Division-II Select Semifinals Capsule | 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-II 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 St. Charles Catholic vs. No. 4 University Lab — St. Charles Catholic beat University Lab, 10-7, in overtime in a 2023 semifinal at home.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>No. 6 Vandebilt Catholic vs. No. 7 Archbishop Shaw — Vandebilt Catholic and Archbishop Shaw split a pair of pre-district games in 2017 and 2018, the Terriers with a 35-0 home win in the first and the Eagles taking a 23-3 home win the following year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Quarterfinal outcomes</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>No. 1 St. Charles Catholic beat No. 8 E.D. White, 31-0, at home.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>No. 4 University Lab beat No. 5 Madison Prep, 32-30, at home.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>No. 6 Vandebilt Catholic beat No. 3 Lake Charles College Prep, 31-28, in overtime on the road.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>No. 7 Archbishop Shaw beat No. 2 Loyola Prep, 38-7, on the road. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Biggest surprise</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Nothing particularly shocking, but the Vandebilt Catholic pulling of its road upset to get back to the semifinals for the first time in a few years would probably fit the bill as well as any outcome. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Semifinalists' (recent) history</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>No. 1 St. Charles Catholic is back for the first time since its 2023 runner-up run and is in semis for the 11th time in the past 12 years, including wins each of the past five occasions.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>No. 4 University Lab is back in the semifinals for the first time since 2023 and the 13th time in the past 14 years.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>No. 6 Vandebilt Catholic is back in the semifinals for the first time since 2021 and hosting for the first time since 1977.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>No. 7 Archbishop Shaw is back in the semifinals for the third straight year and aiming for the Superdome for the second straight year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Matchups to watch</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>St. Charles Catholic and University Lab scrimmage one another every year and met in the 2023 semifinals, and this week's meeting should fit the typical bill of hard-fought battles in the series. Both teams feature strong running games, headlined by Comets senior [player_tooltip player_id='1601810' first='Skyler' last='Edwards'] and the Cubs duo of [player_tooltip player_id='401981' first='Sage' last='Ingram'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1752149' first='Corbin' last='Odell'], as well as strong defenses with talented and physical playmakers at every level, such as [player_tooltip player_id='212343' first='Lamar' last='Brown'], [player_tooltip player_id='1737066' first='Jordan' last='Pinnock'], [player_tooltip player_id='1594309' first='Maison' last='Smith'], [player_tooltip player_id='1603238' first='Lane' last='Mixon'], [player_tooltip player_id='485983' first='Emmanuel' last='Moses'] and [player_tooltip player_id='920623' first='Darius' last='Coleman Jr.'] around the box and middle of the field for U-High and [player_tooltip player_id='2074325' first='Byron' last='Bailey'], Brooks Monica, Kayden Asevedo and Briggs Anderson for SCC. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Overall storyline</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Top-seeded St. Charles Catholic is back atop the bracket after a year of growing pains in 2024, but, as mentioned above, has a likely battle on deck with a familiar and talented foe in University Lab. Reigning champ Archbishop Shaw has made its way back to the semifinals as the lowest seed and is playing some of its best ball at the right time of year, as arguably has been the relative Cinderella: a Vandebilt Catholic team that has a proud tradition and has put together an impressive season overall thus far with just one slip. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->