Louisiana LookBack: Top takeaways from Week 10 of high school football

SBLive Louisiana is continuing its new weekly statewide recap called Louisiana LookBack.

This week, let's not only look back at Week 10, let's also take a look ahead to this week's opening round - and beyond - playoff matchups.

1. No On-Field Dispute For Curtis

There is a dispute about the official number of wins J.T. Curtis Jr. has, but everyone agrees that the John Curtis Christian coach has won 622 games on the field. He reached that number with a dominant 41-7 victory over Edna Karr on Friday, which put Curtis in first place as the nation's all-time winningest coach.

With the win, the Patriots (7-2, 4-2 District 9-5A) vaulted from the No. 10 power rating in Division I select to No. 6, which ensured a first-round bye. The Patriots will face the winner of No. 11 McKinley (7-3)/No. 22 St. Augustine (3-7) in the regional round.

John Curtis topped St. Augustine, 36-26, on Oct. 21.

Karr (7-2, 5-1), which dropped from No. 2 to No. 5, will take on the No. 12 Huntington (7-3)/No. 21 Woodlawn-Baton Rouge (3-7) winner.

2. Triple Play for Cougars

St. Thomas More won both of its matchups against Lafayette Christian in a high-scoring manner last year. The reigning Division II select champion Cougars made it a three-peat on Friday, scoring on a last-minute drive of a 44-40 win.

There were some similarities to the 52-48 shootout in last December's title game. In both games, STM quarterback Sam Altmann marched the Cougars down the field in the closing moments for the go-ahead touchdown.

The Cougars were on the brink of sealing the win near the end of the fourth quarter on Friday at LCA, but Knights' linebacker Cooper Martin scooped up a fumble and returned it 89 yards for a 40-37 Knights' lead.

But Altmann coolly directed the Cougars to the game-winning score, a touchdown pass to Sanders Foreman with less than 30 seconds remaining.

STM (10-0, 5-0 District 4-A) locked up the top seed in Division II select. The Cougars will meet the No. 16 Northside (4-6)/No. 17 Istrouma (5-5) winner in the regional round. STM beat 4-4A rival Northside, 49-0, on Oct. 13.

The Knights (8-2, 4-1) moved from No. 2 to the No. 3 seed after the loss. They'll encounter the No. 14 Peabody Magnet (6-4)/No. 19 Booker T. Washington-New Orleans (4-6) winner in the second round.

3. Shaw Surging

Archbishop Shaw won its eighth straight game in a marquee non-district contest vs. visiting Carencro. The Eagles trailed, 43-36, midway through the third quarter, but scored three straight times to lead, 57-43. Carencro (8-2) added one more score for a 57-50 final.

The Eagles (8-2) improved their standing from No. 6 to No. 5 in Division II select. They'll face the No. 12 Evangel Christian (6-4)/No. 21 Belaire (3-7) winner.

It was the second loss in a row for Carencro, which was No. 1 in Division I select before losses to Acadiana and Shaw. The Bears dropped from No. 4 to No. 9 after Friday and will host No. 24 (2-8) Pineville in the first round. The winner will face No. 8 Acadiana (8-2), which lost to Carencro in the regional round last year.

4. Bears Escape in OT

Last Thursday in Baton Rouge, Catholic-Baton Rouge secured the District 4-5A title by defeating Zachary in overtime, 35-28.

The Broncos (8-1, 4-1) were flagged for a personal foul on the PAT following Catholic's overtime touchdown, which put Zachary at the 25-yard line with four downs to cross the goal line.

Defensive back Jacob Bradford intercepted a pass on fourth down for the Bears, who moved from No. 7 to No. 3 in Division I select with the win and will face the No. 14 John Ehret (6-4)/No. 19 Riverdale (4-6) winner in the second round.

Zachary dropped from No. 4 in Division I non-select to No. 6 and will host No. 27 Barbe (6-4).

5. Tiger Turnaround

Holy Cross first-year head coach Scott Wattigny is an overwhelming choice for Coach of the Year, not only in 5A, but across all classifications. The general consensus around the state was that Holy Cross, which doesn't have Class 5A enrollment but plays up in the Catholic League, couldn't compete with the big boys of District 9-5A.

Wattigny dispelled that myth by guiding the Tigers to an 8-2 record and the No. 1 seed in Division I select. The program's signature win was an overtime victory against undefeated John Curtis Christian. On Friday, Holy Cross beat a good East St. John team, 56-19.

The Tigers will face the No. 16 Jesuit (4-6)/No. 17 C.E. Byrd (4-6) winner in the second round. Holy Cross blew out Jesuit, 30-0, in Week 9.

6. Avoiding the Sting

Ahead 13-0 in the first quarter, the Cecilia Bulldogs looked ready to deliver a knockout blow on Iowa in a non-district showdown of top Division II non-select teams.

The Bulldogs (9-1) recovered an onside kick, but a pass to a wide-open receiver on a gadget play - that would have gone for six points - was dropped. One play later, Iowa scored on a fumble return. The Yellow Jackets, who beat Cecilia last year, 17-7, led 14-13 and were tied 21-21 and 28-28 with the Bulldogs, who went on to win, 55-35.

Cecilia quarterback Diesel Solari rushed for 347 yards on 19 carries with six touchdowns and threw for 101 yards and a score. Of those rushing yards, 251 of those came in the second half.

The 5-foot-8, 175-pound junior also ran for a two-point conversion. Senior tailback Corey Broussard also topped the 100-yard rushing threshold.

The Bulldogs jumped all the way from No. 7 in Division II non-select to No. 2 with the win. They'll face the winner of No. 15 Iota (7-3)/No. 18 Church Point (6-4) in the second round. Iota and Church Point met in a District 4-3A battle last week with the Bulldogs winning, 48-44, to force a three-way tie for the league title with Northwest.

Iowa (7-3), which was the top seed in last year's Division II non-select bracket, dropped from No. 6 to No. 8 and will host No. 25 Grant Parish (3-7).

7. A Potential Rematch

No. 8 Opelousas Catholic should host No. 9 Ascension Catholic in the second round of the Division IV select playoffs. The Vikings (7-3) began the year 1-3 with losses to a trio of small school powers in Oak Grove, Southern Lab and, yep, Ascension Catholic.

Ascension Catholic (8-2), which is powered by 2,000-yard rusher Chad Elzy, beat the Vikings, 39-28, in Week 2 in Opelousas.

Opelousas Catholic led, 28-25, in the late-night game that was delayed more than two hours by bad weather. But Elzy returned a kick 85 yards to paydirt and finished with 205 yards rushing.

Vikings' first-year coach Cullen Matherne, whose team has won six straight games, won the District 6-1A championship for the third straight year.

Opelousas Catholic has won by a minimum of 32 points in every game of its winning streak. Senior quarterback Mark Collins, a University of Louisiana baseball commit, entered Week 10 with 3,036 total yards and 41 TDs.

Receivers Roderick Tezeno, Rowen Bergeron, Beckett Boyd and Dontre Henry had combined to catch 138 passes for 1,949 yards and 25 TDs.

Opelousas Catholic does an excellent job of getting its student-athletes to participate in multiple sports. Tezeno, a 6-foot-3 sophomore, is a top basketball prospect.

Henry is committed to Miles College, an HBCU in Alabama, for baseball. Star linebacker Jordan Luna is committed to LSU-Eunice for baseball.

Playoff Odds and Ends

Division I non-select No. 1 Ruston (10-0) could meet up with District 2-5A rival West Monroe in the quarterfinals. The Bearcats meet the winner of No. 16 Westgate (6-4)/No. 17 Terrebonne (7-3) in the second round.

No. 8 West Monroe (8-2) hosts No. 25 Northshore (5-5) in the first round with the winner of No. 9 Walker (8-2)/No. 24 Benton (5-5) up next. Ruston rallied from a 28-21 deficit to beat West Monroe in Week 10, 35-28.

Lutcher beat North DeSoto for the Division II non-select crown last year. The top-seeded Griffins (9-1) would face the No. 4 Bulldogs (7-2) in the semifinals this time around.

No. 7 Leesville (7-3) drew a tough first-round Division II non-select opponent in No. 26 St. Martinville. The Tigers (3-7) are having a tough season, but they have playmakers in University of Louisiana tailback commit Steven Blanco, Arizona State receiver commit Cullen Charles and senior quarterback Kaden Zenon.

Many beat St. James in the semifinals en route to winning the 2022 Division III non-select crown, and the Tigers and Wildcats could be on course to collide again in the quarterfinals. The third-seeded Wildcats (8-2) have 5,000-yard passer Brayden Williams and receiver Kobe Brown back from last year's team. No. 6 Many (7-2) graduated QB/DB Tackett Curtis (now at USC) but returned DB Tylen Singleton (LSU commit).

Photo of St. Thomas More quarterback Sam Altmann by Brett Duke, The Advocate

-- Mike Coppage | @SBLiveLA