10 things we learned in Louisiana high school football Week 10

High School on SI scoured the Pelican State and gathered the 10 best storylines entering the LHSAA football playoffs

D'shaun Ford 22 runs the ball as the Opelousas High Tigers take on the Cecilia Bulldogs. Friday, Oct. 25, 2024. / SCOTT CLAUSE/USA TODAY Network / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Let's take a look back at Louisiana high school football Week 10 with an eye toward this week's opening round of the LHSAA football playoffs with 10 things to know.

1. Kross-Check

Opelousas Catholic was undefeated and locked in a Week 5 battle with St. Edmund when quarterback Kross Gillen went out with an injury. The Vikings lost the shootout, 46-42, and dropped two of their next three games.

Gillen is back with a vengeance, throwing for 268 yards and five TDs as the Vikings knocked Catholic Pointe Coupee from the unbeaten ranks by a 56-32 margin. Junior receiver Roderick Tezeno caught six passes (four for TDs) for 146 yards and returned a kick 65 yards to paydirt, according to Bobby Ardoin of St. Landry Now. 

When Gillen was injured, he was leading the Lafayette area in passing with 16 TDs and only one interception. Senior LSU-Eunice baseball commit Rowen Bergeron, who played QB in Gillen's absence, accounted for 194 rushing/receiving yards in the win over Catholic PC.

The No. 14 Vikings (7-3) host No. 19 Westminster Christian-Lafayette (7-3) in the first round of the Division IV select playoffs. If Opelousas Catholic wins, it will travel to No. 2 Ascension Catholic (8-1). The two clubs met twice last year with the Bulldogs and senior tailback Chad Elzy winning both times. The playoff rematch was a 77-43 shootout.

2. Trojan Tough 

Alexandria capped its first perfect regular season in 56 years and won its first district title in 12 years by stunning undefeated Neville, 42-16, according to John Marcase of Geaux Preps. 

LSU running back commit JT Lindsey rushed for 206 yards and two TDs on 30 carries, according to Bret McCormick of Louisiana vs. All Y'all. Vaughn Darbon added 88 yards and a TD. 

The No. 2 Trojans received a first-round bye and will host the winner of No. 15 Captain Shreve (6-4)/No. 18 Evangel Christian (5-5). If Evangel pulls off the upset, it will set up a matchup of sophomore QBs Peyton Houston, who leads the state in passing, against Alexandria signal-callers Karson Sellers and Max Gassiott.

Neville (9-1) maintained the top seed in Division I nonselect, which has only one undefeated team: No. 2 Airline (10-0).

3. Beware of these underdogs 

Opelousas and Cecilia, who met in the 2023 Division II nonselect finals, are seeded No. 14 and No. 18 in the bracket. Opelousas (6-3), which hosts No. 19 Bastrop (7-3), won it all last year as a No. 12 seed, running through No. 1 North DeSoto, No. 2 Cecilia, No. 4 Lutcher and No. 5 West Feliciana.

If the Tigers advance, they'll travel to No. 3 Jennings (9-1), which lost at Cecilia in the 2023 quarterfinals. Jennings returned running back ReJohn Zeno and has been getting excellent play from quarterback Chris Ned.

Cecilia (7-3), which has been without senior quarterback Diesel Solari for multiple games, will need to slow down Pearl River tailback Tashod Badon (6-2, 210), who had rushed for nearly 1,600 yards with 24 TDs through Week 9. The Rebels (5-4) lost at Abbeville in the first round last year.

4. Raider Nation

Northwest won its first outright district title since 2016, taking down Iota by a decisive 36-11 margin. The Raiders were forced to proceed without junior tailback Ke'Von Johnson, who was injured early in the first quarter, according to Eric Narcisse of The Acadiana Advocate. 

Johnson, who was averaging more than 10 yards per carry while rushing for almost 1,700 yards, was replaced by Samuel Leday, who ran for 89 yards and three TDs on 13 carries.

The Northwest defense limited Iota quarterback Peyton Renfro to 8 of 23 passing for 52 yards and a TD. 

The Raiders (8-2), who lost to Cecilia as the No. 22 seed in the Division II nonselect playoffs last year, are the No. 11 seed and will host No. 22 DeRidder (5-5) and running back Connor Ashford, who had rushed for 1,295 yards entering Week 10.

5. Cole World

North DeSoto receiver Cole Cory is back in the fold after missing some of the regular season due to injury. Last year, Cory hauled in 79 receptions for 1,431 yards and 15 TDs as the Griffins landed the No. 1 seed in Division II nonselect.

Cory is back for the playoffs for No. 7 North DeSoto (8-2), which hosts No. 26 Woodlawn-Shreveport (4-6) in a rematch of a regular season game won by the Griffins, 55-6.

Cory has 29 catches for 269 yards on the year. Quarterback Luke Delafield has spread the ball around to a group of receivers in Cory's absence, led by Chaz Martinez (25-488, six TDs).

6. Party in the Grove 

By all indications, Friday's meeting of District 2-2A rivals Oak Grove and Ouachita Christian looked to be an even matchup. The Tigers came into the contest on an eight-game winning streak after losing to Calvary Baptist to open the season.

OCS, which was 9-0, had won every game by at least 28 points, and was coming off impressive wins over a pair of 7-3 clubs in Mangham and Ferriday. 

The Tigers trounced the Eagles, 44-14, behind quarterback Jackson Bradley and tailback Jay Freeman. 

Bradley completed 11 of 15 passes for 234 yards and three TDs and rushed for 68 yards on 11 carries with a score. Freeman ran for 152 yards on 15 carries with a TD and caught two passes for 51 yards and a score. Brodie Stuart had five receptions for 101 yards and two TDs.

Oak Grove, which moved up to Division III nonselect, is the No. 3 seed and will host the winner of No. 14 Mansfield (6-4)/No. 19 Avoyelles (5-5).

No. 11 Ouachita Christian hosts No. 22 Glenbrook (5-3) in a first round Division IV select playoff game.

7. Cougar Feeding Frenzy

Edna Karr made a statement for the playoffs, blasting Archbishop Rummel, 69-28, in a matchup of top Catholic League programs. 

The Cougars (9-0), who are No. 1 in the Division I select bracket, got six TDs from junior quarterback John Johnson, who has played at an elite level the entire season. Johnson came into the game with 2,085 yards passing and 23 TDs with four interceptions.

Karr will take on the winner of No. 16 Hammond (6-4)/No. 17 Huntington (5-5). No. 5 Rummel (8-2) will entertain the No. 12 McDonogh 35 (6-3)/No. 21 Riverdale winner. 

8. Cowboy Up

Jewel Sumner rallied from a two-touchdown deficit to defeat Amite in overtime and clinch the district title, 29-27. The Cowboys (9-1) earned the No. 4 seed in Division III select and will host the No. 13 Slaughter Community Charter (6-3)/No. 20 Thomas Jefferson (5-5) winner. 

Jamohn Dyson, who scored the game-winning two-point conversion, rushed for 203 yards on 20 carries with a TD, according to Grant Chachere of Crescent City Sports.

No. 12 Amite (7-3) hosts No. 21 Sarah T. Reed (4-6) with the winner traveling to No. 5 Bunkie (10-0).

9. Temporary fix?

The LHSAA initially ruled that University Lab must forfeit seven wins because of two ineligible transfers from Liberty Magnet but reversed course and reinstated the wins after the Cubs obtained a temporary injunction from the 19th Judicial District Court.

The Cubs (8-2), who own wins over Class 5A Catholic-BR and St. Paul's, are now a No. 2 seed with a hearing on the injunction scheduled for next week. If U-High prevails in court, it will face the No. 15 Buckeye (6-4)/No. 18 Booker T. Washington-New Orleans (3-6) winner. 

10. Yellow Jackets' stinging 

Haynes Academy is one of the year's best storylines, posting a 10-0 record for the first time in school history. The No. 4 Yellow Jackets, who landed a bye and will host the No. 13 Istrouma (7-3)/No. 20 Booker T. Washington-Shreveport (4-6) winner, are led by tailback Lochlen Claverie, who ran for 426 yards on 31 carries with four TDs in a win over Young Audiences Charter. It was the third time this season that he set a school single-game rushing record, according to Chris Dabe of The New Orleans Advocate.

-- Mike Coppage | @sblivela