Blitz Picks December 10/16
For the second season in a row the Big Country has at least one team in the UIL state finals, May this year and Hamlin in 2019. The Pipers came up just shy of upsetting top-ranked Mart, now the Tigers get their shot to upend #1 Sterling City.
The big school playoffs begin as well this week, and the Abilene, Cooper and Wylie trio are all in their respective tournaments.
Time to take a crack at picking the huge games this week and early next week in the case of May.
Week 15: 4 for 5 (80%)
Week 14: 9 for 11 (81.8%)
Week 13: 15 for 17 (88.2%)
Week 12: 19 for 21 (90.5%)
Week 11: 19 for 21 (90.5%)
Week 10: 25 for 28 (89.3%)
Week 9: 23 for 25 (92.0%)
Week 8: 22 for 24 (91.7%)
Week 7: 26 for 27 (96.3%)
Week 6: 20 for 25 (80.0%)
Week 5: 21 for 28 (75.0 %)
Week 4: 22 for 26 (84.6%)
Week 3: 22 for 29 (75.9%)
Week 2: 22 for 30 (73.3%)
Week 1: 25 for 30 (83.3%)
Season: 294 for 347 (84.7%)
Jim Ned RB Xavier Wishert - Big Country Blitz Photo
3A DIVISION I STATE SEMIFINALS
Jim Ned (12-1) vs Mount Vernon (12-2) - Friday, 3:15 p.m. - Globe Life Park, Arlington
Winner vs. Hallettsville (12-2)/Llano (13-0) on Thursday, Dec. 17 at 7 p.m. at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
The Roll Tribe cheer is still appropriate here, as the Indians continue to win huge games and stay alive in the playoffs. They have taken care of three of the four playoff teams from District 4-3A Division I (Paradise, Brock and Pilot Point) and now get set to face District 5 representative and Region II champion Mount Vernon.
The Tigers, coached by a fella you may have heard of in Art Briles, have put together a string of upsets to get this far. They beat Malakoff, who knocked off defending state champ Grandview the week before, 24-21 in the regional final, beat District 5 champ Mineola for a second time in 2020 in the regional semis, knocked off West in the area round, and started it off with a 51-43 win over District 6 winner Gladewater. So, yes, Mount Vernon is the #4 seed out of District 5 and still alive.
Jim Ned has been tough to stop, tough to score on and simply outstanding on special teams in their playoff run. Junior running back Xavier Wishert has rolled up 1,934 yards and 30 rushing touchdowns this season, and 658 yards and nine of those touchdowns have come in the playoffs.
History
The Indians are in the middle of their deepest playoff run since reaching the state finals in 2003. Jim Ned also reached the state semifinals in 1974, where they lost to 1A Aledo (!) 22-0.
Mount Vernon has punched through to the semifinals for the first time in program history after falling in the quarterfinals in 1950, 1960 and 1977. Art Briles does have those four state titles on his resume from his time at Stephenville, and has a sparkling 51-10 all-time record as a head coach in the playoffs. Jim Ned’s Matt Fanning is 6-4 all-time in the playoffs with five appearances at Era and Jim Ned.
Points per game: Jim Ned: 37.3 — Mount Vernon: 37.6
Points allowed per game: Jim Ned: 16 — Mount Vernon: 24.5
Playoff points per game: Jim Ned: 29 — Mount Vernon: 31
Playoff points allowed per game: Jim Ned: 19— Mount Vernon: 26.3
Blitz Pick: Jim Ned
May RB/DB Isidro Salinas - Dency McClure/Texas 1A Fan
1A DIVISION I STATE CHAMPIONSHIP
May (13-1) vs Sterling City (14-0) - Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2 p.m. - AT&T Stadium, Arlington
We thought the May/Sterling City matchup way back on September 4 had the potential to be a state title game preview, and that thought proved correct after both teams picked up exciting semifinal wins to punch their tickets to Jerry World.
Sterling City won at May 44-40 in that early season game, rallying from a 22-16 halftime deficit to hand the Tigers their only loss of the season.
May bounced back in a big way, ripping of a dozen wins in a row — with only the last two against Leakey and Blum not ending early due to the 45-point mercy rule.
Sterling City has some very impressive victories on their 2020 resume: they beat Borden County twice and Westbrook twice to go along with wins over Happy, Hermleigh and Rankin. Ten of their 14 victories this season are against playoff teams.
History
May is playing in the sixth state championship game in school history and their first since falling to Crowell in back-to-back seasons in 2013 and 2014.
Sterling City is thought of as a tradition rich program, but this is only their second trip to the finals. The first was a 46-0 loss to Richland Springs in the 2010 Division II title tilt.
Points per game: May: 60.6 — Sterling City: 60.9
Points allowed per game: May: 21.7 — Sterling City: 28.1
Playoff points per game: May: 68 — Sterling City: 68.3
Playoff points allowed per game: May: 35 — Sterling City: 43
Blitz Pick: May
6A DIVISION II BI-DISTRICT
Abilene High (4-4) vs El Paso Eastwood (7-0) - Saturday, 3 p.m. - Fort Stockton
Winner vs. North Crowley (5-3)/Trophy Club Nelson (6-4) - Friday, 7:30 p.m. - Globe Life Park, Arlington
The Warbirds are back in the playoffs for the first time since 2016 when they fell in the regional round to DeSoto. They draw an El Paso Eastwood team that has a 7-0 record but only got to actually play five games — all against El Paso schools. Abilene High is most certainly more battle tested with a win over Odessa Permian and games against Amarillo Tascosa, Midland Lee, Cooper and San Angelo Central.
Points per game: Abilene: 30.1 — Eastwood: 48.2
Points allowed per game: Abilene: 26.6 — Eastwood: 20.8
Blitz Pick: Abilene High
5A DIVISION I BI-DISTRICT
Cooper (7-1) vs Mansfield Summit (4-4) - Friday, 7 p.m. - Shotwell Stadium, Abilene
Winner vs. Amarillo Tascosa (7-2)/El Paso Chapin (2-4) - Friday, 12 p.m. - Amarillo
Cooper cruised to a district title and will host Mansfield Summit in the bi-district round at Shotwell Stadium on Friday night. The Cougars have won seven in a row after a season opening loss to Permian, while Summit went 3-2 in district play and was the beneficiary of a somewhat controversial decision by the District 4-5A Division I Executive Committee to use winning percentage to decide the fourth playoff slot. The Jaguars, who did not have to play Colleyville Heritage or Burleson Centennial (two of the playoff teams from the district) due to COVID concerns, got in ahead of 4-3 Midlothian, who beat Summit 49-30.
Points per game: Cooper: 50 — Summit: 31.4
Points allowed per game: Cooper: 22 — Summit: 29.5
Blitz Pick: Cooper
Wylie RB Noah Beach - Big Country Blitz Photo
5A DIVISION II BI-DISTRICT
Wylie (4-3) vs Grapevine (8-3) - Friday, 7 p.m. - Grapevine
Winner vs. Canutillo (4-1). El Paso Andress (5-0) had to forfeit due to COVID issues.
The Bulldogs are back in the playoffs after missing out their first two seasons as a Class 5A program. Clay Martin, in his first year as head coach, has led Wylie through a COVID scheduling nightmare of a season to get their playoff chance against Grapevine. The Mustangs lost their first two games of the season to Colleyville Heritage and Trophy Club before winning seven of their last eight (the only loss was a last minute scheduled game against unbeaten and #3 Lancaster from 5A Division I) to claim the District 4-5A Division II title. Expect the Bulldogs to keep this one close and have a shot to pull off an upset in the fourth quarter.
Points per game: Wylie: 26.7 — Grapevine: 42.4
Points allowed per game: Wylie: 15.9 — Grapevine: 22.5
Blitz Pick: Grapevine
