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:embed {"url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQDlQnV1i8k","type":"video","providerNameSlug":"youtube","responsive":true,"className":"wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQDlQnV1i8k </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Top 5 seeds: </strong>No. 1 St. Charles Catholic, No. 2 Loyola Prep, No. 3 Lake Charles College Prep, No. 4 University Lab, No. 5 Madison Prep</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Lower seeds to watch:</strong> No. 7 Archbishop Shaw, No. 8 E.D. White</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2024 champion:</strong> Archbishop Shaw</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2024 runner-up:</strong> E.D. White</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Top prospects: </strong>2028 John F. Kennedy WR Branden Boles Jr., 2026 University Lab OL/DL [player_tooltip player_id='212343' first='Lamar' last='Brown'], 2027 Archbishop Shaw DB [player_tooltip player_id='934561' first='Rontrae' last='Carter'], 2028 University Lab DB [player_tooltip player_id='1802167' first='Kameron' last='Grisby'], 2026 Madison Prep DB [player_tooltip player_id='1603222' first='Javen' last='Holmes'], 2027 Madison Prep DB/ATH [player_tooltip player_id='739753' first='Landon' last='Johnson'], 2026 University Lab DB [player_tooltip player_id='1197420' first='Erin' last='Moore'], 2027 University Lab DB [player_tooltip player_id='485983' first='Emmanuel' last='Moses'], 2026 University Lab EDGE/OL [player_tooltip player_id='1737066' first='Jordan' last='Pinnock'], 2027 University Lab OL/DL [player_tooltip player_id='1594309' first='Maison' last='Smith'], 2026 Archbishop Shaw DB [player_tooltip player_id='1741290' first='Jackson' last='Williams']</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sleeper prospects: </strong>2026 Northside DB [player_tooltip player_id='1737505' first='Mario' last='Alexander'], 2027 Lake Charles College Prep WR [player_tooltip player_id='1611372' first='Ayden' last='Carter'], 2026 University Lab WR [player_tooltip player_id='1581315' first='Lawson' last='Dixon'], 2026 John F. Kennedy DB Devin Duplessis, 2026 St. Charles Catholic RB [player_tooltip player_id='1601810' first='Skyler' last='Edwards'], 2026 L.B. Landry DB [player_tooltip player_id='1601988' first='Kristerphor' last='Griffin'], 2026 Vandebilt Catholic QB [player_tooltip player_id='1737492' first='Ethan' last='Heney'], 2026 University Lab RB [player_tooltip player_id='401981' first='Sage' last='Ingram'], 2026 Northside WR [player_tooltip player_id='1752151' first='Jai' last='Joseph'], 2026 Lake Charles College Prep OL [player_tooltip player_id='992769' first='Myles' last='Joseph'], 2026 St. Charles Catholic ATH Chrisd'on McClain, 2026 St. Charles Catholic LB Brooks Monica, 2026 Patrick Taylor DL Jackson Norwood, 2027 Loyola Prep QB [player_tooltip player_id='1651155' first='Bryce' last='Restovich'], 2026 John F. Kennedy EDGE Dominik Ruth, 2026 Madison Prep OL Sabion Sessions, 2026 Madison Prep EDGE/LB [player_tooltip player_id='1603236' first='Cannon' last='Walker'], 2026 Loyola Prep OL [player_tooltip player_id='1603201' first='Ian' last='Wallace']</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Intriguing first-round matchup: </strong>No. 11 George Washington Carver vs. No. 22 Livingston Collegiate</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Most intriguing possible second-round matchup:</strong> No. 5 Madison Prep vs. No. 12 John F. Kennedy</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Overall Storyline:</strong> St. Charles Catholic appears back to its title-contending form after its new group battled through some growing pains and lessons in 2024, but the No. 1 Comets are the headliners of arguably the division's four top contenders — or at least four of its top five or six — all on the top half of the bracket. And as much attention as may be on SCC, University Lab, Madison Prep and E.D. White, the bottom half of the bracket has some capable contenders headlined by reigning champion Archbishop Shaw that has had another strong season despite a few hiccups or Loyola Prep, Lake Charles College Prep and Vandebilt Catholic all somewhat quietly putting together great seasons in their respective corners of the state. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->