5 nonselect quarterfinal matchups to watch | LHSAA Playoffs

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Teams from every corner of Louisiana to the next will battle Friday (with a couple Thursday early birds) for berths in next week's state tournament at McNeese State in Lake Charles.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The levels of competition and drama have ratcheted up with each stage of the postseason thus far from last week's first round to now what appears poised to be a memorable slate of quarterfinals. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here are the five games on the schedule that most caught our attention among the nonselect divisions.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>No. 5 Ouachita at No. 4 Walker (Division-I)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A pair of Class 5A semifinalists from a year ago will square off Friday to battle for one spot in that round next week. The programs, both perennial contenders, haven't met since a 2019 semifinal that Walker won, 53-48. The Wildcats will be waiting with a group led by seniors <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='970138' first='Warren' last='Young'] Jr.</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='970137' first='Kedric' last='Brown']</strong>, <strong>Ja'Cory Thomas</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1461556' first='Mekhi' last='Varnado']</strong> and <strong>Brandon Bardales</strong>. The Lions take the trip south led by the senior trio of forward <strong><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1130809' first='Jonathan' last='Bradshaw']</strong><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/jonathan-bradshaw/"></a> </strong>and guards <strong><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1213812' first='Jordan' last='Davis']</strong><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/jordan-davis-4/"></a> </strong>and <strong>James Ross</strong> with <strong>Trevon Bradford</strong> a highly ranked junior.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>No. 5 Rayville at No. 4 Patterson (Division-III)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Perennial power Rayville will take one of the weekend's longest treks, more than four hours south to Patterson. Senior guards <strong>Camron Smith</strong>, <strong>Getaydreyan Foster </strong>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2399543' first='Zephaniah' last=''] Elmore</strong>, senior big man <strong>Clay Thompson</strong>, junior <strong><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1543681' first='Kaleb' last='Jackson']</strong><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/kaleb-jackson-2/"></a> </strong>and sophomore <strong><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1492966' first='Lantavious' last='Murphy']</strong></strong> will try to help lead the Hornets back to their seventh straight semifinal appearance, including a streak of five straight title games from 2017 to 2021 and back-to-back titles in 2018 and 2019. Patterson is already the deepest it has been into a playoff run in that span. The Lumberjacks get the benefit of home-court advantage, though, where they are 7-2 in the playoffs dating back to that 2016 quarterfinal appearance — compared to 0-5 on the road. Senior forward <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='970127' first='Josiah' last='Jennings']</strong>, a Mississippi College football signee, is the headline prospect for Patterson, with junior big man <strong>Demond Davis</strong>, senior guard <strong>Kendall Francois</strong>, junior guard <strong>Khylin Brooks</strong> and sophomore guard <strong>Carlos Brooks Jr.</strong> rounding out the lineup.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>No. 6 Doyline at No. 3 Fairview (Division-IV)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A pair of Panthers squads from small rural schools will help kickoff the quarterfinal round Thursday, with the winner punching its first semifinal ticket since Doyline's 2020 state championship. Both teams have had each of the past two seasons end in the quarterfinals. Doyline is 1-4 in quarterfinals the past five years, with Fairview 0-3 the past three years. But each set of Panthers has a talented, battle-tested upperclassman group eager to push forward for more. Doyline is led by combo guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='970111' first='Jamaria' last='Clark']</strong>, who has been one of Louisiana's most unstoppable scorers all season, and junior teammates <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1386528' first='Keidric' last='Clark']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1386527' first='Broox' last='Swain']</strong>. Fairview</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>No. 8 Northshore at No. 1 New Iberia (Division-I)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Two of Louisiana's highest-ranked junior prospects will take the same court Friday as explosive guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1145438' first='Kohen' last='Rowbatham']</strong> leads his Panthers to New Iberia to face <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1218192' first='Wayne' last='Randall-Bashay']</strong> and the Yellow Jackets after their respective second-round survivals: Northshore by two points in double overtime against in-town rival Salmen, and New Iberia by one point on a Randall-Bashay game-winner against East Ascension. Seniors <strong>Gabriel James</strong> and <strong><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1275293' first='Tyrell' last='Yates']</strong><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/tyrell-yates/"></a> </strong>join Rowbatham in the Panthers' backcourt, with <strong>James Bridges</strong> on the wing and stretch big <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2173476' first='Dawson' last='Knox']</strong> providing front-court versatility. Joining Randall-Bashary on the home side are the senior trio of <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1241644' first='Christian' last='Walker']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1130810' first='Kylan' last='Dugas']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1273381' first='Jayden' last='Westley']</strong> and fellow juniors <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1105534' first='Austin' last='Delahoussaye']</strong> and <strong>Kentravion Smith</strong> as some of the Yellow Jackets' other standouts. The senior trio of [player_tooltip player_id='1273367' first='Landon' last='Strother'], Brett Jinks and Brennan LeJeune meanwhile headline the <strong>Fairview</strong> group awaiting in Grant.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>No. 9 Franklin Parish at No. 1 Wossman (Division-I)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Former district rivals will meet for the first time since Jan. 18 last season in Winnsboro, which itself was the first meeting since the three times during the 2018-19 season. Wossman has reached the past seven state tournaments, including runner-up finishes in 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020 and 2022. Big forward <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1213597' first='Kamron' last='Coleman']</strong> and shooting guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='970124' first='Juvian' last='Keys']</strong> are highly ranked senior prospects for the Wildcats, with junior point guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1223455' first='Cordell' last='Payne']</strong> and wings <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1105533' first='Jordan' last='Comanche']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1105543' first='Krystian' last='Lewis']</strong> and a sophomore trio of <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1285330' first='Antron' last='Mason II']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1394527' first='Kesean' last='Hines']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1702872' first='Andrew' last='Ross']</strong> all on the Prep Hoops Louisiana 2025 prospects list. Meanwhile, in his second year back at the Franklin Parish helm, a coach Lonnie Cooper, a Louisiana Basketball Hall-of-Famer for his playing career at McCall High and Louisiana Tech, has the Patriots in their first quarterfinal since 2019 after a missed 2020 postseason and back-to-back first-round exits in 2021 and 2022. Multisport standout <strong>Javion White</strong>, an underrated football prospect, is a veteran standout with Cooper's son, sophomore forward <strong>Drew Cooper</strong>, also a baseball standout, and freshman power forward <strong>Chris Addison</strong>, also an intriguing young football and basketball prospect to watch, also already among the Franklin Parish's players to watch. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->