October has arrived, and Louisiana’s high school schedule is the most loaded it’s been yet in a Week 5 loaded with high-leverage district and cross-state showdowns alike.
Every corner of The Boot features a matchup with a legitimate statewide “game of the week” case and potential with outcomes that could go a long way in determining district races and seeding near the top of various playoff brackets.
Here’s the rundown of 10 of the best games to watch — though determining this week’s list meant the toughest selections to date with several others that could have easily been included.
JOHN CURTIS (2-2, 0-1) at ARCHBISHOP RUMMEL (4-0, 1-0) — Thursday, at 8 p.m.
The Jefferson Parish rivalry in the Catholic League moved from Saturday afternoon to Thursday evening to get away of the weekend’s incoming weather. And that adjustment means a particularly quick turnaround, for better or worse, for John Curtis from this past Saturday’s loss to St. Augustine. The Patriots battled with the Purple Knights, but a costly fumble and the dynamic dual-threat of St. Aug quarterback Jaelle Noble. John Curtis will have another highly touted quarterback to attempt to contain this week in Archbishop Rummel senior Colton Nussmeier (Georgia), who has arrived to the state and opened another element for the Raiders, who are averaging 32 points, to go with their Coryan Hawkins-led run game and a salty defense that has allowed just one score the past three weeks. The Patriots are 2-2, but against a notably strong schedule, and averaging just under 30 points a game on offense with second-year starter London Padgett at the helm and capable of popping explosive runs or leading ball-control grounds down the field.
HAUGHTON (4-0, 1-0) at PARKWAY (3-1, 1-0) — Thursday, at 7 p.m.
Haughton flew somewhat under the radar of a few of its District 1-5A rivals entering the season after three straight losing campaigns. But the Buccaneers have been absolutely rolling to their first 4-0 start since 2019 and averaging 46.75 points per contest and 28.75-point margins of victory. This past week’s defeat of Captain Shreve, its first since 2020, was a big eye-opener. Now Haughton will have to leave its friendly confines for the first time this season and visit a Parkway team considered preseason a top contender in the district. The Panthers rebounded from a tough Week 1 to win their past three contests, including the district-opener against Huntington. Parkway has beaten Haughton each of the past five years. But this week’s matchup could be a threat to that streak and appears to be a potentially pivotal matchup in the often-chaotic District 1-5A race.
EDNA KARR (4-0, 1-0) at BROTHER MARTIN (4-0, 1-0) — Friday, at 7 p.m.
Two undefeated, top-10 teams from Louisiana’s best district will square off Friday at Southeastern Louisiana’s Strawberry Stadium with only one heading back to New Orleans with its record still unblemished. Edna Karr has won the four matchups since joining the Catholic League, but Brother Martin has had instances in the series in which it has kept the Cougars in some check (2023) or been able to capitalize on explosive players with its all-world wide receiver Easton Royal (2025). While Edna Karr entered this season with a largely new-look lineup, the result has been much the same with a nasty defense and effective rushing attack helping lead the way to extending a state-best win streak to 31 wins. Brother Martin has been more complete than casual fans might recognize with its own good ground game to complement Royal and company through the air and defensive and special teams units stepping up big in big matchups.
BARBE (4-0, 1-0) at SULPHUR (4-0, 1-0) — Friday, at 7 p.m.
This longstanding southwest Louisiana rivalry looks poised to enjoy potential its most consequential edition on a statewide level in several years as the last two unbeaten District 3-5A teams square off just west of Lake Charles. The matching 4-0 starts are the best for the Buccaneers since 2018 and Golden Tors since 2005. Sulphur completed a furious comeback this past week against Sam Houston in one of the state’s most memorable games of the season thus far, while Barbe has cruised its way to wins by at least three scores each time out thus far. The Bucs boast one of the state’s most dynamic backfields in quarterback JeLandon Gray (Old Dominion) and running back Jordin Griffin (LSU Baseball), but a balanced offense overall. And both teams feature potentially disruptive defenses, including productive linebackers such as seniors Bo Armstrong of Barbe and Wesley Bushnell of Sulphur.
ST. CHARLES CATHOLIC (3-1) at RIVERSIDE ACADEMY (4-0) — Friday, at 7 p.m.
The top smaller-schools matchup in the state, a showdown between two defending state champions, should have the River Parishes rocking on Friday. Both the Comets and Rebels look again among the top few contenders in their respective playoff groupings in Division-III Select and Division-IV Select with their combinations of talent and experience, which have been heavily battle-tested already early this season against largely higher-classification competition. St. Charles Catholic has already played three overtime games, winning the first two before stumbling against Catholic League member Holy Cross, while undefeated Riverside’s closest calls have come against Class 4A John F. Kennedy and Class 5A Ponchatoula.
WEST MONROE (3-1) at NEVILLE (3-1) — Friday, at 7 p.m.
Few local rivalry matchups around the state carry better program prestige and tradition of success than the cross-Ouachita River foes who will meet for the second time in just six weeks. Neville raised some eyebrows in the community and around the state with its 27-0 domination of the Bayou Jamb matchup at ULM. West Monroe has responded well and notched some notable wins against good competition, including home last week against Central. Neville meanwhile has been rolling since a Week 1 tumble against rival Ruston (3-1), including a 49-0 roll past Ouachita Parish (3-1) two weeks ago and 38-27 statement against Alexandria (3-1) this past week in which junior running back Jarvis Blackston rolled to a program-record 290 yards.
LOYOLA PREP (3-1) at CALVARY BAPTIST (4-0) — Friday, at 7 p.m.
Another high-profile smaller-school matchup on which fans around the state should keep an eye, arguably the top game in northwest Louisiana has certainly sparked some chatter with the high-scoring Loyola Prep offense and senior quarterback Bryce Restovich hoping to travel as much of their 48.5 points per game as possible across town to the once-again stingy Calvary Baptist, which has actually been even higher-scoring this season overall with 54.0 points per outing. Junior quarterback Hudson Price and Colorado State-committed top target Braylun Huglon are putting up big early-season numbers for the Cavaliers, complemented by Z’Ryan Miles and Dequinton Thomas on the ground. And Restovich’s weapons for the Flyers include the quick Charlie McKenzie and speedy Ty Walsworth, a pair of junior names to know.
EAST ASCENSION (3-1, 1-0) AT WALKER (4-0, 1-0) — Friday, at 7 p.m.
The winner in Walker will have a nice early lead in the District 5-5A standings with a 2-0 start among other contenders in the league. The lone loss against either team’s schedule thus far came when East Ascension ran into the St. Augustine buzzsaw in Caesars Superdome two weeks ago, but the Spartans rebounded in impressive fashion to survive St. Amant, 45-42, in double overtime in one of the best rivalries in the state for probably their biggest victory thus far this season. Walker meanwhile outdueled Dutchtown, 35-28, for its own strongest win to date and now has home-field advantage as it seeks its first 5-0 start since 2018.
OUACHITA PARISH (3-1) at CENTRAL-BR (2-2)
The past two Division-I Non-Select state champions will meet Friday just outside of Baton Rouge for a potentially pivotal matchup in this year’s playoff seeding. The matchup is an interesting, infrequent meeting between the programs and between two leagues in District 2-5A and District 4-5A that have recently held strong cases as the best in the state. The Lions and Wildcats are currently separated by a slim margin in the power ratings and positioned for potential first-round home games. The brackets are still a long way off, but this week’s matchup is one that figures to loom large in that regard.
LAKE CHARLES COLLEGE PREP (4-0) at LAFAYETTE RENAISSANCE (2-2)
A pair of Division-II Select contenders will square off in another high-leverage game in their respective playoff group. The undefeated and explosive Blazers head east with an offense that’s averaging more than 55 points per outing with dynamic weapons such as Javon Vital Jr. (USC) and Ayden Carter. The Tigers awaiting possess a long, disruptive defense, including Louisiana (Lafayette) commitment Ansinneo “A.J.” Charles Jr. and promising prospect Trilon Francis, and have also shown the ability to rack up points in bunches as well with a 48-point average in wins. Lafayette Renaissance’s two losses came to Edna Karr and John Curtis, two of the top few teams in the state at any classification level.
