LHSAA Playoff Brackets: Storylines, Prospects | D-II 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-II Select capsule below.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Top 5 seeds: </strong>No. 1 Archbishop Shaw, No. 2 University Lab, No. 3 E.D. White, No. 4 Haynes Academy, No. 5 Madison Prep</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Lower seeds to watch: </strong>No. 12 St. Charles Catholic, No. 13 Istrouma, No. 20 Booker T. Washington (Shreveport) </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2023 champion:</strong> St. Thomas More (now in Division-I)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2023 runner-up:</strong> Lafayette Christian (now in Division-I); 2023 Division-III Select runner-up St. Charles Catholic joins bracket</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Top prospects: </strong>2026 University Lab OL/DL [player_tooltip player_id='212343' first='Lamar' last='Brown'], 2026 Archbishop Shaw DB [player_tooltip player_id='920617' first='J'Quan' last='Carter'], 2027 Archbishop Shaw DB [player_tooltip player_id='934561' first='Rontrae' last='Carter'], 2025 Vandebilt Catholic RB/ATH [player_tooltip player_id='145332' first='Jaylon' last='Coleman'] (Liberty), 2025 Leesville RB [player_tooltip player_id='710079' first='Xavier' last='Ford'], 2025 University Lab DB [player_tooltip player_id='291157' first='Jayden' last='Gloston'] (Louisiana-Lafayette), 2025 University Lab LB [player_tooltip player_id='144902' first='Alec' last='Haynes'], 2025 John F. Kennedy WR [player_tooltip player_id='902053' first='Kingston' last='Jones'] (Louisiana Tech), 2025 University Lab WR [player_tooltip player_id='148530' first='Zay' last='Martin'] (Southeastern Louisiana) 2027 University Lab DB [player_tooltip player_id='485983' first='Emmanuel' last='Moses'], 2025 University Lab LB [player_tooltip player_id='144905' first='Keylan' last='Moses'] (LSU), 2025 Archbishop Shaw RB [player_tooltip player_id='913900' first='Jasper' last='Parker'] (Michigan), 2025 Istrouma RB/ATH [player_tooltip player_id='1221023' first='Kyree' last='Paul'] (Southeastern Louisiana), 2025 University Lab QB [player_tooltip player_id='734867' first='Emile' last='Picarella'], 2025 St. Charles Catholic WR [player_tooltip player_id='1214147' first='Noah' last='Tucker'], 2025 Archbishop Shaw WR [player_tooltip player_id='940926' first='Jacob' last='Washington'] (Michigan)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sleeper prospects: </strong>2026 St. Charles Catholic DB [player_tooltip player_id='1348475' first='Prystyn' last='Cambre'], 2025 Haynes Academy RB/LB [player_tooltip player_id='1596771' first='Lochlen' last='Claverie'], 2025 Archbishop Shaw LB [player_tooltip player_id='912251' first='Sheldon' last='Green'], 2025 Madison Prep QB [player_tooltip player_id='291086' first='Tylan' last='Johnson'], 2025 Loranger QB [player_tooltip player_id='291167' first='Colton' last='Morris'], 2027 Loyola Prep QB Bryce Restovich</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Intriguing first-round matchup: </strong>No. 13 Istrouma vs. No. 20 Booker T. Washington (Shreveport)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Most intriguing possible second-round matchup:</strong> No. 5 Madison Prep vs. No. 12 St. Charles Catholic</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Overall Storyline:</strong>&nbsp;The biggest storyline in Division-II Select unfortunately centers off-field with the LHSAA and No. 2 seed University Lab, one of the most capable championship contenders in the group, awaiting litigation to determine whether the Cubs will officially remain in the bracket or be forced to forfeit the bulk of their season. Top-seeded Archbishop Shaw looks to be the favorite either way, but the path could swiftly open up depending on the U-High ruling and an on-field upset or two. The bayou region boasts a pair of intriguing high seeds in No. 3 E.D. White and No. 6 Vandebilt Catholic. No. 4 Haynes Academy, enjoying a cinderella season thus far, is the lone undefeated team of the bunch. Madison Prep is a No. 5 seed battle-tested through non-district matchups with Class 5A foes. And, also notably, No. 8 John F. Kennedy would have been an even higher seed if not for three early-season forfeits of games the Cougars won on the field. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->