Football playoff begin Friday for five Catholic schools

By Ron Brocato
Clarion Herald

It’s quite possible that longtime rivals Holy Cross and Jesuit will meet on the football field for the second this season.

That has only happened twice in the 101-year history of the Catholic schools’ rivalry. But to do so, Jesuit will have to defeat Byrd High of Shreveport when they meet at the stadium on Airline Drive on Friday.

Jesuit is one of five local Catholic schools scheduled to open the state playoffs for select schools Nov. 10.

As the No. 1 seed in Division I, Holy Cross has the luxury of a bye round by virtue of its 8-1 record and high seed.

The last time the Tigers entered the playoffs as the state’s No. 1 team was in 1966 as a Class 3A team.

The Holy Cross coaches will be interested spectators as No.16 seed Jesuit faces the No. 17 seed Byrd Yellowjackets.

If the Blue Jays win, they will have the opportunity to avenge a 30-0 shellacking their archrival Tigers administered three weeks ago. The margin was the largest recorded by Holy Cross since a 1948 blowout or 55-0.

The two have met twice in the same season on two occasions.
The 1951 season ended with both schools posting 5-1 records in prep league play. So, although Holy Cross won their first meeting by a 20-12 score, the two schools had to break the tie in a playoff to determine which would represent New Orleans in the state playoffs.
Holy Cross won again, 18-14, before being eliminated by Istrouma, 38-20.

Then again, in 1963 – the first year the LHSAA allowed two teams from each district into the playoffs –  Holy Cross and Jesuit were the last two teams standing. The Tigers won both the Catholic League match, 7-0, and the state championship encounter, 14-6.

But Holy Cross is not the only No. 1 seed to have the week off.


The reigning Division II champion St. Charles Catholic Comets, unbeaten in all 10 regular season games, will also have a bye before hosting the winner of Friday’s Ascension Episcopal vs. Loyola Prep game on Nov. 17. St. Charles Catholic will then begin a journey toward a possible third consecutive state championship.

The top eight seeds in each of the eight playoff divisions earned byes during the first week.

One was Archbishop Shaw, the No. 5 seed and District 10-4A champion.

After opening the season with losses to St. Charles Catholic and Kinkaid, Texas, the Eagles rolled off eight consecutive victories, beginning with 43-28 stunner over Jefferson Parish rival Archbishop Rummel.

Shaw will host either No. 12 Evangel or No. 21 Belaire on Nov. 17.
As seeds 1-through 8, Brother Martin (4) and St. Paul’s (7) also have first round byes.

Four local Catholic schools will play on Friday.

No. 18 Rummel will visit No. 15Notthwood in Shreveport, while No. 22 St. Augustine plays No. 11 McKinley in Baton Rouge.

In Division II, No. 15 De La Salle will host No. 18 Buckeye at Tad Gormley Stadium, and Pope John Paul II, enjoying its most successful season since 2011, pits its 8-2 record and No. 12 seed at home against No. 21 Lake Charles College Prep.

All games kick off at 7 p.m.