Senior Traville Frederick leads the team on both offense and defense this season. 

Had you asked Teche Area football fans before the season began which team would still be practicing during the Thanksgiving break, few would have picked the Jeanerette Tigers.

Coming off a 6-4 performance in the 2022 regular season and a disappointing showing in the playoffs, many expected the Tigers to have another down season, as had been the trend in years past.

What actually transpired was nothing short of amazing as the Tigers secured one of their best regular season records in school history, finishing 8-2 and entering the Non-Select Division IV playoffs as the No. 5 seed.

Now, with back-to-back playoffs wins over No. 28 seed West St. John and No. 12 seed East Feliciana, Jeanerette stands alone as the last local team still in the hunt for a chance to play in the LHSAA Prep Classic.

Standing in their way are two final tests. On Friday, the Tigers will make the four-hour trek to Haynesville to face off against the No. 4 seed Tornadoes. A win would advance Jeanerette to the semifinals where the Tigers would hit the road again to take on either No. 1 seed Logansport or No. 8 seed Welsh.

Leading the Tigers on Friday will be a solid corps of seniors that have turned Jeanerette into mentality monsters this season. Za’Waylon Jackson, Traville Frederick, Arnaz Marks, Treyvan Alexander, Juawaan Hills, Jamouri Walters, Nyhkwquan Drexler, Tony Barabin, Andre Mathews and Seven Thomas have all played a crucial role in the Tigers’ success this season and will once again be called upon to lead the team to victory on Friday.

The success isn’t all down to the upperclassmen, however. Jeanerette has a strong group of sophomores and juniors at its disposal, with head coach C.C. Paul also drawing in a large freshman class to ensure that the success the Tigers find this season won’t go unrepeated.

Jeanerette will need all the help it can get on Friday. Haynesville ended the regular season with a 9-1 record, defeating seven teams by 20 or more points and finishing the final four games of the season with a combined score of 171-18.

The Tigers haven’t been as dominant on offense, but few teams have faced as difficult of a schedule as Jeanerette.

Wins against 4A Morgan City and 2A Lake Arthur propelled the Tigers to the top of the power ratings early in the season while district victories against Hanson Memorial, Centerville and Covenant Christian helped boost their rating in the final stretch. Jeanerette’s two losses came against Central Catholic and championship favorites Vermilion Catholic, games that will provide the Tigers with crucial game experience for Friday’s contest.

Friday’s game will be Jeanerette’s first quarterfinal appearance since 1990. The Tigers have made 13 playoff appearances in school history (‘90, ‘96, ‘01, ‘02, ‘04, ‘05, ‘09, ‘10, ‘11, ‘16, ‘17, ‘20 and ‘22).

Kickoff for Friday’s game is schedule for 7:30 p.m. at Haynesville Senior High School.