Gumbo’s Champion: Chestnut wins gumbo championship
November 10, 2015
Lewis ready for 2nd chance
November 10, 2015
The prep football regular season is now over.
More than half of our area’s 11 high school teams qualified to extend their season into postseason play.
A total of six teams from the Houma-Thibodaux area reached the playoffs on Sunday afternoon – a tally that is spread out among four different classifications.
How far the local prep football season lasts remains to be seen as five of the six local playoff-bound squads are on the road in Round 1 and are decisive underdogs in their quest to reach the Superdome.
The lone home team is E.D. White, and they, too, are not one of the top seeds in their bracket.
CLASS 5A
Two local teams will be competing in Class 5A – the largest classification in the state in terms of enrollment.
Thibodaux High School earned that bracket’s No. 21 seed after posting a 6-4 record in the regular season. They’ll travel and take on No. 12 Mandeville – a 7-3 squad considered to be among the best in Louisiana, regardless of their seed.
The Tigers season has been a bit odd in that the team lost both their first two and final two games of the year. Sandwiched in between those games was a six-game winning streak that included victories over playoff-bound teams South Lafourche, Central Lafourche and St. Augustine.
Thibodaux was soundly beaten by Hahnville on Friday night – a game that was maybe the worst game that the Tigers played this season, according to coach Chris Dugas, who said his team needs to do better in the playoffs.
“We’ve struggled to run the football a little bit lately,” Dugas said. “Our calling card all season has been the running game, so we obviously have to turn that around. I told the kids that the last time we had a two-game losing streak, we won six in a row. So why not use this two-game losing streak and do it again and win five in a row and win the whole thing?”
While Thibodaux battles a tough Mandeville squad, cross-parish rivals Central Lafourche will take on the two-time defending state champions in round one.
The Trojans earned the No. 22 seed and will travel and play No. 11 Acadiana on Friday night.
Landing the Lafayette-based public school is probably a bit of a tough draw for the Trojans, because Acadiana is usually a bear when the playoffs roll around.
The Rams have won 10-straight playoff games and two-straight state titles – a streak of dominance that is among the best in the history of Louisiana prep football.
Acadiana started the season 1-2, but has since won six-straight. Regardless of their seed, they are still a threat. The Rams won the title last year as the No. 15 seed in Class 5A.
“It’s going to be a heck of a challenge,” Trojans coach Keith Menard said. “But we’re going to be ready for it. Our kids are very happy at having the opportunity, and we know we’re going to have to play our best, but we think we’ll be up for the challenge.”
CLASS 4A/DIVISION II
Our local Class 4A public and private schools will also be well-represented in the state playoffs with three teams competing in the single-elimination bracket.
In the Class 4A Playoffs, South Lafourche moves on after a 6-4 regular season.
The Tarpons earned the No. 22 seed and will travel to North Louisiana to take on No. 11 Bastrop on Friday.
Bastrop was 8-2 in the regular season – their two losses coming to state powers Parkway and Neville.
South Lafourche coach Dennis Skains said facing Bastrop will be a tough. He touted Bastrop’s offense as fierce – a unit that’s scored 40 or more points in seven games this season.
But Skains said the Tarpons are about as healthy as they’ve been all year long. That, combined with a large senior class, has Skains optimistic about what may be to come.
“We love this group of kids,” Skains said. “They’ve been so much fun to be around. We want to play as many games as we can with them.”
In Division II – the bracket for private schools with Class 3A and Class 4A enrollments – both Vandebilt and E.D. White will be thrust into action.
Both teams didn’t score enough power ratings points to earn a first-round bye in the hotly contested 11-team field.
Vandebilt earned the No. 9 seed and will travel to face No. 8 Lusher in the opening round. The Terriers are 4-6 and Lusher is 6-4.
The Cardinals were two spots better than Vandebilt and landed at No. 7. They’ll host No. 10 Loyola in the opening round.
DIVISION IV
In the state’s smallest enrollment bracket, Covenant Christian Academy will attempt to make a playoff push against one of the best teams in Louisiana.
The Lions scored the No. 15 seed in Division IV – the bracket for private schools with Class 1A enrollment. In Round 1, they’ll take on No. 2 Vermilion Catholic – a team with a 8-2 record in the season.
Vermilion Catholic comes in red-hot with four-straight games having scored 48 or more points to close the season. •
