LHSAA Playoff Brackets: Top 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 second 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>Check out the Division-II Select capsule below.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Top 5 seeds: </strong>No. 1 St. Thomas More, No. 2 E.D. White, No. 3 Lafayette Christian, No. 4 John F. Kennedy, No. 5 Archbishop Shaw</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Lower seeds to watch: </strong>No. 10 Madison Prep, No. 12 Evangel Christian</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2022 champion:</strong> St. Thomas More</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2022 runner-up:</strong> Lafayette Christian</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Top prospects: </strong>2024 John F. Kennedy DB [player_tooltip player_id='285193' first='Bernard' last='Causey'], 2025 Vandebilt Catholic RB [player_tooltip player_id='145332' first='Jaylon' last='Coleman'], 2024 Lafayette Christian DL [player_tooltip player_id='285654' first='Melvin' last='Hills III'], 2024 Lafayette Christian QB/ATH [player_tooltip player_id='139261' first='Ju'Juan' last='Johnson'], 2024 Lafayette Christian LB/DL [player_tooltip player_id='421516' first='Sandy' last='Lewis'], 2024 Evangel Christian DL/LB [player_tooltip player_id='285618' first='Gabriel' last='Reliford'], 2024 Evangel Christian OL [player_tooltip player_id='675888' first='Tristan' last='Santoro'], 2024 Archbishop Shaw DL [player_tooltip player_id='678290' first='Jayden' last='Scott'].</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sleeper prospects: </strong>2024 St. Thomas More QB [player_tooltip player_id='285278' first='Sam' last='Altmann'], 2024 Archbishop Shaw DB [player_tooltip player_id='678291' first='Louis' last='Foster Jr.'], 2024 Lafayette Christian DB [player_tooltip player_id='145325' first='Ty' last='Lee'], 2024 E.D. White WR Paxton Lynch, 2024 Teurlings Catholic QB [player_tooltip player_id='144873' first='Preston' last='Welch'].</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Intriguing first-round matchup: </strong>No. 14 Peabody Magnet vs. No. 19 Booker T. Washington (New Orleans)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Most intriguing possible second-round matchup:</strong> No. 5 Archbishop Shaw vs. No. 12 Evangel Christian</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Overall Storyline:</strong> The stage is in most minds set for a rematch of last year's wild track meet and thriller of a state championship between St. Thomas More and Lafayette Christian. The district rivals met again last week in their third back-and-forth battle ultimately won by the Cougars by seven points or less — an average of five points. Could STM somehow keep so consistently surviving such a competitive series, or would Johnson and company be destined to finally turn the tables and bring their first title home since falling short in 2021 in their push for a fifth straight? Or, with so much attention on that potential rematch, could one of the number of hungry and viable contenders lining either of their paths turn those expectations on their heads? Second-seeded E.D. White has been exceptional throughout an undefeated regular season and would host a potential semifinal against Lafayette Christian. The New Orleans duo of an ascendent John F. Kennedy and resurgent Archbishop Shaw are the other top-seeded teams on the Cougars' side of the bracket. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->