Best chance for lower seed upsets in week two of LHSAA select football playoffs

Last week, we hit on seven of nine upset special picks.

Let’s try again in week two, starting with the select brackets.

In Division I, all four games look pretty evenly matched and could go either way. This looks to be the most balanced class of the nine classes, at this point.

No. 9 Jesuit (5-4) is coming off of an impressive 35-6 win at No. 8 St. Paul’s Sunday. The Blue Jays have a very short week to prepare for a rematch with unbeaten top seed Brother Martin (7-0).

Back on Oct. 10, the Crusaders scored in the final minute to outlast the Blue Jays 45-42. Both defenses have improved a bit since then.

Brother Martin is simply exceptional on offense in all phases, with perhaps the best offensive line in the entire metro area. Both teams throw the ball well. As the top seed, Brother Martin is perhaps the team to beat in the class.

Some feel that the matchup pitting No. 5 Archbishop Rummel at No. 4 Catholic of Baton Rouge may feature the two teams playing the best in the class right now. You can listen to the game live on 106.1 FM and at www.nashfm1061.com Friday night from Memorial Stadium.

The Raiders (6-1) are improving weekly. The Rummel defense, which lost nine starters from last season’s state championship team, is fast and good. Rummel has good wins over John Curtis Christian, Division IV top seed Calvary Baptist and St. Augustine. Rummel handled Jesuit easily last week. The only loss was to Brother Martin (26-23).

The Bears (6-2) have reached four of the last five Division I state title games and they are at home Friday night at Memorial Stadium.

Catholic beat U-High, East Ascension and scored a big win over Acadiana, losing only to defending state champions Karr (34-31) and St. Thomas More (39-38). No team in the class has played a tougher schedule, aside from John Curtis.

The Bears and Raiders have played great games three times in the last five years in the playoffs, all of which went down to the wire.

Catholic kicked a field goal on the final play to beat Rummel 31-28 in the 2015 state title game. The Bears kicked a field goal in the final minute to edge the Raiders 13-10 in the 2018 state semifinals in Rummel coach Jay Roth’s final game. In 2019, the Raiders got a kickoff return for a score by Donovan Kaufman in the fourth quarter to beat the Bears 14-10 in the Division I championship contest.

No. 3 Byrd has gone unbeaten (8-0) and will host St. Augustine at Lee Hedges Stadium Friday night at 6 p.m.

The Yellow Jackets have good wins over Calvary Baptist, Haughton and East Ascension. Their ball control style is an issue for opponents.

St. Augustine (5-2) is a dangerous team.

The Purple Knights have a landmark win over Karr (27-26) and lost only to Archbishop Rummel and to Zachary.

A year ago, St. Augustine outscored Byrd 45-40 in New Orleans in the playoffs. This time, the battle of purple and gold will be in Shreveport.

It is unusual to see the number seven attached to John Curtis Christian.

The 26-time state champion Patriots (5-4), like Catholic, have played a killer schedule. Curtis has good wins over Landry and Jesuit and lost close games to Karr, Brother Martin, Archbishop Rummel and Acadiana. They are battle tested.

Scotlandville (6-0) will play Curtis in Baton Rouge at Mumford Stadium.

The Hornets have good wins over Zachary and Central. Scotlandville has a talented young quarterback and an exceptional defense, which has allowed just 57 points all season. Scotlandville reached the state title game in 2016.

Any of the four games could be won by the lower seed. That is how close it is. If we had to choose one, it would be going with a proven commodity in John Curtis.

In Division II, the top eight seeds are in the quarterfinals and form may well hold again.

It is hard to see De La Salle, St. Thomas More or University High losing, though Teurlings Catholic is a good, undervalued team at No. 5. The Rebels have played a very tough schedule in the toughest 4A district in Louisiana.

If there is a lower seed that has a chance to advance, it would be No. 5 E.D. White Catholic, who travels to No. 4 Archbishop Hanna.

The Cardinals (7-2) are a well coached team, always positioned properly. They have a big win over Donaldsonville and lost only to powers St. Charles Catholic and St. James. The Cardinal defense has allowed 21 or fewer points to eight of nine opponents.

The Hawks (6-2) are a similar animal, well coached, always positioned well. They have good wins over Bogalusa, Jewel Sumner and Dunham.

The only losses were to 5A Mandeville and Fontainebleau.

This is a matchup that appears nearly even, as the seeds would suggest.

E.D. White Catholic would appear to have the best chance of the lower seeds.

Division III is a predictable pick.

Once again, the No. 5 seed is the one to watch.

Lafayette Christian (6-1) is a defending state champion and still the team to beat in the class, despite being underseeded.

The only loss was to Class 5A top seed and defending state champion Acadiana (21-0) to open the season.

The Knights downed perennial power Notre Dame by 21 points, which tells you all you need to know.

This may be the best Episcopal team Travis Bourgeois has had.

The Knights (8-0) have pitched four shutouts and have good wins over Country Day, Dunham and Port Allen. Episcopal was particularly impressive against the Tigers, shutting out a solid team 43-0.

In Division IV, the team to watch for is No. 13 Cedar Creek.

The Cougars upset No. 4 Ascension Catholic 22-21 in the opening round and they are at home in the quarterfinals against No. 5 Southern Lab.

Cedar Creek (6-3) lost only to defending state champions Oak Grove and Ouachita Christian and fell by just a point to St. Frederick and have another good win over Minden.

The Kittens (4-3) are always good and are an talented, athletic team, once again.

The losses were to 5A Scotlandville and Central, along with to Riverside Academy.

This figures to be a very close contest.

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