Fleming makes collegiate choice
November 7, 2018
Colonels down Houston Baptist
November 7, 2018
The 10-week grind of the regular season is now over.
And for the seven locals who qualified for the State Playoffs, the recipe is simple: It’s win or go home.
Seven locals earned the opportunity to play in Week 11 of the high school season, which will begin on Friday night at stadiums around the state.
Of the locals, just Terrebonne and E.D. White will be home in the first round. But several others will have their eyes on an upset as the brackets unfold.
CLASS 5A:
In Class 5A, Terrebonne will be one of the Top 8 seeds in the bracket, which ensures them a chance at a home playoff game in both the first and second rounds — assuming there are no upsets.
The Tigers fell to Destrehan on Friday night — the first loss of the season for the team, which wrapped up the regular season with a 9-1 record.
Coach Gary Hill said the loss is a setback, but added that he thinks the Tigers will be able to clear the air this week in practice and refocus.
Fans lined both sides of the street on Friday night to greet the Tigers’ bus after the loss — a morale boost that the coach said came at the right time for the team.
“Sometimes the Lord works in mysterious ways,” Hill said. “Maybe we can use this as a tool to show ourselves the level we have to play at against those types of teams so that we can be better prepared in the future if those matchups happen again for us.”
The Tigers are the No. 7 seed in Class 5A. They will take on No. 26 Chalmette in the opening round of the playoffs. Chalmette is 6-4, but has struggled against quality competition. They’re 6-0 against teams below .500, but are 0-4 against teams with winning records. Hill said he expects to have his team’s full attention this week, adding that the Tigers will try and fix some of the mistakes that plagued them against the Wildcats, including more than 100 yards in penalties.
“You can’t do those things and win playoff games,” Hill said. “We’ve got to get that cleaned up.”
On the opposite side of the bracket, Central Lafourche punched a ticket and earned the No. 21 seed. They will travel to the Northshore on Friday night and will take on No. 12 Slidell.
Slidell has one common opponent with the Trojans, Destrehan. Destrehan beat Slidell 41-15 on the opening week of the season. The Wildcats beat the Trojans 51-21 a couple weeks ago.
Coach Keith Menard said one of the funnest parts about the playoffs is the unknown, adding that the Trojans’ focus in practice this week will be on fixing internal mistakes.
“We don’t know much about them, but they don’t know much about us,” Menard said.
CLASS 4A/DIVISION II
In Class 4A, coach Richard Curlin and the South Terrebonne Gators are going back to the playoffs. After a short drought, the Gators punched their ticket into the bracket, earning the No. 26 seed in the 32-team Class 4A field.
South Terrebonne beat Ellender on Friday night and defensive coordinator Archie Adams said the Gators are getting confidence at the right time, entering the playoffs with two-straight wins.
The Gators will take on No. 7 Northwood-Shreveport on Friday night — one of several unbeaten teams in Class 4A.
In Division II, which is the select-school bracket representing Class 4A and Class 3A-sized schools, both Vandebilt and E.D. White will both earn an 11th game.
The Cardinals will be the No. 6 seed. They will host No. 11 St. Michael in the opening round of the playoffs on Friday night. The Cardinals are 7-3 after beating Vandebilt on Friday night in their annual rivalry showdown. St. Michael is 5-5, but is battle tested, having played Dunham, Hannan, Lutcher, Plaquemine and Parkview Baptist this season.
Vandebilt earned the No. 12 seed and will face No. 5 De La Salle — last year’s State Runner-Up.
The Cavaliers are powerful, but are not the dominant force they were last season, owning a 6-3 record this fall.
DIVISION IV
In Division IV, both Houma Christian and CCA earned their way into the playoffs.
The Lions will be the No. 12 seed after beating their cross-town rivals on Thursday night to end the season. They will take on No. 5 Opelousas Catholic on Friday night to open the playoffs. Opelousas Catholic is one whale of a football team, owning a 6-2 record with six-straight wins.
For Houma Christian, the path will be just as difficult.
The Christian Warriors earned the No. 13 seed in postseason after going 5-4 in the regular season. They will take on No. 4 Lafayette Christian in the opening round of the playoffs.
Lafayette Christian is a tough draw for Houma Christian. For one, they’re the only undefeated team in the entire Division IV bracket, owning a perfect 10-0 record in the regular season. But for two, they’ve been an absolute wrecking ball, having allowed points in just one out of 10 games all year, while owning 7 wins by 50 or more points on the year.
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