The LHSAA football regular season only has three weeks remaining, and matchups are increasingly pivotal for district races and playoff seeding.
Week 8 is loaded with games that may decide their respective districts or which teams may have first-round byes or home-field advantage into the deeper rounds of postseason brackets.
Here are 10 of the most notable matchups to watch during the next couple days with more and more on the line during the season’s stretch run.
JENNINGS (5-2) AT NOTRE DAME (5-2) — Thursday, 7 p.m., at Gardiner Memorial Stadium
The Bulldogs and Pios will take a brief side-step from their respect league schedules to provide the state’s top non-district matchup of the week, a meeting between two perennial powers separated by less than 20 miles — and separated last year by a single point in a 17-16 Jennings home win. Among the angles on the line, Jennings is working to earn home-field advantage into at least the second round of the Division-II Non-Select bracket, while Notre Dame can cement home-field throughout its side of Division-III Select.
FERRIDAY (6-1, 3-1) AT OAK GROVE (5-2, 3-1) — Thursday, 7 p.m., at Vic Dalrymple Field at Gammill Stadium
Ferriday will travel for a scheduled home game for the second straight week after a ruling by the LHSAA that its field was not suitable for play. Oak Grove has won the teams’ three meetings since joining the same district by at least 30 points each and an average of 35.7 points per contest. But the Tigers haven’t been as dominant this year as in the past couple as a new-look group finds its rhythm succeeding a legendary 2025 class and are trying to rebound from a loss last week. Both teams are just outside the top eight of their respective playoff brackets — Oak Grove in Division-III Non-Select and Ferriday in Division-IV Non-Select — and working to improve their potential paths.
ALEXANDRIA (6-1, 1-1) AT RUSTON (6-1, 2-0) — Friday, 7 p.m., at Hoss Garrett Stadium
The two 2024 Division-I runners-up will meet Friday in the rematch of a war last season Alexandria pulled out, 40-36. The Trojans will have to hit the road this time to visit a Bearcats group tied atop the early District 2-5A standings and among the talks of the state after a furious late rally past Neville in Week 7. Both teams feature notable senior talent, such as Alexandria linebacker Xzavier White and Ruston tight end Cullen Clark, but are headlined in particular by 2027 prospects — Alexandria edge rusher Bryson Phoenix, defensive lineman Jaden Bayonne, quarterback Karsen Sellers and wide receiver Alex Fontenot and Ruston tight end Ahmad Hudson, safety Jayden Anding and receiver Josiah Morgan — and some of the state’s top 2028 running backs with Alexandria’s Kason Williams and Ruston’s Dalen Powell enjoying breakout sophomore campaigns.
NEVILLE (4-3, 1-1) AT OUACHITA PARISH (5-2, 0-2) — Friday, 7 p.m., at Ouachita Lions Stadium
The Tigers and Lions will square off in the other high-profile District 2-5A battle with both Monroe rivals working to rebound from Week 7 losses. Neville in particular remains just outside the lead of the loaded district’s standings after letting a late 17-point lead slip away to Ruston in a heartbreaker. Ouachita has meanwhile dropped back-to-back close games after its first 5-0 start since 2009, but remains near the top of the Division-I Non-Select power ratings and is trying to hang out to a potential first-round bye opportunity.
BELLE CHASSE (7-0, 1-0) AT ST. CHARLES CATHOLIC (6-1, 0-0) — Friday, 7 p.m., at Frank Monica Field at Thomas J. Dupuy Stadium
The pivotal District 9-4A matchup pits a pair of potential top-four playoff seeds against one another in a rematch of a game decided by just a lone point in 2024. Belle Chasse is 7-0 and one of less than two dozen remaining undefeated teams around the state and has won its games in more dominant fashion than a year ago with a combined margin so far of 372-32. Meanwhile, last year’s winner, St. Charles is a veteran group that grew up notably from its challenging 2024 and has been near-perfect record-wise against a challenging schedule of perennial contenders.
JENA (6-1, 2-0) AT BUNKIE (7-0, 2-0) — Friday, 7 p.m., at Gene Britton Field
The Giants and Panthers have become one of Central Louisiana’s top matchups of the entire season in recent years. Jena got the best of the 2022 and 2023 meetings before Bunkie rolled to a 41-0 “statement win” last season. This year, the Giants have shaken back from a three-loss 2024 and are the No. 1 team in the Division-III Non-Select power ratings heading into the stretch run. The Panthers meanwhile are one of the state’s few remaining undefeated teams, but are clinging at the moment to the final first-round bye spot in Division-III Select at No. 8 in the power rankings.
OUACHITA CHRISTIAN (7-0, 4-0) AT MANGHAM (6-1, 4-0) — Friday, 7 p.m., at Lobrano Field
The proud northeast Louisiana programs headline a strong overall small-schools slate around the state in Week 8. Ouachita Christian has rolled to an undefeated record thus far by a whopping 369-26 margin, but this week’s trip to Dragon Country should be the Eagles’ biggest test to date. Mangham lost a season-opening battle to Class 3A Jena and has put together an impressive six-week winning streak since then with an average margin of 24.5 points per contest. Ouachita Christian has lost just three district games since 2019, all to Oak Grove. Mangham is currently the No. 4 seed in the Division-IV Non-Select power ratings and could essentially solidify a first-round bye if it can disrupt the Eagles’ run.
CATHOLIC-POINTE COUPEE (6-1, 2-1) AT ST. EDMUND (6-1, 3-1) — Friday, 7 p.m., at Blue Jay Field
Catholic-Pointe Coupee has beaten St. Edmund every year since 2019, though most meetings have been battles and the 2024 game was a particularly tight, 26-22 win. The teams are both chasing Westminster Christian (7-0, 3-0) in both the loaded District 5-1A standings and the Division-IV Select playoff-seeding picture. The Hornets, currently No. 4 in the bracket, has already lost head-to-head against Westminster, while the Blue Jays are in a particularly interesting situation with a shot at the Crusaders in Week 10 and a current No. 8 position in the power ratings clinging to a first-round bye.
SOUTHERN LAB (3-4, 0-0) AT KENTWOOD (4-3, 0-0) — Friday, 7 p.m., at Kentwood Kangaroos Stadium
Don’t let the overall records throw you off. Southern Lab and Kentwood should once again be two of the top contenders for the Division-IV Select title, and Friday’s matchup will — barring an absolute shocker in the final two weeks — determine the district championship. And the teams are both on the bubble of potentially earning a first-round bye: Kentwood currently just on the inside of the top eight and hoping to stay there, and Southern Lab just on the outside and hoping to scratch back in.
BROTHER MARTIN (4-3, 1-3) AT ST. AUGUSTINE (6-1, 3-1) — Saturday, 3 p.m.., at Tad Gormley Stadium
How often can you see three of the nation’s top wide receiver prospects on the same field? Brother Martin star Easton Royal and St. Augustine’s dynamic duo of Miguel Whitley and Ray’Quan Williams will provide fans in New Orleans exactly that opportunity as the headliners alone of deep, talented receiving corps and good teams overall, including good playmakers in their secondaries — such as the Crusaders’ Kaeden Goodman and Purple Knights’ Syre Gilmore — aiming to contain the high-profile pass-catchers. Both teams are in position for potential first-round byes in the Division-I Select bracket, with the Crusaders in a particularly pivotal position at No. 8 in the power ratings.
