Louisiana high school football fans won’t have to wait long for a monster matchup between two of the state’s top — even No. 1-ranked — teams.
Northeast Louisiana rivals Ruston and Neville open the season against one another Friday and do so atop the Class 5A and Class 4A polls released Monday by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association.
And both the Bearcats and Tigers looked those parts this weekend with impressive Bayou Jamb showings against Evangel Christian and West Monroe.
Ruston’s talented and stout all-around defense managed to slow down the Eagles’ explosive offense and LSU-committed quarterback Peyton “Pop” Houston like few other teams around the state could the past three seasons.
And the Bearcats’ offense looked as balanced and explosive as maybe ever before with LSU-committed tight end Ahmad Hudson, Baylor-committed wide receiver Josiah Morgan and top 2028 running back prospect Dalen Powell among the top weapons as Louisiana Tech-committed quarterback Sam Hartwell.
Neville meanwhile powered its way through the Rebels with Jarvis Blackston and Kayden Jones leading a balanced rushing attack, ULM-committed quarterback Parker Robinson orchestrating a largely efficient passing attack a couple of explosive flashes and a defense that forced two takeaways and generated consistent pressure.
Each team was the highest-ranked of its respective class and division in Louisiana vs. All Y’all’s preseason top 50 with Ruston at No. 1 and Neville at No. 9.
ST. CHARLES IN CHARGE, REBELS STILL RUNNING?
Reigning state champions largely garnered some carryover love or benefit of the doubt with six of the eight receiving first-place votes in their respective classifications, six in the top three of their class and another in the top five.
The pair from the River Parishes are two that we think are among the likeliest repeat candidates, though: St. Charles Catholic and Riverside Academy, which open the season as the No. 2 team in Class 3A and No. 3 in Class 1A, respectively.
Scrimmage and jamboree scores should generally be taken with a bit of a grain of salt and a lot can change from August to December, but the Comets returned a strong core from last year’s title team, which edged University Lab in the semifinals, and beat the Cubs again in this month’s scrimmage, but open behind them in the polls.
Reigning Division-IV Non-Select champion Haynesville took 10 of the 11 first-place votes in Class 1A, though reigning Division-IV Select champion Riverside Academy may return as much or more of its title core, including strength in the trenches and dynamic and experienced playmakers.
SHOCK ON AUG?
St. Augustine feels low at No. 6 in Class 5A. But, to be honest, whichever team landed in that spot would have felt low.
The classification’s top six teams may be the strongest top six in any classification in recent years, and determining that order was a definite challenge.
Respect to the Purple Knights, though, who return a large core of the historic 2025 state runner-up team that reached a title game for the first time since 1979.
The biggest question mark would be replacing a prolific senior leader at quarterback, but his successor, junior Jaelle Noble, is a dynamic athlete with a big arm and has been increasingly impressive as a passer each opportunity to see him during the past couple of years in various settings.
UNDERRATED LAFAYETTE AREA?
No. 2 Westgate in Class 4A is the Lafayette area’s only top-four team in any classification, and its top-10 company is Class 5A No. 10 Southside; Class 4A No. 10 Teurlings Catholic; Class 3A No. 10 Northwest; Class 2A No. 5 Notre Dame, No. 7 Catholic-New Iberia, No. 8 Lafayette Christian and No. 10 Loreauville; and Class 1A No. 5 Jeanerette and No. 6 Westminster-Opelousas.
We had five of those programs ranked a little higher and another three ranked identically.
Southside feels like as realistic a threat in Division-I Non-Select as anyone to Ruston, and Jeanerette has the talent and recent experience and trajectory to potentially have a historic season ahead.
Lafayette Christian was one of the toughest teams in the state to project this after graduating so much Division-I college talent from so many key places and losing its all-state running back in a move to Baton Rouge. But the Knights should have a pretty salty defense again this fall and deserve some benefit of the doubt as one of the state’s most consistent smaller-school programs for a decade now.
Carencro has the potential to be one of the top challengers to Archbishop Shaw in the Division-II Select bracket, and Lafayette Renaissance is another talented Class 4A and D-II Select team that intrigues us. And Acadiana and St. Thomas More are — as always — worth watching as at least top-10 candidates.
