Franklinton is headed to New Orleans to play against Warren Easton on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. in Pan American Stadium, to open the Class 4A playoffs.

“They’re good on offense and not bad on defense,” Franklinton coach Stephen Burris said. “They’re big, fast and athletic. It’s a good match up. We’ve got a shot to win and that’s all you can ask for.”

Burris said his team had made some adjustments, since Warren Easton has a lot of speed on the field.

“We’ve looked good in practice and hopefully that’ll carry over to the game,” Burris said. “The main thing is that we need a throw-and-catch offense. If we do that and execute on special teams, we’ll be good.”

The 20th–seeded Demons enter tonight’s game after a 5-5 overall record in the regular season and they went 3-1 in District 8-4A play.

Franklinton won last week’s game by forfeit over Pearl River — it is recorded as a 2-0 win.

Franklinton has been to the state semifinals in each of the last two seasons and the teams they’ve lost to in the playoffs the last three years have all been at least state runner-up. Last year, the Demons lost to state runner up Edna Karr, 34-21.

The year before, the Demons lost to state champion Neville, 32-8.

In 2013, the Demons lost to state runner up Karr, 26-0, in the quarterfinals.

In the nine regular season games Franklinton played this season, Tahj Magee threw for 1,812 yards with 13 touchdowns and five interceptions. He also ran for 925 yards and 14 scores.

Mike Martin enters with 288 yards rushing and a pair of touchdowns. He’s also caught eight passes for 84 yards (10.5) yards a catch and a touchdown.

Jamarian Crain leads the receiving group in catches and yards with 39 for 598 (15.3). He also has three touchdowns.

Darius Dawson enters with 36 catches for 431 yards (12) and a team leading six scoring receptions.

Rakerian Conerly has put up 24 catches for 354 yards (14.8) and four touchdowns.

Defensively, Chandler Scott is just two tackles away from the century mark and leads the club with 98.

LaMount Harris has tallied 71, followed by Rodney King’s 70 and Jay Bickham has 69.

The winner of this game faces either No. 12 Bastrop or 21st-seeded Livonia.

No. 13 Warren Easton begins tonight after going 6-4 in the regular season.

Easton has gone to at least the semifinals in each of the last two seasons and has lost to the state champion in each of the last three seasons.

Last season, they lost to Neville 44-36 in the semifinals. The year before, they were state runner up to Neville after a 28-27 loss in the championship game. In 2013, Warren Easton lost to state champion East Jefferson in the quarterfinals, 35-26.

Easton is coming off of a 35-7 win over Lake Area New Tech.