By BRET H. MCCORMICK, Journal Sports
Five Rapides Parish football teams could step on the field for the final time tonight.
Of course, they are all hoping for another win, another week of practice and one more time to don their school colors on Friday nights.
The LHSAA playoffs kick off with Tioga, Pineville, Peabody, Buckeye and Menard all scheduled for first-round action tonight.
Tioga (8-2) earned the highest seed of any team in the parish, slotting in at the No. 10 spot in the Division I Select bracket. Joining the Indians with home games tonight are Peabody (6-4) and Menard (7-3).
Tioga will welcome No. 23 seed L.W. Higgins (3-7) into The Reservation tonight. The Warhorses are the No. 14 seed in Division II Select and will host No. 19 Booker T. Washington of New Orleans (4-6), while the Eagles are the No. 15 in Division III Select and will host No. 18 Houma Christian (7-3).
Pineville (2-8), the 24th and final seed in Division I Select, will play at No. 9 Carencro (8-2). Buckeye (5-5), the No. 18 seed in Division II Select, will play at No. 15 De La Salle (4-6).
Tioga will play without star athlete Ja’Corian Norris, who has been the Indians’ best defensive player as well as an explosive weapon on offense and special teams, after he suffered an injury against Peabody in Week 9.
Still, their defense features plenty of stars, led by linebackers Kaleb Andrus and Elliott Fruge as well as a secondary averaging more than an interception per game.
Higgins snapped a five-game losing streak with a 24-12 victory over Abramson last week. The Hurricanes had given up at least 30 points the previous four games and are allowing opponents to score an average of 28 points per game on the season.
Peabody, which was 0-10 two seasons ago before Harry Coleman took over as coach, said BTW will look very similar to Peabody with a spread offense and man-to-man defense.
Led by seniors Dartavin Depass and Nate Francis in the backfield along with junior quarterback Larry Roberts and junior receiver TJ Hullaby, the Warhorses are “so far ahead of schedule” in Year 2, Coleman said.
“It’s really amazing that the kids have took the attitude of the coaches, put their head down and worked,” Coleman said. “Coming to work since the summer, the guys are showing major improvement and it’s paying off. We get rewarded with a home playoff game. I hope the fans come out and support the guys like they have all season.”
Menard, meanwhile, will face a group of Warriors who are very similar to the squad first-year coach David Perkins will put on the field as the Eagles rely on a heavy run-first offense and a physical defense led by senior linebacker Cooper Scott and senior defensive end Drake Aldredge.
“We put most of our best guys on defense,” Perkins said. “We want to play physical. That’s the kind of style I want to coach. I’m an old-school coach.”
The Rebels face the toughest task of any Rapides Parish team as they play a Carencro team that started 8-0 and features one of the top sophomores in the country at quarterback in Chantz Babineaux.
Pineville will try to grind out first downs behind sophomore tailbacks Ayden Tate and Hy’keem Mix to keep Babineaux and the explosive Bears offense off the field as much as possible.
Buckeye also faces a tough task as the Panthers travel to face a De La Salle team that finished as state runner-up in 2020 and 2021. The Cavaliers don’t have the best record, but their schedule was one of the toughest among all Division II teams.
De La Salle started the season with a road win over Central before losing to Holy Cross, St. Paul’s, St. Charles Catholic and East Ascension. The Cavaliers lost the district championship to Isidore Newman by four points and later dropped a non-district matchup against St. Augustine.
This game features two of Louisiana Christian’s greatest quarterbacks matching wits as Buckeye is led by head coach Ben McLaughlin and De La Salle features offensive coordinator Easton Melancon. McLaughlin is the school’s all-time leading passer, while Melancon is second. McLaughlin was Melancon’s offensive coordinator during his senior season.