Catholic High plans to match strength against strength in its football playoff opener.

The No. 7-seeded Panthers, who had a first-round bye, host No. 10 Northlake Christian and running back Kameron Casnave in a Division III Select regional game on Friday at 7 p.m.

Casnave, a 6-foot-1, 220-pound junior, carried 39 times for 198 yards and three TDs in the Wolverines’ 48-16 bi-district win over No. 23 St. Louis Catholic. The power back has rushed for 1,014 yards on 149 carries with 13 TDs.

“He is the key to their offense, which involves a lot of triple option out of the shotgun,” CHS coach Matt Desormeaux said. “Sometimes they’ll go under center.”

The Panthers have fared well against big running backs in the past. Last year, the defense held Leesville’s Xavier Ford to 66 yards on 14 carries. Ford, who was averaging over 200 yards per game, could top the 3,000-yard mark this season.

“Our guys play technically sound run defense,” Desormeaux said. “Northlake Christian is big up front with strong kids. It’s not surprising because they’re a good powerlifting school.”

Wolverines’ quarterback Luke LeBlanc has been efficient, completing 48 of 69 passes in the regular season for 753 yards and 11 TDs with two interceptions. Gavin Hunter (11 catches, 266 yards, five TDs), Charlie Gilmore (13-240, four TDs) and Luke Voelkel (10-210, two TDs) are the leading receivers.

The Covington-based Wolverines (8-2) have won seven in a row since losses to Episcopal and Class 4A Lakeshore. 

CHS (9-1) counters with a defense that has held seven opponents to single-digit scoring. The Panthers limited undefeated Vermilion Catholic, which has scored at least 41 points in every other game, to 14 points in a Week 1 loss. 

The Panthers have collected 22 sacks, 17 interceptions, 14 fumble recoveries and seven blocked punts. 

CHS has passed for over 2,000 yards with 30 TDs and only one interception. Quarterback Luke Landry has 27 TD passes. Xander LaBauve has thrown three of his eight completions for scores. On defense, the junior has terrorized opposing QBs.

The running game has yielded another 23 TDs. Owen Morris and Tristan Lewis have run for eight touchdowns apiece. Short-yardage specialist J.D. Hidalgo has five TDs. 

“We had a pretty good week of practice,” Desormeaux said. “It wasn’t quite as crisp as I’d like. It’s tough to get kids to focus every single play. Our two outside days were really good.”

The winner of Friday’s game will face either No. 2 Newman (8-0) or No. 15 D’Arbonne Woods Charter (7-3) in the quarterfinals.

“Most games come down to protecting the ball,” Desormeaux said. “Winning the turnover battle. We’ve been doing a really good job of playing clean, sound football.”