 14 (D-II Select), and a win either against North DeSoto or Minden will mean a home playoff game.
But in the power ratings, only one team below BTW has a winning record, and only one other team has a .500 record.
Meaning the power points alone from losses to North DeSoto and Minden might be enough to keep BTW with a home game.
BTW is a team that North DeSoto has historically struggled with more than other district opponents not named Northwood, but the Griffins have hammered everybody on the schedule this year and are coming off 78 points against Franklin Parish.
Contact Matt at matt.vines@lsus.edu