The brackets have been released. The teams have prepared. Now it’s time to hit the field.

It’s playoff time in Moss Bluff and the No. 13 Sam Houston Broncos will host their first postseason game since 2006 when they take on No. 20 Vandebilt Catholic today at 7 p.m. at Wayne Hooper Memorial Stadium.

According to Sam Houston head coach Russ Sutherland, this will be first time the Broncos and the Terriers will meet on the football field.

Vandebilt comes into the game with an even .500 record at 5-5, but finished second in their district with a 4-1 record.

“Don’t look at their record, it can be very misleading,” Sutherland advised. “When you look at the teams that they have lost to, everyone of them either went 10-0 or 9-1.”

The record of teams that the Terriers have lost to in 2009 is a combined 46-4.

Vandebilt has overcome adversity this season. The first win of the year against E.D White was taken off the board due to the use of an ineligible player. VCHS appealed the LHSAA’s decision but it stood.

“We beat E.D. White at the beginning of the year and they said we had a player they ruled ineligible, which we disagreed,” said Vandebilt head coach Laury Dupont. “But we overcame those things and pulled together. I think we are peaking at the right time.”

Before the season started the Terriers were dealing with some coaching issues. Dupont is the fourth head coach for Vandebilt in four seasons while being hired out of retirement by the Terriers. Dupont’s last season coaching was in 2007 when he led West St. John to the 1A state finals.

But the biggest adversity the Terriers had to overtake was injuries.

“We had a quite a few injuries at the beginning of the year,” Dupont explained. “We still have six kids lost for the season.

“Our best football player on the defense Ches Morrison (#4), who hasn’t played most of the season, played a little bit last week and could play more this Friday. He’s our middle linebacker and if he plays, it will be a little bit of a spark but he’s still not a 100-percent.”

The Broncos have had their fair share of injuries. Even though Sam Houston is getting healthier, they still have some key players banged up.

“We have been getting a few guys back,” said Sutherland. “Kip (Carter) got hurt (last) Friday night and is doubtful for Friday night.”

Carter is one of the many weapons at the skill positions for quarterback Orlan Lockhart. The senior quarterback finished the regular season with 1572 yards in the air with seven touchdowns (115-for-213, nine interceptions) and 600 yards on the ground with 19 scores.

“They have a real good football player in Lockhart,” Dupont said. “He presents a lot of problems. We have to be able to contain him and put some pressure on him when he throws the ball. If we don’t, it’s going to be a long night for us.”

The strength of the Terriers defense is the front four led by defensive end Michael Ortego. Other key defensive players for Vandebilt are middle linebackers Seth Ward (soph.) and Morrison. But the weakness for Vandebilt is at the secondary positions.

“I think we have to score,” explained Dupont. “I think Sam Houston is going to score against us because they like to throw the ball and they like to throw it quite a bit. I guess if you want to say the weakness of our football team so far this season has been our secondary.

“It’s going to be a challenge for our secondary to come up and make some good coverage. I think the key to the whole thing is to keep the ball away from Sam Houston. They do a good job of moving the football and scoring points.”

What could be trouble early for the Sam Houston defense is the Terrier’s unusual method of the spread offense.

“They are a little bit different from teams we’ve played,” said Sutherland. “Offensively, they are shotgun (team) but they run a wing-T offense out of the gun with a lot of misdirection. It’s just different. We haven’t seen anything like it all year and they do it well.”

Sutherland hopes that it doesn’t take long for his defense to adjust to Vandebilt offense.

“I would say we will have some difficulty,” Sutherland continued. “It’s hard to simulate that offense with your scout team. We are going to have to adjust to the speed of the game and the speed that they are going to run it. I’m hoping that that learning curve won’t be real big for us. We need to get adjusted to it in a hurry.”

Senior linebacker Keithon Parker leads the Bronco defense with 91 tackles and 28 tackles for loss including a team high seven sacks. Evan Powell adds 83 tackles and leads the Broncos with four interceptions with one returned for a touchdown and three forced fumbles. Kris Hagerich has 67 tackles with 17 tackles behind the line and two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.

“I really like Sam Houston’s defense,” Dupont said. “They are very aggressive. Their linebackers play very good in space. (Parker) is an excellent football player. They can cause some problems. They do a lot of stunting and a lot of movement. We are preparing for it and hopefully we can defend it pretty good.”

The offense starts for Vandebilt with quarterback T.J. Cantrelle (#9). Cantrelle has 408 yards on the ground for the Terriers with five touchdowns along with 500 yards passing with nine touchdowns (32-for-53, four interceptions).

In the backfield with Cantrelle is fullback Patrick St. Martin who leads the Vandebilt rushers with 468 yards on 89 carries and six touchdowns. Running back Hunter Pere has 449 yards on the ground on 64 carries with five scores.

Gavin Poiencot leads VCHS with 11 catches for 139 yards and two touchdowns while Jeffrey Ross has three catches for 90 yards and three all for touchdowns.

The adage goes “at this point in the season, everyone is good” and that holds true for this game. Expect this one to be a battle to the end.

“It’s going to be a good football game,” Dupont said. “I really think it will be. It’s a good draw for both sides and people (who) watch this game will get their money’s worth.”

NOTE: The bi-district playoff game between No. 13 Sam Houston and No. 20 Vandebilt Catholic can be heard online at www.bigsamfootballboosters.com.