Division-III Select Semifinals Preview | LHSAA Playoffs

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Louisiana's final 32 football teams are standing one more win from the always-coveted trip to the Caesars Superdome.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sixteen will advance to next week's state championship games, while 16 will head home Friday with semifinal losses.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We continue to look each week, division by division, at the developing bracket, including notable outcomes, top performers and intriguing matchups.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Check out the latest Division-III Select capsule below.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Semifinal matchups — Last meeting</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>No. 1 Dunham vs. No. 5 Bunkie — First meeting in at least 20 years, if ever.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>No. 3 Calvary Baptist vs. No. 7 Catholic (New Iberia) —&nbsp;Catholic (NI) won a second-round game, 49-28, on its way to its 2017 state championship. Calvary Baptist won the 2014 championship game, 27-24, and a 2013 semifinal, 34-33, on its way to the title.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Quarterfinal outcomes</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>No. 1 Dunham beat No. 9 Lafayette Christian, 34-30</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>No. 5 Bunkie beat No. 4 Jewel Sumner, 14-12</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>No. 3 Calvary Baptist beat No. 6 Episcopal (Baton Rouge), 52-10</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>No. 7 Catholic (New Iberia) beat No. 2 Isidore Newman, 31-0</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Biggest surprise</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>No big surprise in terms of which teams won last week's quarterfinals, so much as just the lopsided fashion in which Catholic (New Iberia) routed Isidore Newman and the thrilling fashion in which Dunham roared back past Lafayette Christian with a 21-0 fourth quarter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Top performers</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2025 Bunkie QB [player_tooltip player_id='915073' first='Dillon' last='Compton'], 2027 Dunham QB [player_tooltip player_id='642719' first='Elijah' last='Haven'], 2027 Calvary Baptist WR/DB [player_tooltip player_id='934564' first='Braylun' last='Huglon'], 2025 Bunkie [player_tooltip player_id='291084' first='Kyle' last='Johnson'], 2025 Catholic (New Iberia) QB [player_tooltip player_id='1596562' first='Luke' last='Landry'], 2025 Calvary Baptist LB [player_tooltip player_id='291164' first='Cole' last='Miller'], 2025 Lafayette Christian RB [player_tooltip player_id='914215' first='Jalen' last='Noel'], 2026 Bunkie DB [player_tooltip player_id='1601981' first='Ron' last='Patterson'], 2025 Calvary Baptist QB [player_tooltip player_id='144901' first='Abram' last='Wardell']</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Semifinalists' (recent) history</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Dunham —&nbsp;Second semifinal in three years, and third in the past six</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bunkie — First semifinal appearance since 1988</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Calvary Baptist — Back-to-back semifinals and four semifinals in the past five years</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Catholic (New Iberia) —&nbsp;First semifinal since 2019, which was the last of a four-year streak</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Matchup to watch</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Dunham's sophomore quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='642719' first='Elijah' last='Haven']</strong> is one of state's top prospects, including an LSU offer already in hand, and showed why last week as he helped the lead the 34-30 quarterfinal comeback. Bunkie will bring an athletic defensive backfield to Baton Rouge to face the Tigers' big-play offense with Haven and his cast of downfield weapons, including junior receiver <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='710974' first='Jarvis' last='Washington'] Jr.</strong> For the Panthers, new Mississippi State signee <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='291084' first='Kyle' last='Johnson']</strong> headlines the group from a prospect standpoint, and junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1601981' first='Ron' last='Patterson']</strong> is fresh off another stellar performance that included a long pick-six in a tight, low-scoring win.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Overall storyline</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Undefeated No. 1 Dunham and reigning champion Calvary Baptist have appeared arguably the teams to beat in the division for much of the season. But the Tigers and Cavaliers will have to get past a more-than-capable pair of challengers in also-undefeated Bunkie and one-loss Catholic, two of the state's hottest teams off impressive quarterfinal wins in their respective rights. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->