District 3-5A is loaded with strong teams again this high school football season, and it will not be easy as the area’s three largest schools open district play tonight.

Sulphur (2-1) will host Sam Houston (2-1) in an early season rivalry game at Matt Walker Memorial Stadium.

Sulphur lost a pair of close games to the Broncos the last two seasons, 35-27 last year and 31-27 in 2022.

“So we know that the task at hand is a formidable one, and they’re a formidable opponent,” Sulphur head coach Cody Geuringer said. “If you want to be the best, you have to take these chances and opportunities and maximize them to the best of your ability.”

Barbe’s opener might seem like an easier path as it faces an 0-3 team, but the Carencro Bears are no ordinary winless team.

Carencro lost by one to Class 4A No. 2 St. Thomas More in Week 1 and Class 5A No. 7 Zachary in Week 3. Its other loss was to Class 2A No. 5 Lafayette Christian in Week 2.

“They’re the best 0-3 team in the state,” Barbe head coach Skeet Owens said. “They lost two games by one point. The other one, they had four or five turnovers and lost by 10.

 “It’s going to be a great challenge for us. We’ll try to come out here and compete as much as we can. You know, get after it.”

Five of the eight district teams are ranked No. 11 or better in their respective playoff division power rankings, led by Acadiana, the No. 4 team in Select Division I and No. 3 in the Louisiana Sports Writers Association Class 5A poll.

“The first district game’s always important,” Sam Houston head coach Chad Davis said. “You want to get off to the right foot going into the district, kind of set the tone for where we’re headed for the rest of the season, now that we’re out of nondistrict.”

The Bears have an experienced dual-threat quarterback in Chantz Babineaux. Owens said the best way to keep the Bears’ offense (31 ppg) off the field is sustained drives on offense where the Bucs average 39.3 points a game.

“We’ve got to stay on the field and make first downs,” Owens said. “Their starting tailback is also a middle linebacker. And I think their other tailback is a Sam-backer. So we’ve got to hopefully make those guys stay on the field, you know, maybe try to wear them down a little bit, make them play a bunch of snaps offensively and, of course, defensively.”

Barbe sophomore quarterback Jelandon Gray hasn’t thrown an interception in three games with seven touchdowns while completing 65 percent of his passes.

The Tors’ defense has allowed 16.7 points a game led by defensive lineman Jay Michael Stelly (28 tackles) and linebacker William Gunter (37 tackles).

Corralling the Broncos will be difficult. Not only does Sam Houston have a large group of receivers with three having 100 or more yards, and a four-year starter at quarterback (Gavin Stout), and it has been able to run at will with senior back Drew Bailey (625 yards, 10 TDs).

“(Sam Houston does) really good job,” Geuringer said. “They keep you off balance as much as possible.

“They want to go fast. They can go fast. They want to go slow. They can go slow. They can dictate the game very quickly and very well. So when it comes to offense, most of those guys are seniors. Most of the guys have had playing experience for four years.”