2022 Texas High School Football

[956 Worldwide 33957]

2 hours ago, Helobious said:

They need a generational talent to go far in the playoffs (Marcus Wright, Trevor Knight). They’ve been lacking that in recent years. 
 

Brutal night for my other picks:

Taft - 49

Laredo United - 14

Warren - 47

Eagle Pass - 28

Harlingen’s secondary really struggled to contain that PSJA quarterback I hyped up, the bears even almost scored a point on a few different occasions. 49-0 cardinals win.

 

Like I called, the lower valley completes the sweep of the upper valley in 6a although it took Weslaco OT to do it. 
 

San Benito 49 La Joya 14, on to play Taft

Los Fresnos 21 Edinburg North 6, on to play Brennan

Harlingen gets Warren, the only game that might be winnable for the RGV in 6a. 

[TexPx 2270]

Jeez, I was wrong.  A LOT of great games tonight:
Lewisville 30 Allen 12  The Fighting Farmers D just completely dominated, holding Allen to 227 yards.
Whitehouse got a 16y TD pass on 4th-12 late to upset Lovejoy 31-27.
Cuero 13 Salado 7 OT.  This was 0-0 midway through the 4th as howling wins limited both offenses, but particularly Cuero's.
SOC 12 Mansfield Summit 7  The Bears needed a punt return TD in the 4th to avoid the upset, only 112y total offense.
Cain 31 Cy Ranch 24
EP Pebble Hills 45 Permian 28
LT 35 Round Rock 10
New Braunfels 17 Reagan 13  Why does Reagan always underachieve in the playoffs?
Waxahachie 30 Temple 21
SV 30 Cedar Park 7
Red Oak did this to Ryan:
Burl Cent 55 Lake Belton 28
Georgetown 21 NB Canyon 17
Kennedale 10 Waco LV 7
Somerset 27 Lampasas 17
Bellville 27 WOS 20
Sealy 31 Jasper 15
Yoe 39 Yoakum 28
Columbus 24 Lorena 21  Lorena rallied from 21-7 to tie with 3 left, but Columbus drove the field and got a walkoff FG.
Spearman 21 Abernathy 7  4 over 1 shocker
 
 

I’m seeing Lovejoy 38 Whitehouse 34

[Elmer_Fudd 22002]

My brother is the HC at Cushing and they won the first playoff game in school history last night.  Had only been to the playoffs two times in the history of the program before he took over five years ago and he's gotten them playoff bound in four of five years.  Got second in district this year behind Carlisle and beat one of the top 2a programs year in and year out in the state in district in Tenaha also.

 

 

Edited November 12, 2022 by Elmer_Fudd

[Beau Vine 53625]

1 hour ago, TexPx said:

I’m seeing Lovejoy 38 Whitehouse 34

Thank you, the DMN site wasn't reliable last night -- LJ got a TD with 49 sec left to win.  They also updated the Lewisville-Allen score to 43-18.

Another fun one I'm seeing is Caddo Mills 69 Sanger 55.  CM led 34-27 after 3.

[LTtxfan 48688]

[TexPx 2270]

Thank you, the DMN site wasn't reliable last night -- LJ got a TD with 49 sec left to win.  They also updated the Lewisville-Allen score to 43-18.
Another fun one I'm seeing is Caddo Mills 69 Sanger 55.  CM led 34-27 after 3.

All of R2 D8 got spanked. Texas High won the district and lost at home in OT to D7 4th place Terrell.

[Mac8111 2096]

What's the skinny on Flour Bluff?  They any good? They lost to a couple of smaller schools early and then swept district it looks like.  

[Nueces River Rat 5485]

20 hours ago, Mac8111 said:

What's the skinny on Flour Bluff?  They any good? They lost to a couple of smaller schools early and then swept district it looks like.  

Well, those smaller schools were Calallen and Boerne who will likely matchup for the region title in a few weeks in 4A DI , so they didn’t lose to two slouches.   For full disclosure, I’m a Calallen guy.  We beat them 40-7 after a close first half with the score 10-7.    They have a decent team as usual, but maybe not one of their better ones.  A lot of youth that replaced some good talent.   
 

There district was horrible like ours.   Four valley schools which they dominated and Gregory Portland.    

[956 Worldwide 33957]

I’m not going to steal @Beau Vine’s glory but damn we have some great 6A matchups this week. The big ones:
 

6A D1

Lewisville vs. Martin, both at 10-1.  The winner of this one looks likely to take on either Prosper or North Crowley for R1, all one loss teams. 
 

Spring Westfield vs. Klein Collins. Westfield is a sleeper team to watch, another matchup of two 10-1 teams. 
 

R3 and R4 aren’t super interesting with North Shore and Westlake the clear bullies but San Benito and Taft at Buc Stadium had a chance to produce an RGV Cinderella. 
 

6A DII

Guyer vs. Highland Park, two metromess blue bloods. Guyer is perhaps the best team in the state but the Scots don’t go down easy, a great matchup of undefeated teams. 
 

RIII is also uninteresting with Katy hanging around and it’s tough to see anyone challenging DeSoto in RII, but Dekany and Cy Falls should be a good game. In R4, we’re all just waiting for Dripping and Vandegrift to square off, but Brennan can at least make it a game for a couple quarters. Harlingen gambled on a home and home flip and has to play at Warren, but the game is still winnable. Look for the Cardinal side to bring fans enough to make it look like a neutral site game. 

[Thiefery 4940]

1 hour ago, 956 Worldwide said:

I’m not going to steal @Beau Vine’s glory but damn we have some great 6A matchups this week. The big ones:
 

6A D1

Lewisville vs. Martin, both at 10-1.  The winner of this one looks likely to take on either Prosper or North Crowley for R1, all one loss teams. 
 

Spring Westfield vs. Klein Collins. Westfield is a sleeper team to watch, another matchup of two 10-1 teams. 
 

R3 and R4 aren’t super interesting with North Shore and Westlake the clear bullies but San Benito and Taft at Buc Stadium had a chance to produce an RGV Cinderella. 
 

6A DII

Guyer vs. Highland Park, two metromess blue bloods. Guyer is perhaps the best team in the state but the Scots don’t go down easy, a great matchup of undefeated teams. 
 

RIII is also uninteresting with Katy hanging around and it’s tough to see anyone challenging DeSoto in RII, but Dekany and Cy Falls should be a good game. In R4, we’re all just waiting for Dripping and Vandegrift to square off, but Brennan can at least make it a game for a couple quarters. Harlingen gambled on a home and home flip and has to play at Warren, but the game is still winnable. Look for the Cardinal side to bring fans enough to make it look like a neutral site game. 

I'll be at the NorthShore game to watch the upset of the year when Dickinson beats them Friday night...

Edited November 14, 2022 by Thiefery

[WBT 20131]

As a late 90s graduate of a 3A school, Sealy @ Cuero piques my interest.

[Helobious 9393]

2 hours ago, 956 Worldwide said:

 

RIII is also uninteresting with Katy hanging around and it’s tough to see anyone challenging DeSoto in RII, but Dekany and Cy Falls should be a good game. In R4, we’re all just waiting for Dripping and Vandegrift to square off, but Brennan can at least make it a game for a couple quarters. Harlingen gambled on a home and home flip and has to play at Warren, but the game is still winnable. Look for the Cardinal side to bring fans enough to make it look like a neutral site game. 

If I don’t have to go out of town this weekend I’ll be there at Farris. Should be cold, that might hurt Warren some as they like to pass a lot. They’ve got athletes like the cards haven’t seen yet, will be a tough game.

[TreatyOak 16055]

On 11/14/2022 at 9:44 AM, Helobious said:

If I don’t have to go out of town this weekend I’ll be there at Farris. Should be cold, that might hurt Warren some as they like to pass a lot. They’ve got athletes like the cards haven’t seen yet, will be a tough game.

Helobious, what do you think of San Benito/Taft? @956 Worldwide says we may see an upset here. Do you think either can give our Chaps a good game, if we can somehow get past New Braunfels? 

[Helobious 9393]

4 hours ago, TreatyOak said:

Helobious, what do you think of San Benito/Taft? @956 Worldwide says we may see an upset here. Do you think either can give our Chaps a good game, if we can somehow get past New Braunfels? 

Taft has a really good RB, I don’t think SB can stop them. 

[TreatyOak 16055]

1 hour ago, Helobious said:

Taft has a really good RB, I don’t think SB can stop them. 

Oh, yeah, forgot to give you a well-deserved shout-out for calling the New Braunfels upset over Reagan, as NB was without their starting QB!!!

[Helobious 9393]

11 minutes ago, TreatyOak said:

Oh, yeah, forgot to give you a well-deserved shout-out for calling the New Braunfels upset over Reagan, as NB was without their starting QB!!!

Yeah that was nuts. Hopefully he keeps recovering, sounds like he’s going to make it. He actually was electrocuted before the 20 foot fall, has burns on his arms. It’s a miracle he’s even alive. Bad situation. 

[Nueces River Rat 5485]

1 minute ago, Helobious said:

Yeah that was nuts. Hopefully he keeps recovering, sounds like he’s going to make it. He actually was electrocuted before the 20 foot fall, has burns on his arms. It’s a miracle he’s even alive. Bad situation. 

What's the backstory on this?   What gave him the idea to climb a utility pole? 

[CooterBrown 17695]

What's the backstory on this?   What gave him the idea to climb a utility pole? 

He’s a teenage boy.

[Nueces River Rat 5485]

2 hours ago, CooterBrown said:

He’s a teenage boy.

Well yes…. 

[TreatyOak 16055]

3 hours ago, CooterBrown said:

He’s a teenage boy.

We once created videos for Texas Parks & Wildlife Department warning people about the dangers of open-water swimming. We did research and found out that teenagers don't do dangerous stuff 'cause they think they are invincible. They do it primarily because of peer pressure. They don't want to be the one who wasn't brave enough.

The videos were interviews w families and young people who lost loved ones due to drowning. That's a club you don't want to be a member of.  

[SHOOTER12 8766]

3 hours ago, Helobious said:

Yeah that was nuts. Hopefully he keeps recovering, sounds like he’s going to make it. He actually was electrocuted before the 20 foot fall, has burns on his arms. It’s a miracle he’s even alive. Bad situation. 

 

3 hours ago, Nueces River Rat said:

What's the backstory on this?   What gave him the idea to climb a utility pole? 

No shit, inquiring minds etc etc .

[Da Fino 2654]

We once created videos for Texas Parks & Wildlife Department warning people about the dangers of open-water swimming. We did research and found out that teenagers don't do dangerous stuff 'cause they think they are invincible. They do it primarily because of peer pressure. They don't want to be the one who wasn't brave enough.
The videos were interviews w families and young people who lost loved ones due to drowning. That's a club you don't want to be a member of.  

I can’t imagine that research took all that long.

[TreatyOak 16055]

18 minutes ago, Da Fino said:

I can’t imagine that research took all that long.

Fair point. There is a surprisingly deep amount of research done on the subject, so we mostly referenced studies and conducted focus groups. 

I'm still friends w some of the parents who lost children. They have made the best of it, and even started really great foundations, but it never ends for them, especially as their (former) child's friends reach new milestones in their lives.  

[Thiefery 4940]

10 hours ago, TreatyOak said:

We once created videos for Texas Parks & Wildlife Department warning people about the dangers of open-water swimming. We did research and found out that teenagers don't do dangerous stuff 'cause they think they are invincible. They do it primarily because of peer pressure. They don't want to be the one who wasn't brave enough.

The videos were interviews w families and young people who lost loved ones due to drowning. That's a club you don't want to be a member of.  

That and women... so many deaths on young men trying to impress women with some type of stunt  

[TreatyOak 16055]

14 minutes ago, Thiefery said:

That and women... so many deaths on young men trying to impress women with some type of stunt  

Agreed. Don’t think for a moment that he was the only guy who climbed that pile. 

[UDontKnow 10439]

55 minutes ago, TreatyOak said:

Agreed. Don’t think for a moment that he was the only guy who climbed that pile. 

 

[TreatyOak 16055]

18 hours ago, CooterBrown said:

He’s a teenage boy.

I don't know about y'all, but it's a semi-miracle that I'm even here. 

[Beau Vine 53625]

19 hours ago, Nueces River Rat said:

What's the backstory on this?   What gave him the idea to climb a utility pole? 

[ABSR 5266]

1 hour ago, TreatyOak said:

I don't know about y'all, but it's a semi-miracle that I'm even here. 

Bad internet connection?

[Fudbelty 2765]

Agreed. Don’t think for a moment that he was the only guy who climbed that pile. 

23 years later(almost to the day) and they still climb the pile every year.


Too soon?

[Beau Vine 53625]

Quote

Marlin ISD superintendent Dr. Darryl Henson was issued a two-year suspension and public reprimand from the University Interscholastic League’s State Executive Committee on Monday.

Henson was ejected from Marlin's 33-20 loss to Crawford on Oct. 7 for going onto the field to argue with officials about a clock issue.

Henson told the UIL during Monday's meeting that he only entered the field as an advocate for his coaches, who he claimed were being ignored, and that he was cursed at by a game official.

Henson received a suspension from sideline access and game administrator duties at school district events and will have to serve two years of probation for violation of Section 51 (a)(3), School District Personnel Violations. This section involves an “ejection or receipt of two 15-yard penalties in football during one contest,” according to the UIL website.

The District 8-2A Div. I executive committee, made up of superintendents in Marlin's football district, earlier voted unanimously to send the case on to the UIL State Executive Committee, leading to Monday's ruling.

 

[HornsOverIthaca 2333]

On 11/15/2022 at 5:32 PM, Nueces River Rat said:

What's the backstory on this?   What gave him the idea to climb a utility pole? 

Do people still climb utility poles to try and steal cable?

[Nueces River Rat 5485]

1 hour ago, HornsOverIthaca said:

Do people still climb utility poles to try and steal cable?

Lol.   Those were the days. 

[956 Worldwide 33957]

On 11/15/2022 at 11:11 PM, Helobious said:

Taft has a really good RB, I don’t think SB can stop them. 

Greg Tepper has SB over Taft but after catching up on Taft I’m with you.  San Benito couldn’t stop Izaiah Bell and the Taft RB is a step up, the Hounds only hope will be to outscore them.

Tepper also has Harlingen over Warren, and both Vela and PSJAN to advance. Picking maybe the best RGV playoff season in recent memory. 
 

 

[Beau Vine 53625]

Even though district champs can't meet until next week in 5A on down, there are a surprising number of great matchups this week.   There is also a lot less geographic diversity to these games than I'm used to, as a lot of games involve extensive travel and the teams are meeting in big metro stadiums, so this is heavily slanted to DFW and Houston.  This is the time of year that I start to wish I still lived in DFW.

DFW

Arlington Martin-Lewisville  @ SMU  Martin probably wins the prize as the biggest bridesmaid in 6A.  They're good every year (they've won 9+ games in 9 of the last 12 seasons), but they always seem to get blown out by a DFW blue blood in the playoffs.  Lewisville has suddenly turned into a RB factory -- last year's starting RB is leading Oregon State in rushing, and this year's RB, junior Viron Ellison, is just as good.  Martin knocked Lewisville out of the playoffs 68-0 in 2020, but the Farmers returned the favor in this round last season, 35-18.  Weather's supposed to be nasty for this one, and that favors ground-and-pound teams, so give me Lewisville.  Plus, their water tower cracks me up every time I drive through there.

Guyer-Highland Park @ Ford  Both teams are undefeated, but HP has kind of flown under the radar.  They have played a weak schedule, with Lewisville as their only really big win.  Guyer has emerged unscathed from a slate that include Aledo, Lancaster, Prosper, and Allen; the 23-6 win over Prosper was their closest game.  They look like the best team in the state, and I've said that S Peyton Bowen is the best player I've seen this year.  I want to say that this game won't be close, but HP always seems to find some magic, although they'll need a ton of it to win this one.  Game is indoors (Ford Center), so they can't even hope the weather slows down the Wildcats.

SOC-Lovejoy @ Globe Life Saturday  What a fun matchup!  The defending state champs have allowed only 17 points since mid-September, but their offense has been kind of a train wreck, posting only 124 total yards last week.  But their defense is great -- their secondary has four D1 commits (UT, A&M, CU, and SMU).  Lovejoy counters with an offense that averages over 50 ppg, and has four D1 recrcuits at WR!  SOC beat Lovejoy 42-21 in the region finals last year.  Lovejoy's bad D has an advantage over SOC's terrible offense, so that might be enough to get them revenge.

Frisco Reedy-Lancaster @ Irving   #7 vs #4 in 5AD1.  Reedy is yet another one of those new, kinda faceless Frisco schools -- their mascot is the Lions, they're blue and green, and 2016 was their first season.  They did have an outstanding 2018 season, going 13-1 and losing a close one to Aledo in the 3rd round, and they're undefeated again this season.  Both teams post strong Ds, with Reedy only allowing 64 rushing ypg and Lancaster also under 100.  Lancaster played a much tougher schedule -- Reedy is in a huge district with all the other Frisco schools, while Lanc played SOC (21-3), Guyer (27-50) and Longview (13-21).  I'll take Lancaster in a tight one.  

Anna-Stephenville @ Midlothian  Don't sleep on Anna -- they're 11-0, and QB Evan Bullock has 3500 yards and 51 TDs.  They've beaten Celina, Aubrey, and Decatur and cruised through district play.  Stephenville is a whole different animal, though, with all sorts of pedigree, including a 2021 state championship.  The Yellowjackets, however, have a shockingly shitty defense that has allowed 405 points scored.  They lost 38-36 to China Spring and 50-49 to Alvarado the next week.  They've had wins where they allowed 42, 49, and 61.  Tradition is really the only thing favoring the 'Jackets, and while that goes for a lot in HSFB, I think Anna outscores them.

Texark Pleasant Grove-Caddo Mills SATURDAY @ Ford  CM is 11-0, but against a weaker schedule.  They won last week 69-55 against Sanger, the type of game they seem to like to play.  TPG is no longer the so-talented-it's-unfair program that they have been in the recent past, and lost to Gilmer and a 5A Louisiana team, but they're still tough and nasty enough to beat CM.

West-Mount Vernon @ Forney  This is a 3AD1R2 matchup, which I'm convinced is the toughest region in all brackets in the state.  West is 10-1 out of an excellent district, with their only loss 21-15 to defending champ Lorena in week 2.  MV is 9-2 out of one of the best districts in the whole state, with losses to Pottsboro and Winnsboro.  Defense gives an edge to West, as the Trojan D has allowed only 96 points, pitching 5 shutouts.  But MV has played 15 games 3 of the last 4 seasons, beating West 24-13 in the region finals last year, so their kids will definitely be ready.  Coin flip sez West gets revenge.

Coleman-Crawford @ Weatherford  11-0 Crawford is always good and always a team that's just tough to play against.  They've outscored opponents 503-46 and 21-6 is their closest game.  The Coleman Bluecats are really good, too -- 418-91 cumulative with losses to only undefeated Tolar and 3AD1 Llano.  Should be a real slugfest, but Crawford always seems to excel in those games.  

HOUSTON

Woodlands-Klein Cain  @ Shenandoah  Cain is a 17-14 loss to Forest away from being undefeated.  They've been tested in a good district and have a solid non-district win over Summer Creek on the resume.  The Highlanders got blown out by North Shore in their opener, lost 14-7 to undefeated New Caney, but cruised undefeated through a weak district.  Give me Cain.  

Westfield-Collins @ Tomball  My biggest blind spot in the state is Spring schools and Klein schools, just because I have trouble telling them apart, but these two are probably the best of the bunch.  This matchup is a lot like the previous one -- Collins was tested by a good district, including their sole loss (25-21 to Cain), and has a nice non-district win over Summer Creek, while Westfield's only loss was a blowout by NS, and they beat a bunch of tomato cans in district.  I guess I should be consistent and pick Collins, but Westfield has only lost 9 games in 5 years, so who knows?  Not me, but I'm gonna lean to Collins.

Summer Creek-Shadow Creek @TDECU  I always mix these two up, so I propose a LOSER CHANGES NAME match like you might do in pro wrestling.  Summer Creek is the Bulldogs; they're only 7-4, but their losses are to Cain, Collins, NS, and Atascocita by a total of 17 points.  That may be the toughest schedule in Houston, including the Texans.  Shadow Creek is the Sharks; they're the program that went to Jerryworld in their first two seasons of existence in 5A. They're undefeated this season against a relatively weak schedule.   They're probably favored in this, but don't be the slightest bit surprised to see the Bulldogs pull it out.

College Station-Angleton @ Cypress  CS is a great story -- the defending state finalists were decimated by graduation, then lost their stud RB to a knee injury before the season, then got blitzed by Lovejoy in the opener.  But they rebounded to tie for 1st in a tough district, only losing to Georgetown.  Now they get Angleton, also 9-2, and also champs of a brutal district that went 4-0 last week.  The Wildcats lost to  undefeated Lake Creek in the opener and Foster in district.  But CS has shown more resilience than a group of 16-17 yo boys should have, so I guess I'd be stupid to pick against them.

Austin area

Lake Travis-Steele @ Pflugerville  Who knows with the Cavaliers?  These teams played in week 2 with Steele winning 35-28, but LT was decimated by injuries.  Most of those (other than the QB) have healed, but the soph QB has now played enough games to look comfortable.  The questionable LT D actually showed up big in last week's 35-10 win over big tough Round Rock, so there's a lot for Cavs fans to be optimistic about.  Steele is undefeated against a good schedule (Brennan, LT, Hutto, Midland Lee-gacy, NB, Judson).  They start quite a few sophs, including QB Chad Warner, who's really good even though he looks like this:

LT has gotten better but I don't think they're quite good enough to take out Steele.

Smithson Valley-Manvel @ Bastrop  SV has rebounded from a couple of relatively mediocre years to look like a possible region favorite.  Their only loss was in week 2 to 10-1 6A Harker Heights.  They methodically punked Cedar Park 30-7 last week and have allowed only 100 total points.  They haven't seen speed like Manvel will bring; the 8-3 Mavs played in that brutal district with Angleton, so they're tested.  I'd expect back-and-forth early, with the Rangers eventually adjusting to speed and gaining control.

South Texas
Good ones down here, starting with the RGV-CC 2-step Friday in Corpus:  PSJANorth-Miller and Vela-CC Vets in 5AD1.  The Fighting Alphabets are undefeated with a cumulative scoreboard of 498-93.  Miller's only loss was 38-34 to CC Vets, and they have a nice non-district win over El Campo.  They also have the best player in south Texas in WR Lonnie Adkism, and I suspect PSJAN hasn't seen anyone like him and that he'll have a big game that makes the difference in a close one.  CC Vets lost 2 of their first 3, but is undefeated since.  They're loaded with playoff experience, 67-12 record since start of 2017.  They'll face a Vela team that started the season ranked #1 in the prestigious but sporadic Helobious Poll before being shocked by PSJAN, but they have played pissed off since then, totaling 607 points on the season.  My gut says Vela wins this.  

GP-Alamo Heights @ Cuero  TONIGHT  Let's think back to the preseason, when we all laughed at AH for having 21 players suspended for buttplay hazing and then they lost to NB Canyon.  They haven't lost or scored less than 48 points in a game since.  G-P is 8-3 with losses to 4AD1 favorites Calallen and Boerne and a 34-36 loss to Flour Bluff, but they're looking like the old G-P teams more and more, especially last week when they blasted a pretty good Mission Vets team 64-6.  This is probably my top game for tonight but AH is just on such a roll that I have trouble imagining them losing.

West Texas

Lubbock Cooper-Aledo @ Sweetwater  No strangers here, as Aledo beat LC in the state semis a couple of years ago in a controversial finish, but now Aledo's in region 1. The Bearcats started 0-2, but have been ridiculously dominant since, scoring 480 in 9 straight wins.  Also 9-2, Cooper thrives on old-school defensive-oriented games;   they've only scored 312 all season, and have won games by scores of 17-14, 11-8, and 15-14.  They're going to have to hold down Aledo to those types of numbers to win, but I don't see that happening.

Tascosa-Burlington Centennial @ WF Another matchup from the same two districts as above.  Tascosa's only loss was 14-13 to 6A Permian; BC's only loss was 64-21 to Aledo.  Both of these teams want to do nothing but run the ball, so this game might finish in under 2 hours.  Tascosa beat 5-6 BC 28-24 last season in this round.  I've been touting Tascosa all season, but BC's 56-28 win over a very good Lake Belton team last week really impressed me, so I'll go with the BC Spartans in a close one. 

Bushland-Jim Ned @ Lubbock  Jim Ned started the season 0-3, but those three teams are currently 31-1, and the Indians haven't lost since.  Bushland looked like maybe the best team in west Texas after an 8-0 start, but then lost to Shallowater; they've won the last two by 117-18.  I watched some of their game last week and the word that came to mind was "bludgeon."  Big O-line, fast and shifty RBs, and that's how you win playoff games, especially in cold, windy Lubbock.  

Cisco-Stratford @Woodrow  GoogleMaps tells me that Woodrow is a suburb of Lubbock, and the site of Lubbock Cooper.  That's a good place for a huge matchup of traditional west Texas powers.  The Elks are the defending state champs and have won 23 in a row.  Cisco is 9-2 with only 3-point losses to 8-3 3A Breckenridge and #1 Hawley.  It's a shame they're meeting in the 2nd round, as this is a very even matchup between two great teams.  Like I said above, in cold, windy Lubbock, go with the team with the bigger, more badass O-line, and that's Stratford.  

Wink-Santo @ Colorado City  TONIGHT Wink is undefeated and the pick of most of the DCTF staff to win the region.  The Wildcats average a 51-13 score on the season.  Santo's only loss was in a very good district to 10-1 Collinsville.  They're fairly low-scoring, with "only" 337 points in 11 games.  Long-ass road trip for Santo, 167 miles to CC, probably way more than they're used to.  Wink is pretty close to the epicenter of yesterday's quake, so I wonder if they got affected by that?  Gonna guess that not even an earthquake can slow down Wink, though.  

East Texas

Malakoff-Winnsboro @ Tyler  Two 10-1 teams.  Malakoff's only loss was 21-17 to Grandview.  Winnsboro's only loss was 36-35 to Pottsboro.  Very even matchup again that should be happening later in the playoffs.  Winnsboro has probably played a tougher schedule, but Malakoff has more playoff experience and I think that may be the difference.
 

[SHOOTER12 8766]

40 minutes ago, Beau Vine said:

Even though district champs can't meet until next week in 5A on down, there are a surprising number of great matchups this week.   There is also a lot less geographic diversity to these games than I'm used to, as a lot of games involve extensive travel and the teams are meeting in big metro stadiums, so this is heavily slanted to DFW and Houston.  This is the time of year that I start to wish I still lived in DFW.

DFW

Arlington Martin-Lewisville  @ SMU  Martin probably wins the prize as the biggest bridesmaid in 6A.  They're good every year (they've won 9+ games in 9 of the last 12 seasons), but they always seem to get blown out by a DFW blue blood in the playoffs.  Lewisville has suddenly turned into a RB factory -- last year's starting RB is leading Oregon State in rushing, and this year's RB, junior Viron Ellison, is just as good.  Martin knocked Lewisville out of the playoffs 68-0 in 2020, but the Farmers returned the favor in this round last season, 35-18.  Weather's supposed to be nasty for this one, and that favors ground-and-pound teams, so give me Lewisville.  Plus, their water tower cracks me up every time I drive through there.

Guyer-Highland Park @ Ford  Both teams are undefeated, but HP has kind of flown under the radar.  They have played a weak schedule, with Lewisville as their only really big win.  Guyer has emerged unscathed from a slate that include Aledo, Lancaster, Prosper, and Allen; the 23-6 win over Prosper was their closest game.  They look like the best team in the state, and I've said that S Peyton Bowen is the best player I've seen this year.  I want to say that this game won't be close, but HP always seems to find some magic, although they'll need a ton of it to win this one.  Game is indoors (Ford Center), so they can't even hope the weather slows down the Wildcats.

SOC-Lovejoy @ Globe Life Saturday  What a fun matchup!  The defending state champs have allowed only 17 points since mid-September, but their offense has been kind of a train wreck, posting only 124 total yards last week.  But their defense is great -- their secondary has four D1 commits (UT, A&M, CU, and SMU).  Lovejoy counters with an offense that averages over 50 ppg, and has four D1 recrcuits at WR!  SOC beat Lovejoy 42-21 in the region finals last year.  Lovejoy's bad D has an advantage over SOC's terrible offense, so that might be enough to get them revenge.

Frisco Reedy-Lancaster @ Irving   #7 vs #4 in 5AD1.  Reedy is yet another one of those new, kinda faceless Frisco schools -- their mascot is the Lions, they're blue and green, and 2016 was their first season.  They did have an outstanding 2018 season, going 13-1 and losing a close one to Aledo in the 3rd round, and they're undefeated again this season.  Both teams post strong Ds, with Reedy only allowing 64 rushing ypg and Lancaster also under 100.  Lancaster played a much tougher schedule -- Reedy is in a huge district with all the other Frisco schools, while Lanc played SOC (21-3), Guyer (27-50) and Longview (13-21).  I'll take Lancaster in a tight one.  

Anna-Stephenville @ Midlothian  Don't sleep on Anna -- they're 11-0, and QB Evan Bullock has 3500 yards and 51 TDs.  They've beaten Celina, Aubrey, and Decatur and cruised through district play.  Stephenville is a whole different animal, though, with all sorts of pedigree, including a 2021 state championship.  The Yellowjackets, however, have a shockingly shitty defense that has allowed 405 points scored.  They lost 38-36 to China Spring and 50-49 to Alvarado the next week.  They've had wins where they allowed 42, 49, and 61.  Tradition is really the only thing favoring the 'Jackets, and while that goes for a lot in HSFB, I think Anna outscores them.

Texark Pleasant Grove-Caddo Mills SATURDAY @ Ford  CM is 11-0, but against a weaker schedule.  They won last week 69-55 against Sanger, the type of game they seem to like to play.  TPG is no longer the so-talented-it's-unfair program that they have been in the recent past, and lost to Gilmer and a 5A Louisiana team, but they're still tough and nasty enough to beat CM.

West-Mount Vernon @ Forney  This is a 3AD1R2 matchup, which I'm convinced is the toughest region in all brackets in the state.  West is 10-1 out of an excellent district, with their only loss 21-15 to defending champ Lorena in week 2.  MV is 9-2 out of one of the best districts in the whole state, with losses to Pottsboro and Winnsboro.  Defense gives an edge to West, as the Trojan D has allowed only 96 points, pitching 5 shutouts.  But MV has played 15 games 3 of the last 4 seasons, beating West 24-13 in the region finals last year, so their kids will definitely be ready.  Coin flip sez West gets revenge.

Coleman-Crawford @ Weatherford  11-0 Crawford is always good and always a team that's just tough to play against.  They've outscored opponents 503-46 and 21-6 is their closest game.  The Coleman Bluecats are really good, too -- 418-91 cumulative with losses to only undefeated Tolar and 3AD1 Llano.  Should be a real slugfest, but Crawford always seems to excel in those games.  

HOUSTON

Woodlands-Klein Cain  @ Shenandoah  Cain is a 17-14 loss to Forest away from being undefeated.  They've been tested in a good district and have a solid non-district win over Summer Creek on the resume.  The Highlanders got blown out by North Shore in their opener, lost 14-7 to undefeated New Caney, but cruised undefeated through a weak district.  Give me Cain.  

Westfield-Collins @ Tomball  My biggest blind spot in the state is Spring schools and Klein schools, just because I have trouble telling them apart, but these two are probably the best of the bunch.  This matchup is a lot like the previous one -- Collins was tested by a good district, including their sole loss (25-21 to Cain), and has a nice non-district win over Summer Creek, while Westfield's only loss was a blowout by NS, and they beat a bunch of tomato cans in district.  I guess I should be consistent and pick Collins, but Westfield has only lost 9 games in 5 years, so who knows?  Not me, but I'm gonna lean to Collins.

Summer Creek-Shadow Creek @TDECU  I always mix these two up, so I propose a LOSER CHANGES NAME match like you might do in pro wrestling.  Summer Creek is the Bulldogs; they're only 7-4, but their losses are to Cain, Collins, NS, and Atascocita by a total of 17 points.  That may be the toughest schedule in Houston, including the Texans.  Shadow Creek is the Sharks; they're the program that went to Jerryworld in their first two seasons of existence in 5A. They're undefeated this season against a relatively weak schedule.   They're probably favored in this, but don't be the slightest bit surprised to see the Bulldogs pull it out.

College Station-Angleton @ Cypress  CS is a great story -- the defending state finalists were decimated by graduation, then lost their stud RB to a knee injury before the season, then got blitzed by Lovejoy in the opener.  But they rebounded to tie for 1st in a tough district, only losing to Georgetown.  Now they get Angleton, also 9-2, and also champs of a brutal district that went 4-0 last week.  The Wildcats lost to  undefeated Lake Creek in the opener and Foster in district.  But CS has shown more resilience than a group of 16-17 yo boys should have, so I guess I'd be stupid to pick against them.

Austin area

Lake Travis-Steele @ Pflugerville  Who knows with the Cavaliers?  These teams played in week 2 with Steele winning 35-28, but LT was decimated by injuries.  Most of those (other than the QB) have healed, but the soph QB has now played enough games to look comfortable.  The questionable LT D actually showed up big in last week's 35-10 win over big tough Round Rock, so there's a lot for Cavs fans to be optimistic about.  Steele is undefeated against a good schedule (Brennan, LT, Hutto, Midland Lee-gacy, NB, Judson).  They start quite a few sophs, including QB Chad Warner, who's really good even though he looks like this:

LT has gotten better but I don't think they're quite good enough to take out Steele.

Smithson Valley-Manvel @ Bastrop  SV has rebounded from a couple of relatively mediocre years to look like a possible region favorite.  Their only loss was in week 2 to 10-1 6A Harker Heights.  They methodically punked Cedar Park 30-7 last week and have allowed only 100 total points.  They haven't seen speed like Manvel will bring; the 8-3 Mavs played in that brutal district with Angleton, so they're tested.  I'd expect back-and-forth early, with the Rangers eventually adjusting to speed and gaining control.

South Texas
Good ones down here, starting with the RGV-CC 2-step Friday in Corpus:  PSJANorth-Miller and Vela-CC Vets in 5AD1.  The Fighting Alphabets are undefeated with a cumulative scoreboard of 498-93.  Miller's only loss was 38-34 to CC Vets, and they have a nice non-district win over El Campo.  They also have the best player in south Texas in WR Lonnie Adkism, and I suspect PSJAN hasn't seen anyone like him and that he'll have a big game that makes the difference in a close one.  CC Vets lost 2 of their first 3, but is undefeated since.  They're loaded with playoff experience, 67-12 record since start of 2017.  They'll face a Vela team that started the season ranked #1 in the prestigious but sporadic Helobious Poll before being shocked by PSJAN, but they have played pissed off since then, totaling 607 points on the season.  My gut says Vela wins this.  

GP-Alamo Heights @ Cuero  TONIGHT  Let's think back to the preseason, when we all laughed at AH for having 21 players suspended for buttplay hazing and then they lost to NB Canyon.  They haven't lost or scored less than 48 points in a game since.  G-P is 8-3 with losses to 4AD1 favorites Calallen and Boerne and a 34-36 loss to Flour Bluff, but they're looking like the old G-P teams more and more, especially last week when they blasted a pretty good Mission Vets team 64-6.  This is probably my top game for tonight but AH is just on such a roll that I have trouble imagining them losing.

West Texas

Lubbock Cooper-Aledo @ Sweetwater  No strangers here, as Aledo beat LC in the state semis a couple of years ago in a controversial finish, but now Aledo's in region 1. The Bearcats started 0-2, but have been ridiculously dominant since, scoring 480 in 9 straight wins.  Also 9-2, Cooper thrives on old-school defensive-oriented games;   they've only scored 312 all season, and have won games by scores of 17-14, 11-8, and 15-14.  They're going to have to hold down Aledo to those types of numbers to win, but I don't see that happening.

Tascosa-Burlington Centennial @ WF Another matchup from the same two districts as above.  Tascosa's only loss was 14-13 to 6A Permian; BC's only loss was 64-21 to Aledo.  Both of these teams want to do nothing but run the ball, so this game might finish in under 2 hours.  Tascosa beat 5-6 BC 28-24 last season in this round.  I've been touting Tascosa all season, but BC's 56-28 win over a very good Lake Belton team last week really impressed me, so I'll go with the BC Spartans in a close one. 

Bushland-Jim Ned @ Lubbock  Jim Ned started the season 0-3, but those three teams are currently 31-1, and the Indians haven't lost since.  Bushland looked like maybe the best team in west Texas after an 8-0 start, but then lost to Shallowater; they've won the last two by 117-18.  I watched some of their game last week and the word that came to mind was "bludgeon."  Big O-line, fast and shifty RBs, and that's how you win playoff games, especially in cold, windy Lubbock.  

Cisco-Stratford @Woodrow  GoogleMaps tells me that Woodrow is a suburb of Lubbock, and the site of Lubbock Cooper.  That's a good place for a huge matchup of traditional west Texas powers.  The Elks are the defending state champs and have won 23 in a row.  Cisco is 9-2 with only 3-point losses to 8-3 3A Breckenridge and #1 Hawley.  It's a shame they're meeting in the 2nd round, as this is a very even matchup between two great teams.  Like I said above, in cold, windy Lubbock, go with the team with the bigger, more badass O-line, and that's Stratford.  

Wink-Santo @ Colorado City  TONIGHT Wink is undefeated and the pick of most of the DCTF staff to win the region.  The Wildcats average a 51-13 score on the season.  Santo's only loss was in a very good district to 10-1 Collinsville.  They're fairly low-scoring, with "only" 337 points in 11 games.  Long-ass road trip for Santo, 167 miles to CC, probably way more than they're used to.  Wink is pretty close to the epicenter of yesterday's quake, so I wonder if they got affected by that?  Gonna guess that not even an earthquake can slow down Wink, though.  

East Texas

Malakoff-Winnsboro @ Tyler  Two 10-1 teams.  Malakoff's only loss was 21-17 to Grandview.  Winnsboro's only loss was 36-35 to Pottsboro.  Very even matchup again that should be happening later in the playoffs.  Winnsboro has probably played a tougher schedule, but Malakoff has more playoff experience and I think that may be the difference.
 

Dang Beau, nothing about my hometown Pleasanton Eagles?

[Beau Vine 53625]

22 minutes ago, SHOOTER12 said:

Dang Beau, nothing about my hometown Pleasanton Eagles?

Boerne will beat them by 30-40 again.

[TreatyOak 16055]

2 hours ago, Beau Vine said:

Even though district champs can't meet until next week in 5A on down, there are a surprising number of great matchups this week.   There is also a lot less geographic diversity to these games than I'm used to, as a lot of games involve extensive travel and the teams are meeting in big metro stadiums, so this is heavily slanted to DFW and Houston.  This is the time of year that I start to wish I still lived in DFW.

DFW

Arlington Martin-Lewisville  @ SMU  Martin probably wins the prize as the biggest bridesmaid in 6A.  They're good every year (they've won 9+ games in 9 of the last 12 seasons), but they always seem to get blown out by a DFW blue blood in the playoffs.  Lewisville has suddenly turned into a RB factory -- last year's starting RB is leading Oregon State in rushing, and this year's RB, junior Viron Ellison, is just as good.  Martin knocked Lewisville out of the playoffs 68-0 in 2020, but the Farmers returned the favor in this round last season, 35-18.  Weather's supposed to be nasty for this one, and that favors ground-and-pound teams, so give me Lewisville.  Plus, their water tower cracks me up every time I drive through there.

Guyer-Highland Park @ Ford  Both teams are undefeated, but HP has kind of flown under the radar.  They have played a weak schedule, with Lewisville as their only really big win.  Guyer has emerged unscathed from a slate that include Aledo, Lancaster, Prosper, and Allen; the 23-6 win over Prosper was their closest game.  They look like the best team in the state, and I've said that S Peyton Bowen is the best player I've seen this year.  I want to say that this game won't be close, but HP always seems to find some magic, although they'll need a ton of it to win this one.  Game is indoors (Ford Center), so they can't even hope the weather slows down the Wildcats.

SOC-Lovejoy @ Globe Life Saturday  What a fun matchup!  The defending state champs have allowed only 17 points since mid-September, but their offense has been kind of a train wreck, posting only 124 total yards last week.  But their defense is great -- their secondary has four D1 commits (UT, A&M, CU, and SMU).  Lovejoy counters with an offense that averages over 50 ppg, and has four D1 recrcuits at WR!  SOC beat Lovejoy 42-21 in the region finals last year.  Lovejoy's bad D has an advantage over SOC's terrible offense, so that might be enough to get them revenge.

Frisco Reedy-Lancaster @ Irving   #7 vs #4 in 5AD1.  Reedy is yet another one of those new, kinda faceless Frisco schools -- their mascot is the Lions, they're blue and green, and 2016 was their first season.  They did have an outstanding 2018 season, going 13-1 and losing a close one to Aledo in the 3rd round, and they're undefeated again this season.  Both teams post strong Ds, with Reedy only allowing 64 rushing ypg and Lancaster also under 100.  Lancaster played a much tougher schedule -- Reedy is in a huge district with all the other Frisco schools, while Lanc played SOC (21-3), Guyer (27-50) and Longview (13-21).  I'll take Lancaster in a tight one.  

Anna-Stephenville @ Midlothian  Don't sleep on Anna -- they're 11-0, and QB Evan Bullock has 3500 yards and 51 TDs.  They've beaten Celina, Aubrey, and Decatur and cruised through district play.  Stephenville is a whole different animal, though, with all sorts of pedigree, including a 2021 state championship.  The Yellowjackets, however, have a shockingly shitty defense that has allowed 405 points scored.  They lost 38-36 to China Spring and 50-49 to Alvarado the next week.  They've had wins where they allowed 42, 49, and 61.  Tradition is really the only thing favoring the 'Jackets, and while that goes for a lot in HSFB, I think Anna outscores them.

Texark Pleasant Grove-Caddo Mills SATURDAY @ Ford  CM is 11-0, but against a weaker schedule.  They won last week 69-55 against Sanger, the type of game they seem to like to play.  TPG is no longer the so-talented-it's-unfair program that they have been in the recent past, and lost to Gilmer and a 5A Louisiana team, but they're still tough and nasty enough to beat CM.

West-Mount Vernon @ Forney  This is a 3AD1R2 matchup, which I'm convinced is the toughest region in all brackets in the state.  West is 10-1 out of an excellent district, with their only loss 21-15 to defending champ Lorena in week 2.  MV is 9-2 out of one of the best districts in the whole state, with losses to Pottsboro and Winnsboro.  Defense gives an edge to West, as the Trojan D has allowed only 96 points, pitching 5 shutouts.  But MV has played 15 games 3 of the last 4 seasons, beating West 24-13 in the region finals last year, so their kids will definitely be ready.  Coin flip sez West gets revenge.

Coleman-Crawford @ Weatherford  11-0 Crawford is always good and always a team that's just tough to play against.  They've outscored opponents 503-46 and 21-6 is their closest game.  The Coleman Bluecats are really good, too -- 418-91 cumulative with losses to only undefeated Tolar and 3AD1 Llano.  Should be a real slugfest, but Crawford always seems to excel in those games.  

HOUSTON

Woodlands-Klein Cain  @ Shenandoah  Cain is a 17-14 loss to Forest away from being undefeated.  They've been tested in a good district and have a solid non-district win over Summer Creek on the resume.  The Highlanders got blown out by North Shore in their opener, lost 14-7 to undefeated New Caney, but cruised undefeated through a weak district.  Give me Cain.  

Westfield-Collins @ Tomball  My biggest blind spot in the state is Spring schools and Klein schools, just because I have trouble telling them apart, but these two are probably the best of the bunch.  This matchup is a lot like the previous one -- Collins was tested by a good district, including their sole loss (25-21 to Cain), and has a nice non-district win over Summer Creek, while Westfield's only loss was a blowout by NS, and they beat a bunch of tomato cans in district.  I guess I should be consistent and pick Collins, but Westfield has only lost 9 games in 5 years, so who knows?  Not me, but I'm gonna lean to Collins.

Summer Creek-Shadow Creek @TDECU  I always mix these two up, so I propose a LOSER CHANGES NAME match like you might do in pro wrestling.  Summer Creek is the Bulldogs; they're only 7-4, but their losses are to Cain, Collins, NS, and Atascocita by a total of 17 points.  That may be the toughest schedule in Houston, including the Texans.  Shadow Creek is the Sharks; they're the program that went to Jerryworld in their first two seasons of existence in 5A. They're undefeated this season against a relatively weak schedule.   They're probably favored in this, but don't be the slightest bit surprised to see the Bulldogs pull it out.

College Station-Angleton @ Cypress  CS is a great story -- the defending state finalists were decimated by graduation, then lost their stud RB to a knee injury before the season, then got blitzed by Lovejoy in the opener.  But they rebounded to tie for 1st in a tough district, only losing to Georgetown.  Now they get Angleton, also 9-2, and also champs of a brutal district that went 4-0 last week.  The Wildcats lost to  undefeated Lake Creek in the opener and Foster in district.  But CS has shown more resilience than a group of 16-17 yo boys should have, so I guess I'd be stupid to pick against them.

Austin area

Lake Travis-Steele @ Pflugerville  Who knows with the Cavaliers?  These teams played in week 2 with Steele winning 35-28, but LT was decimated by injuries.  Most of those (other than the QB) have healed, but the soph QB has now played enough games to look comfortable.  The questionable LT D actually showed up big in last week's 35-10 win over big tough Round Rock, so there's a lot for Cavs fans to be optimistic about.  Steele is undefeated against a good schedule (Brennan, LT, Hutto, Midland Lee-gacy, NB, Judson).  They start quite a few sophs, including QB Chad Warner, who's really good even though he looks like this:

LT has gotten better but I don't think they're quite good enough to take out Steele.

Smithson Valley-Manvel @ Bastrop  SV has rebounded from a couple of relatively mediocre years to look like a possible region favorite.  Their only loss was in week 2 to 10-1 6A Harker Heights.  They methodically punked Cedar Park 30-7 last week and have allowed only 100 total points.  They haven't seen speed like Manvel will bring; the 8-3 Mavs played in that brutal district with Angleton, so they're tested.  I'd expect back-and-forth early, with the Rangers eventually adjusting to speed and gaining control.

South Texas
Good ones down here, starting with the RGV-CC 2-step Friday in Corpus:  PSJANorth-Miller and Vela-CC Vets in 5AD1.  The Fighting Alphabets are undefeated with a cumulative scoreboard of 498-93.  Miller's only loss was 38-34 to CC Vets, and they have a nice non-district win over El Campo.  They also have the best player in south Texas in WR Lonnie Adkism, and I suspect PSJAN hasn't seen anyone like him and that he'll have a big game that makes the difference in a close one.  CC Vets lost 2 of their first 3, but is undefeated since.  They're loaded with playoff experience, 67-12 record since start of 2017.  They'll face a Vela team that started the season ranked #1 in the prestigious but sporadic Helobious Poll before being shocked by PSJAN, but they have played pissed off since then, totaling 607 points on the season.  My gut says Vela wins this.  

GP-Alamo Heights @ Cuero  TONIGHT  Let's think back to the preseason, when we all laughed at AH for having 21 players suspended for buttplay hazing and then they lost to NB Canyon.  They haven't lost or scored less than 48 points in a game since.  G-P is 8-3 with losses to 4AD1 favorites Calallen and Boerne and a 34-36 loss to Flour Bluff, but they're looking like the old G-P teams more and more, especially last week when they blasted a pretty good Mission Vets team 64-6.  This is probably my top game for tonight but AH is just on such a roll that I have trouble imagining them losing.

West Texas

Lubbock Cooper-Aledo @ Sweetwater  No strangers here, as Aledo beat LC in the state semis a couple of years ago in a controversial finish, but now Aledo's in region 1. The Bearcats started 0-2, but have been ridiculously dominant since, scoring 480 in 9 straight wins.  Also 9-2, Cooper thrives on old-school defensive-oriented games;   they've only scored 312 all season, and have won games by scores of 17-14, 11-8, and 15-14.  They're going to have to hold down Aledo to those types of numbers to win, but I don't see that happening.

Tascosa-Burlington Centennial @ WF Another matchup from the same two districts as above.  Tascosa's only loss was 14-13 to 6A Permian; BC's only loss was 64-21 to Aledo.  Both of these teams want to do nothing but run the ball, so this game might finish in under 2 hours.  Tascosa beat 5-6 BC 28-24 last season in this round.  I've been touting Tascosa all season, but BC's 56-28 win over a very good Lake Belton team last week really impressed me, so I'll go with the BC Spartans in a close one. 

Bushland-Jim Ned @ Lubbock  Jim Ned started the season 0-3, but those three teams are currently 31-1, and the Indians haven't lost since.  Bushland looked like maybe the best team in west Texas after an 8-0 start, but then lost to Shallowater; they've won the last two by 117-18.  I watched some of their game last week and the word that came to mind was "bludgeon."  Big O-line, fast and shifty RBs, and that's how you win playoff games, especially in cold, windy Lubbock.  

Cisco-Stratford @Woodrow  GoogleMaps tells me that Woodrow is a suburb of Lubbock, and the site of Lubbock Cooper.  That's a good place for a huge matchup of traditional west Texas powers.  The Elks are the defending state champs and have won 23 in a row.  Cisco is 9-2 with only 3-point losses to 8-3 3A Breckenridge and #1 Hawley.  It's a shame they're meeting in the 2nd round, as this is a very even matchup between two great teams.  Like I said above, in cold, windy Lubbock, go with the team with the bigger, more badass O-line, and that's Stratford.  

Wink-Santo @ Colorado City  TONIGHT Wink is undefeated and the pick of most of the DCTF staff to win the region.  The Wildcats average a 51-13 score on the season.  Santo's only loss was in a very good district to 10-1 Collinsville.  They're fairly low-scoring, with "only" 337 points in 11 games.  Long-ass road trip for Santo, 167 miles to CC, probably way more than they're used to.  Wink is pretty close to the epicenter of yesterday's quake, so I wonder if they got affected by that?  Gonna guess that not even an earthquake can slow down Wink, though.  

East Texas

Malakoff-Winnsboro @ Tyler  Two 10-1 teams.  Malakoff's only loss was 21-17 to Grandview.  Winnsboro's only loss was 36-35 to Pottsboro.  Very even matchup again that should be happening later in the playoffs.  Winnsboro has probably played a tougher schedule, but Malakoff has more playoff experience and I think that may be the difference.
 

Another awesomely astounding effort.

Thanks so very much, as always!

Again, I am not sure whether our beloved Chaps will make state in D1, but if they do, I'm sure glad they don't have to play Guyer.

I think Guyer is the best team in the state. 

[SHOOTER12 8766]

1 hour ago, Beau Vine said:

Boerne will beat them by 30-40 again.

Oh no Mr. Bill!!!

 

 

Narrator~~he's right you know~~

[956 Worldwide 33957]

2 hours ago, Beau Vine said:

Even though district champs can't meet until next week in 5A on down, there are a surprising number of great matchups this week.   There is also a lot less geographic diversity to these games than I'm used to, as a lot of games involve extensive travel and the teams are meeting in big metro stadiums, so this is heavily slanted to DFW and Houston.  This is the time of year that I start to wish I still lived in DFW.

DFW

Arlington Martin-Lewisville  @ SMU  Martin probably wins the prize as the biggest bridesmaid in 6A.  They're good every year (they've won 9+ games in 9 of the last 12 seasons), but they always seem to get blown out by a DFW blue blood in the playoffs.  Lewisville has suddenly turned into a RB factory -- last year's starting RB is leading Oregon State in rushing, and this year's RB, junior Viron Ellison, is just as good.  Martin knocked Lewisville out of the playoffs 68-0 in 2020, but the Farmers returned the favor in this round last season, 35-18.  Weather's supposed to be nasty for this one, and that favors ground-and-pound teams, so give me Lewisville.  Plus, their water tower cracks me up every time I drive through there.

Guyer-Highland Park @ Ford  Both teams are undefeated, but HP has kind of flown under the radar.  They have played a weak schedule, with Lewisville as their only really big win.  Guyer has emerged unscathed from a slate that include Aledo, Lancaster, Prosper, and Allen; the 23-6 win over Prosper was their closest game.  They look like the best team in the state, and I've said that S Peyton Bowen is the best player I've seen this year.  I want to say that this game won't be close, but HP always seems to find some magic, although they'll need a ton of it to win this one.  Game is indoors (Ford Center), so they can't even hope the weather slows down the Wildcats.

SOC-Lovejoy @ Globe Life Saturday  What a fun matchup!  The defending state champs have allowed only 17 points since mid-September, but their offense has been kind of a train wreck, posting only 124 total yards last week.  But their defense is great -- their secondary has four D1 commits (UT, A&M, CU, and SMU).  Lovejoy counters with an offense that averages over 50 ppg, and has four D1 recrcuits at WR!  SOC beat Lovejoy 42-21 in the region finals last year.  Lovejoy's bad D has an advantage over SOC's terrible offense, so that might be enough to get them revenge.

Frisco Reedy-Lancaster @ Irving   #7 vs #4 in 5AD1.  Reedy is yet another one of those new, kinda faceless Frisco schools -- their mascot is the Lions, they're blue and green, and 2016 was their first season.  They did have an outstanding 2018 season, going 13-1 and losing a close one to Aledo in the 3rd round, and they're undefeated again this season.  Both teams post strong Ds, with Reedy only allowing 64 rushing ypg and Lancaster also under 100.  Lancaster played a much tougher schedule -- Reedy is in a huge district with all the other Frisco schools, while Lanc played SOC (21-3), Guyer (27-50) and Longview (13-21).  I'll take Lancaster in a tight one.  

Anna-Stephenville @ Midlothian  Don't sleep on Anna -- they're 11-0, and QB Evan Bullock has 3500 yards and 51 TDs.  They've beaten Celina, Aubrey, and Decatur and cruised through district play.  Stephenville is a whole different animal, though, with all sorts of pedigree, including a 2021 state championship.  The Yellowjackets, however, have a shockingly shitty defense that has allowed 405 points scored.  They lost 38-36 to China Spring and 50-49 to Alvarado the next week.  They've had wins where they allowed 42, 49, and 61.  Tradition is really the only thing favoring the 'Jackets, and while that goes for a lot in HSFB, I think Anna outscores them.

Texark Pleasant Grove-Caddo Mills SATURDAY @ Ford  CM is 11-0, but against a weaker schedule.  They won last week 69-55 against Sanger, the type of game they seem to like to play.  TPG is no longer the so-talented-it's-unfair program that they have been in the recent past, and lost to Gilmer and a 5A Louisiana team, but they're still tough and nasty enough to beat CM.

West-Mount Vernon @ Forney  This is a 3AD1R2 matchup, which I'm convinced is the toughest region in all brackets in the state.  West is 10-1 out of an excellent district, with their only loss 21-15 to defending champ Lorena in week 2.  MV is 9-2 out of one of the best districts in the whole state, with losses to Pottsboro and Winnsboro.  Defense gives an edge to West, as the Trojan D has allowed only 96 points, pitching 5 shutouts.  But MV has played 15 games 3 of the last 4 seasons, beating West 24-13 in the region finals last year, so their kids will definitely be ready.  Coin flip sez West gets revenge.

Coleman-Crawford @ Weatherford  11-0 Crawford is always good and always a team that's just tough to play against.  They've outscored opponents 503-46 and 21-6 is their closest game.  The Coleman Bluecats are really good, too -- 418-91 cumulative with losses to only undefeated Tolar and 3AD1 Llano.  Should be a real slugfest, but Crawford always seems to excel in those games.  

HOUSTON

Woodlands-Klein Cain  @ Shenandoah  Cain is a 17-14 loss to Forest away from being undefeated.  They've been tested in a good district and have a solid non-district win over Summer Creek on the resume.  The Highlanders got blown out by North Shore in their opener, lost 14-7 to undefeated New Caney, but cruised undefeated through a weak district.  Give me Cain.  

Westfield-Collins @ Tomball  My biggest blind spot in the state is Spring schools and Klein schools, just because I have trouble telling them apart, but these two are probably the best of the bunch.  This matchup is a lot like the previous one -- Collins was tested by a good district, including their sole loss (25-21 to Cain), and has a nice non-district win over Summer Creek, while Westfield's only loss was a blowout by NS, and they beat a bunch of tomato cans in district.  I guess I should be consistent and pick Collins, but Westfield has only lost 9 games in 5 years, so who knows?  Not me, but I'm gonna lean to Collins.

Summer Creek-Shadow Creek @TDECU  I always mix these two up, so I propose a LOSER CHANGES NAME match like you might do in pro wrestling.  Summer Creek is the Bulldogs; they're only 7-4, but their losses are to Cain, Collins, NS, and Atascocita by a total of 17 points.  That may be the toughest schedule in Houston, including the Texans.  Shadow Creek is the Sharks; they're the program that went to Jerryworld in their first two seasons of existence in 5A. They're undefeated this season against a relatively weak schedule.   They're probably favored in this, but don't be the slightest bit surprised to see the Bulldogs pull it out.

College Station-Angleton @ Cypress  CS is a great story -- the defending state finalists were decimated by graduation, then lost their stud RB to a knee injury before the season, then got blitzed by Lovejoy in the opener.  But they rebounded to tie for 1st in a tough district, only losing to Georgetown.  Now they get Angleton, also 9-2, and also champs of a brutal district that went 4-0 last week.  The Wildcats lost to  undefeated Lake Creek in the opener and Foster in district.  But CS has shown more resilience than a group of 16-17 yo boys should have, so I guess I'd be stupid to pick against them.

Austin area

Lake Travis-Steele @ Pflugerville  Who knows with the Cavaliers?  These teams played in week 2 with Steele winning 35-28, but LT was decimated by injuries.  Most of those (other than the QB) have healed, but the soph QB has now played enough games to look comfortable.  The questionable LT D actually showed up big in last week's 35-10 win over big tough Round Rock, so there's a lot for Cavs fans to be optimistic about.  Steele is undefeated against a good schedule (Brennan, LT, Hutto, Midland Lee-gacy, NB, Judson).  They start quite a few sophs, including QB Chad Warner, who's really good even though he looks like this:

LT has gotten better but I don't think they're quite good enough to take out Steele.

Smithson Valley-Manvel @ Bastrop  SV has rebounded from a couple of relatively mediocre years to look like a possible region favorite.  Their only loss was in week 2 to 10-1 6A Harker Heights.  They methodically punked Cedar Park 30-7 last week and have allowed only 100 total points.  They haven't seen speed like Manvel will bring; the 8-3 Mavs played in that brutal district with Angleton, so they're tested.  I'd expect back-and-forth early, with the Rangers eventually adjusting to speed and gaining control.

South Texas
Good ones down here, starting with the RGV-CC 2-step Friday in Corpus:  PSJANorth-Miller and Vela-CC Vets in 5AD1.  The Fighting Alphabets are undefeated with a cumulative scoreboard of 498-93.  Miller's only loss was 38-34 to CC Vets, and they have a nice non-district win over El Campo.  They also have the best player in south Texas in WR Lonnie Adkism, and I suspect PSJAN hasn't seen anyone like him and that he'll have a big game that makes the difference in a close one.  CC Vets lost 2 of their first 3, but is undefeated since.  They're loaded with playoff experience, 67-12 record since start of 2017.  They'll face a Vela team that started the season ranked #1 in the prestigious but sporadic Helobious Poll before being shocked by PSJAN, but they have played pissed off since then, totaling 607 points on the season.  My gut says Vela wins this.  

GP-Alamo Heights @ Cuero  TONIGHT  Let's think back to the preseason, when we all laughed at AH for having 21 players suspended for buttplay hazing and then they lost to NB Canyon.  They haven't lost or scored less than 48 points in a game since.  G-P is 8-3 with losses to 4AD1 favorites Calallen and Boerne and a 34-36 loss to Flour Bluff, but they're looking like the old G-P teams more and more, especially last week when they blasted a pretty good Mission Vets team 64-6.  This is probably my top game for tonight but AH is just on such a roll that I have trouble imagining them losing.

West Texas

Lubbock Cooper-Aledo @ Sweetwater  No strangers here, as Aledo beat LC in the state semis a couple of years ago in a controversial finish, but now Aledo's in region 1. The Bearcats started 0-2, but have been ridiculously dominant since, scoring 480 in 9 straight wins.  Also 9-2, Cooper thrives on old-school defensive-oriented games;   they've only scored 312 all season, and have won games by scores of 17-14, 11-8, and 15-14.  They're going to have to hold down Aledo to those types of numbers to win, but I don't see that happening.

Tascosa-Burlington Centennial @ WF Another matchup from the same two districts as above.  Tascosa's only loss was 14-13 to 6A Permian; BC's only loss was 64-21 to Aledo.  Both of these teams want to do nothing but run the ball, so this game might finish in under 2 hours.  Tascosa beat 5-6 BC 28-24 last season in this round.  I've been touting Tascosa all season, but BC's 56-28 win over a very good Lake Belton team last week really impressed me, so I'll go with the BC Spartans in a close one. 

Bushland-Jim Ned @ Lubbock  Jim Ned started the season 0-3, but those three teams are currently 31-1, and the Indians haven't lost since.  Bushland looked like maybe the best team in west Texas after an 8-0 start, but then lost to Shallowater; they've won the last two by 117-18.  I watched some of their game last week and the word that came to mind was "bludgeon."  Big O-line, fast and shifty RBs, and that's how you win playoff games, especially in cold, windy Lubbock.  

Cisco-Stratford @Woodrow  GoogleMaps tells me that Woodrow is a suburb of Lubbock, and the site of Lubbock Cooper.  That's a good place for a huge matchup of traditional west Texas powers.  The Elks are the defending state champs and have won 23 in a row.  Cisco is 9-2 with only 3-point losses to 8-3 3A Breckenridge and #1 Hawley.  It's a shame they're meeting in the 2nd round, as this is a very even matchup between two great teams.  Like I said above, in cold, windy Lubbock, go with the team with the bigger, more badass O-line, and that's Stratford.  

Wink-Santo @ Colorado City  TONIGHT Wink is undefeated and the pick of most of the DCTF staff to win the region.  The Wildcats average a 51-13 score on the season.  Santo's only loss was in a very good district to 10-1 Collinsville.  They're fairly low-scoring, with "only" 337 points in 11 games.  Long-ass road trip for Santo, 167 miles to CC, probably way more than they're used to.  Wink is pretty close to the epicenter of yesterday's quake, so I wonder if they got affected by that?  Gonna guess that not even an earthquake can slow down Wink, though.  

East Texas

Malakoff-Winnsboro @ Tyler  Two 10-1 teams.  Malakoff's only loss was 21-17 to Grandview.  Winnsboro's only loss was 36-35 to Pottsboro.  Very even matchup again that should be happening later in the playoffs.  Winnsboro has probably played a tougher schedule, but Malakoff has more playoff experience and I think that may be the difference.
 

My favorite post every week. 

[Nueces River Rat 5485]

And it’s going to be another cold, damp windy Friday night.   Fun!

[Thiefery 4940]

5 hours ago, Beau Vine said:

Even though district champs can't meet until next week in 5A on down, there are a surprising number of great matchups this week.   There is also a lot less geographic diversity to these games than I'm used to, as a lot of games involve extensive travel and the teams are meeting in big metro stadiums, so this is heavily slanted to DFW and Houston.  This is the time of year that I start to wish I still lived in DFW.

DFW

Arlington Martin-Lewisville  @ SMU  Martin probably wins the prize as the biggest bridesmaid in 6A.  They're good every year (they've won 9+ games in 9 of the last 12 seasons), but they always seem to get blown out by a DFW blue blood in the playoffs.  Lewisville has suddenly turned into a RB factory -- last year's starting RB is leading Oregon State in rushing, and this year's RB, junior Viron Ellison, is just as good.  Martin knocked Lewisville out of the playoffs 68-0 in 2020, but the Farmers returned the favor in this round last season, 35-18.  Weather's supposed to be nasty for this one, and that favors ground-and-pound teams, so give me Lewisville.  Plus, their water tower cracks me up every time I drive through there.

Guyer-Highland Park @ Ford  Both teams are undefeated, but HP has kind of flown under the radar.  They have played a weak schedule, with Lewisville as their only really big win.  Guyer has emerged unscathed from a slate that include Aledo, Lancaster, Prosper, and Allen; the 23-6 win over Prosper was their closest game.  They look like the best team in the state, and I've said that S Peyton Bowen is the best player I've seen this year.  I want to say that this game won't be close, but HP always seems to find some magic, although they'll need a ton of it to win this one.  Game is indoors (Ford Center), so they can't even hope the weather slows down the Wildcats.

SOC-Lovejoy @ Globe Life Saturday  What a fun matchup!  The defending state champs have allowed only 17 points since mid-September, but their offense has been kind of a train wreck, posting only 124 total yards last week.  But their defense is great -- their secondary has four D1 commits (UT, A&M, CU, and SMU).  Lovejoy counters with an offense that averages over 50 ppg, and has four D1 recrcuits at WR!  SOC beat Lovejoy 42-21 in the region finals last year.  Lovejoy's bad D has an advantage over SOC's terrible offense, so that might be enough to get them revenge.

Frisco Reedy-Lancaster @ Irving   #7 vs #4 in 5AD1.  Reedy is yet another one of those new, kinda faceless Frisco schools -- their mascot is the Lions, they're blue and green, and 2016 was their first season.  They did have an outstanding 2018 season, going 13-1 and losing a close one to Aledo in the 3rd round, and they're undefeated again this season.  Both teams post strong Ds, with Reedy only allowing 64 rushing ypg and Lancaster also under 100.  Lancaster played a much tougher schedule -- Reedy is in a huge district with all the other Frisco schools, while Lanc played SOC (21-3), Guyer (27-50) and Longview (13-21).  I'll take Lancaster in a tight one.  

Anna-Stephenville @ Midlothian  Don't sleep on Anna -- they're 11-0, and QB Evan Bullock has 3500 yards and 51 TDs.  They've beaten Celina, Aubrey, and Decatur and cruised through district play.  Stephenville is a whole different animal, though, with all sorts of pedigree, including a 2021 state championship.  The Yellowjackets, however, have a shockingly shitty defense that has allowed 405 points scored.  They lost 38-36 to China Spring and 50-49 to Alvarado the next week.  They've had wins where they allowed 42, 49, and 61.  Tradition is really the only thing favoring the 'Jackets, and while that goes for a lot in HSFB, I think Anna outscores them.

Texark Pleasant Grove-Caddo Mills SATURDAY @ Ford  CM is 11-0, but against a weaker schedule.  They won last week 69-55 against Sanger, the type of game they seem to like to play.  TPG is no longer the so-talented-it's-unfair program that they have been in the recent past, and lost to Gilmer and a 5A Louisiana team, but they're still tough and nasty enough to beat CM.

West-Mount Vernon @ Forney  This is a 3AD1R2 matchup, which I'm convinced is the toughest region in all brackets in the state.  West is 10-1 out of an excellent district, with their only loss 21-15 to defending champ Lorena in week 2.  MV is 9-2 out of one of the best districts in the whole state, with losses to Pottsboro and Winnsboro.  Defense gives an edge to West, as the Trojan D has allowed only 96 points, pitching 5 shutouts.  But MV has played 15 games 3 of the last 4 seasons, beating West 24-13 in the region finals last year, so their kids will definitely be ready.  Coin flip sez West gets revenge.

Coleman-Crawford @ Weatherford  11-0 Crawford is always good and always a team that's just tough to play against.  They've outscored opponents 503-46 and 21-6 is their closest game.  The Coleman Bluecats are really good, too -- 418-91 cumulative with losses to only undefeated Tolar and 3AD1 Llano.  Should be a real slugfest, but Crawford always seems to excel in those games.  

HOUSTON

Woodlands-Klein Cain  @ Shenandoah  Cain is a 17-14 loss to Forest away from being undefeated.  They've been tested in a good district and have a solid non-district win over Summer Creek on the resume.  The Highlanders got blown out by North Shore in their opener, lost 14-7 to undefeated New Caney, but cruised undefeated through a weak district.  Give me Cain.  

Westfield-Collins @ Tomball  My biggest blind spot in the state is Spring schools and Klein schools, just because I have trouble telling them apart, but these two are probably the best of the bunch.  This matchup is a lot like the previous one -- Collins was tested by a good district, including their sole loss (25-21 to Cain), and has a nice non-district win over Summer Creek, while Westfield's only loss was a blowout by NS, and they beat a bunch of tomato cans in district.  I guess I should be consistent and pick Collins, but Westfield has only lost 9 games in 5 years, so who knows?  Not me, but I'm gonna lean to Collins.

Summer Creek-Shadow Creek @TDECU  I always mix these two up, so I propose a LOSER CHANGES NAME match like you might do in pro wrestling.  Summer Creek is the Bulldogs; they're only 7-4, but their losses are to Cain, Collins, NS, and Atascocita by a total of 17 points.  That may be the toughest schedule in Houston, including the Texans.  Shadow Creek is the Sharks; they're the program that went to Jerryworld in their first two seasons of existence in 5A. They're undefeated this season against a relatively weak schedule.   They're probably favored in this, but don't be the slightest bit surprised to see the Bulldogs pull it out.

College Station-Angleton @ Cypress  CS is a great story -- the defending state finalists were decimated by graduation, then lost their stud RB to a knee injury before the season, then got blitzed by Lovejoy in the opener.  But they rebounded to tie for 1st in a tough district, only losing to Georgetown.  Now they get Angleton, also 9-2, and also champs of a brutal district that went 4-0 last week.  The Wildcats lost to  undefeated Lake Creek in the opener and Foster in district.  But CS has shown more resilience than a group of 16-17 yo boys should have, so I guess I'd be stupid to pick against them.

Austin area

Lake Travis-Steele @ Pflugerville  Who knows with the Cavaliers?  These teams played in week 2 with Steele winning 35-28, but LT was decimated by injuries.  Most of those (other than the QB) have healed, but the soph QB has now played enough games to look comfortable.  The questionable LT D actually showed up big in last week's 35-10 win over big tough Round Rock, so there's a lot for Cavs fans to be optimistic about.  Steele is undefeated against a good schedule (Brennan, LT, Hutto, Midland Lee-gacy, NB, Judson).  They start quite a few sophs, including QB Chad Warner, who's really good even though he looks like this:

LT has gotten better but I don't think they're quite good enough to take out Steele.

Smithson Valley-Manvel @ Bastrop  SV has rebounded from a couple of relatively mediocre years to look like a possible region favorite.  Their only loss was in week 2 to 10-1 6A Harker Heights.  They methodically punked Cedar Park 30-7 last week and have allowed only 100 total points.  They haven't seen speed like Manvel will bring; the 8-3 Mavs played in that brutal district with Angleton, so they're tested.  I'd expect back-and-forth early, with the Rangers eventually adjusting to speed and gaining control.

South Texas
Good ones down here, starting with the RGV-CC 2-step Friday in Corpus:  PSJANorth-Miller and Vela-CC Vets in 5AD1.  The Fighting Alphabets are undefeated with a cumulative scoreboard of 498-93.  Miller's only loss was 38-34 to CC Vets, and they have a nice non-district win over El Campo.  They also have the best player in south Texas in WR Lonnie Adkism, and I suspect PSJAN hasn't seen anyone like him and that he'll have a big game that makes the difference in a close one.  CC Vets lost 2 of their first 3, but is undefeated since.  They're loaded with playoff experience, 67-12 record since start of 2017.  They'll face a Vela team that started the season ranked #1 in the prestigious but sporadic Helobious Poll before being shocked by PSJAN, but they have played pissed off since then, totaling 607 points on the season.  My gut says Vela wins this.  

GP-Alamo Heights @ Cuero  TONIGHT  Let's think back to the preseason, when we all laughed at AH for having 21 players suspended for buttplay hazing and then they lost to NB Canyon.  They haven't lost or scored less than 48 points in a game since.  G-P is 8-3 with losses to 4AD1 favorites Calallen and Boerne and a 34-36 loss to Flour Bluff, but they're looking like the old G-P teams more and more, especially last week when they blasted a pretty good Mission Vets team 64-6.  This is probably my top game for tonight but AH is just on such a roll that I have trouble imagining them losing.

West Texas

Lubbock Cooper-Aledo @ Sweetwater  No strangers here, as Aledo beat LC in the state semis a couple of years ago in a controversial finish, but now Aledo's in region 1. The Bearcats started 0-2, but have been ridiculously dominant since, scoring 480 in 9 straight wins.  Also 9-2, Cooper thrives on old-school defensive-oriented games;   they've only scored 312 all season, and have won games by scores of 17-14, 11-8, and 15-14.  They're going to have to hold down Aledo to those types of numbers to win, but I don't see that happening.

Tascosa-Burlington Centennial @ WF Another matchup from the same two districts as above.  Tascosa's only loss was 14-13 to 6A Permian; BC's only loss was 64-21 to Aledo.  Both of these teams want to do nothing but run the ball, so this game might finish in under 2 hours.  Tascosa beat 5-6 BC 28-24 last season in this round.  I've been touting Tascosa all season, but BC's 56-28 win over a very good Lake Belton team last week really impressed me, so I'll go with the BC Spartans in a close one. 

Bushland-Jim Ned @ Lubbock  Jim Ned started the season 0-3, but those three teams are currently 31-1, and the Indians haven't lost since.  Bushland looked like maybe the best team in west Texas after an 8-0 start, but then lost to Shallowater; they've won the last two by 117-18.  I watched some of their game last week and the word that came to mind was "bludgeon."  Big O-line, fast and shifty RBs, and that's how you win playoff games, especially in cold, windy Lubbock.  

Cisco-Stratford @Woodrow  GoogleMaps tells me that Woodrow is a suburb of Lubbock, and the site of Lubbock Cooper.  That's a good place for a huge matchup of traditional west Texas powers.  The Elks are the defending state champs and have won 23 in a row.  Cisco is 9-2 with only 3-point losses to 8-3 3A Breckenridge and #1 Hawley.  It's a shame they're meeting in the 2nd round, as this is a very even matchup between two great teams.  Like I said above, in cold, windy Lubbock, go with the team with the bigger, more badass O-line, and that's Stratford.  

Wink-Santo @ Colorado City  TONIGHT Wink is undefeated and the pick of most of the DCTF staff to win the region.  The Wildcats average a 51-13 score on the season.  Santo's only loss was in a very good district to 10-1 Collinsville.  They're fairly low-scoring, with "only" 337 points in 11 games.  Long-ass road trip for Santo, 167 miles to CC, probably way more than they're used to.  Wink is pretty close to the epicenter of yesterday's quake, so I wonder if they got affected by that?  Gonna guess that not even an earthquake can slow down Wink, though.  

East Texas

Malakoff-Winnsboro @ Tyler  Two 10-1 teams.  Malakoff's only loss was 21-17 to Grandview.  Winnsboro's only loss was 36-35 to Pottsboro.  Very even matchup again that should be happening later in the playoffs.  Winnsboro has probably played a tougher schedule, but Malakoff has more playoff experience and I think that may be the difference.
 

I'm tired of you ignoring the GAME OF THE WEEK!!

[Thiefery 4940]

1 hour ago, Nueces River Rat said:

And it’s going to be another cold, damp windy Friday night.   Fun!

We went to Pearland last Friday.. and had to check out 5 min before halftime.. wind made it unbearable .. and of course it was right in our faces.  Hopefully the winds won't be gusting in Houston tomorrow night.

[Beau Vine 53625]

32 minutes ago, Thiefery said:

I'm tired of you ignoring the GAME OF THE WEEK!!

Mustangs 84  Gators 0

The End.

[CooterBrown 17695]

 Let's think back to the preseason, when we all laughed at AH for having 21 players suspended for buttplay hazing and then they lost to NB Canyon.  They haven't lost or scored less than 48 points in a game since.  

Maybe Sark should implement Burt play in the locker room. If it works, it works.

[Helobious 9393]

San Benito hanging tough with SA Taft, 13-13 in 2nd quarter. May Freddy Fender be with them.

[Helobious 9393]

SA Brennan up easy on Los Fresnos 35-7 in the 4th. But LF has young guys all over the field inluding a freshman Manziel impersonator at QB. Lookout for them next year. 
 

Brownsville Vets is hammering Victoria West 41-23 in the 2nd quarter, and SB is still tied with Taft at half 13-13. Could be early signs of an RGV wave this weekend. 

[cafe society 2831]

Brennan and Alamo Heights are cruising.

[Walte464 450]

SA Taft v San Benito tied at 13 at halftime. Taft offensive and defensive coordinators started their coaching careers at San Benito and the defensive coordinator was the running back for San Benito in high school. A lot of pride on the line with these 2 coaching staffs

[Walte464 450]

SB 19 v Taft 13

 

SB running back is having the game of his life tonight.