Most people would jump at the chance to take a couple of days off this time of the year to prepare for the holidays.

Not so for high school football coaches like Amite's Alden Foster and St. Thomas Aquinas' John White. They're relishing getting to work over the Thanksgiving holidays, because practice on Thanksgiving means your team is still alive for the quarterfinals Friday night.

"I'll run a practice Thanksgiving morning any time,” Foster chuckled. “We just thank God we're moving on. It's something you look forward to. I would rather be working than on vacation."

Foster's third-seeded Warriors will be making their seventh trip to the Class 3A quarterfinals since 2000 and second straight when they host No. 6 Lutcher Friday. Amite and the Bulldogs met in the semifinals in 2003, with Lutcher winning 20-19 on its way to the state title.

Eighth-seeded St. Thomas, meanwhile, travels to Class 2A No. 1 seed John Curtis. The Falcons are playing the week of Thanksgiving for the first time since 2000. The Falcons' last appearance resulted in a 41-7 loss to Riverside, which advanced to the state title game.

Seventeen of the top 20 seeds moved on to the quarterfinals following last weekend's action. The exceptions were No. 3 Brother Martin, who lost to No. 14 Central 13-7 in Class 5A; No. 2 Benton, a loser to No. 15 and defending state runner-up Archbishop Shaw in 4A; and No. 4 St. Charles Catholic, who went down to a 27-14 defeat against No. 13 Redemptorist.

The Redemptorist win set up one of four rematches of regular season games in the quarterfinals. The Wolves will host Parkview Baptist, who they defeated 28-14, in the final week of the regular season to clinch a share of the 8-3A title. The teams also met twice in 2007, with Parkview Baptist pulling out a 26-20 overtime win in the semifinals on their way to the state title.

There are two rematches in Class 5A. No. 1 West Monroe hosts No. 8 Ouachita Parish after edging the Lions 20-19 in week four. And No. 2 Destrehan travels to No. 10 Higgins trying to duplicate its earlier 20-0 victory also in week four.

Also, Class 1A No. 3 Delhi Charter also shut out its quarterfinal opponent, No. 6 Mangham, in District 4-1A play in week five.

Higgins’ 44-8 demolition of No. 7 Mandeville and No. 5 Thibodaux's 25-22 victory after overcoming a 22-point deficit against No. 12 St. Paul's left District 7-5A without representation in the quarterfinals.

In Class 4A, No. 24 Zachary is this year's Cinderella crashing the ball. The Broncos pulled off their second upset of the postseason, shocking No. 8 Leesville 21-19. Zachary is one of four double-digit seeds, along with No. 10 Breaux Bridge, No. 12 Belle Chasse and No. 15 Shaw, in 4A — the most of any class. No. 1 seed and defending state champion Bastrop will look to turn the Broncos' season to midnight on Friday.

The Shaw-Breaux Bridge matchup is the only one between double-digit seeds this week. Conversely, the Thibodaux (10-0)-Barbe (11-0) matchup in 5A is the lone one between undefeated teams.

There is another rematch from a 2007 postseason matchup in addition to Parkview Baptist-Redemptorist — Central and No. 6 Acadiana in 5A. Acadiana defeated the Wildcats 31-12 in the bi-district round to start its run to the state title.

The victories by Central and Thibodaux showed the importance of special teams, particularly in the playoffs. With Brother Martin set up to kick a 35-yard field goal to break a 7-all tie on the final play of the game, the Wildcats blocked the kick and returned it 70 yards for the winning touchdown.

And Thibodaux capped its comeback at St. Paul's with a 43-yard field goal as time expired.

The top seeds have not needed any last-second, or even final quarter, heroics to date. West Monroe (5A) has out-scored its first two opponents 97-62; Bastrop (4A) 85-28; Notre Dame (3A) 91-7; John Curtis (2A) 103-20; and South Plaquemines (1A) 121-0.

Expect that to change Friday.