The Louisiana High School Athletic Association (LHSAA) sent out two emails to administrators and coaches – one late late Saturday night and one Sunday morning – the second stating that the official playoff pairings won’t be announced until Monday due to an appeal’s process.
The first email sent late Saturday night provided the most up-to-date power rankings, allowing schools to see where they fell. It gave all schools an eight-hour window (midnight to 8 a.m. Sunday) in which to appeal.
The second email sent out Sunday morning, alerted all schools that because of at least one appeal (later confirmed that it was on the 3A level) the official pairings won’t be released until Monday at 11 a.m. – instead of Sunday as is customary. Fans can seet them at 11 a.m. Monday on the LHSAA Live App and then 12 p.m. on the LHSAA website.
Here is the current playoff picture for our Lincoln Parish schools barring any 11th hour changes.
Cedar Creek (6-3) should be the No. 16 seed and in the playoffs and would face the No. 1 seed Ouachita Christian (10-0) on the road. OCS defeated the Cougars 33-21 earlier this year in a game that saw Creek lead 21-20 with less than two minutes remaining. Only the top 16 teams in Division IV make the playoffs.
“I got the email form the LHSAA that gives us the final power rankings,” said Creek Head Coach Matt Middleton. “If you had any disputes, you were supposed to appeal it between midnight and 8 a.m. today. Right now we are No. 16 and OCS is listed as No. 1. So unless any unforeseen circumstances occur, it looks like we are in and we will play OCS. But obviously, because of the new appeals process, we won’t get official brackets until noon (Monday).”
The Cougars held their breath after defeating Tensas 49-0 Friday night, knowing it would be close and that they may need some help.
The winner of the OCS-Creek match-up would face the winner of No. 8 Central Catholic (6-3) and No. 9 Ascension Catholic (7-1) in the second round.
Ruston High School (8-2) is currently listed No. 5 in the most recent power rankings and would host No. 28 seed Covington (6-4) Friday night. Covington ended the season with back-to-back wins over Northshore (13-9) and Mandeville (12-7). The top 32 teams in Class 5A Non-Select qualify for the playoffs.
”They are a good football team with some very good playmakers in spots,” Bearcat head coach Jerrod Baugh said. “We will need to have a great week of preparation to get a good start in the playoffs.”
RHS principal Dan Gressett confirmed this morning that the game would kickoff at 7 p.m. on Friday night from James Stadium and that tickets would go on sale Tuesday at 8 a.m.
With a win in the first round, the Bearcats would face the winner of No. 12 Benton and No. 21 Hahnville.
Lincoln Prep (6-4) is currently listed as the No. 11 seed in Class 1A Non-Select and would face No. 22 seed Delhi (2-7) in the first round of the playoffs. The top 24 out of 30 teams make it in this classification.
“I’m already sitting here looking at film on Delhi,” said LP coach Glen Hall. “If it stays like it is right now, that would set up a potential second-round rematch against Haynesville, and that’s pretty exciting to think about.”
Lincoln Prep does not know the location of the game as of Sunday morning. The Panthers have not played a home game in Grambling this season because of an ongoing lawsuit regarding a decades-old desegregation ruling that ended up with the old Grambling Laboratory High School becoming Lincoln Prep in 2016.
Hall said there is a chance the Department of Justice could lift a consent order ban that has prevented Lincoln Prep from playing at Eddie G. Robinson Stadium on the Grambling State University campus.
“We should know the official site of the game Monday morning,” said Hall.
The Panthers are coming off a 32-0 win over Plain Dealing in their regular season finale. Delhi’s two wins came over Tensas (18-12) and Sicily Island (8-6).
The winner of that game would face No. 6 seed Haynesville in the second round as the Golden Tornados are one of the top eight seeded teams in that division to get a first-round bye.
More information will be updated throughout the day if the Lincoln Parish Journal gets any updates.
Photo: Tim Smith (geauxartsdesign.com)
Class 5 Non-Select (via geauxpreps.com)
| 1 | Zachary | 10 | 0 | 15.130 | 9.300 |
| 2 | Captain Shreve | 9 | 1 | 14.480 | 10.000 |
| 3 | Ponchatoula | 8 | 0 | 14.370 | 8.500 |
| 4 | Destrehan | 6 | 0 | 13.810 | 7.670 |
| 5 | Ruston | 8 | 2 | 13.260 | 9.800 |
| 6 | Central – B.R. | 7 | 3 | 13.130 | 10.000 |
| 7 | Acadiana | 8 | 2 | 13.010 | 9.500 |
| 8 | Chalmette | 7 | 1 | 12.810 | 8.000 |
| 9 | West Monroe | 6 | 3 | 12.520 | 10.560 |
| 10 | St. Amant | 7 | 2 | 12.490 | 8.890 |
| 11 | Ouachita Parish | 7 | 3 | 12.410 | 9.700 |
| 12 | Benton | 7 | 3 | 12.280 | 9.900 |
| 13 | Woodlawn – B.R. | 5 | 4 | 11.940 | 10.440 |
| 14 | John Ehret | 6 | 2 | 11.720 | 8.130 |
| 15 | Alexandria | 7 | 3 | 11.690 | 8.600 |
| 16 | Southside | 7 | 3 | 11.620 | 9.100 |
| 17 | East Ascension | 5 | 3 | 11.600 | 9.880 |
| 18 | Parkway | 6 | 4 | 11.500 | 10.200 |
| 19 | East Jefferson | 5 | 2 | 11.480 | 8.290 |
| 20 | Natchitoches Central | 7 | 3 | 11.200 | 9.000 |
| 21 | Hahnville | 5 | 2 | 11.170 | 7.430 |
| 22 | Sulphur | 6 | 4 | 11.020 | 9.500 |
| 23 | H.L. Bourgeois | 4 | 3 | 11.020 | 8.710 |
| 24 | Northshore | 5 | 4 | 10.860 | 9.440 |
| 25 | Haughton | 5 | 5 | 10.820 | 10.200 |
| 26 | Dutchtown | 5 | 4 | 10.790 | 9.560 |
| 27 | Denham Springs | 5 | 4 | 10.640 | 9.110 |
| 28 | Covington | 6 | 4 | 10.350 | 8.600 |
| 29 | West Jefferson | 4 | 3 | 10.260 | 8.430 |
| 30 | Lafayette | 5 | 5 | 10.110 | 9.300 |
| 31 | Live Oak | 4 | 5 | 9.720 | 9.110 |
| 32 | Slidell | 4 | 5 | 9.700 | 9.440 |
| 33 | East St. John | 3 | 4 | 9.220 | 8.430 |
| 34 | Thibodaux | 3 | 4 | 9.160 | 8.290 |
| 35 | Walker | 3 | 6 | 9.110 | 10.220 |
| 36 | Bonnabel | 3 | 4 | 9.030 | 8.570 |
| 37 | Comeaux | 4 | 6 | 8.920 | 9.400 |
| 38 | Pineville | 3 | 7 | 8.750 | 9.900 |
| 39 | Mandeville | 3 | 6 | 8.550 | 9.330 |
| 40 | Barbe | 4 | 6 | 8.520 | 9.300 |
| 41 | West Ouachita | 2 | 8 | 8.200 | 10.000 |
| 42 | Hammond | 2 | 5 | 8.160 | 9.710 |
| 43 | Grace King | 2 | 5 | 7.810 | 8.710 |
| 44 | Airline | 1 | 9 | 7.500 | 11.300 |
| 45 | Riverdale | 1 | 7 | 7.030 | 9.380 |
| 46 | Sam Houston | 2 | 7 | 6.740 | 9.330 |
| 47 | Southwood | 0 | 10 | 6.500 | 10.800 |
| 48 | Terrebonne | 1 | 6 | 6.450 | 8.290 |
| 49 | Central LaFourche | 0 | 7 | 5.940 | 8.860 |
| 50 | New Iberia | 0 | 10 | 5.620 | 10.200 |
| 51 | Fontainebleau | 0 | 8 | 5.500 | 9.750 |
| 52 | L. W. Higgins | 0 | 7 | 5.360 | 9.000 |
Class 1A Non-Select (via geauxpreps.com)
| Rank | Team | W | L | PR | SF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Logansport | 6 | 4 | 13.300 | 7.700 |
| 2 | Homer | 7 | 3 | 12.580 | 6.200 |
| 3 | Grand Lake | 9 | 1 | 12.580 | 4.200 |
| 4 | Oak Grove | 6 | 4 | 12.170 | 6.700 |
| 5 | Slaughter Community Charter | 5 | 3 | 11.630 | 5.380 |
| 6 | Haynesville | 6 | 4 | 11.060 | 5.800 |
| 7 | LaSalle | 7 | 3 | 11.000 | 4.700 |
| 8 | Delta Charter | 6 | 4 | 10.930 | 5.500 |
| 9 | Basile | 6 | 4 | 10.880 | 5.700 |
| 10 | White Castle | 3 | 5 | 10.710 | 6.380 |
| 11 | Lincoln Preparatory School | 6 | 4 | 10.330 | 5.100 |
| 12 | West St. John | 2 | 4 | 9.730 | 5.170 |
| 13 | East Beauregard | 4 | 6 | 9.180 | 5.900 |
| 14 | Oberlin | 4 | 6 | 9.080 | 5.800 |
| 15 | Northwood – Lena | 5 | 5 | 8.870 | 4.500 |
| 16 | Arcadia | 3 | 7 | 8.800 | 6.500 |
| 17 | East Iberville | 1 | 7 | 8.300 | 6.380 |
| 18 | Gueydan | 3 | 7 | 8.030 | 5.800 |
| 19 | Plain Dealing | 2 | 8 | 8.020 | 6.500 |
| 20 | Merryville | 2 | 8 | 7.980 | 6.600 |
| 21 | Block | 1 | 9 | 7.960 | 6.900 |
| 22 | Delhi | 2 | 7 | 7.900 | 6.330 |
| 23 | Centerville | 2 | 7 | 7.850 | 5.780 |
| 24 | Magnolia School of Excellence | 1 | 9 | 6.630 | 6.300 |
| 25 | North Central | 0 | 10 | 6.600 | 7.000 |
| 26 | Tensas | 1 | 9 | 5.920 | 5.600 |
| 27 | Elton | 0 | 10 | 5.380 | 5.900 |
| 28 | Ringgold | 0 | 9 | 5.220 | 6.220 |
| 29 | Montgomery | 1 | 9 | 0.000 | 6.600 |
| 30 | Sicily Island | 1 | 9 | 0.000 | 6.200 |
Division IV Select (via geauxpreps.com)
| Rank | Team | W | L | PR | SF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ouachita Christian | 10 | 0 | 15.170 | 5.500 |
| 2 | Southern Lab | 7 | 2 | 14.510 | 6.330 |
| 3 | Opelousas Catholic | 9 | 1 | 14.400 | 5.800 |
| 4 | Calvary Baptist | 9 | 1 | 14.330 | 5.800 |
| 5 | Sacred Heart | 8 | 2 | 14.300 | 6.600 |
| 6 | Vermilion Catholic | 7 | 3 | 14.240 | 7.400 |
| 7 | St. Mary’s | 8 | 2 | 13.900 | 6.200 |
| 8 | Central Catholic | 6 | 3 | 13.560 | 6.670 |
| 9 | Ascension Catholic | 7 | 1 | 13.470 | 4.750 |
| 10 | Metairie Park Country Day | 5 | 2 | 13.410 | 5.430 |
| 11 | Catholic – P.C. | 6 | 4 | 12.830 | 7.000 |
| 12 | St. Edmund | 6 | 4 | 12.710 | 6.700 |
| 13 | Hamilton Christian | 7 | 2 | 12.330 | 5.440 |
| 14 | St. Frederick | 7 | 2 | 12.210 | 5.220 |
| 15 | Hanson Memorial | 7 | 3 | 12.050 | 5.500 |
| 16 | Cedar Creek | 6 | 3 | 12.000 | 6.110 |
| 17 | Riverside Academy | 3 | 5 | 11.900 | 6.630 |
| 18 | Westminster Christian | 6 | 4 | 10.940 | 5.700 |
| 19 | Highland Baptist | 5 | 5 | 9.840 | 5.500 |
| 20 | St. Martin’s Episcopal | 3 | 4 | 9.410 | 5.290 |
| 21 | Covenant Christian | 3 | 5 | 9.390 | 5.750 |
| 22 | St. John | 3 | 7 | 8.350 | 5.300 |
| 23 | Central Private | 3 | 5 | 8.150 | 4.630 |
| 24 | Ascension Christian | 2 | 7 | 6.560 | 4.440 |
| 25 | Thrive Academy | 2 | 6 | 0.000 | 5.880 |
| 26 | River Oaks | 4 | 6 | 0.000 | 5.800 |
| 27 | Glenbrook | 8 | 2 | 0.000 | 4.900 |
