The No. 3 St. Edmund Blue Jays will entertain the No. 14 St. Fredrick Warriors in the opening round of the LHSAA Division IV playoffs.
“I am proud of how our team played together all season,” St. Edmund head coach Andy Hargroder said. “We don’t have any one person that can line up against the guys we played and have success.
“They all came together and played as a team.”
The Blue Jays (9-1, 7-0) won the District 4-1A championship, while the Warriors (4-6, 3-4) finished fourth in District 2-1A behind Oak Grove, Cedar Creek and Ouachita Christian.
“They come from a very tough district and their record doesn’t mean any thing as they lost some close games against some really good teams.”
St. Frederick grabbed wins over D’Arbonne Woods Charter (49-6), Tensas (34-0), Sicily Island (3-7) and Delhi (31-6).
“They play hard and are well coached,” Hargroder said. “We can’t relax against them as it will be a battle from the get-go.
With a win, the Blue Jays will face the No. 6 Ascension Catholic/No. 11 Houma Christian winner in the quarterfinals.
Last year, the No. 11 Blue Jays finished 4-7 overall and lost at No. 6 Ascension Catholic 35-6 in the first round.
“We had some seniors who stepped up and others that helped out,” Hargroder said of the Blue Jays’ turnaround. “The offseason workouts and buying into hard work helped them find success.”
District 4-1A runners-up No. 7 Basile (7-3, 6-1) plays host to No. 26 Slaughter Community Charter (2-8, 2-4) in the first round of the Class 1-A playoffs.
Slaughter’s two wins came against District 5-1A foes Westminster (20-14) and North Central (22-18).
With a win, the Bearcats would take on the No. 10 Montgomery/No. 23 Gueydan winner in the second round.
In other games involving District 4-1A teams, No. 9 Elton (6-3) entertains No. 24 Sicily Island (3-7); No. 11 Oberlin (6-4) faces No. 22 Block (2-8) and No. 14 Merryville (5-5) takes on No. 19 Centerville (5-5).