WEEK 1 PICKS: 30-40, 75%
WEEK 2 PICKS: 34-44, 77.3%
WEEK 3 PICKS: 42-47, 89.4%
WEEK 4 PICKS: 32-43, 74.4%
WEEK 5 PICKS: 38-45, 84.4%
WEEK 6 PICKS: 28-30, 93.3%
WEEK 7 PICKS: 35-40, 87.5%
WEEK 8 PICKS: 33-38, 86.8%
WEEK 9 PICKS: 32-38, 84.2%
WEEK 10 PICKS: 37-42, 88.1%
WEEK 11 PICKS: 30-32, 93.8%
WEEK 12 PICKS: 28-32, 87.5%
WEEK 13 PICKS: 12-17, 70.6%
WEEK 14 PICKS: 8-9, 88.9%
WEEK 15 PICKS: 5-5, 100%
SEASON: 424-507, 83.5 %

A perfect week of picks, something that may never happen again!

Congratulations to our four remaining teams: Hawley and Albany in the 2A D1 and D2 semifinals and Loraine and Westbrook, who have already punched a ticket to state in 1A D1 and D2.

This edition of Blitz Picks will not include the six-man championships. I’ll publish another article early next week since the Wildcats and Bulldogs do not play until Wednesday, December 14.

Hawley (14-0) vs. Crawford (14-0) - Thursday, 7 p.m. - Mineral Wells

Series: First meeting

Two of the best squads in the state meet in the semifinals Thursday night, the way it should be.

The unbeaten Pirates and unbeaten Bearcats are no stranger to the final four. Hawley is here for the second year in a row and Crawford is back for the second time in three seasons.

Hawley has turned its level of play up another notch in the playoffs, taking care of Cisco 40-7 in a margin of victory shocking to many fans in the Big Country.

Crawford took down Tolar 14-7 last week, holding a Rattler offense that had been averaging 51.8 points per game to just a single touchdown.

The Hawley defense has put up some amazing numbers this season, but Crawford’s, on paper, are even more impressive. The Pirates have shut outs in five games and held opponents under double-figures in six other contests. The most points they allowed this season was 20 to Marlin in a 33-20 victory in week seven.

Offensively, Hawley is tough to stop with their balanced attack. Rodey Hooper has put together a great season under center running the show, spreading the ball around to the Bearcats quartet or top-tier receivers and handing off to star running back Austin Cumpton.

Crawford mostly attacks on the ground on offense but can put the ball in the air successfully as well. Quarterback Luke Torbert ran for 168 yards and threw for 48 in the win over Tolar last week.

Expect a low-scoring slug fest in this one, with Hooper and the Hawley offense doing just enough to get the Bearcats past the Pirates and into the state championship game for the second straight season.

UP NEXT

Winner of Timpson (14-0) vs. Refugio (13-1), 6 p.m. Thursday at Cypress’ Cy-Fair FCU Stadium

PLAYOFF HISTORY

Crawford: 45th appearance, 14th straight appearance, 2004 3A D2 state champions, 2016 2A D1 state runner-up
Hawley: 12th appearance, 10th straight appearance, 2021 2A D1 state runner-up

TEAM STATS

Points per game: Crawford: 39.4 — Hawley: 40.5
Points allowed per game: Crawford: 4.7 — Hawley: 9.1
Point differential: Crawford: +34.6 — Hawley: +31.4
Streak: Crawford: won 14 — Hawley: Won 14

STAT LEADERS
Crawford
N/A

Hawley
Rodey Hooper: 152-223, 2877 yds, 31 TD, 7 int; 247 yds, 4 TD rushing
Austin Cumpton: 1845 yds, 36 TD rushing; 100 tkl, 16 tfl, 4 int
Will Scott: 39 rec, 681 yds, 8 TD; 103 tkl, 10 tfl, 4 int
Kason O’Shields: 31 rec, 511 yds, 7 TD; 62 tkl, 3 int
Chandlin Myers: 35 rec, 663 yds, 8 TD; 62 tkl, 3 int
Diontay Ramon: 43 rec, 976 yds, 9 TD; 55 tkl, 23 tfl, 7 sacks, 3 ff
Hez Parker: 137 tkl, 17 tfl, 2 int, 5 ff
Maddox Salazar: 83 tkl, 7 tfl, 1 int

DCTF SPREAD: HAWLEY BY 4

THE PICK: HAWLEY

Albany (12-2) vs. New Home (13-1) - Thursday, 7 p.m. - Sweetwater

Series: First meeting

The Lions offensive explosion against Collinsville got them to the state semifinals for the second year in a row, and this time they are prepared to make it all the way to state.

A year ago a battered and bruised Albany squad fell to eventual state champ Stratford 35-14 in the semifinals in Lubbock.

This time around they are a year older, much healthier and poised to reach the state finals for the eighth time in program history.

Albany’s 66 point outburst last week was their second best effort of the season and the seventh time they’ve gone over 50 points in a game this year.

New Home has been back in the 11-man football ranks since 2018 and enjoying the most successful season in program history. This is the first time they’ve even reached double-digits in wins as an 11-man team, and the previous high was the eight they won a year ago. New Home played six-man football from 1984 to 2017 and won ten games once, going 10-2 in 2001.

The Leopards forced four turnovers to upset Wellington 35-20 a week ago to advance and have had some other close calls in the playoffs as well, beating Sunray 22-21 in area and Clarendon 14-8 in the third round.

New Home won without star quarterback Caleb Cook last week. Brazos Beck threw for 308 yards and four scores and ran for another touchdown to lead the Leopards to victory. Cook was injured in the win over Clarendon and his status for Thursday night is unknown.

The Lions and Leopards numbers this season are very similar. Albany scores 1.6 more points per game while New Home allows 1.3 fewer points per contest, but the Lions have played the tougher schedule with their only losses coming to 2A D1 semifinalist Albany and 3A D2 playoff squad Comanche. The Leopards dropped their season opener to Haskell 27-7 but have reeled off 13 wins in a row since.

This one may be a bit closer than many are predicting, but Albany is too stacked to lose if they stay away from turnovers and penalties.

UP NEXT

Winner of Mart (14-0) vs. Burton (13-0), 7 p.m. Thursday at Round Rock’s Reeves Stadium

PLAYOFF HISTORY

Albany: 49th appearance, 21st straight appearance, 1960 3A state champions, 1961 3A state champions, 1954 3A state runner-up, 1991 3A state runner-up, 2009 2A D2 state runner-up, 2014 2A D2 state runner-up, 2015 2A D2 state runner-up.
New Home: 12th appearance, second straight appearance

TEAM STATS

Points per game: Albany: 42.6 — New Home: 41
Points allowed per game: Albany: 12.9 — New Home: 11.6
Point differential: Albany: +29.7 — New Home: +29.4
Streak: Albany: won 9 — New Home: won 13

STAT LEADERS
Albany
Cole Chapman: 83-137, 1252 yds, 17 TD, 0 int; 391 yds, 5 TD rushing
London Fuentes: 25-40, 420 yds, 6 TD, 3 int; 243 yds, 2 TD rushing; 29 rec, 497 yds, 6 TD; 51 tkl, 6 int
Adam Hill: 1310 yds, 22 TD rushing; 18 rec, 333 yds, 7 TD; 95 tkl, 21.5 tfl, 8.5 sacks, 3 ff
Coy Lefevre: 977 yds, 17 TD rushing; 18 rec, 345 yds, 5 TD; 69 tkl, 3 int
Cason Fairchild: 31 rec, 424 yds, 4 TD; 56 tkl, 6 int
Jayden Lucas: 116 tkl, 12 tfl
Coy Cauble: 112 tkl, 7 tfl, 1 sack
Tye Edgar: 85 tkl, 14.5 tfl, 8 sacks
Wyatt Windham: 111 tkl, 5.5 tfl, 4 int
Samuel Rosas: 367 yds, 4 TD rushing; 73 tkl, 2 int, 2 fr

New Home
N/A