5A State Playoff Predictions

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32 Covington at 1 Dutchtown

Dutchtown has 7 wins over teams .500 or better and they rolled through one of the toughest 5A districts in the state. Covington barely beat an 0-10 Fontainebleau and got rolled up by St Paul's. So give me Dutchtown by 4+TDs


17 Brother Martin at 16 Carencro

Carencro has a nice team full of young talent, but they are extremely one dimensional on offense. Brother Martin is a bit more balanced on offense and they are coming off a huge upset of Jesuit last Friday. I say Brother Martin in a mild upset on the road

24 Westgate at 9 Ponchatoula

I have a want to predict the annual Westgate roll in the playoffs but this Westgate team is in disarray from discipline issues. They are running a Wing-T offense that they are either ill suited for or don't understand. However they are VERY tough on defense and could give Ponchy a scare for a while. So I say Ponchy at home comfortably dispatches westgate with some late scoring.

25 Denham Springs at 8 Higgins

DS started off the season 2-3 with three straight losses and looked to be dead in the water. Then they ripped off 5 straight wins (against opponents with a combined 15-35 record) to close out the season. Higgins has been steady all season scoring a lot of points against a fairly weak schedule and winning 8 in a row. The difference here is DS going to the West Bank. So I say Higgins at home in a pickem.

28 Sulphur at 5 Jesuit

Sulphur is a young team that has had some mighty struggles over the last 4 weeks. The schedule says Sulphur 2 Acadiana 0 but on the field it was Acadiana 75 Sulphur 14. Couple that with a terrible loss to a mediocre Lafayette High and then getting smoked by Barbe and Sulphur is ending their season on a down note. Consequently taking a long trip to New Orleans and playing a very well coached Jesuit team is bad news for the Tors. Jesuit wins this one pretty easy .

21 Mandeville at 12 Terrebonne

Wow what a historic match up of uninteresting teams. Both teams have a total of 2 wins against teams with winning records. Both teams have head scratching losses (Rummel and New Iberia). Both teams play in big districts that skewer their power rankings and make it tough to gauge their real ability. So I will go with Terrebonne reluctantly but I would not be surprised if Mandeville pulls off the upset.

20 Slidell at 13 Barbe

Barbe is a very interesting team that could make a serious run in the playoffs. They spread the field with their WRs but can also run it. They are a bit spotty on defense but they should have no problem dispatching Slidell

29 Chalmette at 4 West Monroe

Hey thanks for coming all this way to see us Owls, enjoyed your visit, be careful going home. Sorry about the score and stuff, we tried to get the 4th string kids in there as fast as we could.

30 Natch Central at 3 St Paul's

NCHS slides into the playoffs at the end of the season and their reward is a trip to Covington to face a supremely physical St Paul's team. St Paul's is not flashy, they prefer to maul you up front and that is not a good match up for NCHS. St Paul's wins easily

19 Central at 14 NISH

An intriguing game here in New Iberia. Central HS Doug Dotson is a former STM asst coach and he no doubt spoke to the STM staff this week about NISH after STM struggled with NISH in the first half and blew them out in the second half. Central was wide open last year but this year they are more ground oriented on offense which could be a problem for NISH. NISH HC Rick Hutson is an offensive specialist and SR QB Jordy Joseph is a special talent. I have to think Central will have success running the ball against NISH and so I say Central in the upset.

22 Assumption at 11 Zachary

Zachary has gotten better each week, Assumption has a 7-3 record but they haven't really played anybody. I like Zachary and their spread option attack at home.

27 Acadiana at 6 East St John

ESJ wants you to play a shootout, which Acadiana won't do. ESJ wants you to turn the ball over, which Acadiana won't do. ESJ wants you to give up the big play, which Acadiana won't do. ESJ doesn't want to get into a situation where they are making adjustments to what Acadiana is doing, which is what Acadiana will make you do. I predict Acadiana will win based on two things: 1) Micah Eugene will play offense and defense and he is a game changer. 2) Ted Davidson is one of the top 3 5A coaches in the state and he is extremely experienced, where as I dont have a clue who is coaching ESJ since Larry Dauterive stepped down. Acadiana wins on the road in an upset by seeding, but not on the field.

26 Byrd at 7 Ouachita

Ouachita Parish has had a nice season under the radar. Their only loss was to WM in week 6. They beat Byrd 34-7 in district play, expect more of the same.

23 Catholic BR at 10 St Augustine

I saw CHSBR play STM in week 3 and they were the softest team I think I have ever seen STM play. St Aug is reportedly not very well coached but they have talent stacked upon talent. I expect St Aug to win by two TDs or more in what should be a fairly high scoring game.

18 West Jeff at 15 Hahnville

I know 15 vs 18 should be a close matchup but these two teams are unusually close. They have two common opponents, both lost to Dutchtown, both beat John Ehret. The main difference I see is Hahnville playing at home in what is historically a VERY tough place to play. So I will say Hahnville wins a tight ball game.

31 Airline at 2 STM

STM has way too many weapons and is extremely efficient in getting the ball to those weapons. STM has been keyed by a strong running game and a Soph QB that throws it. Airline also has a Soph QB that doesn't have the running game to fall back on. I say STM wins at home comfortably.

14-2

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(1)Dutchtown @ (17)Brother Martin

(8)Higgins @ (24)Westgate

(12)Terrebonne @ (5)Jesuit

(13)Barbe @ (4)West Monroe

(14)New Iberia @ (3)St. Paul's

(11)Zachary @ (27)Acadiana

(10)St. Aug @ (7)Ouachita

(15)Hahnville @ (2)St. Thomas More

7-1

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Quarter Finals

Dutchtown over Westgate
Wess Funrowe over Jesuit
Acadiana over St Paul's
STM over St Aug

3-1

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West Monroe at Westgate

Acadiana at STM

1-1

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