And then there was one.

West St. John is the final team remaining from the River Region in this year’s prep football postseason, slated to travel to Haynesville this Friday night in a state semifinal game.

Good luck to the Rams, who are attempting to make it to the Superdome for the second year in a row — a tremendous accomplishment for a program by any measure. A win Friday would seal the deal on a championship game berth for a team that’s ramped up its game to play some truly dominant football for the past eight games. They’ve surely made everyone in our home region proud already.

Of course, not to be lost in any of this has been the strong seasons turned in by so many other local teams who have seen their seasons end over the past few weeks, seasons that saw all have to overcome the effects of a hurricane that levied unprecedented damage locally and left many players and coaches without their homes.

St. Charles Catholic overcame an 0-2 start to reel in eight straight wins and a second straight district championship. Riverside overcame an 0-4 beginning to not only reach the state quarterfinals, but reveal one of the state’s most exciting offenses. Hahnville also overcame an 0-4 beginning to nail down a second straight district title and a playoff win. Lutcher turned in an undefeated regular season. And East St. John overcame essentially the loss of its school and fieldhouse to improbably fight its way into the postseason.

The Rams are still alive and kicking, though. They’re two wins away from bringing a state crown home.