LHSAA Playoff Brackets: Storylines, Prospects | D-IV 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-IV Select capsule below.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Top 5 seeds: </strong>No. 1 Vermilion Catholic, No. 2 Ascension Catholic, No. 3 Covenant Christian, No. 4 St. Frederick, No. 5 Ascension Episcopal</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Lower seeds to watch: </strong>No. 9 St. Martin's Episcopal, No. 10 Hamilton Christian, No. 11 Ouachita Christian, No. 12 Southern Lab, No. 13 Kentwood, No. 14 Central Catholic, No. 15 Opelousas Catholic</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2022 champion:</strong> Southern Lab</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2022 runner-up:</strong> Riverside Academy</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Top prospects: </strong>2025 Southern Lab RB [player_tooltip player_id='1221036' first='Armariyan' last='Asberry'], 2025 St. Martin's Episcopal RB [player_tooltip player_id='291097' first='Harlem' last='Berry'], 2026 Southern Lab QB [player_tooltip player_id='920698' first='Jerry' last='Bottley IV'], 2026 Covenant Christian WR [player_tooltip player_id='710975' first='Jaden' last='Carter'], 2025 Ascension Catholic RB/ATH [player_tooltip player_id='710080' first='Chad' last='Elzy'] Jr., 2026 Southern Lab WR/DB [player_tooltip player_id='401952' first='Denim' last='Hunt'], 2028 Riverside Academy ATH [player_tooltip player_id='1372189' first='Kenric' last='Johnson Jr.'], 2025 Catholic (Pointe Coupee) OL/DL [player_tooltip player_id='1214145' first='Rory' last='Lambert'], 2026 Opelousas Catholic WR [player_tooltip player_id='283987' first='Roderick' last='Tezeno Jr.'], 2027 Hamilton Christian ATH [player_tooltip player_id='934559' first='Javon' last='Vital']</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sleeper prospects: </strong>2025 Westminster Christian (Lafayette) WR/DB David Beazley, 2025 Kentwood DL [player_tooltip player_id='710089' first='LaMikal' last='Callahan'], 2025 Vermilion Catholic QB [player_tooltip player_id='291147' first='Jonathan' last='Dartez'], 2025 Riverside Academy RB [player_tooltip player_id='1214154' first='Dedric' last='Lastie'], 2025 St. Edmund WR Blake Moran, 2025 Ouachita Christian TE [player_tooltip player_id='1596679' first='Cooper' last='Russell'], 2025 St. Frederick DL/OL Sanplice Simien</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Intriguing first-round matchup: </strong>No. 10 Hamilton Christian vs. No. 23 St. John</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Most intriguing possible second-round matchup:</strong> No. 2 Ascension Catholic vs. No. 15 Opelousas Catholic</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Overall Storyline:</strong>&nbsp;Vermilion Catholic, the 2022 runner-up, finished a third straight undefeated regular season and earned the top seed in the bracket once again. But the field is once again strong with not only the top eight seeds (each of which enjoys a first-round bye) capable of deep runs, but No. 9 St. Martin's Episcopal and No. 10 Hamilton Christian boasting two of the state's most electric players and a trio of perennial powers with recent state-championship history all outside the top 10 seeds in No. 11 Ouachita Christian, No. 12 Kentwood and No. 13 Southern Lab. As a result, the division should be loaded with intriguing matchups, particularly beginning in the second round and carrying all the way to the Superdome in December. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->