Staff report
The Louisiana High School Athletics Association released the official 2025 prep playoff pairings today, with all Lincoln Parish high schools earning postseason spots, and two earning first round byes.
Both Lincoln Prep (23-7) and Simsboro School (20-8) earned first-round byes after earning the No. 2 and No. 4 seeds, respectively, in their brackets.
Lincoln Prep ended the regular season on a six-game winning streak after winning 13 of its last 14 games. The Panthers will face off with the winner of No. 15 Covenant Christian and No. 18 St. Martin’s Espicopal in the Division IV, Select bracket
Simsboro School picked up a critical win last week over West Ouachita, giving them enough power points to leap frog Hicks to take the No. 4 seed in the Class C bracket, ensuring a first round-bye and hosting home games all the way to the state tournament.
“At this point now it’s a new season and really, everything you’ve done to this point doesn’t really matter,” Simsboro coach Adam Wodach said. “We’re proud to be a Top 4 seed after having the opportunity to cut down the (district championship) nets in our gym, but you’ve got to get there first and take advantage of the opportunities you’ve been given.”
With a bye to begin the postseason, Wodach said this week will be all about preparation.
“It’s a combination of scouting and working on yourselves internally,” Wodach said. “I have film on every team we could face all the way to the state championship game. At this point (with the bye) we have about a week to prepare and we’re going to be ready for whoever we play, whether it be Choudrant or Episcopal of Acadiana.
“It’s too quick of a turnaround to try to do two days of scouting on both Episcopal (of Acadiana) or Choudrant, so we’re going to start looking at preparing for both of those and whoever else we might face down the line. Something I learned in college preparing for tournaments at that level is that you have to look forward and consider everyone you could face down the line.”
Ruston High (16-5) has earned the No. 6 seed and will host No. 27 Destrehan (16-16), with the winner advancing to take on either No. 11 South Lafourche or No. 22 Hahnville. The Bearcats would host the second round game, as well, should they advance.
“This is big for our program,” Ruston High acting-head coach Corey Deans said. “We started off the season ranked 41 in our division after the first few games. And then we got the rest of our team back, and we have finished well into the top ten. It’s good to be able to host playoff homes games. – we’ve been playing really, really strong at home. I think we’ve finished the season heading in the right direction. Hopefully, that will carry into the playoffs.”
The Bearcats will host Destrehan Friday, Feb. 28, at 6 p.m. in the Main Gym. Tickets will be $10 and must be purchased through the GoFAN app.
Cedar Creek (13-9) will head into the playoffs as the No. 12 seed and will host No. 21 Westminster Christian – Lafayette, with the winner advancing to take on No. 5 Vermilion Catholic.
“We are excited to host Westminster Christian of Lafayette in the opening round,” Cougar head coach Lance Waldron said. “We have been working hard all year for this opportunity.”
Creek will play Friday at 6 pm.
Finally, Choudrant lands at the No. 13 seed in the Class C bracket, just one spot shy of getting a first-round bye. Choudrant captured their district title this year.
The Aggies will be hosting No. 20 Episcopal of Acadiana, with the winner advancing to play Simsboro.
The contest is set for Friday at 5:30 pm at CHS Gym.
