It’s been awhile since Vernon Parish put multiple teams in the football playoff – 2022 to be exact.
But that year, both Leesville and Rosepine made a run to the quarterfinals.
This year’s Leesville and Rosepine squads are poised to make another deep run in their respective divisions.
The No. 8 Wampus Cats (8-2) will host No. 25 Iota (5-5) in the first round of the Division II Non-Select playoffs.
Rosepine (9-1), No. 6 in Division III Non-Select, will bring in No. 27 Oakdale (4-6) in the first round of the Division III Non-Select playoffs.
LEESVILLE
The Wampus Cats battled against Division II Select power Lake Charles College Prep in the regular season finale, ultimately coming up short 66-42.
Leesville, which was playing for a district title, took two 14-point leads in the first half before LCCP got their bearings and rallied.
LCCP led by one touchdown in the fourth quarter before scoring the game’s final 18 points to make the margin look much larger than the actual competitiveness of the game.
But Leesville proved they are a threat to make a deep playoff run with its win against Jena and competitive play at LCCP.
The Wampus Cats have won at least one playoff game in eight of the last nine years, which includes two semifinals trips (2024, 2018) and another quarterfinals appearance (2022).
Iota is trying to build something like that.
The Class 3A Bulldogs did win four games in a row late in the regular season, but none of those opponents made the playoffs.
Iota struggled against playoff-caliber competition, falling in games with Sulphur (38-14), Church Point (27-13) and Northwest (23-14).
ROSEPINE
Welcome back to the dance Rosepine.
The year 2022 doesn’t seem like that long ago on paper – which is the last time Rosepine made the playoffs with a run to the quarters.
But three seasons that yielded just five wins (2023-25), including a pair of one-win seasons in 2024 and 2025, made that stretch feel a lot longer.
The Eagles topped that win total with their 7-0 start to this year.
Coach David Weldon took over and revamped the Eagles, who feasted on early competition before they hit a roadblock at Vinton (43-26) in their only loss.
Oakdale shouldn’t provide that kind of test as the Warriors needed three wins in their last four contests to secure their playoff spot.
But Oakdale does have that momentum and were just a two-point loss to Avoyelles from finishing on a four-game winning streak.
The 28-24 win against Class 1A Elton is their best victory of the season, and that proves Oakdale won’t be a simple walk in the park.
Oakdale is also a playoff regular and will have more postseason experience than Rosepine, which has none.
It’s a good test for the Eagles to find their playoff stride before hopefully facing the winner of No. 11 Jewel Sumner and No. 22 Bastrop.