The Welsh Greyhounds enter the final week of the high school football regular season on a long win streak for a second consecutive season.

This time they are looking for a better result and a district championship to keep the momentum going into next week’s postseason.

“I feel good about it,” Welsh head coach Ronnie Courville said. “The kids are excited for the opportunity. They know what is ahead, and they know the history. But they are excited to get a chance to play for a championship. It is not something that you get often.”

Standing in the way is Notre Dame, which has dominated Southwest Louisiana teams for more than a decade. The game will be at Welsh High School at 7 p.m. Thursday.

The Pioneers beat Welsh 56-28 last season and have not lost to a Southwest Louisiana team since Sept. 23, 2011, a string of 43 wins. That loss was at the hands of St. Louis Catholic, 9-6 in overtime, on a 27-yard field goal by Harrison Flynt.

There have been a few close calls. Lake Charles College Prep lost 41-40 to Notre Dame in the select Division III regional round last year, and the Pios edged Kinder 38-37 in 2017.

Since starting district play, Notre Dame (6-3, 4-0) has outscored its last four opponents 185-23.

Welsh (7-2, 4-0) enters with a seven-game win streak since opening the season 0-2. The biggest improvement, Courville said, has been on the defense side where the Greyhounds have allowed 5.6 points a game in the last seven contests.

Junior Ethan Beard has come on strong since missing the first three games of the season and has 38 tackles in his last five games. The Greyhounds will need to be able to break through the Pios’ experienced offensive line.

“Obviously, defensively the kids are starting to play a lot better, going from over the first two games and even our scrimmage,” Courville said. “In the first two weeks, teams were averaging around 50 points a game on us.

“The defense has done a good job of continuing to get better, and we have cut that down (points allowed) a lot. They are really good on the offensive line, so it is going to be important to control the line of scrimmage. They are really good up there, and real senior heavy.”

Welsh has multiple weapons on offense from quarterback Jonovan Begnaud (67-428 yards, 8 TDs / 60-109-4, 980 yds., 15 TDs), running back Hayden VanNess (103-865, 8 TDs) and wide receiver Will Arceneaux (13-291, 6 TDs), who has five touchdowns on his last eight receptions.

“Jonovan has gotten better every single week,” Courville said. “Obviously that helps a lot with him being the quarterback and getting a couple of guys back that were injured.

“He is a really good player. I think he started a little slower than he liked early in the year as far as throwing the ball goes, but he is really starting to hit his stride.

“Another guy who is starting to play really well for us is Will Arceneaux, our receiver. Seems like almost every time he touches the ball, it is a big play. It is good to have multiple options on offense.”