Louisiana LookBack: Top takeaways from Week 13 of 2023 season

SBLive Louisiana is continuing its weekly statewide high school football recap called Louisiana LookBack. 

This week, we will look back at Week 13, the quarterfinal round of the playoffs, and take a sneak peek at some of the best semifinal playoff games later this week. 

1. Caught-22

There were some great games in the state quarterfinal round, and one of the best was in Abbeville, where Division IV select top seed Vermilion Catholic rebounded from a 22-0 deficit to beat No. 9 seed Ascension Catholic, 39-35.

Tailback Chad Elzy Jr. scored two of his team's first three touchdowns and finished with 280 yards on 27 carries, according to Troy LeBoeuf of the Baton Rouge Advocate.

Late in the second quarter, Vermilion Catholic (12-0) finally gained some traction when Jyrin Bessard returned a kickoff for a 94-yard score after the Bulldogs' third TD.

The Bulldogs (10-3) led 35-27 in the fourth quarter, but the Eagles scored the game's final 12 points on runs by junior quarterback Jonathan Dartez, the last coming with just over two minutes remaining.

Dartez rushed for 183 yards on 30 carries with four TDs and passed for 167 yards with a 73-yard scoring strike to Joe Langlinais. Dartez's season totals increased to 233 carries for 1,822 yards and 28 TDs and 1,530 yards passing with 19 TDs and only two interceptions.

Vermilion Catholic hosts fifth-seeded Riverside Academy (12-1) with the chance to reach the Division IV select championship for the second straight season.

Elzy concluded his season with 2,912 yards and 50 total touchdowns. He averaged more than 15 yards per carry.

2. Simon Said

Calvary Baptist coach Rodney Guin had been waiting for a moment like Friday to unleash tailback James Simon.

Simon, a 6-foot, 200-pound junior, had rushed for 930 yards on 118 carries with 13 touchdowns leading up to the second-seeded Cavaliers' Division III select quarterfinal playoff game with 10th-seeded Parkview Baptist.

In other words, Guin had carefully managed Simon's carries because he knew the time would come in the playoffs when Simon would need to vastly increase his workload.

Simon answered the call, rushing for 328 yards on 22 carries with four second-half touchdowns, according to Doug Ireland of the Shreveport-Bossier Journal, and the Cavaliers broke open a 28-20 game to win, 49-28.

Calvary Baptist (12-0) hosts third-seeded Isidore Newman (10-1) in the semifinals.

Louisiana high school football playoff brackets updated for all select and non-select divisions 

3. Skippers Ground Airline

No. 21-seeded Mandeville continued to crash the party in the Division I non-select playoffs by upsetting a higher seed for the third time.

The Skippers' latest victim was fourth-seeded Airline, which fell 56-50 in Bossier City.

Mandeville junior tailback Nate Sheppard rushed for 263 yards and four TDs on 34 carries to accompany three catches for 35 yards and two touchdowns. One of his catches, on a play where he took the ball away from a defender in the end zone, went viral.

Mandeville, which travels to top-seeded Ruston (12-0) next, is in the semifinals for the first time since 2015, according to Ken Trahan of Crescent City Sports.

Junior quarterback Ben Taylor completed 35-of-47 passes for 381 yards and three TDs and rushed for two scores for Airline (10-2), according to Roy Lang of the Shreveport/Bossier Advocate.

4. North By Northwest

Northwest High is making its debut in the semifinals after the 22nd-seeded Raiders upset third-seeded Assumption in the Division II non-select playoffs.

Northwest (10-3), which reached the quarterfinals from 2015-17, won in double overtime, 46-44. Tailback JaVain Reese, a 5-foot-7, 205-pound senior, rushed for 178 yards on 26 carries with five TDs.

Reese has rushed for 1,815 yards this season with 32 scores.

The Raiders, who were 5-of-10 on third down conversions and 3-for-3 on fourth down, overcame 14 penalties for 119 yards to advance to face second-seeded Cecilia (11-1).

Northwest led 22-7 and didn't trail until Assumption (9-3) returned a fumble 60 yards for a 30-22 lead in the third quarter.

In the second overtime, Assumption went ahead 44-38 on a Reece Turner 5-yard run but failed to convert a two-point conversion.

Reese evened the score at 44-all on a 6-yard run and burst into the end zone to win the game with the two-point try.

Turner ran for 110 yards on 22 carries with five TDs and a pair of two-point conversions.

5. Roadtrippin' Rummel

Archbishop Rummel keeps on trucking as an underdog in Division I select.

The 18th-seeded Raiders (7-6) were road warriors for the third time Friday, upsetting seventh-seeded St. Paul's, 35-21.

Rummel won its first two playoff games in Shreveport at No. 15 Northwood and No. 2 Captain Shreve.

Jaidyn Martin led the Raiders with 143 yards on 28 carries and three touchdowns, according to Ken Trahan of Crescent City Sports. Quarterback Generald Buggage carried eight times for 73 yards and a TD and completed 12-of-15 passes for 164 yards and a score.

Ruben Ramirez had catches for 111 yards and a TD for Rummel, which will be on the road again in the semifinals at third-seeded Catholic-Baton Rouge (10-2)

6. Rebels Receive Rematch

Teurlings Catholic earned a Division II select semifinal rematch with Lafayette Christian by eliminating E.D. White, 42-28.

The seventh-seeded Rebels (9-3) beat Lafayette Christian in the 2022 regular season, but lost to the Knights in the semifinals and earlier this season.

On Friday in Thibodaux, Teurlings Catholic raced to a 35-7 first-half lead over the second-seeded Cardinals, who finished the year with an 11-1 record.

Senior quarterback Preston Welch completed 13-of-21 passes for 239 yards and four TDs. Bradford Cain caught five passes for 100 yards and two scores. Cade Cother and Travis Gallien each hauled in a TD pass.

In Week 7, the Rebels suffered a 61-3 loss at Lafayette Christian in a Thursday night District 4-4A game.

7. St. James Turns Tables

St. James exacted revenge on Many in Division III non-select, pounding the sixth-seeded Tigers, 40-0. Last year, Many beat St. James in the semifinals.

This time, quarterback Brayden Williams ran for two scores and Kani-King Young ran for another, according to Lanny Vangilder of Crescent City Sports.

Third-seeded St. James (10-2), which travels to second-seeded Sterlington (11-1) this week, got two defensive touchdowns on a pick-six from Jarrell Williams and Deuce Williams' return of a fumble.

8. Champs Still Alive

Oak Grove clipped Mangham, 31-30, in the Division IV non-select bracket as the Tigers continue their chance at repeating as state champions.

The third-seeded Tigers (10-2) got 174 yards on 15 carries from Jay Freeman. Junior quarterback Jackson Bradley, a recent Louisiana Tech commit, ran for 80 yards on 18 carries with a TD and completed 6-of-13 passes for 103 yards and two TDs.

Oak Grove also defeated the sixth-seeded Dragons in Week 5, 28-12. Mangham, which lost four of its first five games, finished with a 7-5 record.

Oak Grove travels to No. 2 Kentwood (10-2) this week. 

Photo of Vermilion Catholic's Jonathan Dartez by Parker Waters 

-- Mike Coppage | @SBLiveLA