TOP SPOTS UNCHANGED BUT DUO FACE CHALLENGES NEXT:

All five teams that the Louisiana Sports Writers Association considers the best in their respective classes remain in their summit positions in the weekly statewide Top 10 football polls, and if there are any shake-ups after next weekend's competition, it could be at the top of classes 5A and 4A.

While three of the five leaders – 3A St. Charles Catholic, 2A John Curtis and 1A Ouachita Christian – don't appear to be in jeopardy of losing in Week 3, St. Paul's and St. Thomas More will face stiff competition.

St. Paul's, which has been impressive in winning its first three games, opens District 6-5A play against its nearby nemesis, Covington High in the Lions' den known as Jack Salter Stadium. The 7 p.m. game on Friday will be Covington's fourth consecutive contest at home and St. Paul's first on the road, albeit a short drive.

The Wolves received nine first place votes in the Class 5A poll and finished 11 points ahead of No. 2 Dutchtown, which garnered the other two first place nods. Covington received modest consideration with three points in a class that is loaded with talented teams.

The other leader in jeopardy is 4A leader, St. Thomas More, which has outscored its opponents in three victories by a margin of 96-12 points. The Cougars will host the reigning Class 2A champion, Evangel, whose 1-2 record may be deceiving. The Eagles lost their first two games to opponents from Oklahoma and Mississippi. But its in-state lone victory came last week against previously unbeaten Barbe, which was ranked at No. 8 in the Class 5A poll.

Sitting behind St. Thomas More at the first cut of the Class 4A list are No. 2 Breaux Bridge and No. 3 Neville, both undefeated and poised to replace the leader should the Cougars fall. Each school received one first place vote, while St. Thomas More had the other nine.

Dutchtown has an interesting game at home against Zachary, which only received 11 points by the writers despite winning its first three games, including a 36-32 decision over previously unbeaten East Feliciana. Dutchtown has replaced Catholic High as the power in the Metro Baton Rouge area.

Although West Jefferson continues to run roughshod over its opponents, the Buccaneers still slipped a spot, trading places with the 2010 5A champion, Acadiana, which bounced back from a 15-14 loss to St. Paul's by defeating a solid New Iberia team, 35-7. The Bucs will play their toughest opponent to date this week when they face 2-1 Destrehan at Hoss Memtsas Stadium on Friday. A win could state their case as a team that should be ranked higher.

Byrd High, 3-0, made the biggest leap on the 5A poll from 10th to sixth place by backing its Week 1 win over powerful West Monroe with subsequent victories over Marshall, Texas, and Fair Park. And Jesuit moved from No. 9 to No. 7 following a 34-17 win over Archbishop Shaw.

The other three leaders – St. Charles Catholic, John Curtis and Ouachita Christian – are in position to maintain their spots through the remainder of the season.

Although No. 2 Patterson has been dominating opponents on the scoreboard and the remaining teams on its schedule have losing records, St. Charles has been just as dominating with few chances of being upset on the horizon. On Friday the Comets host neophyte Miller McCoy.

Class 2A leader, John Curtis, 3-0, begins play in a ho-hum district against 0-1 Cohen at Muss Bertolino on Friday. The only opponent with a glimmer of hope to spring an upset of the Patriots is Riverside, 2-1, which hosts the Pats on Sept. 30.

And Ouachita Christian, which tops the 1A Top 10, has an easy run of opponents for the next five weeks until it faces district rival Cedar Creek, also 3-0 and ranked No. 8 in the bottom class. Cedar Creek will have an opportunity to make a case for itself on Friday when it meets Haynesville, 3-0, on the road. The host Tornados are ranked No. 2 behind Ouachita Christian.