Louisiana’s high school football season is starting to hit its midseason stride with great pre-district matchups continuing to highlight every week and now notable early-district battles starting to join the schedule.
The 10 games that topped Louisiana vs. All Y’all’s list to watch for Week 4 include: a matchup of 2024 state champions, two big north-south showdowns, three potentially pivotal district games and a few other intriguing tests between top teams.
CATHOLIC-BR (3-0) AT WEST MONROE (2-1) — Friday, 7 p.m., at Don Shows Field at Rebel Stadium
One of a couple of high-profile north-south matchups of perennial powers that help highlight, Catholic (Baton Rouge) and West Monroe will meet for the second straight season and third time in the past five years. The Bears won both previous matchups — 30-19 in West Monroe in 2021 and 31-14 in Baton Rouge in 2024 — and have looked through three weeks this season to be one of the state’s top tier of teams once again. Catholic makes the trip fresh off a maybe its best defensive performance yet with three-plus shutout quarters against University Lab for a sound, hard-hitting unit that includes Blaine Bradford (Ohio State), Harrison Kidder (Ragin’ Cajuns), Jayden Vessell, Jackson Shaw, Maxwell Maurer, Taylor Goldsmith and Pierson Carmouche. West Monroe meanwhile will try to get back on track after suffering its first loss last week to an explosive North DeSoto. The Rebels’ defense with Smoltz Lilly (Navy), Brodie Thurmon, Jaxon Talley among the standouts in the box will aim to rebound and hope to slow down a loaded Bears backfield of Jayden Miles, Justin Batiste and company.
AIRLINE (3-0) AT EVANGEL CHRISTIAN (2-1) — Friday, 7 p.m., at Evangel Football Stadium
The District 1-5A race is too long a road with too many potential twists to point to a single game, particularly this early in the slate, as being the pivotal matchup the way some other districts allow. But the high-flying showdown between the Vikings and Eagles is certainly one of the games with the biggest circle and spotlight. A pair of LSU commits in Airline senior wide receiver Kenny Darby and Evangel Christian junior quarterback Peyton “Pop” Houston headline offenses that have averaged 46.3 and 46.0 points per contest, respectively. But the Vikings in particular have been encouraged by their progress on defense this season, while the Eagles have also come away with some timely big plays on that side of the ball. And which team can come away with one or two more stops late in what should be another high-scoring affair could ultimately determine the outcome.
ARCHBISHOP RUMMEL (2-1) AT JOHN CURTIS (2-0) — Friday, 7 p.m., at The Shrine on Airline
The Raiders and Patriots with their standout trench play, defenses and running games look poised to be a fitting first course to help kick of the always-tough Catholic League district race. The two foes have evenly split 12 matchups during the past decade, including a pair of playoff meetings. Half those games have been determined by a single score, with another few decided by 14 points or less. Good offensive lines have been paving the way for Rummel’s junior duo of Coryan Hawkins and Jaden Terrance and a John Curtis backfield headlined by senior back Jacobi Boudreaux. The defenses have meanwhile both allowed 18.5 points or fewer thus far against solid competition.
NEVILLE (2-1) AT ST. THOMAS MORE (1-2) — Friday, 7 p.m., at STM Cougar Field
The other big north-south showdown on our agenda Friday will mark Neville’s first regular-season trip to the bottom half of the state since 2017. The Tigers suffered their first loss of the season Friday out of state at a tough Oak Grove (Miss.), while St. Thomas More managed to battle back past Acadiana and earn its first win of the year. The teams are quarterbacked by two of the state’s best prospects at the position in Neville junior Parker Robinson and St. Thomas More senior Cole Bergeron (Virginia Tech), each with go-to weapons around them such as running backs JaMarion Roberson and Jarvis Blackston and hybrid pass-catcher Ze’land Young for the Tigers and running back Carter Melancon and wide receiver Christian Breaux for the Cougars. And the defenses are both stout, hard-hitting units headlined by safeties in Neville’s college-bound senior duo of Julius “JuJu” Burns (North Carolina) and Jayden Reed (Ragin’ Cajuns) and St. Thomas More junior Landen Ortte as a returning starter in a new-look secondary.
CENTRAL (3-0) AT CECILIA (1-2) — Friday, 7 p.m., at Cecilia Bulldog Stadium
The third and final matchup this regular season between 2024 state championships will feature Central, the Division-I Non-Select winner, crossing the Atchafalaya Basin for its first game in the Lafayette area in more than a decade. Both teams have been adjusting to notably new-look depth charts after graduating great 2025 classes, but remain talented and title-minded — Central with an undefeated start thus far, and Cecilia appearing to play better each week out and fresh off its first win under new coach Cody Champagne. A few of the top prospects to watch include Wildcats defensive standouts at every level in defensive lineman Scott Smith Jr. (Houston), linebacker JaMichael Garrett (Ole Miss) and junior safeties Marvin Joseph Jr. and Mason Moore and, for the Bulldogs, versatile three-phase star Braylon Calais, wide receivers Jermaine Davis and Jayden Lewis and defensive back Franky Frank Jr.
LAFAYETTE CHRISTIAN (3-0) AT ARCHBISHOP SHAW (1-2) — Friday, 7 p.m., at Joe Zimmerman Stadium
Lafayette Christian will look to take its early-season tour of revenge and statement wins all the way to the New Orleans West Bank this weekend at Archbishop Shaw. The Knights have started the season 3-0 against Class 5A and 4A opponents in an apparent reassertion of the program as one of the state’s best regardless of classification and will try to further bolster that case against the reigning Division-I Select champion Eagles, who are still trying to find their groove after graduating a great 2025 class. Sophomore back Caiden Bellard has emerged as an explosive counterpart to Ragin’ Cajuns commit Braylon Walker in the LCA backfield with Tulane-committed receiver Brayden Allen headlined a good cast of perimeter weapons, and the defense includes defensive backs Luke Green (Ragin’ Cajuns) and Sky Ryan and edge rusher Jaimason Marzell. Archbishop Shaw has only played in shutouts thus far — win or lose — with defensive backs Jackson Williams (Tulane) and Rontrae Carter leading a defense that should prove stout overall this season and a new-look offensive backfield of Allen Shaw III and Deandre Franklin capable of breaking big plays when they get a seam.
CATHOLIC-NI (3-0) AT NOTRE DAME (2-1) — Friday, 7 p.m., at Gardiner Memorial Stadium
The former district rivals rekindled their matchup in 2024 with the Panthers snatching their first win since the teams’ 2017 state-title game, the first of back-to-back meetings they split in the Superdome. Both are off to strong starts to the new season and again looking among top contenders in Division-III Select. The safety duo of Karon Eugene and Layton Mitchell headline the Catholic roster from a recruiting standpoint, senior running back Owen Morris has been the standout veteran weapon he was anticipated to be and new starting quarterback Xander LaBauve has done well early in replacing big shoes. The Panthers have allowed just 11.3 points per contest, while the Pios have allowed just 19.7 points despite playing all higher-classification competition. Veteran and versatile athletes such as Drew LeJeune, Joachim Bourgeois, Cameron Stelly, Wesley Duplechin and William Lavergne help highlight the Notre Dame roster.
DUNHAM (2-1) AT ASCENSION CATHOLIC (2-1) — Thursday, 7 p.m., at Floyd Boutte Memorial Stadium
The matchup between two top Baton Rouge area small-schools programs has become a mainstay of the Louisiana vs. All Y’all schedule the past three years with Dunham winning each, but by a razor-thin margin of just a combined five points. The Tigers, star junior quarterback Elijah Haven, senior weapons Jarvis Washington Jr. and Richard Montgomery Jr. and company will aim to rebound from their first loss of the season. Ascension Catholic will meanwhile try to finally get over the hump in the series after the recent heartbreakers. Three-phase standout Trevin Simon has put up big numbers early in his expanded role as a senior, and seniors Joshua Barber and Vaughn Blanchard and junior John Rob Daigle are among some top Bulldogs defenders to watch.
LOREAUVILLE (1-2) AT JEANERETTE (3-0) — Thursday, 7 p.m., at Jeanerette Stadium
A pair of talented Lafayette area smaller-schools programs, both quarterfinals a year ago, will reprise their matchup that netted a 16-15 Jeanerette win in 2024. Both sets of Tigers feature key seniors such as Loreauville quarterback Blake Delcambre and Jeanerette defensive lineman Javonte Williams, as well as notable young, but already proven talent such as Loreauville sophomores Chris Jones, a two-way lineman, and Thomas Carter III, a running back, and a crew of Jeanerette juniors in running back/athlete Devine Duhon, receiver/defensive back Morris Lee Walters and offensive lineman Gregory Green.
WESTMINSTER-OPELOUSAS (3-0) AT CATHOLIC-POINTE COUPEE (3-0) — Friday, 7 p.m., at NRG Field
Last. but not least: A pair of undefeated Class 1A foes will kick off District 5-1A action Friday in New Roads in what should be their most-anticipated meeting in a decade or more. Catholic-Pointe Coupee owned the series in flatout dominant fashion for seven years before having to survive a 14-9 battle with Westminster in 2024. And the Crusaders will bring a much-improved squad, enjoying its best start since 2021, east on Highway 190 this year for what should be among the week’s most intriguing small-schools matchups.