The “Louisiana vs. All Y’all” mantra, essentially that the Boot’s best can compete with anyone in the country, will be on full display Friday as high school football season kicks off.
Seven programs from a few different regions will open against out-of-state opponents, including in a few cases against particularly high-profile perennial powers around the southeast.
The matchups — such as John Curtis vs. North Shore (Texas), Catholic-Baton Rouge vs. Carrollton (Ga.) and Alexandria vs. Bryant (Ark.) — provide marquee measuring sticks for the teams as well as opportunities to represent the quality of the sport in the state.
“We don’t harp on it, but we talk about Louisiana football being one of the premiere places to play high school football in the country,” John Curtis offensive coordinator Jeff Curtis said. “Not just per capita by the guys that we put into college or into the NFL, but because of the heart and soul of Louisiana. It means something to play here.”
The Patriots boast as strong a track record for decades now of playing these out-of-state competition, including now a fifth straight year doing so, including a trip to California last year.
Challenges finding the right in-state matches willing to schedule John Curtis has factored into the dynamic, Jeff Curtis explained, but the opportunities for exposure — both in terms of platforms for the players and the team identifying weaknesses to improve upon — have proven invaluable.
“We’re gonna do everything in our power to give the 2026 team the best opportunity to play the highest quality of opponents that we can play,” the son of legendary head coach J.T. Curtis said. “If you’re going against a team that has Division-I prospects on it with offers from SEC schools and you play well against ’em, you’re gonna get recognized. So that would be, No. 1, give our guys the opportunity to get themselves some exposure. No. 2, the opportunity to compete against what we would consider somebody that might be doing something a little bit different that we may run into the playoffs that’s gonna prepare our team. And, No. 3, like I said a second ago, the opportunity to become a better football team.
“It doesn’t do any good to go against a football team that you can out-man and just go in knowing that you’re gonna win really no matter what happens. We’re looking to get exposed a little bit. We’re looking to find our weaknesses, so we can improve upon those, because we know that we get into district, those weaknesses are gonna get exposed. And then hopefully when we get into the playoffs, we’ll have all of those exposures solved so we can have an opportunity to compete for a state championship.”
The combination of college-potential talent and well-coached play-calling and execution makes North Shore, a reigning 6A champion in Texas, an excellent early test in preparation for Edna Karr, St. Augustine and others ahead, Jeff Curtis said.
An hour away, Catholic-Baton Rouge will host perennial Georgia power Carrollton, which fell just short of Buford in their state’s 6A title game last December.
The Bears’ history of facing out-of-state opponents isn’t as lengthy as the Patriots, but has become consistent in recent years and with similar rationale.
“Competitive excellence, a big part of that is about being able to be in an environment that brings out your best,” Catholic coach Hudson Fuller said. “I mean, that’s Catholic High in a nutshell. It’s what this school is. It’s what our program is. And so each of these games is gonna create an environment that brings out our best, and that’s what we want. Really for us, the competition is against what are we capable of not just achieving, but what can we do from effort, playing hard and executing and things like that.”
Farther north, yet another Division-I Select program, Alexandria, will represent Louisiana against a reigning Class 7A champion in Bryant (Ark.).
The Trojans were familiar with Bryant’s elite résumé, but had to search online this offseason to gather what footage they could find to get a better sense of details to help tune their gameplan.
“Obviously you know their recent history of seven of the last eight and all the players that they’ve produced, so you just know that it’s a really good program,” Alexandria coach Thomas Bachman said. “I think they’re about 1,000 students bigger than we are, and you see a sideline full, so you know that they’ll have some depth. And you see that they’re coached, they operate at a high level, they’re comfortable in their schemes just as you watch ’em. So, looking forward to the challenge, man. I hope that we pack it out in Alexandria. We think we’ve got a good football team, and we look forward to competition, and we know that they will certainly offer a lot of it.”
St. Charles Catholic meanwhile is about as familiar as one could be with their out-of-state opponent as they host Legacy The School of Sports Sciences for a third straight year.
The matchup initially fell into place when a planned in-state opponent dropped from the schedule and forced the Comets to find a pivot, one that has worked out well with a pair of games decided by a combined 10 points and more than eight quarters.
“I thought I had somebody booked one year, and I lost ’em (in 2024), but we have enjoyed Legacy,” coach Wayne Stein said. “It’s kind of a charter school, like an IMG. Two years ago they beat us in overtime, and last year we scored with 19 seconds to win the game. So it definitely challenges you. It prepares you for anything you can be. I think the quarterback (Keisean Henderson) we faced the last two years, who’s now at Houston, is the best quarterback I’ve faced in my entire career, and I’ve faced some pretty dang good ones. So that was a different animal. So, it’s been a nice — I don’t want to call it a rivalry, but a nice little agreement.”
Parkview Baptist is one of three programs traveling out of state Friday with Isidore Newman and Pearl River, as that trio visits Parklane Academy (Miss.), St. John’s (Texas) and Pearl River Central (Miss.), respectively.
Coach Devin Ducote said the Eagles are “excited about getting on this road, taking the show on the road and seeing who we are” and, while he acknowledged the dynamic of representing the state, he emphasized the importance on focusing on the matchup, execution and playing to a standard.
“The quality opponent of really like-minded bodies or like bodies and really just a brand of football you know you’re gonna have to go play on the back end of the season,” Ducote said of the opportunity. “It’s gonna create some internal competition for our football team, while going to represent the state of Louisiana in what we’re calling somewhat of a ‘Border War’ for us.”
ALEXANDRIA vs. BRYANT (Arkansas) — Alexandria Senior High, Friday, 7 p.m.
CATHOLIC-BR vs. CARROLLTON (Georgia) — BREC’s Memorial Stadium, Friday, 7 p.m.
JOHN CURTIS vs. NORTH SHORE (Texas) — Cajun Field (Lafayette), Friday, 7 p.m.
ST. CHARLES CATHOLIC vs. LEGACY SCHOOL (Texas) — St. Charles Catholic, Friday, 7 p.m.
ISIDORE NEWMAN at ST. JOHN’S (Texas) — St. John’s (Houston), Friday, 7 p.m.
PARKVIEW BAPTIST at PARKLANE (Mississippi) — Parklane Academy (McComb), Friday, 7 p.m.
PEARL RIVER at PEARL RIVER CENTRAL (Mississippi) — Pearl River Central (Carriere), Friday, 7 p.m.
