NEW ORLEANS — The LHSAA prep football playoffs are slated to begin on Friday, and many area teams have their eyes set on a trip to the Caesar's Superdome in December.
Many of the larger private schools in New Orleans will appear in the Division I select bracket. Warren Easton is the top seed in a bracket that includes third-seed John Curtis, fourth-seed St. Augustine, and seventh-seed Edna Karr, all of which have a bye in the first round. Karr is ranked seventh as a result of forfeiting their first three games of the season.
Notable first round matchups in that bracket include 12-seed St. Paul's facing 21-seed Holy Cross, as well as all-Jefferson Parish matchup between 15-seed Rummel and 18-seed John Ehret. 19-seed Jesuit will travel to face 14-seed Huntington, and 23-seed East Jefferson will travel to Baton Rouge to face 10-seed Scotlandville. The lowest-seeded team in the Division I Select bracket is 24-seed Riverdale, who will take on perennial state powerhouse Acadiana, the ninth-seeded team.
The Division I non-select bracket features undefeated Destrehan as the third-seed, as well as seven-seed Slidell and 26-seed Hammond who will face off in round one. 16-seed Hahnville, 23-seed Belle Chasse, 24-seed Covington and 25-seed Ponchatoula feature in this bracket.
The Division II select bracket features local powers E.D. White and De La Salle, as well as local teams Archbishop Shaw, Kennedy, Archbishop Hannan, Carver, Booker T. Washington, Douglass, Livingston Collegiate, McDonogh 35, Helen Cox, L.B. Landry and Vandebilt Catholic, many of whom face off against one another in round one.
Only a handful of local teams appear in the Division II non-select bracket. District foes 14-seed Lakeshore and 19-seed Albany will matchup in round one. Sixth-seed Lutcher and 24-seed Pearl River also appear in this bracket.
The Arch Manning-led Newman Greenies are the top seed in the Division III select Bracket, while district rivals and reigning state champions St. Charles Catholic are the second-seed. Country Day, Sophie B. Wright, M.L.K. Charter, Patrick Taylor, Thomas Jefferson, Northlake Christian, Houma Christian and St. Thomas Aquinas are other local teams appearing in this bracket.
Bogalusa is the highest-seeded local team in the Division III non-select bracket, and they will have a first round bye as the second seed as will fourth-seeded St. James. Reigning state champion Amite is the seventh-seed, and Franklinton-based Pine appears as the eighth-seed. Jewel Sumner, South Plaquemines and St. Helena College and Career are the remaining local teams, with the latter two facing off in round one.
The Division IV select bracket only features two local teams, St. Martin's Episopal and Riverside, while the Division IV non-select bracket only features one local team, top seeded Kentwood.
Each bracket can be found here.
