The third-seeded St. Martinville Senior High Tigers open the Class 3A football playoffs at home tonight against McDonogh #35.

ST. MARTINVILLE — The road to the Superdome and hopefully a Class 3A state championship begins today when No. 3 St. Martinvillle Senior High faces No. 30 McDonogh #35 of New Orleans.

The Roneagles, who have a rich tradition of football success in the NOLA metro area, are 4-3 this season. Their first three games were cancelled following Hurricane Ida.

“These people are better than a No. 30 seed,” SMSH coach Vincent DeRouen said of McDonogh #35. “When you look at them on film, they’re very athletic, do a lot of things well and have that New Orleans swagger.”

The Tigers (8-2) have swagger, as well, with five straight wins under their belts. The Tigers own wins over No. 2 Abbeville and Class 4A No. 7 Cecilia. SMSH’s two losses were to Class 4A powers Westgate and Carencro, and the rugged schedule paid off with a high seed.

Looking ahead, the Tigers will likely face No. 14 Brusly in the second round. Brusly is 7-2 with its only losses coming to undefeated DII No. 2 University Lab and a 24-20 loss last week to defending Class 3A state champion Madison Prep.

No. 6 Lutcher (7-1) appears to be a likely quarterfinals opponent. The Bulldogs, whose only loss was to undefeated DII No. 1 E.D. White, feature a top quarterback in D’Wanye Winfield.

No. 2 Abbeville (9-1) and No. 7 Union Parish are the favorites to reach the semifinals on SMSH’s side of the bracket. The Farmers (7-3) eliminated the Tigers each of the past two years.

The top of the bracket is equally loaded with No. 1 Sterlington (10-0), No. 4 Iowa (9-1), No. 6 Church Point (10-0), No. 8 Madison Prep (9-1) and No. 9 St. James (6-3),

“We had a real good week of practice,” DeRouen said. “It’s playoff time. We can’t take anybody lightly or it could be our last game. We need to protect the football and play as mistake free as possible, because (McDonogh #35’s) quarterback is dynamic.

SMSH quarterback Tanner Harrison has rushed for 925 yards and 14 TDs and passed for 1,001 yards and 13 TDs. Steven Blanco has rushed for 925 yards and 14 TDs on 96 carries, and Harvey Broussard (29-649, nine TDs) leads the receiving corps.

“Tanner is a fierce competitor,” DeRouen said of his senior quarterback. “I think he’s comfortable where the game has slowed down for him. He’s showing a lot of leadership.”