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One of the best playoffs matchups on Friday night is Slidell vs John Ehret. Both teams closed the season "hot" . Slidell rolling with big back Ryan Tott doing most of the damage.

Another one is Barbe at East St John. This is a 12 hosting 21. Should be a great matchup. East St John riding the wave of late season momentum and the running of Alex Singleton. East St John tested after schedule that included, Carencro, Curtis, Bastrop, Hahnville, and Destrehan.

Mandeville quarterback Chad Plaisance back this week from finger. Mandeville (18) seed at Gormley against banged up Jesuit (15 seed).

possible matchups for next week...this is only
possibles include: St Paul at Higgins....East St John at Sulphur, Hahnville at Rummel, Carencro at Destrehan, Vandebilt at Cox, and St Charles at Lutcher.

Regards,

Ed

Hi all. Hope all is well as we tune up for Saban bowl Saturday in Tuscaloosa. Saw Alabama practice Monday in Tuscaloosa. Media allowed in for about 20 minutes. This is not a big Bama football team. LSU will definitely have a size advantage over Tide. I think it comes down to this for Alabama. Can their offensive line do the job against LSU's front four? On a radio show this week in Bama, former Auburn coach Pat Dye said lately LSU has had trouble generated pressure without blitzing. He's correct.

On a related note: I guess we know why LSU coach Les Miles used Ryan Perrilloux in a limited role. Perrilloux, cleared of charges in a nightclub brawl in BR, needs to stay away from trouble. It always seems to find him.

Conference USA has made its ruling, saying officials were correct in their handling of final seconds of Memphis Tulane game. Still don't agree. If you watch the line judge, he marks Gabe Radcliff out of bounds and clock should stop until ball is snapped.

Saints have lost five in a row against AFC. This is a big test, even with Jacksonville playing Quinn Gray at quarterback.

I like Colts at home Sunday. They have lots of motivation. They've won 12 games in a row, are reigning Super Bowl champs, beat NE last three, and are still five point underdogs.

Regards,

Ed

Sean Payton called it right saying of the Saints 22-16 win over Atlanta, "it wasn't pretty" . Saints get some big plays from a pair of receivers that have been very quiet. Marques Colston's 33 yard catch and run on 3rd and 5 in the fourth quarter kept alive Saints winning TD drive. And, Devery Henderson scored his first touchdown of the season on a 37 yard catch. Henderson must play. He's one of the few weapons Saints have at the wide receiver post. Next week's game at San Francisco is critical. I don't think the Saints beat Jacksonville at home in 2 weeks. A win over SF gives Saints at least a 3-5 mark at the break.

LSU won in spite of itself Saturday night. The clock management was poor. Les Miles came within a few seconds and an incomplete pass of making the biggest coaching gaffe in the history of Tiger Stadium. But, all is well that ends well. Still: I ask how can (2) future NFL backs, Keiland Williams and Charles Scott carry a combined 6 times in a key SEC game?

Kudos to Matt Forte'. The Tulane senior has a chance to reach 2 thousand yards rushing. Forte' has talent, but he is also an incredible worker. In the off season, he lived in the weight room , rehabbing his scoped knee and getting ready to carry the load for the Tulane offense.

Regards,

Ed

This Friday night I will attend Shaw at Vandebilt Catholic . This should be a great matchup. Vandy much improved, and will be looking to avenge last year's rout at the hands of Shaw on the west bank. Shaw lost quarterback Ramaad Robinson with an ACL , so the pressure will be heavier on outstanding Shaw defense.

Another game to look for Friday Night is East St John at Destrehan- East St John has dominated Destrehan of late (last year 42-7). But Desty will be ready, coming off a flat performance last week in a narrow win at St Amant.

2) Lots of discussion this week about what happened to LSU up at Kentucky (Cats win 43-37 in 3 overtimes) ? But, this is life in the SEC. Kentucky very good, plus LSU was coming off epic win over Florida. We'll see how much Kentucky has left in the tank this week for Florida. Home team has won last 7 in Auburn LSU series. Auburn playing much better of late. Key to this game is LSU getting in front early and taking Auburn out of game plan which is to run the football and play outstanding defense. It is obviously a formula that works. Auburn has won last 8 on the road in SEC play. And, Tommy Tuberville has won 9 of last 10 against Associated Press Top 10 teams.

3) I don't think it bodes well for the Saints to have the Falcons change quarterbacks this week. Usually a team that makes change plays better for at least a week. Remember last year? Bruce Gradkowski best game as Bucs starter was his first, against the Saints at the Superdome.

4) Tulane will be hard pressed to win more than 1 or 2 games the rest of the way. Bob Toledo has remained patient. He's refused to pull the redshirt off freshman quarterback Joe Kemp, who is apparently a very talented signal caller.

Regards,

Ed

I saw (3) games on Friday. In the afternoon, I watched John Mc Donogh defeated Warren Easton. Quarterback Shawn Harftford did a nice job scrambling and throwing for the Trojans.

At night, John Curtis routed Riverside. Joe Mc Knight's young brother Jonathan is a super athlete. He will be the next great player at Curtis. Curtis has a college secondary in high school. All of those guys are outstanding players.

Game of the night was East St John at home vs Dutchtown. East St John played very well in the second half. Dutchtown's running attack was shutdown. And, as I have said on Friday Night Football, junior runner Alex Singleton of East St John is a terrific runner. He is power back with speed to get the corner.

Saturday night: I saw Rummel's win over St Aug. Knights have some skill and speed. But, up front they are short on players.

Regards,

Ed

Each week we will talk about what's happening in High School Football.

This season the Hahnville Tigers are flying below radar, but this week, this proud Louisiana high school football program cracked the top 10 rankings .... and is looking to climb the ladder in class five A. Friday Lou Valdin's Tigers make the trek to Algiers and Behrman stadium to take on the O Perry Walker Chargers.

Who's the best on the BEST BANK? Friday night football presented by the Allstate Sugar Bowl Friday at 11:05. Check back here to post your blogs.