LHSAA Bi-District Games of the Week: Where and When Louisiana's Playoffs Kick Off

By Staff @ Bayou Weekly

Louisiana's high school football playoffs open with the bi-district round Thursday through Saturday, Nov. 12-14, and as of Wednesday morning the LHSAA's official brackets list a site and kickoff for 25 of the 80 first-round games. Nearly all of them are set for Friday, Nov. 13, at 7 p.m.

Bayou Weekly's Monday look at all eight brackets named every No. 1 seed. Those top seeds, along with the other teams that earned first-round byes, wait for the regional round Nov. 19-21. That leaves everyone else to play this week. These are the games of the week, chosen from what the LHSAA has posted so far: the opener, the closest seed pairing on each bracket and the games set for named stadiums.

The first kickoff of the playoffs is in Non-Select Division IV. No. 11 Oak Grove hosts No. 22 Ringgold on Thursday, Nov. 12, at 7 p.m., according to the Division IV Non-Select bracket. It is the only Thursday game posted on any of the eight brackets.

Every bracket also has a No. 16 vs. No. 17 game, the closest seeds to meet in the first round, and each winner moves on to face its division's top seed. Six of those eight games have a posted site and time, all on Friday at 7 p.m. In Non-Select Division I, No. 16 Slidell hosts No. 17 Southside, and the winner meets No. 1 Mandeville. In Select Division I, No. 16 John Ehret and No. 17 Holy Cross meet at Hoss Memtsas Stadium in Harvey, with No. 1 St. Augustine waiting. No. 16 Archbishop Hannan hosts No. 17 Lord Beaconsfield Landry in Select Division II, and the winner gets No. 1 Archbishop Shaw.

In Select Division III, No. 16 Pope John Paul II hosts No. 17 Metairie Park Country Day, and No. 1 Notre Dame is next. Non-Select Division IV sends No. 17 Franklin to No. 16 West St. Mary, with No. 1 East Feliciana ahead. And in Select Division IV, No. 16 Glenbrook hosts No. 17 St. Martin's Episcopal, and the winner meets No. 1 Riverside Academy.

The other two 16-17 games are still waiting on a site and time from the LHSAA. No. 16 Plaquemine and No. 17 Belle Chasse play for a regional date with No. 1 Neville in Non-Select Division II, and No. 16 Winnfield and No. 17 South Beauregard play for a meeting with No. 1 Jena in Non-Select Division III.

A few first-round games are set for named stadiums. No. 13 John Curtis Christian hosts No. 20 Huntington at Muss Bertolino Stadium in Select Division I on Friday at 7 p.m. In Non-Select Division IV, No. 5 Lake Arthur, the highest seed in that bracket playing this week, meets No. 28 North Central at Jack Doland Memorial Stadium at 7 p.m. In Select Division III, No. 9 Dunham hosts No. 24 Fisher at Dunham Stadium on Siegen Lane in Baton Rouge at 6 p.m. That is the only first-round kickoff posted so far that isn't set for 7 p.m.

The rest of the posted games are all Friday at 7 p.m. at the first-named school. In Non-Select Division I, No. 15 Airline hosts No. 18 Central of Baton Rouge. Non-Select Division II has No. 7 Lutcher hosting No. 26 North Vermilion, No. 10 Iowa hosting No. 23 DeRidder and No. 12 West Feliciana hosting No. 21 Minden. In Non-Select Division III, No. 6 Rosepine hosts No. 27 Oakdale and No. 13 Vidalia hosts No. 20 Lakeside. No. 12 Welsh hosts No. 21 East Iberville and No. 9 Grand Lake hosts No. 24 LaSalle in Non-Select Division IV.

On the Select side, No. 14 St. Paul's hosts No. 19 Woodlawn of Baton Rouge in Division I. Division III has No. 10 Catholic of New Iberia hosting No. 23 Beekman Charter, No. 11 Bunkie hosting No. 22 St. Louis Catholic and No. 15 Episcopal hosting No. 18 St. Thomas Aquinas. In Division IV, No. 9 Cedar Creek hosts No. 24 Lincoln Preparatory School, No. 12 Ascension Episcopal hosts No. 21 Central Catholic and No. 14 St. Frederick hosts No. 19 Delta Charter.

The other 55 first-round matchups are set, but their sites and kickoff times have not been posted by the LHSAA yet. Host schools are still filling them in. The brackets showed 12 posted kickoffs on Monday morning, 24 on Tuesday and 25 on Wednesday, so check your team's bracket before you head to the stadium. If you're new to how the field was built, Bayou Weekly explained how the LHSAA seeds its brackets before the regular season ended.

All eight state championships will be played at the Caesars Superdome Dec. 10-12. Bayou Weekly will round up the first-round results on Saturday.

Photo: Billy Hathorn, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (resized). The track and football field at Sterlington High School, photographed in 2011.