2016 Louisiana High School Football Division I Semifinal Update

Written by Charlie Beuttel

Twitter: @charlie_cds3

It was a wild night in Division I action last week with the field of eight quarterfinal teams dwindled down to the four semifinalists. Now these final four teams will square off this Friday night to find out who will battle for the Division I State Championship in the Superdome in New Orleans on Dec. 2.

No. 5 Evangel Christian (10-2) @ No. 1 John Curtis (10-0)

In the quarterfinals, John Curtis took down the defending champions Archbishop Rummel 34-20 while Evangel Christian beat St. Paul’s 28-21. The Patriots of John Curtis were led to victory by freshman Collin Guggenheim as he accounted for 291 total yards, 107 on the ground and 184 in the air, and three total touchdowns. Another weapon for John Curtis was running back Marquese Albert who had 110 rushing yards and one touchdown.

In Evangel’s quarterfinal win, the Eagles were led by senior quarterback Connor Curry who threw for 138 yards and a touchdown and sophomore running back Tamauge Sloan who had 104 rushing yards. Another star performance came from Ardarius Washington on Evangel’s defense who had two interceptions during back-to-back St. Paul possessions in the third quarter.

This will be a very entertaining contest between two highly talented teams. Both teams lost in the semifinals last year but unfortunately only one can move on to the Division I Championship Game in New Orleans.

No. 6 Brother Martin (9-3) @ No. 2 Scotlandville (11-0)

Last Friday night, Brother Martin shutout the defending champions Catholic-Baton Rouge 28-0 and Scotlandville escaped past St. Augustine 27-20.

The Crusaders of Brother Martin cruised to victory behind Bruce Jordan-Swilling’s 233 rushing yards and three touchdowns. Quarterback Levi Lewis was able to rally his Scotlandville teammates as the Hornets scored an incredible 20 points to come out victorious in the quarterfinals. Lewis finished with 145 passing yards, 207 rushing and three total touchdowns including connecting with Vernon Powell on a 40-yard touchdown pass with 56 seconds left.

This will be Brother Martin’s first trip to the semifinals since 2014 and second since 1989. Both teams will be fired up as the winner will go on to battle for the state championship.

Photo credit: usatodayhss.com; Evangel Christian DB Ardarius Washington