LHSAA Playoff Brackets: Storylines, Prospects | D-I Non-Select

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Louisiana's high school football playoffs kick off this weekend.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The LHSAA's second postseason under a tweaked format features eight brackets — four "nonselect" and four "select" —&nbsp;full of impressive teams and prospects and intriguing matchups and storylines.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We'll give a quick preview of each, including the top five seeds, two lower seeds to watch for a potential run, up to eight top-ranked prospects, up to five sleeper prospects, an intriguing first-round matchup, a most intriguing potential second-round matchup and an overarching storyline entering the tournament.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Check out the Division-I Non-Select capsule below.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Top 5 seeds: </strong>No. 1 Ruston, No. 2 Neville, No. 3 Destrehan, No. 4 Airline, No. 5 St. Amant</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Lower seeds to watch: </strong>No. 25 Northshore, No. 28 Ouachita Parish </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2022 champion:</strong> Destrehan</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2022 runner-up:</strong> Ruston</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Top prospects: </strong>2024 Terrebonne WR [player_tooltip player_id='421515' first='Kylan' last='Billiot'], 2024 Ruston DL [player_tooltip player_id='421520' first='Ahmad' last='Breaux'], 2024 Zachary OL [player_tooltip player_id='675889' first='Kavion' last='Broussard'], 2024 Destrehan LB/DL [player_tooltip player_id='285192' first='Kolaj' last='Cobbins'], 2024 Zachary TE/WR [player_tooltip player_id='285194' first='Trey'Dez' last='Green'], 2024 Westgate DL [player_tooltip player_id='285269' first='De'Myrion' last='Johnson'], 2024 Ponchatoula LB [player_tooltip player_id='421604' first='Albert' last='Smith III'], 2025 Neville DL [player_tooltip player_id='710074' first='Brody' last='Whatley'].</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sleeper prospects: </strong>2024 Terrebonne DL [player_tooltip player_id='139502' first='Talan' last='Bingham'], 2024 Parkway DB [player_tooltip player_id='421644' first='Ashtin' last='Jackson'], 2024 Airline RB Trevon Jackson, 2024 Salmen RB [player_tooltip player_id='904082' first='Jacobi' last='Jefferson'], 2024 Ponchatoula DL/LB [player_tooltip player_id='901030' first='Jamaal' last='Sapp'].</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Intriguing first-round matchup: </strong>No. 15 East St. John vs. No. 18 Central (Baton Rouge)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Most intriguing possible second-round matchup:</strong> No. 8 West Monroe vs. No. 9 Walker</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Overall Storyline:</strong> The top of the bracket is full of familiar faces who once again largely appear to be the most legitimate contenders to bring home trophies. Top-seeded Ruston is full of leaders back from last year's runner-up team and determined the complete the mission this time around. Defending champion Destrehan is the loaded once again as the No. 3 seed in this year's bracket. And No. 2 Neville and No. 6 Zachary have been among Louisiana's most prominent and successful programs during the past decade. But don't overlook some ascending teams in higher seeds than usual, such as No. 4 Airline or No. 5 St. Amant; traditional powers in lower seeds after some ups and downs, such as No. 8 West Monroe or No. 16 Westgate; or even (a long list of) some other talented, but lower-seeded underdog teams more than capable of creating chaos, such as No. 18 Central (Baton Rouge) or No. 21 Mandeville. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->