One more game! Or it should be said, one more victory! That is all that stands between Quitman and Saline High School in achieving their goal of reaching the LHSAA state tournament. Both area schools advanced to the Quarterfinals of their respective classes by winning second-round games: Quitman topped Glenmora 79-54 on Tuesday, and Saline beat St. Joseph – Plaucheville 69-51 on Monday.

To punch their ticket to the Burton Colesium in Lake Charles, home of “Marsh Madness,” which is what the semi-finals and finals of all four “non-select” and “select” Divisions, along with Class B and C is called, the #3 seeded Wolverines must beat #6 Stanley in the Class B quarterfinals, while #4 Saline must conquer #5 Georgetown in Class C in games played later this week. 

A look at two of the northernmost teams left alive in the playoffs from each of the two smallest classifications reveals several similarities. Both schools started the season somewhat slowly before catching fire: Quitman held a 4-4 record as of November 20, 2025, then reeled off 20 straight wins, while Saline was at 9-10 at the end of 2025 and went 12-4 during the last part of the regular season. 

Both Quitman and Saline have lost to Gibsland-Coleman (#1 in Class C) twice and to Lakeview (#2 in Division IV). Both also lost to District 1-5A schools in the final games of the regular season, with Quitman falling to Benton and Saline losing to Natchitoches-Central. 

Both have won state championships in consecutive seasons but have not been to the state tournament in many years, with Quitman winning titles in 1970 and 1971 and Saline claiming state titles in 1990, 91, 92 and 93.

Michael Black of Quitman High School has a 116-58 overall record (66.67%) in six years, including four straight 20-plus wins seasons, one undisputed district championship (this year), and a tie for the district title in 2022-23. Klint Robinson of Saline High School is 170 – 222 in 12 seasons at the helm with three district titles, one 30-win season, and two 20-plus wins seasons.

Second Round Recaps

Quitman 79 Glenmora 54 (Tuesday, March 3): Four players reached double digits in scoring, led by Braden Martin’s game high 22 points and Taden Thomas’s 21 points, who also pulled down a game high 11 rebounds, as the #3 seed Wolverines shook off the rust of not playing in 10 days to pull away from the pesky #14 seed. Braden Smith chipped in with 12 points, and Shane Reed added 11 points and 10 rebounds to be the second Quitman player to record a “double-double.” Kaleb Maxwell and Abel Leach contributed 7 and 6 points, respectively, to round out the scoring for Quitman, who made 29 of 63 field goals for a respectable 46% shooting percentage, which included making 5 of 16 three-pointers.

The Wolverines, who are 25-5 on the year with the most wins in a season since 2006-07, led by only a 16-15 margin at the end of the first quarter, but won going away by pouring in 26 points in the second quarter and adding 21 more in the third compared to only 23 total by the District 5B runner-up, who ends the season with a 15-19 record.

“It’s exciting to go to the quarterfinals for the 2nd year in a row, and we are happy that we get to host this one,” said QHS head coach Michael Black. “It was a team effort tonight. We faced adversity with some early foul trouble, but Shane Reed and Kaleb Maxwell stepped up off the bench. Overall, I’m extremely proud of this group, district champs, 25 wins, and quarterfinal appearance, but they are still hungry.”

TEAM	1	2	3	4	FINAL
#3 Quitman (25-5)	16	26	21	16	79
#14 Glenmora (15-19)	15	15	8	16	54

Saline 69 St. Joseph-Plaucheville 51 (Monday, March 20: Senior point guard, Gavon Dailey, sank 14 of 15 free throws, including 12 in a row in the second half, and poured in a game high 28 points to lead the home-standing Bobcats. Eli Ferguson also came up big, especially in the second half, where he scored 14 of his 19 points on the night. Elijah Calloway chipped in with 9 points, and Conner Roberts made six while Jackson Bougues finished with five. Brayden Robinson also made a basket. After spotting the District 4B opponent a 32-28 halftime lead, Saline stormed back to win the second half by a 41-19 margin. 

“It looked like we had not played in 9 days in the beginning,” reflected Saline head coach Klint Robinson. “The guys did a good job of executing in the end, though.”

TEAM	1	2	3	4	FINAL
#4 Saline (22-13)	20	8	15	26	69
#13 St. Joseph – Plaucheville	17	15	5	14	51

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