Four Teche Area teams open the first round of the LHSAA football playoff on the road as Erath heads to Lake Charles to face Lake Charles College Prep, Hanson heads to Donaldsonville to face Ascension Catholic, West St. Mary heads to defending Class 3A champ Welsh and Franklin heads north to Coushatta to face Red River.

And while road games are not ideal, it really doesn’t seem to bother the coaches as the playoffs begin.

“To be honest, we’re not a bad road team nor or we a better team at home,” said first-year Erath coach Eric LeBlanc as his Bobcats make the playoffs for the first time since falling to West Feliciana in the second round in 2016. “I think the kids would rather be at home because it’s not as much of a disruption as packing up and going on the road but we as a coaching staff have told them what to expect and what to plan for all week heading into the game.”

The last time Erath went on the road for a playoff game was the opening round in 2016 when the 17th seed Bobcats went to Eunice to face the 16th seed Eunice High and came away with a 49-20 win.

Now the 27th-seeded Bobcats will try to beat the No. 6 Trailblazers in order to perhaps get a second round game at home as happened in 2016.

“We’re not worried about going on the road,” LeBlanc said. “We’re going to go there and hopefully play well enough to come out with a win.

West St. Mary knows all too well about being road warriors when it comes to the playoffs. The Wolfpack were on the road last year at Pine and lost 42-0 and just like Erath went on the road in 2016 in the first round as a 17th seed. beating 16th seed Oakdale 14-13 before coming back home to face top seed Many in the second round.

Going on the road is not a big thing for WSM head coach Clifton Armelin but what the Wolfpack boss would like to see change is his team’s habit of getting off to slow start in the first half before coming on strong in the second half.

“That’s something that always seems to affect us,” Armelin said. “About four or five times this year we got off to a slow start before playing much better in the second half.

“If we can come out and get off to a quick start, then I think that we can stay close in the game and do well.”

Back in the playoffs again after a couple of years absence are the Hanson Tigers, who were last in the postseason in 2014 and dropped a first-round game to St. Mary’s in Natchitoches.

In 2014, Hanson was a 15th seed on the road against a second seed. This year, Hanson is again a 15th seed going to a No. 2 seed.

Hanson’s last home playoff game was 2013 when the 13th-seeded Tigers lost in the first round to the 20th seed Catholic High of Pointe Coupee 28-13.

Another team that’s making a playoff appearance after a long absence is Franklin, which was last in the postseason in 2013 when the Hornets dropped a 13-6 decision at Westlake.

It is believed that the last Franklin home playoff game was a loss to DeRidder in the mid-1990s when FSH was still in Class 4A.

The 23rd seed Hornets head up North to Coushatta, about 30 minutes north of Natchitoches, to face the No. 10 seed Bulldogs.