Louisiana High School Football Division I Round 1 Playoff Preview
Written by Charlie Beuttel
Twitter: @charlie_cds3
In the crazy Louisiana High School Football Playoff Division I bracket, 11 teams with Top 5 seeds have earned a bye, therefore six teams battle in the opening round this Friday night with three quarterfinal berths on the line.
Last year, Archbishop Rummel was the No. 1 seed taking down Catholic-Baton Rouge 14-10 in the championship game. This season, Rummel is the No. 5 seed traveling to Catholic-Baton Rouge in the quarterfinals for one-and-done winner take all rematch. Rounding out the top of the bracket, the top three seeds this year are Brother Martin, Scotlandville, and C.E. Byrd.
Among the ranks of these 11 teams are senior stars who have already committed to a college program including Archbishop Rummel running back Logan Diggs (Notre Dame), John Curtis cornerback Caleb Spann (Central Michigan), Catholic safety Michael Cerniauskas (Army), Archbishop Rummel quarterback Kyle Wickersham (Richmond), Byrd defensive lineman Carson Bruno (Louisiana Tech), Byrd linebacker Makarios Brown (Northwestern State) and Byrd running back Venzell Thompson (Air Force). These talented young men are ready to lead their programs into the postseason for the final time.
This a very talented group of teams and all of them are ready to fight for a state championship.
Louisiana Division I Opening Round Games
No. 9 Jesuit vs No. 8 St. Paul’s
*The winner will advance to the quarterfinals to face No. 1 Brother Martin
No. 11 Holy Cross vs No. 6 St. Augustine
*The winner will advance to the quarterfinals to face No. 3 C.E. Byrd
No. 10 Archbishop Shaw vs No. 7 John Curtis
*The winner will advance to the quarterfinals to face No. 2 Scotlandville
Photo credit: Louisiana Football Magazine; Catholic-Baton Rouge safety Michael Cerniauskas