LHSAA Playoff Brackets: Top Storylines, Prospects | Division-IV 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-IV Select capsule below.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Top 5 seeds: </strong>No. 1 Vermilion Catholic, No. 2 Ouachita Christian, No. 3 Southern Lab, No. 4 St. Martin's Episcopal, No. 5 Riverside Academy</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Lower seeds to watch: </strong>No. 9 Ascension Catholic, No. 11 Glenbrook Academy</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2022 champion:</strong> Ouachita Christian </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2022 runner-up:</strong> Vermilion Catholic</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Top prospects: </strong>2024 Ouachita Christian OL [player_tooltip player_id='675897' first='Ryder' last='Bentley'], 2025 St. Martin's Episcopal RB [player_tooltip player_id='291097' first='Harlem' last='Berry'], 2026 St. Frederick ATH [player_tooltip player_id='283985' first='Montrell' last='Conner Jr.'], 2024 Southern Lab DB [player_tooltip player_id='675891' first='Dylan' last='Day'], 2025 Ascension Catholic RB/ATH [player_tooltip player_id='710080' first='Chad' last='Elzy'] Jr., 2024 Southern Lab OL [player_tooltip player_id='145362' first='Jude' last='Foster'], 2025 Ascension Catholic DB/ATH DeMarcus Gant, 2024 Ouachita Christian ATH [player_tooltip player_id='678294' first='Tate' last='Hamby'].</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sleeper prospects: </strong>2024 St. Mary's ATH [player_tooltip player_id='678298' first='Ben' last='Bienvenu'], 2024 Riverside Academy DB [player_tooltip player_id='1203336' first='Jared' last='Campbell'], 2024 St. Mary's LB/DL [player_tooltip player_id='804170' first='Drake' last='Griffin'], 2026 St. Edmund RB Ke'Von Johnson, 2025 Riverside Academy RB Dedrick Lastie</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Intriguing first-round matchup: </strong>No. 16 Slaughter Community Charter vs. No. 17 Delhi Charter</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Most intriguing possible second-round matchup:</strong> No. 8 Opelousas Catholic vs. No. 9 Ascension Catholic</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Overall Storyline:</strong>&nbsp;The two teams that reached the Superdome in 2022 —&nbsp;champion Ouachita Christian and runner-up Vermilion Catholic — have been widely considered top contenders all year long, along with 2021 champion Southern Lab. And Vermilion Catholic managed to finish its second consecutive season undefeated, led by junior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='291147' first='Jonathan' last='Dartez'], and earn the No. 1 seed on the opposite side of the bracket from both those foes. But the top half is full of potential pit-falls, too, headlined by the slew of prolific running backs leading Riverside Academy, St. Martin's Episcopal and Ascension Catholic. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->