Man, we are doing this way too early.
But we couldn’t help ourselves.
Monday was the start of camp for a lot of our local high school football teams and with colleges hosting their preseason media days and preseason polls, we decided to go ahead and do the same.
We have talked to the coaches. We have listened to what people are saying.
Here is our Preseason Power 5 Rankings in football with some notes about all of those who did not make the list.
BY-U SPORTS PRESEASON POWER 5 RANKINGS – August 1, 2025
1. E.D. White – How can someone NOT rank the Cardinals No. 1 in the preseason based on what they did last year finishing as a Division II Select State Runner-Up, but also what they have done in the past half-decade, making 2 runs to the Dome and also countless other deep playoff pushes. There’s holes to fill on the defense, yes. And the offense will be ahead of the defense for a lot of the season. But the Cardinals are the local cream of the crop until someone rises above them.
2. Terrebonne – No team locally has a prettier team on paper than Terrebonne. The Tigers have a roster full of collegiate commitments with several more on deck. Coach Tyler Lewis’s team has taken steps every year, missing the playoffs in Year 1, making the playoffs and being on the road in Year 2, then making the playoffs and hosting in Year 3. This year, it’s not inconceivable to think the Tigers will be a Top 10 seed again and a team that can go deep. That’s the next step.
3. CCA – CCA went 10-0 in the regular season last fall and pushed all the way to the Division IV Select State Quarterfinals – arguably the best season in the history of the school. But Jesse Turner and his staff are not content until the Lions win the last game of the season. And with a lot of key pieces back and some new additions in 2025, there is a world where the Lions are every bit as good as they were last fall, if not maybe even a little better. This will be a fun team to see.
4. Vandebilt – The Terriers lost Jaylon Coleman, which is going to be a huge hole to fill. But Coach Brian Wallace said the strength of his team is his offensive line and he thinks he has playmakers that people don’t yet know about who are going to be able to do big things to help the team win games. We forget: Vandebilt was awfully close to making the Dome themselves last year. They were a break or two here or there from upsetting the Cardinals in the playoffs. This will be a very good football team.
5. Thibodaux – I have a great feeling about Thibodaux in 2025. The Tigers endured losing their defensive coordinator in the preseason, their head coach mid season and a rash of injuries AND STILL made the playoffs in Division I Non-Select last year. That’s hard to do. And oh yeah, the Tigers don’t lose a whole lot off that team. With Lowell Narcisse in town, there’s no way there can be less stability this fall. The Tigers will be a team that could get hot early and catapult to the top of this list.
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Others who very easily could have gotten ranked (in no particular order)
South Lafourche – I hear all of the talk about the excitement surrounding South Lafourche in 2025, and by and large, I agree with it. But I also have to be objective and have to see it on the field. The reality is South Lafourche was 4-6 last season and got running timed 5 times. Yeah, I do think this is a team that can be a top-tier team in 2025. But can I rank them about E.D. White, Vandebilt or Thibodaux? All of those teams running timed you last year. Let’s see it Week 1 in The Jungle.
Assumption – The Mustangs took a step back last year after making a deep playoff run in 2023, but Coach Wil Broussard likes his group in 2025, citing that the team has some skilled playmakers to go along with talent in the trenches. The Mustangs are always locally our mystery team. I saw some clips from the spring. The mystery team looked pretty damned good to me.
Central Lafourche – The Trojans are the wildcard locally. They have not been healthy in the past 2 seasons and it has completely derailed any and all hopes they’ve had to compete. But even with the injuries, the team sat one win away from making the playoffs in Division I Non-Select last season, which is very impressive. Coach Pop and Coach Dugas also will remind you that in the little bit of time that they had quarterback Jeremy Cleveland healthy last year, they were playing tick for tat with a Vandebilt team that almost went to the Dome, too. With health, who knows what this team can do?
South Terrebonne – The Gators were 4-6 last year and took some lumps, but Coach Aaron Babin and his team had just 5 seniors. A lot of times, we will use the cliche that a team “has everyone back.” Very rarely is it literally true. That’s the case for South Terrebonne this fall. By and large, they literally have EVERYONE back. Coach Babin said he wants to see some offensive consistency from his group, but he thinks they’re ready to contend.
H.L. Bourgeois – The Braves were the most underrated team in our area last season. They just quietly went about their business, then messed around and made the playoffs in Division I Non-Select. And oh yeah, they also almost upset Hahnville in the opening round, playing awfully tough to a very, very quality River Parish team. Now, I saw the Braves in the spring and to say that they looked like a playoff team in getting worked by South Lafourche would be a stretch. But I also saw the Braves in the spring in 2024 and it looked rough then, too, and it didn’t matter when they season rolled around. So it will be fun to see what Coach Washington can get out of his team.
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We still need to see more from (in no particular order)
Ellender – I have no clue what to make out of Ellender. Coach Butler has come in and I have no doubt that they will be well coached and ready to play. The Patriots had guys on the edges last year but were really lacking in the trenches and it just hamstrung anything they tried to do on both offense and defense. I’ve heard good things about the Patriots in 7-on-7, but when the pads are on and the linemen are out, I need to see more to be able to make a more accurate take.
Houma Christian – The same can be said for Houma Christian. The Warriors made the playoffs in 2023 in Coach Jamar Celestine’s first season with the team, but then really struggled last season, fighting both injuries and also a brutally tough Class 2A district. The Warriors have work to do to get up to snuff in that district, but Coach Celestine is a really good coach and he and his boys have put in the time this offseason. It will be fun to see how much space they have covered to close that gap.