Predicting Day 2 of the Louisiana High School Football State Championships

Three more champions will be crowned Friday at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans

North DeSoto defense in action vs. Plaquemine / Henrietta Wildsmith/The Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

High School on SI has been predicting the winners of each LHSAA football playoff game since the quarterfinals. Our coverage continues with picks for the second day of the state championships at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.

Division II Non-Select

Friday, Dec. 12 12 P.M.

No. 1 North Desoto (13-0) vs. No. 2 Iowa (13-0)

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Do you believe in destiny?

In the 2022 finals, freshman quarterback Luke Delafield and North DeSoto led Lutcher 19-7 before the Bulldogs and current UL Ragin' Cajuns' quarterback D'Wanye Winfield came back to win despite over 300 yards from Delafield.

The Griffins have come close to returning to the Dome the last two years, but they haven't made it back until now with losses to state champs Opelousas and Cecilia in 2023 and 2024. In 2023, a top-seeded North Desoto team topped No. 8 Iowa 45-21 in the quarterfinals.

Delafield has passed for almost 2,200 yards and 29 touchdowns with 13 interceptions. Kenny Thomas and Braelyn Latin have combined for 2,900 yards rushing and 47 touchdowns, and each is averaging over seven yards per carry. It was Delafield's legs, however, the carried the Griffins to a come-from-behind win last week over Plaquemine.

Iowa, which is playing in its first championship, has been knocking on the door. The Yellow Jackets lost to Franklinton in last year's semifinals and have the better defense with all-around playmaker Kaston Lewis forcing turnovers and also running for touchdowns in the mold of Cohen Charles, a senior from last year's team who signed with McNeese State.

The Yellow Jackets are diverse on offense. Receiver Jeremiah Bushnell (46 rec, 955 yards, 11 TDs) has excellent size at 6-foot-3, 180-pounds. Tailback J'Vien Adams (192-1,554, 20 TDs) can score at any time. Lawston Broussard has passed for 1,419 yards and 19 touchdowns with seven interceptions. Lewis has rushed for 696 yards on 65 carries with 19 scores.

Delafield put the team on his back last week with 146 yards rushing and three touchdowns, which nearly doubled his season output in yardage from the first 12 games.

Roy Lang of The Shreveport Bossier Advocate lists the Griffins as more than a two-touchdown favorite. We see a closer game with Delafield getting North DeSoto its first state title.

Pick: North DeSoto

Division III Non-Select

Friday, Dec. 12 3:30 P.M.

No. 1 Jena (12-1) vs. No. 2 Sterlington (11-2)

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The top-seeded Giants aren't getting much respect when it comes to predictions for this game. It doesn't help that Jena is playing in its first title game, while the Panthers are the defending champions.

This is another matchup where the ground game will be emphasized by both teams. Jena tailback Sedrick Wilson (5-9, 190) and fullback Daniel Hatcher (5-10, 206) are a dynamic one-two punch. Zadrien Cooper (6-3, 195) gives quarterback Deuce McPherson (5-10, 188) a downfield option at flanker.

Sterlington has enormous size for a Class 3A squad with nearly 20 players on the roster at 230 lbs. or larger and 40 weighing at least 200 lbs.

Panthers' fullback TJ Burch (5-9, 200) has rushed for 1,341 yards on 177 carries with 19 touchdowns. Quarterback J-Rob Breen has completed 56 of 105 passes for 1,007 yards and 17 touchdowns and five interceptions LSU baseball commit Devyn Downs (6-1, 200) leads the team with 18 catches for 427 yards and seven scores. David Hickman and Breen have combined for another 1,000 yards rushing and 15 scores.

Defensively, Sterlington linebacker Tomarion Burch (6-1, 225) has over 100 tackles and 10 stops for loss.

The Panthers have played by far the tougher schedule with losses to Neville and Ouachita Parish, which is playing for the Division I state title on Saturday. The teams have a common opponent in Tioga, which handed Jena its only loss.

Pick: Sterlington

Division II Select

Friday, Dec. 12 7:00 P.M.

No. 1 St. Charles Catholic (12-1) vs. No. 7 Archbishop Shaw (9-4)

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These District 9-4A programs met near the end of the regular season with the Comets blanking the defending state champs on the road, 24-0. The St. Charles defense held Shaw to 15 yards, according to Ken Trahan of Crescent City Sports, and Shaw's offense never got past the 50-yard line.

Skyler Edwards (5-11, 205) ran for 122 yards and a touchdown in the regular season meeting for the Comets. Quarterback Landree LeBlanc completed 13 of 16 passes for 118 yards and a score, while the Comets' defense limited Shaw quarterback Allen Shaw to 4 of 7 passing for 14 yards and 10 carries for six yards.

After the Comets outgained Shaw 302-15 in the regular season, can the Eagles win the rematch? DeAndree Franklin has rushed for 954 yards and 18 touchdowns for the Eagles, who returned nine defensive starters from last year.

All signs point towards a St. Charles victory, and that's what we originally planned to forecast, but we'll throw caution out the window and predict Eagles' defenders Rontrae and J'Quan Carter to team up on a goal-line stop as back-to-back trophies make their way to the West Bank.

Pick: Shaw

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