Sulphur’s win over Comeaux last week was one step towards its goal of making the playoffs. Its rivalry game with Barbe is the next step.

“We are just trying to get them to prepare as if it is the next game,” Sulphur head coach Chris Towery said. “I understand Barbe-Sulphur is a big deal, but for us, it is the next thing we need to do to accomplish the goals we want to accomplish.”

The Tors (3-4, 2-2 District 3-5A) are ranked 27th in the most recent Louisiana High School Athletic Association power ratings.

The 50th meeting between Calcasieu Parish’s two largest schools will be today at Barbe High School after last year’s game was wiped out by a pair of hurricanes that forced the Bucs (3-4, 2-2) to cancel their season.

“We always look forward to that,” Barbe head coach Mike Cutrera said. “It is always a good game. You can throw the records out because both teams playing as hard as they can.

“It is going to be a great game for both communities. It is long overdue.”

If the last few games have any bearing, the 50th edition could go down to the wire. Four of the last five games in the series have been decided by seven points or fewer, including a 24-21 Bucs win in 2019 and the Tors’ 36-35 win in 2018. Barbe leads the series 31-18, winning 11 of the last 12.

The Tors held the Spartans’ offense scoreless last week. A similar performance will be difficult with the Bucs averaging 37.3 points per game, so the Tors say their plan is to limit one of the best wide receivers in the state in Jamaal Levi. The junior has 1,201 yards and 15 touchdowns on 43 catches.

“We kept them out of the end zone on defense,” Towery said. “We kind of bent but didn’t break.

“(The Spartans) were up and down the field on us, but we were able to hold up. We will say we have some things to try to keep (Levi) at bay. I think he is the best offensive football player in the district. You have to respect his ability so we are doing to do some things to make sure we can minimize the big plays he has a chance to make. We are definitely aware of his abilities.”

Barbe is ranked 41st after a 35-28 loss to Lafayette last week and likely needs to win out to make the playoffs.

Cutrera said the Bucs will need to score on every possession.

“I was proud of the way our kids played (last week),” Cutrera said. ‘They came back and we had a chance at the end and just didn’t convert.

“We need to convert when we do have the ball inside the red zone. We need to hold on to the ball — we did a better job of that last week — and creating turnovers. We got down there at the end and didn’t score.

“When we get our chance to score we need to put points on the board. We need to control the ball and limit turnovers and penalties. The team that can do that will have a very good chance of winning.”