Abps. Rummel, Hannan take their bows in Dome

    Having separate football playoffs for schools deemed Select and Non-select by the Louisiana High School Athletic Association had one positive effect.
    It opened the door for new schools to compete for championships.
    One of the beneficiaries is Archbishop Hannan, which was scheduled to face Calvary Baptist in the Select Division III title game on Dec. 12.
    Archbishop Rummel will also return to the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on Dec. 12 to meet Byrd for the Select Division I title. The Raiders qualified for the championship game by beating St. Augustine, 34-28.
    Rummel is the reigning Class 5A champion. Coached by 186-game winner Jay Roth, the Metairie school captured its first championship in 2012 by crushing Barbe, 35-14, in the 5A finals.
    Rummel appears to have played a more competitive schedule. While Byrd faced just one Class 5A opponent outside of District 1-5A, every Rummel opponent came from the state’s highest classification. Its losses were to highly ranked Acadiana, Dutchtown and St. Augustine.
    The two have two common opponents – Archbishop Shaw, which Rummel trounced, 38-0, and Byrd eliminated in the regional playoff round, 24-0; and Holy Cross, which Rummel soundly defeated, 28-0, and Byrd eliminated, 14-10, in the Nov. 29 semifinal round.
    Reclassification moved Hannan up in class to 2A and moved it into a competitive district.
    Most of the players from the Hawks’ starting unit have been together since the eighth grade. They are now seniors.
    They finished behind Northlake Christian and St. Thomas Aquinas, both of which have been eliminated, leaving Hannan as District’ 7-2A’s lone survivor.