Teams rise in new polls
University, Dutchtown, Livonia, Brusly and Southern Lab all moved up one spot in the latest Louisiana Sports Writers Association high school football polls released Tuesday.
University (8-1) is third in Class 2A, Dutchtown (7-1) is fifth in Class 5A, Livonia (7-2) is sixth and Brusly (7-2) ninth in Class 3A, and Southern Lab (8-1) climbs to its highest ranking of the season at seventh in Class 1A.
East Feliciana (4-3) and Springfield (7-1) stand one spot out of the top 10 in Class 3A and Class 2A, respectively. Springfield has won five straight games while scoring 211 points during that span.
The top teams in each class remained the same for the seventh straight week. Teams are playing their final regular-season game this week with playoffs starting next week.
Parkview Baptist (8-0) is the top team in Class 3A. Rummel (8-0) is the top team in Class 5A, Neville (9-0) sits atop Class 4A, John Curtis (8-0) leads Class 2A and Ouachita Christian (9-0) paces Class 1A. Neville, John Curtis and Ouachita Christian are defending state champions.
District 6-3A champion Parkview Baptist has a bye this week. The Eagles were 4-0 in district and scored 193 points in league games.
Lutcher (8-0) remains third in Class 4A.
Other local-area ranked teams in Class 3A include St. Charles Catholic (6-2, up one spot to fourth), Loranger (7-1, down one spot to fifth) and West Feliciana (6-2, down one spot to seventh). West Feliciana travels to Clinton to play East Feliciana for second in District 6-3A. Both teams are 2-1 in district.
Catholic High (6-2) and Central (8-1) received 11 votes each in the Class 5A poll. Other local-area teams receiving votes but outside the top 10 include Port Allen (6-2) in Class 3A, Pointe Coupee Central (6-2) and White Castle (7-2) in Class 1A.
University High started the season at third and dropped a few spots following its 26-21 loss to Loranger in Week 2. University sits atop District 7-2A with a 4-0 record and a 197-41 scoring advantage in that span. University plays at Redemptorist (0-8, 0-4) Friday.
“At the beginning of the year, we were an inconsistent team,” University coach Chad Mahaffey said. “The last few weeks, we’ve practiced better. We had a great practice today. We’re trying to be a balanced team.”
Mahaffey said touted senior lineman Tim Williams, senior free safety Jarrod Franklin and sophomore linebacker Jake Wharton have had good years on defense.
“A lot of teams run away from Tim Williams,” Mahaffey said. “He gets double- or triple-teamed on most plays. He’s had to work on different aspects of the game.”
Sophomore running back Nick Brossette and quarterback Nik Kragthorpe power the offense. In the past two seasons, Brossette has rushed for nearly 2,800 yards and scored 59 touchdowns.
University was a sixth seed in the 2011 playoffs and advanced to the quarterfinals. The Cubs currently project as a third seed in a typically strong Class 2A.
“There are some tremendous Class 2A teams,” Mahaffey said. “All the top teams have played and beaten good Class 4A and Class 5A teams. It always starts with John Curtis and (second-ranked) Evangel.”