Louisiana
Louisiana High School Football Week 9 Notebook
In less than two weeks, the playoff brackets will be released for Louisiana high school football, so let’s get busy and take a look at a few hotspot games in Week 9.
Karr (8-0) and John Curtis (7-0), the top two in the Louisiana High School on SI football rankings, are also the only undefeated Catholic League clubs. The question has been asked: “is Karr beatable?” While acknowledging the Cougars’ greatness, no team is infallible, and the Patriots have just the coaching staff to throw some kinks at Karr, which fell behind 14-0 last year in the quarterfinals to St. Thomas More.
A two-touchdown deficit against Curtis would be even tougher to overcome. The key matchup seems to be the Patriots’ offensive line vs. Richard Anderson and the Karr DL. The Curtis OL took some criticism after the win over Holy Cross. We’re not predicting games until the playoffs, but with the way the Patriots’ runners have been chewing up massive yardage, the criticism regarding blocking could be off base. The big men up front will have to be on point for Curtis, which has gotten timely passing from sophomore QB London Padgett. Don’t forget: the Patriots have been without 2028 WR Jarvis Stevenson.
You have to tip your hat to Lafayette Christian. The Class 2A Knights strap it up against a schedule that includes Carencro, Central-Baton Rouge, Westgate, Archbishop Rummel and Archbishop Shaw, its only defeat.
And that’s not counting District 6-2A games vs. Notre Dame and Lafayette Renaissance.
2027 LSU quarterback commit Peyton Houston, the state’s top passer, and the Evangel Christian Eagles challenge LCA in Lafayette this week. Last year, the Eagles won in Shreveport. The Knights (7-1) are No. 1 in Division III select. Earlier in the year, LCA OL Kaleb Campbell and DB Sky Ryan were out with injuries. Defender Josh Wilson was banged up at the beginning of the season. He is a long, lean athletic player who turned heads at a combine at rival school Lafayette Renaissance during the summer.
LCA quarterback Braylon Walker has been on fire outside of the road loss to Shaw on the West Bank. Sophomore Caiden Bellard and Walker have been among the area’s leading rushers all season. The duo has combined for 1,800 yards and 20 touchdowns. Belard is over 1,000 yards.
With defending Division III select champion Catholic New Iberia losing to Loreauville, the power ratings got a shakeup. Lafayette Renaissance (7-1), which only lost to LCA , is No. 5. Catholic NI is No. 10. Notre Dame (No 2, 6-2) hosts Lafayette Renaissance this week.
Random thought, but Lafayette Christian’s decision to promote Matt Standiford from within – first to interim and then head coach – has been a great decision. The Knights parted ways with Zach Lochard after last year’s loss to Archbishop Shaw. Standiford, who takes a calm, positive approach, kept the ship upright in 2024 and has surpassed realistic expectations for 2025. The road win at defending Division I nonselect champion Central-BR was huge.
Can Teurlings Catholic solve the riddle that is St Thomas More? The Rebels lost the District 4-4A matchup each of the past three years and come into this week’s tilt with a new coach in Michael Courville. Rebels’ quarterback Alex Munoz leads the team in rushing, sporting sub-4.6 speed with a fullback’s toughness, and the senior has thrown only one interception. The game will be on the northside at Teurlings Catholic.
Two weeks ago, Eli DeBoisblanc was Teurlings Catholic’s top running back. Last week, it was Spencer Meche and Ian Schwander. Cason Evans, who only carried sparingly in last week’s 64-29 win over East Ascension, could be ready to erupt.
St. Thomas More, as usual, has a tough defense. The Cougars don’t have flashy names, just a blue-collar mentality. Their secondary will be tested by Nicholas Celestine, Andrew Viator and tight end A.J. Price. Quinn Simon has also been coming on strong, catching touchdown passes in recent weeks for the Rebels (8-0).
Meanwhile, STM quarterback Cole Bergeron (1,950 yards, 22 TDs, seven INT) has found his stride and the Cougars have won six straight (6-2) as they prepare to defend their league title. You can trust that Bergeron will know where Teurlings Catholic 2027 CB Kaden Chavis is. The junior had a pick-six last week and will hopefully (from a Teurlings Catholic standpoint) field more punts and kicks in the future. I’d wager that Chavis will get familiar with STM WR Christian Breaux (42-732, 12 TDs). Jacob Dean is another ballhawk in the Rebels’ secondary.
Southside got a lot of talk in the preseason as the District 3-5A favorite. The Sharks are still in the mix for a share of the title, but coach Jess Curtis’ team dropped a 17-14 decision last week to an Acadiana team that has won five straight. On Thursday, the Sharks will try to hand Carencro (6-2) its first district loss. The question is, how do you slow down 2028 QB Carson Guzzi and the Carencro offense?
The obvious answer, of course, is to control time of possession with a flexbone offense that features QB Parker Dies and running backs Justin Williams and Kollen Francois. The trio has combined for 2,000 yards rushing and 29 touchdowns. Will Carencro senior Chantz Babineaux tip the scales in favor of the Bears? They get Acadiana next week. Southside (6-2) doesn’t want to drop lower than its current No. 11 spot in the Division I nonselect power ratings.
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Louisiana ranks among the top 10 most affordable states to retire, according to a new study from Retirement Living, a national journal of retirement research.
Researchers analyzed each state’s housing costs, living expenses and tax friendliness to compile the ranking. Louisiana, they say, is the eighth most affordable state for retirees.
In Louisiana, the median monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment is $932, the median home sale price is $255,000, monthly grocery spend per capita is $272, the average price per gallon of regular gas is $4, the average Medicare Advantage monthly premium is $13.35 and the average effective property tax rate is 0.55%.
West Virginia is the most affordable state to retire, followed by Mississippi, Alabama, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Louisiana, Indiana and Kansas. Researchers describe the South as “the sweet spot for an affordable retirement.”
The most expensive state to retire, meanwhile, is California, followed by Hawaii, Washington, Oregon, Colorado, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Utah, New York and Minnesota.
Read Retirement Living’s full report here.
BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – With hurricane season approaching, the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority is bringing the community together to prepare before a storm forms.
“We can’t stop disasters from happening. We can’t stop hurricanes from happening. But what we can do is equip our communities with the resources that they need to prepare for these storms ahead of time,” said Jayda Morris, CPRA outreach manager.
The agency hosted an event featuring interactive storm simulations and a full model of the Mississippi River.
“If you do it now, like on a sunny day like today, you’re ready to go for the rest of the season,” Jay Grymes said.
El Niño may reduce storms, but Louisiana still at risk
State Climatologist Jay Grymes said an El Niño pattern may reduce the number of storms in the Atlantic but warned against a false sense of security.
“In those 25 years, Louisiana, some part of the state has been impacted by 29 storms. That’s one a year, regardless of El Niño. So that should tell you something,” Grymes said.
He said the bigger concern is storms that can form in the Gulf with little warning.
“If we’re going to get a storm, it very possibly could be one that bubbles up in the Gulf and doesn’t give us five or seven days to track it coming our way. It gives us 40 hours to get ready for a landfall. So it’s imperative that you go ahead and do it now,” Grymes said.
Preparation goes beyond stocking water
Preparing now includes walking through yards, checking trees, and knowing whether everyone in the family can survive two weeks without power.
PhD students with the LSU College of the Coast and Environment gave the community a virtual reality experience that puts users inside a storm.
“If they wear the goggles or play with the Apple Vision Pro, they can understand how high will the flood be, and they can know how dangerous is the hurricane scenario,” said Yixuan Wang.
The VR simulation uses real historical data to show users what compound flooding looks like in New Orleans and surrounding areas. The goal is to make the science real for people who can’t picture what a flood map means.
“It’s just to let you understand the environment. We will add the audios, the different sound of the wind and the storm. And you can see how tense of the rainfall around you,” Wang said.
Organizers said the event is about making sure that when a storm threatens the area, families already know their plan.
Information from the event is available on CPRA’s website. Hurricane season runs through Nov. 30.
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BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – Louisiana homeowners can get financial help to upgrade their roofs and ensure they can better stand up to strong storms.
According to the Louisiana Department of Insurance, registration for next Louisiana Fortify Homes Program lottery opens at 8 a.m. on Monday, June 1. The registration period will stay open through 5 p.m. on Friday, June 19.
Under the latest round of the program, 3,000 grants of up to $10,000 will go out. After applying, homeowners will get placed into a lottery and will be randomly selected.
There are many specific benefits of having a roof upgraded through the Louisiana Fortify Homes Program. Officials said the roofs have stronger shingles that can protect against hail up to two inches wide, sealed roof decks to help prevent water damage, and stronger edges to keep wind from getting underneath.
Homeowners with a fortified roof can also get a certificate to receive a discount on insurance premiums.
“At the end of the day, this program is about more than just roofs,” said Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple. “It is about protecting families, it is about strengthening communities, and it is about putting Louisiana in a stronger position—both physically and economically—to face the challenges ahead.”
Only people living in Ascension Parish, Livingston Parish, Assumption Parish, Tangipahoa Parish, Acadia Parish, Calcasieu Parish, Cameron Parish, Iberia Parish, Jefferson Parish, Jefferson Davis Parish, Lafayette Parish, Lafourche Parish, Orleans Parish, Plaquemines Parish, St. Bernard Parish, St. Charles Parish, St. James Parish, St. John the Baptist Parish, St. Martin Parish, St. Mary Parish, St. Tammany Parish, Terrebonne Parish, and Vermilion Parish are eligible to apply for the latest round of the program.
People living in a newly built home, mobile home, or condominium are not qualified.
For a detailed list of eligibility requirements, click here.
If a person registered for the program previously, he or she must do so again. The person will also need to provide the following information:
- A homestead exemption on the primary residence.
- A policy of insurance that provides wind coverage for the primary residence.
- A flood insurance policy on the primary residence if it is in a special flood hazard area.
For more information about applying, click here.
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