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 third 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>This season is also the first in a new two-year classification cycle, so a few notable programs have changed divisions, which we'll note as well. </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 Neville, No. 2 Airline, No. 3 Ruston, No. 4 Central (Baton Rouge), No. 5 Mandeville </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Lower seeds to watch: </strong>No. 9 Terrebonne, No. 10 Destrehan, No. 11 Dutchtown, No. 12 Parkway, No. 14 Zachary, No. 18 Westgate, No. 21 West Monroe, No. 22 Walker</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2023 champion:</strong> Ruston</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2023 runner-up:</strong> Zachary</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Top prospects: </strong>2025 Ruston DB [player_tooltip player_id='914207' first='Aidan' last='Anding'] (LSU), 2027 Ruston DB [player_tooltip player_id='1356159' first='Jayden' last='Anding'], 2026 Ouachita Parish DL [player_tooltip player_id='401954' first='Dylan' last='Berymon'], 2025 Ruston QB/ATH [player_tooltip player_id='710076' first='Joshua' last='Brantley'] (Tulane), 2026 Zachary WR [player_tooltip player_id='920618' first='Kristion' last='Brooks'], 2026 Neville DB [player_tooltip player_id='920694' first='Julian' last='Burns'], 2026 Terrebonne RB/ATH Alvin Celestine Jr., 2026 Ouachita Parish QB/ATH [player_tooltip player_id='283985' first='Montrell' last='Conner Jr.'], 2026 Airline WR [player_tooltip player_id='1237613' first='Kenny' last='Darby'] (LSU), 2025 Airline WR [player_tooltip player_id='1549576' first='Jarvis' last='Davis'] Jr., 2026 Destrehan QB [player_tooltip player_id='401763' first='Jackson' last='Fields'], 2026 Parkway ATH [player_tooltip player_id='401735' first='Antonio' last='Gladney'], 2025 Westgate RB [player_tooltip player_id='914094' first='Tavias' last='Gordon'], 2025 Dutchtown RB [player_tooltip player_id='1331302' first='Lekedrin' last='Harvey'], 2027 Mandeville DB [player_tooltip player_id='423247' first='Dylan' last='Henry'], 2025 Ruston LB [player_tooltip player_id='710083' first='Zheric' last='Hill'], 2027 Ruston TE [player_tooltip player_id='1257121' first='Ahmad' last='Hudson'], 2025 Westgate ATH [player_tooltip player_id='914092' first='Davian' last='Jackson'] (Missisippi State), 2025 Dutchtown DL [player_tooltip player_id='1214125' first='Joshua' last='Lewis'], 2026 Destrehan WR/ATH [player_tooltip player_id='212340' first='Jabari' last='Mack'], 2025 Parkway DB [player_tooltip player_id='144895' first='Carmaro' last='Mayo'], 2025 Central (Baton Rouge) DL [player_tooltip player_id='914090' first='D.K.' last='Mays'] (Houston), 2025 Terrebonne WR Quincey McKay (Tuskegee), 2026 Terrebonne OL [player_tooltip player_id='920609' first='O'Ryan' last='Mosley'], 2025 Parkway DL [player_tooltip player_id='912286' first='Devon' last='Oliver'], 2025 Neville DB Cameron Riley (Louisiana-Lafayette), 2027 Sam Houston OL/DL [player_tooltip player_id='1593644' first='Albert' last='Simien'], 2025 Destrehan WR/ATH [player_tooltip player_id='291153' first='Johnnie' last='Thiel IV'], 2025 Destrehan DB [player_tooltip player_id='710272' first='Jhase' last='Thomas'] (LSU), 2028 Live Oak WR/DB [player_tooltip player_id='1372155' first='Calvin' last='Ursin'], 2025 Neville DL [player_tooltip player_id='710074' first='Brody' last='Whatley'] (TCU), 2026 Destrehan WR [player_tooltip player_id='710969' first='Gregory' last='Wilfred'], 2025 H.L. Bourgeois DL/OL [player_tooltip player_id='291085' first='Tyron' last='Winslow'] (SMU), 2025 Destrehan WR [player_tooltip player_id='426964' first='Phillip' last='Wright III'], 2026 Neville WR [player_tooltip player_id='1238574' first='Ze'land' last='Young']</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sleeper prospects: </strong>2025 Mandeville RB [player_tooltip player_id='1644681' first='Isaiah' last='Baham'], 2025 Covington DB [player_tooltip player_id='710082' first='Jeremie' last='Elzy'], 2025 Walker RB/ATH [player_tooltip player_id='740987' first='Cayden' last='Jones'], 2025 West Monroe DL [player_tooltip player_id='920696' first='Smoltz' last='Lilly'], 2025 Central (Baton Rouge) LB/DB [player_tooltip player_id='1214139' first='KD' last='Mays'], 2025 Central (Baton Rouge) DB [player_tooltip player_id='710078' first='Steven' last='Ranel'], 2025 St. Amant DB [player_tooltip player_id='914202' first='Caleb' last='Ricks'], 2025 Southside RB [player_tooltip player_id='1598112' first='Ramon' last='Singleton Jr.'], 2025 Mandeville DB [player_tooltip player_id='1214140' first='Michael' last='White']</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Intriguing first-round matchup: </strong>No. 12 Parkway vs. No. 21 West Monroe</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Most intriguing possible second-round matchup:</strong> No. 3 Ruston vs. No. 14 Zachary</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Overall Storyline:</strong> A trio of north Louisiana powers lead the group. Top-seeded Neville is wrapping up a 9-1 regular season in its first year back in Class 5A, and its District 2-5A rival Ruston, the defending state champion, is the No. 3 seed. The lone undefeated team in the bracket, Airline, is the No. 2 seed. And, further south, Central (Baton Rouge) earned the No. 4 seed and the division's final bye with its strong finished to the season, which included a win against 2023 runner-up Zachary. Those Broncos are among several notable lower-seeded teams to watch this year, though. Division-I Non-Select easily boasts the most intriguing slate of first-round games, which speaks to the potential depth of the group. And the paths are loaded with rematches for district games from this season and recent playoff battles that should only further underscore the intensity every step of the way. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->