Louisiana High School Football Playoff Overview: Divisions I-II Non-Select

Check out our analysis of the LHSAA brackets

North Desoto vs. Loyola / Henrietta Wildsmith/The Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

It's that time of year in Louisiana.

The playoffs have arrived, and High School on SI covers the bases in each of the eight playoff brackets. Who are the favorites, sleepers and candidates for upset? What about must-see games? Check out the answers in Division I and II non-select below.

Division I Non-Select

Frontrunners: No. 1 Ruston, No. 2 Neville, No. 3 Destrehan, No. 5 Central-BR (defending champion), No. 8 Southside, No. 10 West Monroe

Sleepers: No. 14 Ouachita Parish, No. 16 Westgate

On Upset Watch: No. 7 Northwood-Shreveport

Notes: Two years ago, Westgate fell behind Ruston on the road in the regionals before putting quarterback Jaboree Antoine - who was in his first game back from injury - into the lineup and nearly staging an upset. If the Tigers defeat Airline in a first round game that is a rematch from last year's postseason, they'll travel from New Iberia to Ruston again. Sophomore quarterback Noah Antoine has come into his own for Westgate with a four-star 2028 receiver in Cayden Lancelin who already has a 90-plus yard touchdown, as well as big-play threats Jackilon Roberson and Joshua John.

Westgate 2028 WR Cayden Lancelin is a top 100 player nationally / Mike Coppage

No. 8 Southside and No. 9 Terrebonne will clash in a second-round game if the Sharks and Tigers win against No. 24 Natchitoches-Central and No. 25 Prairieville. That would set up a showdown of big backs in Quincy Adams (Terrebonne) and Southside fullback Justin Williams, who ran for four touchdowns on five carries last week.

Central-BR opens its title defense vs. another Baton Rouge area school in No. 28 Dutchtown and could host another local team in the regionals if No. 12 East Ascension wins over No. 21 West Ouachita, which lost by 41 points to Sterlington and 42 to Tioga.

Will the real Zachary Broncos please stand up? After beginning the season as a top 15 team, the Broncos have lost three of their last four - the latest a 34-point setback to Catholic-BR - heading into the playoffs, but they did recently get 6-foot-4 receiver Kristion Brooks (UL Ragin' Cajuns' commit) back. The No. 13-seeded Broncos host No. 20 Salmen.

There is a great deal of anticipation building for a potential No. 3 Destrehan vs. No. 14 Ouachita Parish matchup in round two. The Lions (6-4) are capable of physically matching up with anybody and have the athletes to make a deep run. Some prognosticators feel that Ouachita will be too physical for Destrehan, which has playmakers galore on offense with running back Malachi Dabney, receivers Jaylan Ash and Jabari Mack (LSU commit) and quarterback Jackson Fields, and are calling for the Lions to advance to the quarterfinals and take down No. 6 Parkway (9-1), which faces No. 27 Covington. The winner of that game will encounter No. 11 Hahnville or No. 22 Slidell.

Denham Springs is a No. 4 seed with a terrific brother tandem in Da'Jean Golmond and Da'Sean Golmond. Da'Jean, a senior quarterback, threw four touchdowns and ran for one in a Week 10 win over St. Amant. The Yellow Jackets have a bye and could face Zachary ahead of a potential quarterfinal at home vs. Central-BR. Speaking of St. Amant, the Gators are a No. 19 seed with a tough task at Ouachita.

Northwood (8-2), which is coming off a one-point loss to Loyola Prep, hosts a Barbe team with an offense similar to the Class 5A programs in Shreveport. The No. 26 Buccaneers (5-5) won their last four games and scored 42, 65 and 42 points in losses to Carencro, Lake Charles College Prep and Acadiana. Barbe has scored 237 points in its last four games, with an offense that features baseball players QB Jelandon Gray, RB Jordin Griffin and receiver Myles Ledoux.

West Monroe and Neville could have a rematch in the quarterfinals. Regardless of seeding, the Rebels will be favored over No. 7 Northwood-Shreveport or No. 26 Barbe in the second round.

Division II Non-Select

Frontrunners: No. 1 North DeSoto, No. 2 Iowa, No. 3 Belle Chasse, No. 4 Lakeshore, No. 5 Plaquemine, No. 7 Franklin Parish, No. 8 Franklinton

Sleepers: No. 13 Cecilia, No. 15 Northwest

On Upset Watch: No. 9 Jennings

Notes: Jennings, which edged St. Martinville in the playoffs two years ago when the Bulldogs were a huge favorite, is coming off a win over Westlake that was cut short early in the fourth quarter due to a brawl. First, will the Bulldogs be missing any players due to LHSAA sanctions? Second, St. Martinville is a team that can never be underestimated regardless of record. This season, the Tigers went 3-7 but they defeated Cecilia in Week One and boast an explosive dual-threat quarterback in Khyrie Francisco.

On the negative side for St. Martinville, the Tigers will sorely miss linebacker Zyrian Johnson (injury) against Jennings' run-heavy offense. In the past, the Bulldogs would milk the clock if they get a substantial lead, often not breaking away from the huddle until the play clock winds down to 10 seconds.

St. Martinville offensive standouts, led by QB Khyrie Francisco (11). From left, Jaylen Turpeau, KJ Fontenette, Francisco, Jamion James and Bobby Harris / Mike Coppage

Franklinton (7-3) is a dangerous seed at No. 8 that finished as runner-up to Cecilia last year. The Demons host No. 25 Rayne and would be at top-seeded North DeSoto in the quarterfinals with a win over No. 9 Jennings or St. Martinville in the second round. Cecilia (5-4) has won four straight entering its game with No 20 Carroll. The Bulldogs have one of the state's best players in junior Braylon Calais.

No. 6 Brusly and No. 11 West Feliciana could tangle in the second round in a rematch of a game won by Brusly 21-13 in district.

Abbeville (3-7) lost by a few points at Franklinton in the regular season, but the Wildcats are on the road at a Franklin Parish team that hung 60 points on a highly seeded Division I Tioga team in Week 10. Receivers Cameron Samuels and Jacolby Campbell both go over the 100-yard mark in most games, including last week's loss to Erath. The Bobcats (10-0) posted their first perfect regular season and will be discussed in the Division III nonselect segment. Erath has its critics that don't expect coach Eric LeBlanc's team to be able to hang with the Class 3A elites like St. James and Sterlington, but Erath has a loaded team with QB Jack Landry, two powerful backs and a menacing offensive line. More to come on the Bobcats.

Northwest reached the semifinals a few years ago and hasn't lost since it got Ke'Von Johnson back at RB. The Raiders have two capable QBs and a group of excellent receivers in Markez Davis, Reginald Lavergne and Courtlon Young. The Raiders (6-4) face a No. 18 South Terrebonne squad that is 5-5. The Gators only lost by three points to an undefeated Vandebilt Catholic team in Week 9 after getting blanked 49-0 by E.D. White in the previous game.

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