LHSAA Semifinals: Upsets Shake Playoffs as Catholic-New Iberia, Cecilia, and Central Shine

Special teams heroics, road warriors, and thrilling finishes headline the LHSAA semifinal round ahead of state championship matchups

Catholic.-New Iberia’s knocked off reigning Division III select state champion Calvary Baptist Academy during the LHSAA Select Division III semifinals, on Fri., Dec. 6, 2024. / Henrietta Wildsmith/The Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The semifinal round of the LHSAA playoffs is complete in Louisiana. Three upsets on Friday have been the talk of the state. We'll cover those and spotlight a few more games from the next to last week of prep football. If we didn't get to your team, check back in a few days for the Top 25 rankings and our state final preview & predictions.5

Catholic-New Iberia's special teams are special

The No. 7-seeded Panthers took the fight to No. 3 Calvary Baptist, the reigning Division III select state champion, which was installed as 9.5 point favorite by Roy Lang of The Shreveport Bossier Advocate.

Catholic scored first on an 18-yard TD pass from Luke Landry to Jaiden Mitchell and expanded its lead to double-digits in the second half when a Tristan Lewis run made it 21-10, but once Air Force signee Julius Moss gave the Cavaliers a 31-24 lead with less than two minutes remaining, the home crowd had to feel pretty good. 

But senior quarterback Luke Landry drove the Panthers 60 yards for a TD, finding Gavin Roy for 13 yards and Jaiden Mitchell for 41 yards to set up a Landry scoring pass to tight end Joseph LeBlanc.

Calvary Baptist (10-3) looked to be in even better shape once the Panthers' two-point conversion try failed. That's when Catholic kicker Bennett Boudreaux, who had already made one field goal, continued his special outing. 

Boudreaux's onside kick was recovered by the Panthers near midfield with just over a minute left. Landry moved the chains on 4th-and-10 from the CBA 44 with an 11-yard pass to Jake Wyman, who recently returned from injury. On 3rd-and-5, Landry connected with Mitchell again for seven yards.

On 4th down, Boudreaux's 26-yard field goal with one second left sent the Panthers (12-1) in the finals against No. 1 Dunham (13-0) on Friday at 3:30 PM in the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.

Landry completed 21 of 44 passes for 245 yards and three TDs with no interceptions. He added 28 yards rushing on six carries. Owen Morris (17-83) was the leading rusher. Lewis had 46 yards on four carries. 

As has been the case all season, the Panthers got production from several receivers: Wyman (6-28), Mitchell (5-84), Roy (4-41), LeBlanc (3-44, two TDs), Morris (2-28) and Layton Mitchell (1-20).

Cecilia Bulldogs are true 'Road Dawgs' 

No. 18 Cecilia earned a return trip to the Division II nonselect finals by downing a higher seed on the road for the fourth straight week. The Bulldogs spotted No. 6 Plaquemine an early lead, but quickly took control as senior quarterback Diesel Solari accounted for six TDs, according to Charles Salzer of The Baton Rouge Advocate.

Solari rushed for 112 yards on 12 carries with two TDs and completed 14 of 17 passes for 213 yards and four scores for Cecilia (11-3), which has knocked off the No. 15, No. 2, No. 7 and No. 6 seeds and will tangle with No. 1 Franklinton (12-1) on Friday at 7 P.M.

On 3rd and long in the second half, Solari threw it up for grabs and Ellis Stewart came down with the ball for a first down. On the next play, Solari faked a handoff to Braylon Calais and carried into the end zone for a 42-14 lead.

Calais had a key sack after the Green Devils (12-2) cut it to 42-21 and got the ball back again. Later, Solari completed a short pass to Stewart, who flipped it to Jermaine Davis on a hook and ladder play for a 49-21 lead. 

Calais added another long run. Brent Gordon caught a TD pass and intercepted two. Stewart had an interception, caught a TD pass and recovered a fumble and kick. 

Central upsets Neville on the road again

Last year, a No. 18-seeded Central team traveled to Monroe and stunned the No. 2 Tigers by one point. On Friday, the fourth-seeded Wildcats scored a special teams touchdown late in the fourth quarter to win, 17-13.

Defensive back Steven Ranel, who signed with the UL Ragin' Cajuns this week, blocked No. 1 Neville's field goal attempt with under three minutes remaining. Sophomore Marvin Joseph, a two-way player who has been a catalyst for the Wildcats (12-1), scooped up the ball and returned it 85 yards to paydirt.

The Wildcats, who will challenge reigning state champion No. 3 Ruston (11-2) at 3:30 P.M. on Saturday, held Neville on four downs and ran out the clock. Ranel had an interception earlier in the game.

Halftime deficit no problem for Dunham

Division III select No. 1 Dunham found itself trailing at halftime for the second straight week at home. Down 16-15 to undefeated Bunkie, the Tigers responded with 31 straight points in the second half to win, 46-22, at Parkview Baptist.

Graham Thornton recovered an onside kick near midfield early in the third quarter after an Elijah Haven QB keeper put the Tigers ahead, 22-16. A pass interference call on Bunkie moved the ball further into Panther territory. Haven found Trevor Hamen (6 rec., 124 yards, two touchdowns) for a short TD and a 29-16 advantage.

Haven accounted for 474 yards and six scores, according to Will Weathers of The Baton Rouge Advocate. 

This seems familiar 

Archbishop Shaw, which turned away No. 8 seed John F. Kennedy on four downs near the goal-line to win by a TD last week, stood firm again in a similar situation to defeat No. 5 Madison Prep, 35-28.

The top-seeded Eagles (11-2), who will face No. 3 E.D. White at noon on Friday in the Division II select finals, were on the verge of running out the clock against Madison Prep but turned the ball over late in the fourth quarter.

Chargers' QB Tylan Johnson ran 24 yards on fourth down to keep a potential game-tying or winning drive alive, according to Andrew Valenti of The New Orleans Advocate, but the Shaw defense held on fourth down from the seven. 

Cardinals contain Ford 

E.D. White's defense stood tall in Division II select against No. 7-seeded Leesville and tailback Xavier Ford, who was averaging close to 300 yards rushing per game.

The third-seeded Cardinals (11-2) cruised to a 41-13 win over the Wampus Cats (10-3). Grant Barbera and Carter Douglas combined for three rushing TDs, according to Rodrick Anderson of The American Press.

Ford, who was held to 44 yards in the first half, set single season state records with 3,467 yards and 52 TDs, according to BWS Sports. He finished Friday's game with approximately 150 yards and two scores.