Suddenly, there’s only two weeks left in the high school football regular season.
That means it’s time for fans to start checking out how their teams stand in the LHSAA’s power rankings.
For some, it’s about getting a home game in the playoffs. For others, it’s about getting the highest seed possible. For still others, it’s about qualifying for the postseason.
Perhaps the most interesting team in the area is Southside. The Sharks are No. 13 in the Division I nonselect rankings coming off a 17-14 upset of St. Thomas More on Friday.
Good teams who fall in the 11-13 or 20-23 seeding range typically get good first-round draws. The thing with Southside, though, is the Sharks (5-3) play at Acadiana (No. 9 in Div. I select) on Friday and finish with Barbe (No. 2 in Div. I nonselect) at home.
That’s a lot of potential upward mobility if Southside can pull off two more wins. What an impressive finish to the regular season that would be.
The Division I select side also has some intriguing possibilities. St. Thomas More (6-2) is No. 7 and finishes with Sam Houston (3-5) and Sulphur (5-3).
Meanwhile, Lafayette High (5-3) at 11th, just two spots behind Acadiana. The two teams finish the regular season against each other next week, but Acadiana must first play Southside on Friday.
The busiest bracket for the Acadiana area is the Division II nonselect bracket with 10 teams in the top 32.
Leading the way is unbeaten Westgate in the No. 2 spot behind top-ranked Neville, but first the Tigers must deal with Lafayette Renaissance — No. 7 in the select Division II bracket — Friday in hopes to maintaining that lofty position.
Only two spots behind Westgate is undefeated Eunice at No. 4. If the Bobcats can avoid upsets from Crowley and Iota to finish the regular season, they might stay in the top four.
Fresh off a dramatic 50-48 win over Cecilia, Opelousas (6-2) stands No. 7 and will be heavily favored to win out with Breaux Bridge and Beau Chene left.
Cecilia’s three losses are to Barbe, Notre Dame and Opelousas and yet the Bulldogs are at No. 17 and are hoping wins over Livonia and Carencro would earn them a home playoff game.
Beau Chene (7-1) is No. 15, but will have its work cut out with Carencro and Opelousas remaining.
Northwest (5-3) is also fighting for a home game at No. 16. The Raiders have a tough one with Church Point on Friday. The Bears are No. 4 in the Division III bracket and will likely need to beat Northwest to stay in the top four.
Then there’s Erath (4-4) at No. 21, North Vermilion (5-3) at No. 22 and Iota (4-4) just fighting to earn a spot in the top 28.
Erath must play Kaplan — No. 7 in Division III — in Week 10, so that won’t be easy.
In the Division II select bracket, Lafayette Renaissance (6-2) could rise above No. 7 with a win over Westgate on Friday, while Carencro (4-4) has rebounded well from a rough start and has two opportunities to improve upon its current No. 15 spot with Beau Chene and Cecilia left.
Besides Southside, the other most interesting team is Teurlings Catholic (1-7). The Rebels were 10-0 last season, but stand at No. 22 in the 24-team bracket.
Teurlings, which just scared Lafayette Renaissance and Westgate pretty good, has an open date this week and finishes with Northside (2-6). So some unlucky high seed may not be happy to see the Rebels as their first-round opponent.
In Division III nonselect, Loreauville (5-3) is hoping to earn a home game at No. 14 with West St. Mary and Delcambre left. Abbeville is on the outside looking in at No. 31, but an upset of Kaplan on Thursday could change that.
In the Division III select bracket, Notre Dame (8-0) appears safe at No. 1, followed by Lafayette Christian (6-2) at No. 2 and Catholic-New Iberia (5-3) at No. 9.
That sets up a nice Week 10 matchup with LCA and Catholic-New Iberia.
On Friday, Westminster-Lafayette (8-0) travels to Jeanerette (6-1). The Chargers are No. 7 in the select Division IV bracket with Jeanerette No. 11 in the nonselect Division IV rankings.
Meanwhile, Ascension Episcopal (4-3) is No. 10 in the select Division IV bracket and plays
No. 21 Vermilion Catholic on Friday.
Also, JS Clark (4-4) is hoping to maintain its playoff positioning at No. 18 in its first year of
LHSAA play.
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