De La Salle-St. Charles Catholic tops strong slate of New Orleans area games in Week 9

Three games with district championship implications top our top 10 games in the metro New Orleans area for week nine of the prep football season.

1. De La Salle at St. Charles Catholic—Friday, 7 p.m.
These are two of the top three teams in the Division II power ratings. It is hard to envision someone outside of De La Salle, University High, St. Charles Catholic or St. Thomas More winning the state title in this division. Will Lloyd Nash return? Can the Comets defense stand up to the punishing running attack of the Cavaliers? Will De La Salle continue to dominate? No one has done a better job than Ryan Manale but Frank Monica is a legendary coach.

2. McDonogh 35 vs. Warren Easton—Friday, 7 p.m. at Tad Gormley Stadium
These are clearly two of the top five teams in the state in Class 4A, if not two of the top four. The Roneagles dominated the Eagles 32-7 a year ago. This is a matchup featuring two of the best quarterbacks in the area and state in Lejohn Howard and Lance Legendre. It is a two-week gauntlet for the Eagles, who follow up by facing Karr in week 10.

3. Rummel vs. John Curtis—Friday, 7 p.m. at The Shrine on Airline on CrescentCitySports.com and Cox Sports Television
This has become a great rivalry between two storied programs. The game has lost a little luster with Rummel losing two straight. The Raiders are decimated on offense, having lost Dwan Trufant, Koy Moore and Jackson Dennies, likely for the year. They played without their two best offensive linemen a week ago. More importantly, their defense is not the same dominant force that we have seen for years. Curtis remains dominant on defense and Collin Guggenheim is making plays in the rushing and passing game. Curtis is a clear favorite.

4. Holy Cross vs. St. Augustine—Thursday, 7 p.m. at Tad Gormley Stadium on WRBH 88.3 FM and WRBH.org
The Purple Knights still look like the second best team in the Catholic League with physical fronts on both sides of the ball. Both teams have very good defensive fronts. Scoring may be at a premium. Both teams are coming off of losses to John Curtis. Can the Tigers rebound from two straight losses and distractions? They are certainly capable.

5. Country Day at Riverside—Friday, 7 p.m.
Prior to the season, this looked like a potential district championship game, with all due respect to Newman. Instead, the two teams have combined for seven losses but are better than their records. Justin Ibieta must throw it well against the Rebels while Jordan Loving should throw it well against the Cajuns. It is all about who gets defensive stops in this one with the Rebels trending upward.

6. Salmen at Franklinton—Friday, 7 p.m.
These two teams have been the chalk in district play in recent years but both are taking a back seat to Lakeshore this year. Salmen simply knows how to win. Jerry Leonard’s squad has won close games all season long. The Demons have been a bit disappointing but have played a brutal schedule. The Spartans won a 34-33 thriller at home against the Demons on Oct. 5 in a non-district game. This one counts in league play.

7. St. Paul’s at Mandeville—Friday, 7 p.m.
Throw out the records. This is a great, heated rivalry which typically decides a district championship. That is likely not the case this season with Covington poised to take the title. Still, St. Paul’s is a good team coming off of a gut-check win over a solid Slidell squad. The Wolves need to win out to have a shot at a share of the 6-5A title. The Skippers are trending up, having won three of their last four games, righting the ship after the shock of their coach departing prior to the season.

8. Landry-Walker at West Jefferson—Thursday, 6:30 p.m. at Hoss Memtsas Stadium
While the Chargin’ Bucs are charging hard with five straight wins and are a prohibitive favorite, can the Buccaneers of Cyril Crutchfield put up enough resistance to make a game of it? The Bucs have won three of their last four games but have not beaten a good team. Landry-Walker is 19th in the latest 5A power ratings. Does anyone believe that? Does anyone want to play the Chargin’ Bucs in the opening round of the playoffs?

9. Loranger at Archbishop Hannan—Friday, 7 p.m.
The Wolves have won three straight games and have close losses to Amite, Ponchatoula and Salmen. They have been in tough. The Hawks came crashing to earth in a surprise loss to Albany a week ago, their first of the season. Can they rebound from the disappointment and keep their district championship hopes alive?

10. Jesuit at Destrehan—Friday, 7 p.m.
While Jesuit has been disappointing, the team is capable. The Blue Jays have lost to good teams in Warren Easton, St. Augustine, John Curtis, Rummel and Holy Cross. Can they build on a win against winless Shaw? The Wildcats have battled injuries at running back to win four straight since losing to Hahnville. What else what you expect from a Steve Robicheaux coached team? The home team is the favorite but it should be competitive.