Acadiana area high school football fans get a well-deserved treat with two very juicy matchups on the Week 8 schedule.
One, there’s the long-awaited rematch between Cecilia and Opelousas with more layers to that confrontation than an overstuffed burrito.
There’s also the District 3-5A showdown between Acadiana’s Wreckin’ Rams and the Southside Sharks that will likely decide that league title.
These matchups would be frontline meetings just about any week of the season, but especially coming on the heels of the past two weeks.
It’s been pretty rough out there lately for some teams.
In Week 6, 16 of the 28 games involving Acadiana area teams were decided by 30 or more points with seven single-digit final margins. The average margin of victory was 30.2.
It was even a little worse last week when the 26 area games saw an average margin of victory of 31.9 points with 14 of the games decided by 30 or more points and only four single-digit final margins. Two cancellations might have made the average even worse.
This week’s schedule appears a little more promising on paper, especially with the two featured matchups.
There is almost no way for the Cecilia-Opelousas rematch to disappoint. Sure, both teams might have a few more losses than expected through the first seven weeks.
Opelousas opted for a much tougher nondistrict slate and therefore comes in at 3-3, while Cecilia got aggressive after a hurricane cancellation and is 5-2.
But this is a ‘throw the records out the window’ game for plenty reasons.
One, they met in the state championship game last season with Opelousas winning after losing to the Bulldogs in the regular-season matchup. Then the LHSAA penalized Opelousas for recruiting violations Cecilia suggested and was stripped of that title.
Later, it was ruled the investigation wasn’t properly executed, so the Tigers got their state title back.
It would be difficult for two teams filled with monks to avoid some extra hard feelings in this rematch. The revenge angles are coming from every direction.
This matchup alone should provide the drama that's been lacking in recent weeks.
The Acadiana-Southside game took a little more time to get to this premier level.
Everyone thought the Rams would be top contenders for the district title, but the jury was a little bit out on the Sharks when the season started. Certainly the program is a good one, but with new coach Jess Curtis taking over the program from a completely different area and classification, there were reasons to wait and see what that transition would bring.
During the first seven weeks, the Sharks have done nothing to elevate themselves as the only legitimate threat to Acadiana in the district race. It will be a tall order yes, but Southside continues to run the ball extremely well and its defense has been on a different level than the other teams in the district not wearing green and gold.
Beyond those two stellar matchups, there’s a lot of other issues to be decided in these final three weeks of the regular season.
The Rams’ power rating is No. 3 in select Division I followed closely by Teurlings Catholic at No. 5, while Southside is No. 10 in the nonselect Division I bracket.
Meanwhile, Carencro and Lafayette High are currently holding down the final two playoffs spot in the selection Division I bracket with three weeks left, so each game is critical.
In nonselect Division II, North Vermilion at No. 27 and Rayne at No. 28 are in similar positions, as is Northside at No. 24 in select Division II.
Delcambre is another team on the hot seat, requiring a strong finish at No. 31 in nonselect Division IV.
Getting back to Opelousas and Cecilia, Opelousas is No. 16, Northwest 17 and Cecilia 18 in the nonselect Division II bracket, so playing each other in the first round isn’t far-fetched.
Then there’s the tremendous turnaround story of the Erath Bobcats, who are No. 1 in the nonselect Division II bracket. Erath has a showdown with No. 7 Kaplan next week.