Division-II Non-Select Preview Notes | LHSAA State Championships

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The LHSAA's annual Prep Classic football state championship event continues Friday with the two Division-II matchups, plus a Division-III Non-Select, continuing a slate of eight title games in three days.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Prep Redzone Louisiana will break down the overall storylines, paths teams took to reach the Caesars Superdome, programs' histories and players to watch.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Division-II Non-Select game will kick off Friday's three-game schedule.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>No. 1 North DeSoto (13-0) vs. No. 2 Iowa (13-0)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Two of the state's four remaining undefeated teams will matchup Friday, bringing both notable recent playoff history against one another and guaranteed history to play. Neither team had reached a state championship game before 2022 when North DeSoto ended Iowa's first-ever semifinal run just shy. Now, as the Griffins return for the second time and the Yellow Jackets finally reach the final stage, the winner will earn its first-ever state championship in program history.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The Paths</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>North DeSoto</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>— First-round bye</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>— Beat DeRidder, 56-13</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>— Beat Franklinton, 51-37</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>— Beat Plaquemine, 58-44</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Iowa</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>— First-round bye</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>— Beat Northwest, 68-28</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>— Beat Lutcher, 28-21</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>— Beat Belle Chasse, 28-21</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Recent Meetings</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>North DeSoto got the best of 2022 semifinal and 2023 quarterfinal meetings by margins of 38-9 and 45-21, respectively.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Players to Watch</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>North DeSoto</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2027 LB/DB Hayden Bell, 2026 QB [player_tooltip player_id='401978' first='Luke' last='Delafield'], 2026 LB Porter Doyal, 2026 OL [player_tooltip player_id='1601892' first='Nathan' last='Dubroc'], 2026 RB Braelyn Latin, 2028 WR [player_tooltip player_id='1545020' first='Braylon' last='Moore'], 2027 TE [player_tooltip player_id='422750' first='Miller' last='Warren'], 2026 RB [player_tooltip player_id='1345167' first='Kenny' last='Thomas']</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Iowa</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2026 RB J'vien Adams, 2027 QB Lawston Broussard, 2026 WR/ATH [player_tooltip player_id='1601751' first='Jeremiah' last='Bushnell'], 2027 DB/ATH [player_tooltip player_id='1632323' first='Kaston' last='Lewis']</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Matchup to watch</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>North DeSoto has been among the state's most explosive offenses this season and for the past few seasons with great balance from quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='401978' first='Luke' last='Delafield'], his weapons downfield and his senior running backs, including Louisiana Tech signee [player_tooltip player_id='1345167' first='Kenny' last='Thomas']. But the Iowa defense has been solid in its own right and, while some of the numbers allowed Friday may still exceed their previous averages, the Yellow Jackets will need to at least slow down the Griffins some and come away with a couple stops. That starts with slowing down Thomas enough to not let him dominate on the ground and to set up more favorable downs-and-distances to come after Delafield. If Iowa lets those guys get too comfortable, North DeSoto can be tough to keep pace with.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>State Championship History</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>North DeSoto: 0-1</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>— Loss in 2022</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Iowa: 0-0</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>— First appearance</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->