Louisiana High School Football: Division I Quarterfinal Update
Written by Charlie Beuttel
Twitter: @charlie_cds3
Ten private school football teams were selected to the Division I playoff bracket after standout seasons in 2015. The top six teams received a first round bye leaving just two first round games in Week 1 of the playoffs, No. 8 Jesuit routed No. 9 Archbishop Shaw 35-21 and No. 7 Holy Cross squeaked past No. 10 St. Augustine 13-7.
In the four quarterfinal games this Friday there are plenty of star players to watch as this bracket has some of the best athletes in the state of Louisiana. The list of star players include:
Holy Cross running back Tre Turner (Arizona State) and defensive back Kyle Meyers (Florida State)
Archbishop Rummel defensive tackle Briston Guidry (Arkansas), linebacker Shahid Reece and offensive lineman Larry Robinson (Southern Miss)
John Curtis offensive lineman Willie Allen and linebacker Nathaniel Evans
Brother Martin tight ends Irvin Smith (Texas A&M) and Peyton Aucoin (Texas)
Evangel quarterback Connor Curry and wide receiver Corey Henderson (Tennessee)
Jesuit wide receiver Kalija Lipscomb and defensive end Zack Robert
St. Paul’s quarterback Kenny Sears
The quarterfinal games will be exciting to watch as four teams will clinch their ticket to the semifinals on Nov. 27th. Jesuit is the defending champion of Division I but they have a tough road to repeat drawing No. 1 Archbishop Rummel this week. Since 2004, Evangel has either won a state title or lost to John Curtis in the playoffs. This year, Evangel will only face John Curtis if both teams reach the championship game.
Who will escape this tough bracket? Only time will tell.
Division I Quarterfinal Matchups
No. 8 Jesuit at No. 1 Archbishop Rummel
These schools are only six miles apart so fans of both teams will pack the stadium for this quarterfinal matchup. Rummel beat Jesuit earlier in the season on October 17th, 28-14.
No. 5 John Curtis at No. 4 St. Paul’s
These schools are on opposite sides of Lake Pontchartrain, 45 miles apart, so John Curtis fans can easily travel to cheer on their team. These teams did not play each other in the regular season.
No. 6 Catholic-BR at No. 3 Brother Martin
The Bears from Baton Rouge will take the 80 mile trip east on I-10 to New Orleans to take on the Crusaders.
No. 7 Holy Cross at No. 2 Evangel Christian Academy
The Tigers from New Orleans will take the over 300 mile and almost five hour trip north on I-49 to Shreveport to battle the Eagles.
Photo credit: nola.com; No. 96 Briston Guidry leads a tough Rummel defense into the 2015 Louisiana High School Playoffs.