Blitz Picks: September 24/25/26
After four weeks of football featuring Class 4A and down, the Big Country, and the Lone Star state, will be at full strength for the first time this season as class 5A, 6A and TAPPS get to join the 2020 party. Abilene High, Cooper, Wylie and Abilene Christian will be in action this week after an extended offseason.
Football giveth, but COVID taketh away, however, as many area games have been cancelled due to positive testing.
The picking was quite a bit better last week, my best week of the season so far. We’ll see if we can keep it rolling with more games, and more games that are truly hard to pick, on the schedule this week.
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: 91 for 115 (79.1%)
Cooper (0-0) at Permian (0-0) - Thursday
The Cougars are the first “big school” in the area to get things going as they open at a Permian squad expected to contend for the District 2-6A title. Cooper has high hopes as well in what should be a great test for both teams to kick off their 2020 seasons.
The pick: Cooper
#10 5A D1 Amarillo Tascosa (0-0) at Abilene (0-0)
Abilene High opens against Tascosa for the third straight season, and this Rebel squad is ranked tenth in the 5A Division I preseason rankings after dropping down from Class 6A. The Warbirds are without head coach Mike Fullen who is battling health issues, but should be able to go toe-to-toe to kick off 2020 at Shotwell Stadium.
The pick: Tascosa
Wylie (0-0) at Brownwood (2-2)
The Bulldogs open the Clay Martin era with a road trip to Brownwood, where they’ll meet a Lions team that is 2-2 after battling one of the tougher schedules in the state. What gives? The Lions having game experience under their belts or the Bulldogs, a bigger school, potentially bringing some things to the field with a new head coach that opponents aren’t used to seeing?
The pick: Brownwood
Clyde (1-3) at Sweetwater (2-1)
Clyde climbs on the bus again to play their fourth game away from home in five weeks. A confident Sweetwater team that just knocked off state ranked Boerne on the road will be waiting for them, ready to close the non-district portion of their schedule with a third straight victory.
The pick: Sweetwater
Ballinger (4-0) at Llano (4-0)
Ballinger has shown the ability to win close games so far this season with a six-point victory at Jim Ned, a 13-point win over Ballinger, and last week’s come from behind 21-14 defeat of Clyde. They are battle tested heading into what should be their toughest non-district game to date against a Llano team that knocked San Saba from the ranks of the unbeaten last week and are averaging over 43 points per game.
The pick: Ballinger
Hawley (3-1) at Bangs (3-0)
This should be a great battle in Brown County Friday night. The Bearcats have wins over Merkel and Winters after their loss to Hamlin, while Bangs is unbeaten but did miss their scheduled game against Hamilton last week.
The pick: Hawley
Holliday (3-1) at Breckenridge (0-3)
Breckenridge got a bonus bye week and certainly worked on an offense that has yet to score a point this season. The defense has kept them in games, and they’ll be challenged again Friday against Holliday. The Eagles are 3-1 with their only loss coming in week one to state ranked Iowa Park.
The pick: Holliday
Eastland (0-3) vs McKinney Christian in Weatherford
The Mavericks missed last weeks game against Breckenridge due to COVID concerns and had Henrietta cancel on them this week. They scrambled to pick up McKinney Christian, a TAPPS Division II school that will be playing it’s first game of the season. The Mustangs went 5-5 last season.
The pick: Eastland
Cisco (2-2) at Comanche (4-0)
The Loboes rough non-district schedule continues as they travel to Comanche to face the undefeated Indians. Cisco is no longer ranked after falling to Jim Ned last week. Comanche has only given up 20 points all season and should be a stern test for the Cisco offense.
The pick: Cisco
Coleman (3-1) at Colorado City (0-4)
The Wolves had a rough 2019 campaign, and 2020 hasn’t been great to them either as they bring a 15-game losing streak into their contest with Coleman Friday night. The Bluecats have some momentum after back-to-back wins over Brady and Grape Creek.
The pick: Coleman
Cross Plains (3-1) at Miles (2-2)
The Buffaloes won a defensive struggle against a bigger De Leon team last 14-7 week to get to 3-1, while Miles has bounced back from season opening shut out losses to Coleman and Coahoma with wins at Roscoe and Munday the last two weeks.
The pick: Cross Plains
Grape Creek (1-3) at Early (2-2)
The Longhorns hope for a happy homecoming as they host a struggling Grape Creek squad. The Longhorns held off a second half rally at Merkel last week to even their record at 2-2 on the season.
The pick: Early
Olney (1-2) at Ranger (0-3)
The Bulldogs fell at Itasca last Friday 39-6 to drop to 0-3, now they get set to face Olney. The Cubs lost big at Goldthwaite their last time out, 48-8, and had a bye last week.
The pick: Olney
Roscoe (0-4) at New Home (3-1)
Roscoe heads north to face a much improved New Home team. The Plowboys have struggled to put points on the board, only scoring 20 through four games, and hope to get on track before district play begins October 16 against Ralls.
The pick: New Home
#10 2A D2 Archer City (2-1) at Stamford (2-2)
Stamford’s up and down season continued with a 38-0 shut out of Sudan last week that followed a loss to state ranked Childress. They get to face another state ranked team this week, their third so far, as Archer City comes to town. The Wildcats only loss this season is a 21-20 defeat at home against state ranked Windthorst.
The pick: Archer City
Winters (0-4) at Hico (1-3)
The Blizzards have a good chance to find the win column for the first time this season as they road trip to Hico. The Tigers lone win of 2020 is against Waco Texas Wind. Winters has battled hard this season in losses to four very good teams in Anson, Eldorado, Bangs and Hawley.
The pick: Winters
TLCA Abilene (0-3) at Aspermont (2-2)
The Hornets look to extend their winning streak to three as they host winless TLCA Abilene. Aspermont is coming off a 50-point win over Lueders-Avoca, while the Eagles have yet to score a point in their inaugural season of varsity football.
The pick: Aspermont
Odessa Permian Basin Athletics CO-OP (0-2) at Baird (0-3)
The Bears can pick up their first victory for head coach Derek Schlieve as they face a winless Odessa Permian Basin Athletics CO-OP squad. Baird played their best game of the young season their last time out, a 56-47 loss to Gordon.
The pick: Baird
Hermleigh (4-0) at Wilson (1-3)
The Cardinals can get to 5-0 if they can take care of business at Wilson Friday night. Hermleigh has only had one game go the distance, a 58-20 win over Baird, but Wilson did pick up their first victory of the season last week over Southland, 72-50.
The pick: Hermleigh
Highland (4-0) at Ira (2-2)
Highland puts its perfect record on the line Friday night in Ira, where they’ll face a Bulldog squad looking to bounce back after falling to now state ranked Knox City 55-16. Highland put 104 points on the board last week in a win over Loraine, the most any team has scored in a game in the entire state so far this season.
The pick: Highland
Loraine (2-2) at Lueders-Avoca (0-4)
Loraine was the victim of Highland’s high scoring offense a week a go, but did manage to put 60 on the board themselves in what turned out to be their second consecutive loss. Th Raiders are still winless after falling to Aspermont last week.
The pick: Loraine
#6 1A D1 May (3-1) at Blum (2-1)
The Tigers avenged a playoff loss to Nueces Canyon last year with last week’s 48-0 victory, now they get set to battle defending 1A Division I state champion Blum. The Bobcats dropped a 53-18 decision to Jonesboro last week but have wins over Aquilla (56-6) and Gorman (70-23) on their ledger as well.
The pick: May
Moran (0-4) at Lingleville (0-4)
The Bulldogs have had a rough start to 2020 but have a good shot at finding the win column against also winless Lingleville Friday night. Lingleville fell to Morgan 59-12 last week, while Moran dropped a 64-16 decision against state ranked Blackwell.
The pick: Moran
Rotan (3-0) at Robert Lee (1-2)
The Yellowhammers get back on the field after a cancelled contest last week. They’ll travel to Robert Lee, a team coming off a 55-8 loss to Hermleigh.
The pick: Rotan
Rule (2-2) at Woodson (0-3)
The Bobcats hope to bounce back at winless Woodson after falling back to .500 with Friday’s loss to Roby. Woodson got shut out by Newcastle 46-0 their last time out and also have losses to Oglesby (36-14) and Rotan (54-6) this season.
The pick: Rule
Santa Anna (3-1) at Olfen (0-1)
The Mountaineers suffered their first loss, 54-8 to Brookesmith, a week ago and now turn their attention to Olfen. The Mustangs, in their first varsity season, have not played since a 64-0 loss to Mullin in week one.
The pick: Santa Anna
TLCA Midland (1-2) at Trent (0-4)
The Gorillas try to crack the win column for first year head coach Chris Ellison as they host TLCA Midland. The Eagles beat TLCA Abilene last week for their first victory of the season.
The pick: TLCA Midland
Rising Star (2-2) at Mullin (4-0) - Saturday
Mullin will put its perfect record on the line when the Bulldogs host Rising Star. The Wildcats pulled out a 55-46 win at Three Way last Friday to get to 2-2.
The pick: Mullin
Amarillo San Jacinto (0-0) at Abilene Christian (0-0) - Saturday
The Panthers finally get to take the field for what is a district game against San Jacinto.
The pick: Abilene Christian
