Division-IV 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-IV 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 Vermilion Catholic vs. No. 12 Kentwood — Vermilion Catholic won the 2003 Class 1A state championship, 10-6.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>No. 2 Ascension Catholic vs. No. 11 Ouachita Christian — Ouachita Christian won a 2022 semifinal, 42-14, and 2021 second-round matchup, 42-0.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Quarterfinal outcomes</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>No. 1 Vermilion Catholic beat No. 8 St. Edmund, 60-20</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>No. 12 Kentwood beat No. 13 Southern Lab, 50-32</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>No. 11 Ouachita Christian beat No. 3 Covenant Christian, 30-14</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>No. 2 Ascension Catholic beat No. 7 Riverside Academy, 40-35</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Biggest surprise</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Kentwood beating rival Southern Lab by an 18-point margin. No major surprises in terms of which teams reached the semifinals, even despite two double-digit seeds advancing. Both Kentwood and Ouachita Christian are perennial contenders whose lower seeds were more surprising than their playoff runs. But most matchups between Kentwood and Southern Lab have been particularly close margins, and often with the Kittens clawing out the win. Friday marked the Kangaroos' biggest win in the series in more than a decade.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Top performers</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2027 Kentwood QB/ATH [player_tooltip player_id='1610257' first='Ahmade' last='Bickham Jr.'], 2025 Kentwood RB Ja'Marion Burton, 2025 Vermilion Catholic QB [player_tooltip player_id='291147' first='Jonathan' last='Dartez'], 2025 Ascension Catholic RB [player_tooltip player_id='710080' first='Chad' last='Elzy'] Jr., 2025 Ouachita Christian RB [player_tooltip player_id='1596645' first='Makin' last='Lenard'].</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Semifinalists' (recent) history</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Vermilion Catholic — Three straight semifinals, including a 2022 win. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Kentwood — Back-to-back semifinals for the first time since eight straight from 2012 to 2019. Last semifinal wins came back-to-back in 2017 and 2018.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ascension Catholic — Second semifinal in three years, seeking first win since back-to-back state runner-up finishes in 2017 and 2018.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ouachita Christian — Sixth straight semifinal, including four straight wins from 2019 to 2022.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Matchups to watch</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Vermilion Catholic quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='291147' first='Jonathan' last='Dartez']</strong> has been one of the state's most-prolific dual-threat weapons throughout his entire high school career. But Kentwood, headlined by senior <strong>La'Mikal Callahan</strong> will mark the most athletic and disruptive defensive front the Eagles have faced in more than two months, if not all season. Whether the Kangaroos can contain and even consistently disrupt Dartez and company or he can keep up his string of impressive performances should be one of the more intriguing on-field matchups this week.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Overall storyline</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Both of last year's finalists, champion Southern Lab and runner-up Riverside Academy, were eliminated this past weekend. Can the 2022 finalists, champion Ouachita Christian and Vermilion Catholic, force a rematch? Will Ascension Catholic or Kentwood get back to the Superdome for the first time since 2018? Can top-seeded Vermilion Catholic follow up its third straight undefeated regular season and complete the mission of its first state championship since 2013?</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->