LHSAA Playoffs quarterfinal primer | Division-IV Select

Dedric Lastie, Riverside Academy

Jerit Roser November 22, 2023 @ 11:19 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-IV Select capsule heading into the postseason's third round.     Quarterfinal matchups — Last meeting   No. 1 Vermilion Catholic vs. No. 9 Ascension Catholic — Vermilion Catholic won, 28-21, at home in 2021 Week 4.   No. 4 St. Martin's Episcopal vs. No. 5 Riverside Academy — Riverside won, 55-14, at St. Martin's in Week 6.   No. 3 Ouachita Christian vs. No. 6 St. Mary's — Ouachita Christian won, 38-12, at home in 2014 semifinals.   No. 2 Southern Lab vs. No. 10 Central Catholic — Southern Lab won, 30-16, at Central Catholic in 2015 second round.     Highest seeds remaining: No. 1 Vermilion Catholic, No. 2 Southern Lab, No. 3 Ouachita Christian, No. 4 St. Martin's Episcopal, No. 5 Riverside Academy, No. 6 St. Mary's.   Lowest seeds remaining: No. 10 Central Catholic, No. 9 Ascension Catholic     Biggest second-round upset by seeds: No. 10 Central Catholic over No. 7 St. Frederick, 6-2.   Other second-round upsets: No. 9 Ascension Catholic over No. 8 Opelousas Catholic, 77-43.   Closest second-round game: No. 5 Riverside Academy over No. 12 Catholic (Pointe Coupee), 14-12.   Closest game thus far: No. 19 Westminster Christian over No. 14 St. Edmund, 7-6, in first round.   Biggest second-round margin: No. 3 Ouachita Christian over No. 19 Westminster Christian, 56-7.   Biggest margin thus far: No. 3 Ouachita Christian over No. 19 Westminster Christian, 56-7, in second round.   Biggest second-round surprise: No big surprises.   Biggest surprise thus far: Nothing huge, but No. 20 Covenant Christian over No. 13 Delta Charter, 35-6, in first round would be biggest.     Top second-round performers: 2025 St. Martin's RB [player_tooltip player_id='291097' first='Harlem' last='Berry'], 2025 Vermilion Catholic QB [player_tooltip player_id='291147' first='Jonathan' last='Dartez'], 2025 Ascension Catholic RB/ATH [player_tooltip player_id='710080' first='Chad' last='Elzy'] Jr.   Other notes: The eight second-round matchups in this bracket this past weekend included three games decided by four points or fewer and another three decided by 34 points or more. One of the division's lowest remaining seeds, No. 9 Ascension Catholic, pulled off one of its largest victories behind Elzy's video-game performance of 461 yards and nine touchdowns. In past years, the upsets pulled off by the Bulldogs and No. 10 Central Catholic would've earned quarterfinal home games that forced the top two seeds, Vermilion Catholic and Southern Lab to take road trips this week. But the LHSAA shifted rules this year to grant home-field to higher seeds in all quarterfinals, as has been the case in the semifinals for several years now.     Most intriguing quarterfinal matchup: No. 1 Vermilion Catholic vs. No. 9 Ascension Catholic   Most intriguing possible semifinal matchup: No. 2 Southern Lab vs. No. 3 Ouachita Christian

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.