The number of undefeated high school football teams in Southwest Louisiana was whittled to seven after Week 2.

Three of those hail from District 3-3A — St. Louis Catholic, which jumped up to No. 8 in the Louisiana Sports Writers Class 3A poll, Kinder and Westlake.

Class 5A

Sam Houston is off to its best start since 2019 and looking to inch closer to its first 6-0 start since 2018 after pounding New Iberia 41-7 last week 41-7 in its District 3-5A opener.

The Broncos’ defense had allowed 8.5 points per game.

Last week, senior linebackers Wyatt Fontenot and Eli Scarborough made six tackles each. In the secondary, defensive

backs Phillip O’neal (7 tackles) and Cooper Smith (3 INT) had big games.

Junior quarterback Gavin Stout (12-24-0, 337 yards) slung three touchdown passes to bring his season total to six with no interceptions, and wide receiver Ayden Rose is 3-for-3 on touchdown receptions, averaging almost 45 yards a catch.

Class 3A

St. Louis leads the pack when it comes to lock-down defenses with a single score given up in two games.

The Saints (3.5 ppg) are one of three area teams — along with fellow undefeated Oakdale (6.0 ppg) and Elton (6.0 ppg) — allowing fewer than 10 points a game.

Senior defensive lineman Kade Nugent seemed to be everywhere on the field last week with 11 tackles, four tackles for a loss, a pair of sacks, four quarterback hurries and an interception in a 20-7 win over Iota.

While the Saints have the area’s best defense, Westlake has one of the top offenses (47.5 ppg), led by rising freshman quarterback Brody Anderson. The 55 points the Rams put on Welsh last week was the most since they scored 61 in Week 9 of the 2021 season against St. Louis.

Anderson has completed 67.6 percent of his passes (23 of 35) for 590 yards and eight touchdowns with no interceptions. Junior wide receiver Kevin Rideau has been his favorite target (10 rec., 343 yards, 5 TDs) in two games.

After struggling in its first season in Class 3A, Kinder is enjoying a resurgence after beating Church Point in a rain-delayed defensive battle 14-6 for its first 2-0 start since 2018.

Junior running back Logan Lebeouf topped the century mark for the second time in as many games with 121 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries.

Class 2A

The Lake Arthur Tigers are on a power trip as the top offense (49.5 ppg) in Southwest Louisiana after a 65-32 home win over Mamou.

Quarterback Ray Levi had a monster night with 265 yards and four touchdowns on 12 touches, while Carson Myers scored twice and added 114 yards on 11 carries.

The Tigers stuck to their ground game, picking up 464 yards.

Oakdale has back-to-back 2-0 starters after beating rival Oberlin at home 22-0. The Warriors spread the ball around to seven backs with none gaining more than 60 yards as they totaled 267 on the ground.

Class 1A

After losing 23 consecutive from 2018 through 2021, Elton is off to its second consecutive 2-0 start after going on the road last week to beat Northwood-Lena 35-6.

Junior running back Tristan Leblanc cracked 100 yards again with a season-best 205 and two touchdowns on 16 carries, averaging 12.8 yards a carry.

Noteworthy Performances

Leesville junior running back Xavier Ford scored three times and ran for 193 yards on 23 carries in a 22-20 loss to Jena … Iowa quarterback Josiah Bushnell ran (110-173, 2 TDs) and threw (6-14-0, 107 yds., TD) for more than 100 yards to lead the Yellow Jackets to their first win, 35-18 over Rayne … Jennings’ ReJohn Zeno also had a trio of touchdowns in the Bulldogs’ 28-6 road win at Eunice. He finished with 187 yards on 26 touches … Hamilton Christian freshman quarterback Javon Vital led the Warriors to a 26-6 win over Highland Baptist to end a 12-game losing streak. Vital ran and passed for a touchdown, finishing with 259 total yards.

First wins: Iowa, Jennings, South Beauregard, East Beauregard, Vinton, Basile, Hamilton Christian.

Still searching: LaGrange, Washington-Marion, Pickering, DeQuincy, Welsh.