The No. 24 seed North Webster Knights will travel more than five hours south to Vacherie for a matchup with No. 9 seed St. James as they hunt for an upset that will keep their Class 3A state championship hopes alive.
The Knights won two in a row to cap the regular season and enter the playoffs with a record of 5-5. St. James enters the postseason with a record of 6-3 following a loss in their regular season finale against E.D. White.
The Wildcats have talent for days, led by the abilities of senior receiver Shazz Preston. The 6-foot-1 speedster boasts offers from the likes of LSU and Alabama to go with plenty of others, and will be the focal point for a North Webster defense that has been up and down throughout the season. St. James is hardly a one-man band though, with capable weapons in wide receiver No. 4 Kobe Brown and running back Daniel Jupiter. Quarterback Marquell Bergeron has been solid pulling the strings for the Wildcats.
It will be pivotal that the Knights secondary of Jacobreious Walker, Ja’marcus Stephens, Cooper Sanders and Jalon Thomas come ready to play.
On offense, the Knights have also been a bit of a mystery, looking explosive on one night and stagnant the next. The biggest key for North Webster will be avoiding the turnovers which have plagued them in close losses this season. If the Knights can control the clock and win the line of scrimmage, Stephens has proven as good a weapon as any athlete in class 3A. Quarterback Collin McKenzie has also played well as of late, running and passing for big gains. In the passing game, the Wildcats will have to contend with senior receiver Seth Dehart, who caught his fourth touchdown of the season in last week’s 44-0 win over Green Oaks.
The Knights and Wildcats will kickoff the first round playoff matchup at 7 p.m.
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