The Louisiana High School Athletic Association released the football playoff brackets on time Sunday, just a few hours later than originally anticipated.

It was reported that the brackets would be delayed after the LHSAA sent out a Friday news release revealing a legal entanglement. The cause was a temporary restraining order granted to University High after the school was forced to forfeit seven games due to two ineligible players on Nov. 4.

The LHSAA’s temporary solution was to restore the wins and allow the Cubs (8-2) into the playoffs as the court case plays out. If the court rules in favor of the LHSAA, U-High could be removed from the playoffs. The Cubs, the No. 2 team in Select Division II, received a first-round bye.

Area top seeds

While Southwest Louisiana didn’t land any No. 1 seeds, three schools did claim top four seeds and will receive bi-district byes, as will Select Division II No. 7 Leesville (8-2).

Jennings (9-1) owns the No. 3 seed in Non-select Division II after finishing the regular season on a nine-game win streak and claiming the District 3-3A crown after shutting out Westlake 50-0 in its regular-season finale. Running back ReJohn Zeno and quarterback Chris Ned combined for 358 rushing yards and six touchdowns.

Kinder (8-2) is the No. 4 seed in Non-select Division III, but that was nearly derailed by Avoyelles on Friday in a battle for the District 5-2A championship. The Mustangs led by 10 points until Yellow Jackets running back Logan LeBeouf scored twice in the second quarter on runs of 3 and 13 yards. He scored three times and finished with 109 yards on 17 carries.

DeQuincy (9-1) jumped two spots to No. 3 in Non-select Division IV after beating rival Vinton 27-13 for the District 4-2A title, led by running back Wyatt LaVergne’s 216 yards.

Rising teams

Over the final weeks of the regular season, Lake Charles College Prep and Grand Lake went from facing first-round road trips to home games.

LCCP (5-5) finished the regular season with a four-game win streak to go from No. 18 to No. 9 in Select Division II. The Trailblazers will host No. 24 McKinley at 7 p.m. Thursday at LaGrange High School.

Grand Lake (6-3) improved by 10 spots over the final three weeks. The No. 13 Hornets will host No. 20 Jonesboro-Hodge at 7 p.m. Friday.

The Trailblazers easily handled South Beauregard 46-13 in Week 10, while Grand Lake battled back from a 20-point deficit to beat Oberlin 28-20.

Approaching 3,000

Prolific running back Xavier Ford doesn’t stop. The senior broke 300 yards for a fifth time this season as Leesville beat LaGrange 33-0 and could break 3,000 yards in the second round of the playoffs.

Ford sits at 2,733 yards on 253 carries with 42 touchdowns. He ran for 331 yards and three scores on 29 carries against the Gators.

Winless no more

Rosepine ended a 12-game losing streak that dated to the 2023 season with a 20-6 win at East Beauregard. After a scoreless first half, the Eagles scored 12 points in the third quarter to take control. Sophomore Brynnum Chaney ran for 113 yards on 20 carries and scored on a 5-yard run.

Combo

Elton’s Tristan Leblanc and Makelin Lemoine combined for more than 300 rushing yards for the sixth time this season in the Indians’ 45-6 win over Merryville.

The duo had 365 yards and five touchdowns. They combined for 3,275 yards and 44 touchdowns this season.