Tri-parish area well represented in prep football playoffs

The local community will be busy this weekend, as several prep football teams advanced into postseason play.

In Class 5A, the Tri-parish playoff teams will have their work cut out for them in opening round play.

Thibodaux earned the highest seed of any local team in that classification, coming in at No. 23. The Tigers will travel in the opening round to play Zachary – a Baton Rouge metro program that enters the postseason with a 7-3 record.

But Thibodaux will enter the playoffs on a hot streak, having won consecutive games against South Lafourche and Central Lafourche – each in blowout fashion.

“I think we are peaking at the right time,” Tigers’ coach Chris Dugas said following the win against South Lafourche. “When we play well, we think we’re pretty tough to beat.”

Also in Class 5A, No. 25 South Lafourche will travel to Lake Charles to play No. 8 Barbe and its high-powered offense.

Terrebonne earned the No. 29-seed in the bracket and will have a rematch with No. 4 Destrehan. The Tigers lost to the Wildcats 42-17 in an early-season showdown.

“They are the best team that we’ve seen,” Terrebonne coach Gary Hill said of Destrehan. “They have so many great athletes. It’s so hard to defend them all and keep them all in check.”

In Class 4A, a couple of local programs will enter the playoffs as massive underdogs. South Terrebonne enters the playoffs as the last team in the field. They will play No. 1 Neville in the opening round.

On the bottom-half of the bracket, No. 30 Ellender will take on No. 3 Landry Walker. The Patriots thought after Friday night’s loss against Vandebilt that their season was over. But when the LHSAA forced the Terriers to forfeit the game, Ellender was thrust back into the field against Landry Walker – a stiff test for anyone in Louisiana.

“They have a big, tough defense,” Ellender coach Terry Washington said. “They have a lot of athletes and we will have to see if we can regain our swagger that we had in the beginning of the season so that we can go out and challenge them.”

The lone local state championship favorite will enjoy the comforts of home in Class 3A. Patterson High School earned the No.4 seed in their bracket and will host No. 29 Rayville.

The Jacks enter the postseason red-hot, having won eight-straight games.

But the 2013 prep football playoffs will always be special because they mark the official beginning of the public/private split within the prep football landscape.

In Division II (Class 3A and 4A private schools) Vandebilt Catholic earned the No. 10 seed and will travel in the opening round to play No. 7 Teurlings Catholic.

The seed is bittersweet for the Terriers, who likely would have hosted an opening round game if the team didn’t have to forfeit Friday’s win against Ellender.

In the same bracket, No. 11 E.D. White will travel to play Parkview Baptist in the first round.

In Division IV (Class 1A private schools), No. 9 Covenant Christian Academy will host No. 24 Madison Prep in the first round of play.

No. 16 Central Catholic also earned a home game and will take on No. 17 St. Martin’s Episcopal in the Bi-District round.

On the bottom-half of the bracket, No. 22 Houma Christian will have a rematch with Highland Baptist.

The Warriors lost to their first-round opponent 51-12 in the opening week of the season.