A lot of Louisiana high school football has already been played, but even more still remains. And not all records, both seemingly shining and tougher, are created equal.
Several teams with more losses than wins at the midway mark of the regular season could still have their best performances ahead of them in October and into November — including, in a few cases, potentially even deep into their respective playoff brackets.
Louisiana vs. All Y’all has identified seven programs with 2-3 or 1-4 records right now who appear likely for turnarounds sooner than later and to make some postseason noise.
The list ranges all four playoff division levels, all corners of the state and a nearly even split between select and non-select, so there’s someone for everyone here — whether some encouragement for your own team, or an opponent to avoid sleeping on.
CATHOLIC — BATON ROUGE
The Bears’ 2-3 start is their worst record through five games since 2011, but has also come against arguably the toughest schedule in the state any team has faced. Catholic has slipped to No. 10 in the Division-I Select power ratings, but should be considered the favorite in most, if not all, of its remaining regular-season games and a notable contender, as always, for a deep playoff run. The Bears have shown flashes of explosive potential on offense with running back Jayden Miles (Florida State) and tight end Jude Chamberlain (Stanford) as headliners, but a depth of weapons continuing to emerge The defense has some good pieces as well and should, working under one of the state’s top coaching staffs, be as prepared as possible for each matchup on the horizon.
JOHN CURTIS
Another perennial Division-I Select contender that has slipped to 2-3 against a tough schedule, the Patriots figure to remain one of the toughest outs that opponents don’t want to see in their path in the bracket next month. The schedule doesn’t lighten up for John Curtis with the Catholic League appearing as strong as its ever been, including Edna Karr on deck Thursday. But the Patriots’ veer with second-year starter London Padgett at the helm and Jarvis Stevenson as a weapon on the outside can be dangerous, and there’s talent at every level of the defense to play with anyone. How high John Curtis might be able to climb in the bracket remains to be seen, but the program has maybe as proven a track record as anyone of its ability to notch big upsets on the road in November, including a 4-2 record the past two playoffs when facing a higher-seeded opponent.
DUNHAM
The Tigers have dropped three of their past four, but that’s due in no small part to a shoulder injury suffered by Alabama-committed quarterback Elijah Haven against Catholic-BR in Week 2 headlining a banged-up season thus far. Dunham opens district play this week and should continue getting healthier in the coming weeks, including the anticipated return this month of its game-changer at quarterback. With Haven at the helm and the Tigers overall closer to 100%, the defending Division-III Select champions should be among the top contenders again in a deep bracket. Dunham may still end up at about the No. 6 seed in the bracket and, as a reminder, won state last December as a No. 5 seed that won back-to-back road games to reach Caesars Superdome.
HOMER
Homer is a classic example of a smaller school that loads its pre-district schedule at the peril of its win-loss record, but much to the benefit of battle-testing its players. The losses in Pelicans’ 1-4 mark have come against undefeated Class 5A and 4A teams in Haughton and Minden by an average of 9.5 points and two of the state’s most consistent small-school powerhouses in Haynesville and Ouachita Christian by two points each time. The only loss by any of those four teams was Haynesville’s head-to-head against Ouachita Christian. Coach Richie Casey’s talented group has another tough one on deck in undefeated Calvary Baptist. But don’t be surprised if the Pels finish the regular season on a roll and pull off an upset or two (or more?!) in the Division-IV Non-Select bracket.
IOWA
The early-going has been bumpier than the Yellow Jackets enjoyed during last season’s undefeated state title run, but they notched a 34-point road win at South Beauregard this past week, have a week off to recover and regroup and should be favored the rest of the regular season. Iowa remains talented, including one of the state’s top-ranked senior prospects in Texas Tech commit Kaston Lewis, and should end up with seed in about the No. 10 to No. 13 range with a first-round home game and potential to be a frustrating second-round matchup for a higher seed in the Division-II Non-Select bracket. This year’s group was always going to be a tougher path with teams such as Neville and Westgate returning from Division-I Non-Select and Sterlington moving up from Division-III Non-Select. But don’t go ignoring the reigning champions just yet.
OAK GROVE
The storyline for the Tigers is similar to Homer’s mentioned above as another smaller-school program with strong tradition that has struggled in wins and losses against a tough pre-district slate, but is also more battle-tested now than most of its peers after pushing themselves against bigger schools and top title contenders. Oak Grove shut out Class 4A West Ouachita to start the season before suffering losses to Class 4A Franklin Parish, Class 2A Mangham, Class 1A Ouachita Christian and Class 3A Sterlington — most of whom have won recent state titles, look positioned to do so this December or both. The Tigers will always be tough in the trenches, and they have enough playmakers to be dangerous in Division-IV Non-Select, where they could still climb back into a high enough seed to earn a first- and second-round home games.
SALMEN
The Spartans are 2-3 with three respectable losses to tough competition in Mandeville, Chalmette and John F. Kennedy, but remain slated at the moment as the No. 8 seed in the Division-II Non-Select bracket with the second-highest strength factor in the entire group. The schedule features one pivotal matchup after another the rest of the way with Week 7, but Salmen controls enough of its own destiny to realistically still earn a top-four seed and first-round bye if it can win out. The reasons for optimism include experienced senior playmakers such as quarterback Da’John Howard, running back Kordé Harris and wide receiver Rey’sean Coleman, as well as opportunities to host dates with Lakeshore and Jewel Sumner in Week 7 and Week 8.
