The race is on: Locals competing for postseason play

South Lafourche football coach Blake Forsythe was all smiles on Thursday night.

The Tarpons had just put a whopping on Morgan City to get to 2-6. But no more than 10 minutes after the game, Forsythe was asking reporters about local scores around the area.

“Got anything on Vandebilt and South Terrebonne?” he asked.

That’s just par for the course. Coaches at Vandebilt and South Terrebonne were probably doing the same — except asking about the results over at South Lafourche.

In the LHSAA, teams earn a power rating number that’s mathematically determined by your wins and then also the number of wins your opponents earn during the course of their season.

When it’s all said and done, each team is lined up from top-to-bottom based on the results of the formula, and that’s how playoff seeding is determined and that’s how who goes where once the year ends.

Some coaches are all about crunching the numbers and trying to figure out what’s going to fall where.

Forsythe is one of those guys.

Others aren’t as big into it.

“I don’t look at it too much,” Central Lafourche coach Keith Menard said. “At the end of it all, just tell us where to go play. We can’t control that. We want to focus as coaches on only the things that we can control.”

“We don’t pay much attention to it,” Terrebonne coach Gary Hill added. “It can suck you in a little bit sometimes, but our focus is on our 10 games and doing the most we can to win those games on our schedule.”

Sorry coaches, but we’re all about the numbers!

With two weeks left in the season, several locals are still in hunt for postseason play, and we’ll break down what each local team is looking at going forward.

CLASS 5A:

Locks: Thibodaux

Almost a lock: Central Lafourche

Still work to do: Terrebonne

Out: H.L. Bourgeois

Thibodaux is going to the playoffs. There’s no way to change that. They’ve won too many games against too many quality opponents. They could lose the rest of their games and still get in. What the Tigers are working toward right now is a seed. Thibodaux has a great chance to be in the Top 8, which would earn them possibly two home playoff games. That’s their challenge going forward. Seeding is also likely the biggest concern for Central Lafourche in the final weeks of the season. Barring some unforeseen results, the Trojans are pretty close to having punched their ticket. The challenge for Central Lafourche coming home will be can they win enough games to get a first-round home game. It’s close right now and will be a photo finish. For Terrebonne, the Tigers have to feel good about where they stand, sitting in the 20s, but they could use a win or two to pad their resume and earn a guaranteed spot. Heck, if they win enough ballgames, they can maybe even catapult into the Top 16 and get an opening-round game at home.

CLASS 4A/DIVISION II:

Locks: Vandebilt, E.D. White

Likely in: South Terrebonne

Still work to do: South Lafourche

Out: Ellender

Vandebilt and E.D. White are playoff locks no matter what happens. Division II doesn’t have enough playoff-eligible teams, so both of those teams are in the playoffs from the minute a ball is kicked each season. But there’s still a lot to play for. Both teams are hovering around the No. 8-seed in Division II, which would earn them a home game in the opening round. That’s big. In Class 4A, we could have as many as 2 local teams in the playoffs or as little as 0. South Terrebonne looked like a team that could host a playoff game when they sat at 4-1, but they’ve since dropped three-straight. They should … SHOULD beat Morgan City and Ellender in the next 2 weeks, which would get them in. But losses in any of those games and wow, it gets close. For South Lafourche, they’re 2-6, but are riding the waves of a brutally tough schedule, which is getting them tons of points. If the Tarpons finish 3-7, they will be on the bubble, but likely in. If they finish 4-6, they’re a lock and will be seeded in the high 20s. If they finish 2-8, it’s over. Ellender maybe has a kind of, sort-of chance if they win their last two games, but they’re really far back and even that likely isn’t enough.

DIVISION III/IV

Still work to do: CCA

Maybe: Houma Christian

We may not have a local playoff team in Division IV. CCA is outside of the Top 16 right now and is running out of chances to make up ground after falling in Week 8. The Lions are young and have a chance to sneak in, but they’ll need to finish strong. For Houma Christian, they have an auto-bid if they choose to take it, but there are whispers that the Warriors may opt against postseason play.