Six Vermilion Parish teams headed to football playoffs

Six of the seven Vermilion Parish high school football teams earned spots in the Louisiana High School Athletic Association playoffs, and the one team that didn’t would have earned a spot if the brackets had not been trimmed by four teams in the non-select divisions this season.
Early during the season, the LHSAA announced it was changing from five non-select classes to four non-select divisions, matching the select school playoffs. At the same time, each division was cut from a 32-team bracket to a 28-team bracket with the top four teams in each division getting first-round byes. Seeding is determined through a system of power points awarded for wins and wins by teams on each team’s schedule.
Vermilion Catholic, which went unbeaten in the regular season at 10-0 and 5-0 in District 7-A, will be the No. 1 seed in the select school Division IV playoffs. VC has a first-round bye and awaits the winner of a game between No. 16 Cedar Creek (6-4) and No. 17 Slaughter Community Charter School (7-3).
“Those guys earned it with the character they have displayed since August camp,” VC head coach Broc Prejean said of getting the top seed in the division. “They’ve shown up for 10 straight weeks, and now we are going to need them to do it for five more. Our message to the players is going to be to burn the ships at this point and keep moving forward.”
VC closed out the regular season with a pair of dominant wins over No. 2 seed Central Catholic (9-1) and No. 12 seed Hanson (8-2). The Eagles have done it on both offense and defense, with seven shutouts in 10 games and outscored those 10 opponents 434-37 over the season.
“We have to recognize what we’ve done to put ourselves in this position and then do a lot more of it to get the result we all want,” Prejean said. “We’ve got some really good coaches that work their tails off, and that are now going to get some extra time to keep coaching. We will dig into the finer points of our techniques this week at practice while we wait to see who we’ll pair up with at home on the 18th.”
Three parish teams earned spots in the non-select Division II playoffs, which features schools in classes 3A and 4A. Some 4A schools, like Westgate, play in the Division I playoffs, and some 3A schools like Berwick and Patterson, play in Division III, based on the school enrollment.
Locally, Erath (7-3) leads the Division II contingent as the No. 15 seeds. The Bobcats will play host to No. 18 Eunice (6-4).
“We are excited for our guys to earn this spot in the playoffs with another 7-3 season, and the opportunity for our seniors to play at home again this season,” Erath head coach Eric LeBlanc said. “Playing in front of a home crowd during the playoffs is an incredible honor and an experience that many players will never forget.”
Friday’s game is the fourth meeting between the two sets of Bobcats. Erath leads the series 2-1, including a 49-20 win in their last meeting, a playoff game in 2016 in which Elijah Mitchell ran for 331 yards and scored six touchdowns.
“Eunice is an athletic football team that’s well coached,” LeBlanc said. “We’re looking forward to a physical matchup on Friday night in Bobcat Stadium.”
Abbeville (6-4) is the No. 17 seed in Division II and just missed out on a home game in the first round. The Wildcats travel to No. 16 Brusly (6-4) to open the playoffs.
“The goal was a home game, but we are glad to be one of the last 28 teams standing,” AHS head coach Roderick Moy said. “I’m proud of what our kids accomplished this season and now it’s time for us to make sure we send these seniors off how they deserve.”
Moy said that Brusly is a big, physical team, but that the Abbeville coaches feel good about being able to use their team speed against the Panthers.
“It’s going to be a great playoff atmosphere and a very competitive ballgame,” Moy said. “The team who makes the least mistakes will win, in my opinion.”
North Vermilion (4-6) is the No. 23 seed in Division II and plays at No. 10 Franklin Parish (7-3) in the opening round. The Patriots play in District 4-4A, which features the No. 10 team in non-select Division I (Westgate) as well as three teams in the top six in the Division II select school bracket (No. 1 St. Thomas More, No. 2 Teurlings Catholic and No. 6 Lafayette Christian).
“We are really excited about the opportunity to be in the playoffs,” NVHS head coach Brett Blakey said. “This is the first time in three years.”
Franklin Parish is a good matchup for the Patriots, Blakey said.
“They are a quality opponent, but we feel like our district has prepared us for this moment,” he said. “I have a lot of confidence in our guys to get their job done.”
Kaplan (4-6), which in the final two weeks lost to Division II No. 5 seed Church Point by a touchdown and to Abbeville by a point, finished as the No. 30 seed and just missed earning a spot in the Division II non-select playoffs.
Two parish teams earned spots in the non-select Division IV playoffs.
Gueydan (6-4) is the No. 20 seed and will travel to No. 13 Oberlin (7-3), which beat the Bears 43-7 in a Week 9 District 5-A game.
Delcambre (5-5) enters the Division IV playoffs as the No. 27 seed and travels to No. 6 White Castle (7-2) in the first round.
“Winning five games for the second year in a row and earning a playoff spot is a good step in the right direction for our program,” Delcambre head coach Artie Liuzza said. “It would be special to get a playoff win on the road and potentially host a second-round game at home.”
Liuzza said White Castle has put together a string of three or four good playoff runs in a row, so the Bulldogs are familiar with the pressure of winning big games.
“They have good size and speed,” he said. “They will be a tough opponent. We will have to be ready to play disciplined ball and control football on offense and eliminate big plays on defense. If we can do that, we will give ourselves a chance to compete.”