District 7-1A Set Up To Own Division IV Bracket

Want to win the Division IV playoff bracket in the state of Louisiana? You better prepare to go through District 7-1A.

One of the harshest districts in the entire state, especially in 1A, produced the top three seeds in Ascension Episcopal, Vermilion Catholic and Central Catholic-Morgan City. Throw in Brontre Griffin and Highland Baptist at #8, and you get a vicious cocktail of possible losses for anybody outside of the area that isn't familiar with their grind.

The district ended up being split three ways between AES, VC and CCMC, and all three display particularly deadly makeups.

Former Ragin' Cajuns QB Michael Desormeaux's Ascension Episcopal team almost mimics a college setup, in terms of diversity on the attack. Ja'Ciery Linzer is an absolute workhorse when required to be at RB, but the real leader of the show has been QB Jake Arceneaux and the passing game. Arceneaux might not be the biggest or fasted guy in the state, but his football IQ has grown exponentially in the last year and a half. It's why he's headed to play college ball for the Ragin' Cajuns, and why the Blue Gators were only one game away from an undefeated regular season.

Unfortunately for AES, their final game of the season was on the road, in the rain, in Morgan City against a team built for the slop.

Central Catholic-Morgan City is a one man show on offense, but Stefano Guarisco is worth the price of admission. He's not stacked up over 200 lbs, but he runs with vision, burst and determination while his massive offensive line clears a path of destruction. While AES can carve you like a Swiss Army Knife in several ways, the Eagles line up and dare you to stop Guarisco.

As a matter of fact, I double-dog dare somebody to stop Guarisco. Even that won't work.

Last but certainly not least, Vermilion Catholic rests at #2. The rest of the state is familiar with the Screamin' Eagles, and if it weren't for a late two-point conversion by Ascension, VC would head into the playoffs with an outright claim to District 7-1A. Think they're eager to prove how much that loss bothered them?

It's possible we could see matchups between local teams in the semifinals and the championship game. Don't let the magnitude of that slip away.

With all the teams around the state, the top three in Division IV all came from Acadiana. Taking all of the talent in the state of Louisiana into factor, that's nothing to shake a stick at. The final scary piece of this puzzle: it could be like this for a while.

Vermilion Catholic's been an established power for a while around the state, but what's stopping AES from staying near the top as long as Desormeaux is calling the plays? The same could be said for Central Catholic-Morgan City under Tommy Minton.

If everything pans out, Division IV will belong to District 7-1A this year...and the next...and the next?