As the second half of the high school football regular season gets underway, area district races will intensify.

Four key district games will have a critical impact in Week 6.

Iowa (4-1) will make its District 3-4A debut today after decades in District 3-3A. But the Yellow Jackets are not unfamiliar with their opponent, Leesville (4-1), and star running back Xavier Ford. It will be the fourth game in three seasons between the schools.

“We’re pretty familiar with these guys,” Iowa head coach Tommy Johns said. “There’s no secrets.

“They’re well coached. They’ve got really good players. Coach (Robert) Causey, he’s done a great job over there. Those guys are always in contention every year. This year is no different.”

The 5-foot-11, 200-pound, Ford is one of the top backs in the state with 1,451 yards and 24 touchdowns. In back-to-back regular season games in 2022 and ’23, Ford topped 250 yards and scored three times each in a pair of wins over Iowa.

He missed the 2022 quarterfinal loss to Iowa with an injury.

“He’s very dynamic,” Johns said of Ford. “We’ve played against him since he was a sophomore, and that guy played like a senior when he was a sophomore. I mean, he’s special.

“I haven’t seen one like him in quite some time. Somebody with his size and stature and who can still run the way he does is very impressive. He’s one of the more patient backs I’ve ever coached against as well. I think he doesn’t rush things.

“He’s not going to try to bounce it. He knows where he wants to go with the ball, and that’s what he’s going to do. I think that’s a credit to him and his coaches as to how patient he is.”

Ford has run for more than 275 yards in four of five games, that one game was a 60-35 win over Many where he played one quarter but still managed three touchdowns and 98 yards.

Iowa has a more balanced approach to its offense with 19 touchdowns between running back J’vien Adams, wide receiver Jeremiah Bushnell and do-everything athlete Jonathan Walker Jr.

“You’ve got to have some balance in your offense, especially in this day and age if you want to be able to score points and move the ball,” Johns said. “We’re going to have to obviously do that tomorrow night as well.

“I like the way we’ve progressed, especially up front. I think we’ve been able to get the ball into our playmakers’ hands and spread it around a little bit. That makes it tough on the defense.”

District 3-5A

Sam Houston (4-1, 2-0) is riding a three-game win streak and opened District 3-5A with back-to-back wins over rival Sulphur (3-2, 0-2) and Lafayette (3-2, 0-2). The Broncos are in a three-way tie in the district, but that will be whittled to two when they host the Southside Sharks (3-1, 2-0) tonight at Wayne Hooper Memorial Stadium in Moss Bluff. The other district front-runner is powerhouse Acadiana (4-1, 2-0), the No. 3 team in the Louisiana Sports Writers Association Class 5A poll.

Southside knocked off Barbe last week, holding the Bucs (3-2, 1-1) to a season-low in points (14) and rushing yards (82). The Sharks will have their hands full with the Broncos, who average 42.4 points and 454.6 yards a game. Even in their lone loss to Class 4A No. 1 Teurlings Catholic in Week 2, the Broncos had 372 yards of total offense. Southside allows 11 points a game and lost to the Broncos 32-27 last year.

Multiple weapons add to the difficulty of holding back the Broncos. Drew Bailey is closing in on his second 1,000-yard season at 878 yards and 13 touchdowns. Quarterback Gavin Stout averages 214 yards through the air per game and has three receivers with more than 200 yards, led by Drew Dronet (26 rec., 384 yds., 4 TDs).

District 4-1A

In District 4-1A, Hamilton Christian (3-1) is well rested after a bye week, while Grand Lake (2-2) is looking to regroup after a tough 10-7 loss at home to undefeated DeQuincy (5-0).

Hamilton has lost three of its previous four games against Grand Lake, including a 34-26 loss in Week 1 last year.

The Hornets rely heavily on their ground game, led by Charles McFarland (485 yds., 4 TDs), while Hamilton Christian has dual-threat quarterback Javon Vital (397 rushing yards, 480 passing yards).

District 3-3A

Lake Charles College Prep (1-4) continues its grueling schedule, looking for a break to propel it up the power ratings ladder. The Trailblazers will face a ranked opponent for four the fourth time with a road trip to Class 3A No. 4 Jennings (4-1).

Jennings running back ReJohn Zeno has five consecutive 100-yard games with 621 yards and seven touchdowns, while Chris Ned leads all Southwest Louisiana quarterbacks with 10 rushing touchdowns.

Jennings won the last two meetings by a combined six points, 30-28 last year and 27-23 in 2022.