Shreveport-Bossier and Monroe-Ruston Schools in the 2026 LHSAA Football Playoffs

By Staff @ Bayou Weekly

Schools from the Shreveport-Bossier and Monroe-Ruston areas are in the 2026 LHSAA football playoffs, with first-round bi-district games set for Thursday through Saturday, Nov. 12-14. The seeds, opponents and any sites or kickoffs below come from the LHSAA's official brackets as of Thursday morning, Nov. 12.

Bayou Weekly's Monday look at all eight brackets named every No. 1 seed after the pairings came out. Wednesday's bi-district preview listed the first-round sites and kickoffs the official brackets had posted by then. This is a closer look at the teams from those two north Louisiana communities. It includes the first-round games whose sites and kickoff times the LHSAA has already posted, and the matchups still waiting on a listing.

In the Monroe-Ruston area, Neville of Monroe is the No. 1 seed in Non-Select Division II and has a first-round bye. Ruston is the No. 4 seed in Non-Select Division I and also sits out the opening round. Ruston High School announced a city celebration after the 2023 Non-Select Division I championship, a title also recorded on the LHSAA's 2023 final brackets. Ouachita Christian is the No. 4 seed in Select Division IV and has a bye as well. The LHSAA's 2011 football brackets list West Monroe as that year's Class 5A champion, Neville as the Class 4A champion and Ouachita Christian as the Class 1A champion.

This week's first-round games in that area include No. 13 West Monroe against No. 20 Covington in Non-Select Division I. The LHSAA has not yet posted a site or kickoff for that game. No. 23 Ouachita Parish of Monroe, which won last season's Non-Select Division I championship 21-20 over Ruston according to the LHSAA's 2025 final brackets, plays No. 10 Thibodaux. That site and time also have not been posted. No. 11 Sterlington, which won Non-Select Division III in 2025 and 2024, faces No. 22 Beau Chene, with the site still unposted.

Two first-round games in the area do have a posted time, both on Friday, Nov. 13, at 7 p.m. In Select Division IV, No. 9 Cedar Creek of Ruston hosts No. 24 Lincoln Preparatory School of Grambling, and No. 14 St. Frederick of Monroe hosts No. 19 Delta Charter. No. 23 Richwood meets No. 10 Caldwell Parish in Non-Select Division III; the LHSAA has not posted a site or time for that game.

In the Shreveport-Bossier area, No. 5 Calvary Baptist and No. 8 Loyola Prep both have first-round byes in Select Division III. The 2023 final brackets list Calvary Baptist as that division's champion, and the school reached the 2025 final. No. 15 Airline of Bossier City hosts No. 18 Central of Baton Rouge on Friday at 7 p.m. in Non-Select Division I, one of the area's games with a posted kickoff. No. 11 Haughton and No. 22 Parkway of Bossier City meet in the same division; a site and time have not been posted.

On the Select Division I bracket, No. 12 Evangel Christian plays No. 21 Warren Easton; the LHSAA has not listed a site or kickoff for that game. No. 15 Captain Shreve of Shreveport plays No. 18 Hammond at Lee Hedges Stadium on Friday at 7 p.m. No. 20 Huntington faces No. 13 John Curtis Christian at Muss Bertolino Stadium on Friday at 7 p.m. In Non-Select Division II, No. 19 Northwood of Shreveport plays No. 14 Cecilia, with the site unposted. In Select Division II, No. 9 Booker T. Washington of Shreveport plays No. 24 McKinley, and Non-Select Division III has No. 12 Green Oaks against No. 21 Donaldsonville; those sites also have not been posted.

Where the brackets still have a blank for a site or kickoff, host schools are still filling them in. Check the official page before you head out. Bayou Weekly explained how the LHSAA seeds its brackets before the regular season ended. From here the schedule moves to the regional round Nov. 19-21. All eight state championships will be played at the Caesars Superdome Dec. 10-12.

Photo: Billy Hathorn, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (resized). Rebel Stadium at West Monroe High School, photographed in 2010.