Louisiana High School Football Playoffs: Top Storylines from the Quarterfinals

From Manny Williams’ Return to Destrehan’s Dominance, Here’s What You Need to Know Heading into the Semifinals

Manny Williams returned to the Central BR lineup for the first time this season, since being injured in an automobile accident just prior to the start of the regular season, and contributed a key a 29-yard touchdown run in the Wildcats' 21-7 win over West Monroe. / Central High School

Check out storylines from the quarterfinal round of the LHSAA prep football playoffs below. If we didn't get to your team, please check out the Top 25 rankings and our semifinal predictions later in the week. 

Manny Williams’ Triumphant Return Sparks Central’s Quarterfinal Victory

Division I nonselect No. 4-seeded Central-BR has put together an outstanding season, and the Wildcats have done it without senior tailback Manny Williams, who was injured in an automobile accident just before the opener against De La Salle.

Williams made his debut in a 21-7 win over No. 24 West Monroe and rushed for a 29-yard touchdown, according to Charles Salzer of The Baton Rouge Advocate. 

Senior QB Jackson Firmin (112 yards) ran for a long score. The Wildcats' defense forced three turnovers. Sophomore Marvin Joseph recovered a fumble and ran for a TD. 

Central (11-1) travels to No. 1 Neville (11-1) next in a rematch of a 2023 regional game won by the No. 18 Wildcats, 17-16. Neville, which was a No. 2 seed, led 16-6 before Central rallied behind Firmin, who passed for 120 yards on eight completions with a TD, and the running of Damon Blocker. 

West Monroe finished with a 7-6 record. 

Destrehan Wildcats Dominate Airline with Malachi Dabney’s Five-Touchdown Performance

Add the 10th-seeded Wildcats to the short list of teams that seem to be playing at a different level. Malachi Dabney ran for 231 yards and five TDs - his second straight huge outing - in a 69-41 Division I nonselect win over No. 2 Airline in Bossier City. 

Junior quarterback Jackson Fields was 13 of 15 passing for 200 yards and a TD with no interceptions, according to Roy Lang of The Shreveport Bossier Advocate. Meanwhile, the Wildcats intercepted Airline QB Ben Taylor (400 yards, 3 TDs) twice. Semaj Walker had a pick-six. 

LSU receiver commit Phillip Wright (two touches, 56 yards) ran for a score. Jabari Mack (5 rec., 96 yards) caught a TD for the Wildcats (10-3), who travel to No. 3 Ruston (10-2). 

Destrehan mauled No. 7 Northwood-Shreveport in the regionals, 63-21. Airline, which finished with an 11-1 record, will graduate Taylor. LSU receiver commit Kenny Darby is a junior.

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John Curtis Christian Upsets Another Lafayette Team to Advance to the Semifinals

No. 19-seeded John Curtis Christian continued its run of upsets with a second straight win over a Lafayette-area team. The Patriots, who edged No. 3 Acadiana by a point in the second round, took a decisive 31-10 win over No. 6 Teurlings Catholic in the Division I select bracket.

Quarterback Reggie Johnson and running back Jacobi Boudreaux again had key performances for the Patriots (7-5), who will visit No. 2 Alexandria in the semifinals. The Trojans (12-0) had issues stopping Byrd's Wing-T offense, which lends intrigue to the matchup against another methodical running team in John Curtis. 

Johnson and Boudreaux combined for 180 yards on 21 carries. Each had a TD. Johnson was 3 of 6 passing for 54 yards and a touchdown to Xavier Brown. 

Hayden Delatte (10 solo tackles) and Jeffrey Curtis (nine) anchored a defense that collected two interceptions. 

Teurlings QB Alex Munoz, who was playing through an injury suffered the previous week against Jesuit, hadn't been picked off all season. The dual-threat was sacked four times after being corralled only three times in the previous 11 games, according to Kevin Foote of The Acadiana Advocate.

John Curtis beat No. 14 Brother Martin in the first round. Teurlings finished with a 10-2 record.

Catholic New Iberia Stuns Isidore Newman with a 31-0 Shutout

No. 7 Catholic New Iberia took no prisoners in its win over undefeated No. 2 Isidore Newman, sprinting to a 24-0 halftime lead en route to a 31-0 shutout to give a Lafayette area program a win over the NOLA area (Edna Karr beat St. Thomas More in another 504 vs. 337 game)

QB Luke Landry threw three TD passes to Jaiden Mitchell. Tristan Lewis ran for a score. Bennett Boudreaux was perfect on extra points and added a field goal for the Panthers (11-1), who will have another long road trip in the semifinals at No. 3 Calvary Baptist (10-2). 

Landry has passed for 2,377 yards and 34 TDs with three interceptions. Mitchell (44-822, 14 TDs) is the leading receiver in a talented room that includes Joseph LeBlanc (40-577, 11 TDs), Gavin Roy (21-360, four TDs), Jake Wyman (11-201, two TDs) and Tristan Lewis (11-148, two TDs), who has rushed for 308 yards on 42 carries with nine scores and is leader in the secondary.

Sophomore Karon Eugene, who was featured in our list of Top 20 Underclassmen, intercepted two passes against Newman to bring his season total to seven. Chris Green and JD Hidalgo, who led the team in tackles and averaged six yards per carry, each added an interception.

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Elijah Haven Leads Dunham to Thrilling Comeback Win Over Lafayette Christian

Sophomore Elijah Haven showed why he's the number one player in the nation on Friday, sparking Division III select top-seeded Dunham to a 34-30 win over Lafayette Christian, which held a seemingly comfortable 30-13 lead after three quarters. 

Haven racked up 369 yards of offense with five TDs (three passing, two rushing), according to Patrick Wright of The Baton Rouge Advocate. The Tigers (12-0), who host No. Bunkie (12-0) next, outgained LCA (131-to-2) in the fourth quarter. 

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Cecilia Bulldogs Thrive as Underdogs, Knocking Out North DeSoto in Shootout

No. 18 Cecilia has knocked out No. 15 Pearl River, No. 2 Lutcher and No. 7 North DeSoto, scoring a total of 148 points in the process.

The Bulldogs (10-3) beat North DeSoto, 57-40, in what was expected to surely be a shootout between quarterbacks Diesel Solari and Luke Delafield. 

Solari, after resting an injury late in the regular season, has thrown for 496 yards in the postseason with 411 yards rushing and six TDs. Sophomore Braylon Calais, a four-star prospect, has rushed for 397 yards in the last three games with eight scores. 

Ellis Stewart, who completed both of his passes for 68 yards in the quarterfinals, has 293 yards on 20 touches in the playoffs with three touchdowns. Calais and Brent Gordon each intercepted Delafield. Gordon, the Bulldogs' top defender, has six catches for 148 yards and three TDs - one in each playoff win. He rushed for 43 yards on two carries on Friday.

The Bulldogs have a shorter trip in the Division II nonselect semifinals at No. 6 Plaquemine (12-1), which ousted reigning state champion Opelousas, 35-22. Tyrese Mosby ran for 268 yards on 34 carries and caught a 64-yard pass from Nico Victorian (7 of 9, 133 yards).

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E.D. White Cardinals Deliver a Last-Minute Victory Over Vandebilt Catholic

E.D. White defeated local rival Vandebilt Catholic for the second time. The Cardinals, who won the regular season matchup, 21-14 at Vandebilt, managed the clock brilliantly, saving their timeouts for the final game-winning drive in a thrilling 23-18 win at home.

QB Grant Barbera marched the Cardinals - primarily a running team - down the field through the air and found a receiver behind double coverage who laid out in the end zone to make the grab.

The No. 3 Cardinals (10-2) host No. 7 Leesville (10-2) and 3,000-yard rusher Xavier Ford in the Division II select semifinals. Leesville, a public school in Vernon Parish, is in its first year in the select division.

Bunkie Survives a Slugfest at Jewel Sumner to Make Semifinal History

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Division III select No. 5 Bunkie hadn't been in a close game all season until its road trip to rural Tangipahoa Parish at No. 4 Jewel Sumner.

The Cowboys (10-2) led 6-0 at the half against a Bunkie offense that had scored at least 50 points in five games with a low of 26 against Central Catholic. 

Ron Patterson's 89-yard interception return for a TD put Bunkie up by eight points, 14-6. Sumner scored a late touchdown but failed to convert the two-point conversion to send Bunkie into the semifinals for the first time since 1988, according to Alex Allison of Gridiron Football. 

That year, Bunkie lost on a crazy late TD by Jonesboro-Hodge, which went on to dominate its district rival, Many High, in the Class 2A finals, 20-0. 

Jonesboro defensive back Brandon Bradley returned an interception 33 yards on the last play of the game in a 34-28 win.

Bunkie hosted Many in the regular season and won by three scores.