It's the penultimate week of high school football in Louisiana, and 32 teams' hopes for a state championship are still alive as we enter the semifinal round of the LHSAA playoffs.
Some of the teams we expected to be here, though, are not. Seven teams seeded in the top four of their respective divisions were bounced from the postseason last week, while four teams seeded 12th or lower are still on the road to the Superdome.
A few of those teams still in the title hunt have entered unchartered territory. Dutchtown, Jena, and Northwest are making their first-ever appearances in the state semifinals. For Archbishop Shaw and Cecilia, this is the closest they've come to the Superdome in more than a decade. Opelousas, meanwhile, is making its first semifinal appearance in nearly 30 years.
Will these teams continue to make history, or will they be vanquished by one of the state's perennial championship contenders? We'll preview the 16 semifinals games taking place on this week's edition of the Pelican State Prep Football Preview.
Segment 1: Show open
Segment 2: Brad Luminais (New Orleans Metro) and Meagan Glover (Acadiana)
Segment 3: Robin Fambrough (Baton Rouge Metro) and Troy LeBouef (River Parishes)
Segment 4: Gene Ponti (Monroe/Northeast Louisiana) and Tim Fletcher (Shreveport/Northwest Louisiana)
Segment 5: Mary Margaret Ellison (Alexandria/Central Louisiana) and closing