’Jacks lead area football teams

Prep football power ratings were updated earlier this week and two teams are firmly entrenched in the playoffs — with one needing a win tonight to all but secure a home game  — while two others will not make the postseason cut.
According to the Louisiana High School Athletic Association’s unofficial rankings, Patterson (7-2 overall, 3-0) is the highest of the local teams that will compete in the newly redesigned playoff bracket that separates schools into select and nonselect classifications.
The select schools include some dual-curriculum, non-public, charter, full magnet and university lab schools.
Patterson, currently No. 3 in the Class 3A nonselect playoffs, is guaranteed a home game regardless of the outcome of tonight’s contest against Franklin for the District 9-3A title.
The area’s lone select school, Central Catholic, will compete in the Division IV playoffs, comprised of Class 1A select schools.
While the Eagles (3-6 overall, 3-2) enter tonight’s game against Gueydan as the No. 14 seed, a win would ensure they are not on the bubble for possibly traveling for a first-round game.
All select schools in the four classifications automatically qualified for the playoffs before the season began with the top teams in Divisions 4 and 3 receiving byes while, the top five teams in Division 1 will have a first-round bye.
In the public school brackets, the top 32 teams will qualify for the postseason except in Class 1A’s nonselect bracket, where the remaining 27 teams not in the select bracket will make the postseason.
Elsewhere, Morgan City and Berwick both are out of this year’s playoff picture as the Tigers (0-9, 0-3) are ranked No. 43 in Class 4A, while the Panthers (2-7, 0-3) are last in the Class 3A rankings at No. 51.