LHSAA Playoffs quarterfinal primer | Division-I Select

John Curtis Patriots

Jerit Roser November 24, 2023 @ 02:16 PM

Thanksgiving week brings plenty of traditions and significance — including, in Louisiana's high school football, the milestone of turkey-day practices meaning a team is preparing for the quarterfinals.   Each week, we'll give a quick update of some of the notable outcomes and top performers in each division and potential matchups to watch in the next round.   Check out the Division-I Select capsule heading into the postseason's third round.     Quarterfinal matchups — Last meeting   No. 1 Holy Cross vs. No. 8 Acadiana — Acadiana won, 31-0, in 2002 second round.   No. 5 Edna Karr vs. No. 13 Alexandria — More than 20 years ago, if ever.   No. 3 Catholic (Baton Rouge) vs. No. 6 John Curtis — John Curtis won, 24-21, at Catholic in 2022 semifinals.   No. 7 St. Paul's vs. No. 18 Archbishop Rummel — More than 20 years ago.     Highest seeds remaining: No. 1 Holy Cross, No. 3 John Curtis, No. 5 Edna Karr, No. 6 John Curtis, No. 7 St. Paul's and No. 8 Acadiana.   Lowest seeds remaining: No. 18 Archbishop Rummel and No. 13 Alexandria.     Biggest second-round upset by seeds: No. 18 Archbishop Rummel over No. 2 Captain Shreve, 13-3.   Other second-round upsets: No. 13 Alexandria over No. 4 Brother Martin, 23-0.   Closest second-round game: No. 8 Acadiana over No. 9 Carencro, 14-7; and No. 6 John Curtis over No. 22 St. Augustine, 49-42.   Closest game thus far: No. 8 Acadiana over No. 9 Carencro, 14-7, in second round; and No. 6 John Curtis over No. 22 St. Augustine, 49-42, in second round.   Biggest second-round margin: No. 1 Holy Cross over No. 16 Jesuit, 42-0.   Biggest margin thus far: No. 9 Carencro over No. 25 Pineville, 57-7, in first round.   Biggest second-round surprise: No. 13 Alexandria over No. 4 Brother Martin, 23-0.   Biggest surprise thus far: No. 21 Woodlawn (Baton Rouge) over No. 12 Huntington, 16-6, in first round.     Top second-round performers: 2024 John Curtis QB [player_tooltip player_id='675900' first='Dagan' last='Bruno'], 2024 Holy Cross QB [player_tooltip player_id='901579' first='Cole' last='Canatella'], 2026 Edna Karr QB [player_tooltip player_id='920629' first='John' last='Johnson'].   Other notes: In a division typically loaded with rematches of district games or previous postseasons, three of the four quarterfinals will mark the first meeting between their teams in at least two decades. The only exception is the next installment of a Catholic-Curtis series that has included recent semifinals in 2022 and 2019 and title games in 2018 and 2017. But Alexandria will visit New Orleans for a second straight weekend to face a Catholic League foe after blanking Brother Martin in the second round. Acadiana quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='913931' first='Caden' last='DiBetta'] and wide receiver [player_tooltip player_id='934589' first='Collin' last='DiBetta'] will face their grandfather's alma mater, Holy Cross, where he is a hall-of-famer. And Archbishop Rummel will only have to cross Lake Pontchartrain for this week's trip to St. Paul's after having had to cross nearly the entire state in the first and second rounds with back-to-back Shreveport treks.     Most intriguing quarterfinal matchup: No. 3 Catholic (Baton Rouge) vs. No. 6 John Curtis.   Most intriguing possible semifinal matchup: No. 5 Edna Karr vs. No. 8 Acadiana.

Thanksgiving week brings plenty of traditions and significance — including, in Louisiana's high school football, the milestone of turkey-day practices meaning a team is preparing for the quarterfinals.