Five River Parish squads set to play host in bi-district round

By JOHNNY PEPPO

Sports Editor

After everything was said and done in the final week of the prep football regular season last Friday, the River Parishes were well-represented as usual.

Class 5A

East St. John showed again this season why they are one of the top programs in the state, going undefeated through the regular schedule to secure the number one seed in the largest LHSAA classification in the state. They will host games in at least the first two rounds of the playoffs and will see the number 32 seeded New Iberia at Joe Keller Stadium in Reserve this Friday.

They are joined by Destrehan in the top half of the bracket, as the DHS Wildcats took the fifth seed in 5A after their loss to ESJ last Friday, their only loss of the season. That puts them up against Dutchtown, who come into the playoffs with the 27 seed after a 6-4 regular season.

Hahnville rounds out the 5A River Parish teams with their 18 seed. The Tigers have had a tough year so far with a 6-4 season record and only one district win. But it’ll be tough to beat up on Hahnville when everything is on the line. Carencro, with the 12 seed, will have their work cut out for them as they host the Tigers.

Class 3A

Lutcher shook things up in Class 3A last week with a district win over Edna Karr. That gives the Bulldogs a number five seed and a home game against a St. Louis team that went 6-4 through the regular season.

Class 2A

St. James and St. Charles share the bottom half of the 2A bracket with the second and third seeds respectively, behind top-ranked John Curtis. That means the Wildcats and Comets would meet again if no one upset them.

St. James hosts number 30 seed East Beauregard this Friday while the Comets are set to face number 29 Sumner in LaPlace. E. Beauregard and Sumner have both had losing records this season and backed into the playoffs with district wins.

Taking a seed in the top half of the bracket, Riverside drew their opening round game as a 25 seed with 12 seeded Pope John Paul II. The Patriots finished their season with a 6-2 record this year and have relied heavily on their defense to get where they are today. With an upset, the Rebels have a chance to streak through a mid-level seeding, but would have to face Curtis in the quarterfinals round. And that just may happen judging by the fact that the Rebels have come on late in the season in tight game with St. Charles and a blowout over South Plaquemines.

1A

West St. John may not have a pristine schedule, but they do have a battle hardened team that will give many small school opponents fits. They take their number 20 seed on the road to face the 10 seed in Hamilton Christian. Even with a squad of less than 40 players this season, the Rams could still be around for the final rounds. But St. John is on their side of the bracket meaning that WSJ would have to get through the 9-1A district champions who defeated the Rams 49-0 this year. But the West St. John squad has faced some of the toughest teams around during the regular season this year. So anything could happen.

The playoff tournament this year is set to be held at the Superdome again this year after moving to Shreveport because of Hurricane Katrina last year. That starts in the quarter-finals round on November 23.