The calendar has turned to November, and the playoff implications and intensities are ramping up notably at both the high school and college levels.
A pair of battles of unbeaten prep squads headlined LSU’s annual Halloween bye weekend as Mandeville edged Northshore in a close battle Friday and St. Augustine sent a huge statement Saturday in a rout of Edna Karr.
Now, the final week of the high school regular season and final games to jockey for postseason position, the always highly touted showdown between LSU and Alabama and the LHSAA’s release of its playoff brackets are on deck in rapid-fire fashion in the days ahead.
Louisiana vs. All Y’all’s “The Sidelined Coach” co-hosts Jerit Roser and Cordae Hankton, the longtime high school and college coach, unpacked the biggest matchups and storylines from a variety of angles in this week’s episode.
Roser and Hankton preview the big SEC contest with a focus on what to watch from a now-healthy LSU quarterback Sam Leavitt and his continued development and how pivotal the effectiveness of the Tigers’ home crowd and pass-rush will be to disrupting Alabama quarterback Keelon Russell and the Crimson Tide offense.
The guys also share their impressions on Mandeville and Northshore heading into the Division-I Non-Select playoffs next week, on the weekend-stealing performance by St. Augustine and junior quarterback Jaelle Noble and on the likelihood of an Edna Karr bounce-back and potential Purple Knights-Cougars rematch.
Perhaps most importantly, this week’s episode includes a detailed discussion of the emphasis college coaches put on aspects such as attitude, body language, demeanor, coachability and family dynamics recruiting prospects.
Watch the complete conversation above or on the Louisiana vs. All Y’all channel on YouTube, where you can find new episodes each week.