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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