With one more chance to improve their playoff stock, two area teams claimed critical wins last week and are poised to land a coveted first-round bye when the Louisiana High School Athletic Association releases the brackets today.

In the most recent power ratings, Iowa (9-1), which ran through District 3-3A undefeated, jumped two spots to No. 1 in Division II non-select after its 17-7 win over Cecilia (7-3) on Thursday. The Yellow Jackets are .33 points ahead of unbeaten West Feliciana (10-0) for the top seed.

Basile wrapped up the District 5-1A championship in a 21-14 defensive battle with East Beauregard and could take the final bye in Division IV non-select. The Bearcats (9-1) jumped two spots to No. 4 and sits .53 points ahead of perennial power No. 5 Haynesville.

The LHSAA will release the playoff brackets at 10 a.m. through its LHSAA Live app. Links to download the Apple and Android versions of the app can be found at www.lhsaa.org.

St. Louis Catholic (8-2) might narrowly miss out on a bye in Division II select at No. 9 by .15 points to Madison Prep.

Other area non-select teams projected to host in the bi-district round include No. 9 Leesville (8-2) in Division II, No. 9 Rosepine (8-2) and No. 12 Iota (8-2) in Division III and No. 9 Welsh (8-1), No. 11 Oberlin (7-3), No. 12 Oakdale (6-3) and No. 14 Grand Lake (8-2) in Division IV.

Several bubble teams looked up a spot Friday, and some will be on the outside looking in.

Jennings (3-7) entered the final week ranked 30th in Division III non-select in its final season with longtime head coach Rusty Phelps. The Bulldogs lost 31-21 to St. Louis on Thursday, but their strong non-district schedule bumped them up to No. 25 with all four opponents winning on Friday.

Lake Arthur (4-6) and Elton (5-4) each jumped four spots in Division IV non-select with Week 10 wins after starting the week 26 and 27, respectively. Elton is likely back in the playoffs for the first time since 2018 after winless seasons in 2019 and 2021 and not playing in 2020 because of Hurricanes Laura and Delta.

Sam Houston (4-6) was on the bubble at No 27 before its loss to District 3-5A champion Southside on Thursday and is likely the first team out in Division I non-select at No. 29. The Broncos are .3 points behind No. 28 St. Amant (4-6), which claimed a 21-0 victory over Live Oak on Friday.