Jesuit battles Shaw again, St. Aug takes on Byrd as state playoffs open Thursday

The LHSAA state football playoffs open Thursday night with the first two games of 93 to be played this weekend.

At Tad Gormley Stadium, Catholic League rivals Jesuit and Archbishop Shaw square off for the second time this season.

The sixth-seeded Blue Jays (6-4) handled the 11th-seeded Eagles 34-3 on Oct. 26 at Joe Zimmerman Stadium.

Jesuit is led by quarterback Grant Jordan, along with receivers Luke Besh and Luke Laforge. Defensively, the Blue Jays have a pair of excellent linemen in Sonny Hazard and Ethan Branch.

The Eagles (3-7) are coming off of a 35-3 win over H.L. Bourgeois. Quarterback Tyler Nichol leads the offense while freshman wide receiver Michael Williams has been solid. Defensively, linebacker Ardell Reed and lineman Roy Pate have been good for the Eagles.

The winner advances to meet No. 3 John Curtis Christian in the quarterfinals.

At Yulman Stadium, No. 8 St. Augustine (5-5) plays host to No. 9 Byrd (4-6).

The Purple Knights played Archbishop Rummel and John Curtis Christian very tough before falling and lost by one point in overtime to Holy Cross.

St. Aug is led by quarterback Kendell Sampson, who has passed for 1,573 yards and 17 touchdowns while running backs Mahmoud Bailey and Justin Doyle are solid. Khi Mathieu and Jaheim Walters lead a good receiving corps while on defense, Kansas commit Taiwan Berryhill and Jabaz Myles are good linebackers. Myles leads the Purple Knights with 44 tackles.

For Byrd, Venzell Thompson has rushed for 686 yards and five touchdowns while quarterback Cameron Felt has passed for 323 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 440 yards and 10 touchdowns. Makarios Brown is the leading tackler with 60 stops, including a pair of sacks, while James Carinio has four sacks.

The winner advances to take on Archbishop Rummel in the quarterfinals.