For the second straight weekend, the clear matchup of the week will help punctuate the action with a Saturday showcase.
John Curtis (2-1) will take the short trip into the city to face St. Augustine (3-0) for a third meeting between the traditional power programs in about 10 1/2 months.
The Catholic League opener for each puts a pair of top five teams in the Louisiana Sports Writers Association’s Class 5A poll and top five, for our money, of teams in the state at any level.
Some uncharacteristic turnovers proved costly for the Patriots in 2025, and the Purple Knights were able to blow open a 55-28 victory in district play and, more importantly, snatch a 31-29 semifinal victory in the final seconds to earn a Division-I Select title appearance.
Both teams have been off to strong starts with the lone blemish on either record coming in an out-of-state matchup for John Curtis against national power North Shore (Texas) in Week 1.
And as hard-fought as most Catholic League district and Division-I playoff wins will be to come by this season, whichever of the Purple Knights and Patriots can scrap out Saturday’s victory will be off to a great start in the league race and postseason seeding.
Arguably the state’s top receiving corps in purple and gold and top secondary in red, white and blue headline the matchup from a recruiting standpoint, but the battles in the trenches and the duel between a pair of talented junior quarterbacks and which can more effectively run his offense and limit miscues are two areas that loom large as any.
John Curtis and St. Augustine no-doubt tops our Week 4 list of 10 games to watch, but the slate is loaded all over the state and at every classification level.
OAK GROVE (1-2) at OUACHITA CHRISTIAN (3-0) — Thursday, 7 p.m.
The LHSAA Network’s “Game of the Week” pits a pair of perennial northeast Louisiana powers against one another in what has been a fun matchup through the years and one in which one team, the other or both often manages its way to Caesars Superdome by season’s end. Oak Grove has gotten the best of the past two years to take over the edge in the modern run of the series since the programs began playing annually again in 2017. This year’s bunch of Tigers should again be a team to watch in the Division-IV Non-Select conversation, but have been off to a slower start record-wise against a tough slate of higher-classification competition. Meanwhile, the Eagles have been absolutely rolling and looking as good as any Division-IV Select contender early on.
ALEXANDRIA (3-0) at NEVILLE (2-1) — Friday, 7 p.m.
This matchup is no longer a district game since Neville returned to Class 4A this year, but it’s a date that has no doubt been circled on Alexandria’s calendar since their short-handed trip to Monroe last November spiraled into a lopsided loss that ended its district title push and slipped its postseason seeding. This year’s Trojans have looked as strong as maybe any team in the state with their senior quarterback-receiver tandem, junior running back duo and a stout, disciplined defense that has been wreaking havoc on any opponent in its way. Neville’s only loss came Week 1 against a Ruston team that’s as good as any in the state, but the Tigers have rebounded impressively since then, turning a shortcoming finishing drives that night into a strength most of the past two weeks and heading into this week fresh off a 49-0 dismantling of 2025 Division-I Non-Select champion Ouachita Parish. Two of the top quarterbacks in the state’s loaded senior class at the position, ASH’s Karsen Sellers (Lamar) and Neville’s Parker Robinson (ULM) will face for the final time in high school.
CATHOLIC-BR (1-2) at RUSTON (2-1) — Friday, 7 p.m.
Another matchup of two of the state’s proudest programs has gone from one that looked in the preseason like a potential 1-vs-2 type date has developed into a pivotal bounce-back week after a pair of stumbles in Week 3. The Bears and Bearcats have been among the winningest teams in the state for several years, but not without occasional losses along the way as they each consistently play strong schedules. But a 1-3 start for Catholic would mark its worst since 2011. And, after opening the season considered arguably the top team in the state, Ruston is now trying to avoid back-to-back losses for what would mark just its third such slide in the past decade. Both teams hang their hats on defense, but also have two of the state’s top running backs in Florida State-committed Catholic senior Jayden Miles and LSU-targeted Ruston junior Dalen Powell and some notable weapons in the passing game headlined by Ruston’s college-bound tight end Ahmad Hudson (LSU) and wide receiver Josiah Morgan (Baylor).
ST. THOMAS MORE (2-1) at ACADIANA (3-0) — Friday, 7 p.m.
The perennial Lafayette powerhouses have split their pre-district meetings the past two years since rekindling the old rivalry, and now they’ll kick off their respective District 3-5A slates against one another this week amid strong starts to the season and fresh off high-profile victories in Week 3. The resilient Cougars came back with 15 unanswered points in the final minutes last week in Baton Rouge to stun Catholic-BR, 43-42, while the Wreckin’ Rams are 3-0 for the first time since 2020 after holding off rival Carencro last week and are only just starting to get healthy, including a four-touchdown season debut last week by Syrian Joseph, and have every reason to expect their best football to still be ahead. Friday’s winner would appear to take the early driver’s seat in the league race, though others — chiefly Southside and Barbe — will have their opportunities to challenge that along the way.
JESUIT (3-0) at BROTHER MARTIN (3-0) — Friday, 7 p.m.
The bulk of the Catholic League headlines entering the season centered on Edna Karr, St. Augustine, John Curtis and Archbishop Rummel. And here are the Blue Jays and Crusaders, both undefeated against tough early schedules, and trying to get the first leg up in what figures to be a competitive-as-hell District 9-5A race. Brother Martin has gotten the best of more of the recent matchups, but the series has been steadily competitive with most games decided by just a score or two, such as last season’s 31-29 thriller or heartbreaker depending on which sideline one was on. Wide receiver Easton Royal, a Texas commit and LSU target, will immediately jump to most minds as a prospect to watch — and rightfully so — but the Blue Jays boast a college-bound pass-catcher of their own in Tulane commit Ja’ir Burks, and the two well-coached and well-balanced teams bring a lot to the table in all three phases.
ST. JAMES (3-0) at DUNHAM (2-1) — Friday, 7 p.m.
Friday’s matchup between top-tier teams in Class 3A and Class 2A, respectively, shouldn’t be a hard sell on the surface. St. James and Dunham have consistently been among the state’s top mid-sized or small-schools programs for years now and boast college-bound talent both in their senior classes and the up-and-coming younger groups. Both teams are battling some issues right now with injuries and other availability dynamics, which could throw some fans off — but also present opportunities for lesser-known names to rise to the occasion against good competition. The team that can battle through that adversity and snatch another win will add another strong boost to their early résumé and power-points stockpile.
E.D. WHITE (0-3) at ARCHBISHOP SHAW (2-1) — Friday, 7 p.m.
Don’t let the Cardinals’ record — entirely against Class 5A opponents — turn you off of this rematch of the 2024 Division-II Select title game. E.D. White and Archbishop Shaw should both again be among the notable contenders at their level. The programs are always well-coached and hard-nosed and enter this midseason showdown notably battle-tested for a game that could loom notably for playoff seeding. Friday should be another battle headlined by defense and run games and with the room for error fairly slim and potentially hinging on a timely takeaway or two. The Cardinals started last season 0-3 as well, but haven’t been 0-4 since 2016. Meanwhile a 3-1 start for the Eagles would be their best since 2014.
CATHOLIC-NI (2-1) at NOTRE DAME (3-0) — Friday, 7 p.m.
The Panthers and Pioneers have a history of some memorable and even wild battles, but last year’s home rally in Crowley to overcome a 28-point deficit and pull off a 35-34 victory would have to factor highly on the list. Catholic-New Iberia will have its opportunity on the same field to avenge that tough loss and claim a second win in three years in the series since it was rekindled. But more importantly than what the matchup may mean in the context of the past is what it could mean for the future as the teams work to build momentum into their respective districts and position themselves well for the playoff bracket. Notre Dame hasn’t started 4-0 since 2020, and Catholic is trying to earn its fourth straight 3-1 start and avoid its worst four-game record since 2022 with a loss.
CENTRAL-BR (2-1) at WEST MONROE (2-1) — Friday, 7 p.m.
The Wildcats and Rebels’ head-to-head history isn’t particularly lengthy, but does include some notable recent playoff run-ins, including Central’s 21-7 win in the 2024 Division-I Non-Select quarterfinals as its run to a historic state championship gained steam. This year’s meeting will improve one team to 3-1 with another marquee win on its early résumé. Both teams have already shown some ability to regroup from adversity as the Wildcats did from their 0-1 start to win the past two and Rebels from a tough-to-swallow lopsided Bayou Jamb loss to rival Neville to win their first two games. West Monroe aims to shake back this week from a road loss at Brandon (Miss.) in Week 3 and not let losses compound ahead of its rematch opportunity against Neville in Week 5.
