Week 13 Rewind
The list of teams still alive gets shorter week by week, but we still have nine Big Country teams alive in the playoffs. If nothing else we will at least have one move on as Cisco and Hawley meet each other in Brownwood in the third round on Friday afternoon.
MOVING ON
The teams that won playoff games last week all did pretty easily, winning by at least two touchdowns. May and Westbrook each picked up mercy rule wins by 46 points, Albany and Hamlin each advanced by 34 , Cisco by 31, Eastland won by 27, Jim Ned by 17, Cisco by 31, and Hawley by 14.
Eastland 49, Bells 22
The Mavericks make it nine wins in a row after dropping their first three games of the season. Eastland had a horrid stretch of allowing 50.8 points per game in their first five contests, but have cut that to 23.3 points per game over the past seven outings. That is not ‘85 Bears caliber defense, but more than enough for the powerful Maverick offense, averaging 61.3 points per game during this winning streak, to keep the season going.
Jim Ned 31, Dalhart 14
The Indians had an easier time with the Wolves than they did against Paradise in round one, jumping out to a 24-0 halftime advantage on their way to the win. Jim Ned is in the third round for the first time since 2004.
Hawley 34, Sundown 20
Hawley scored a bit of an upset (yes, I was wrong) over the Roughnecks in their third straight postseason matchup with Sundown. The Bearcats led 20-14 at the break and got a pair of touchdown runs by quarterback Rodney Hooper in the second half to pull away for the win. The Bearcats advance to the third round for just the second time in program history, with the first time being last year.
Cisco 46, Olton 15
The Loboes led 33-0 at the half and cruised to their seventh straight victory. Cisco has dominated during their winning streak, winning by an average of 33.6 points per game.
Albany 56, Ralls 22
Make it eight straight wins for the Lions after a dominating effort against the Jackrabbits. Ralls did score more points than the previous seven Albany opponents combined (14 by Santo), but never challenged the Lions. Albany is in the third round of the playoffs for the eighth time in the last nine seasons.
Hamlin 48, Petrolia 14
The Pipers had no problem with Petrolia, cruising to their 11th win of the season. Braydin Warner continued his stellar play in the postseason by accounting for 389 yards and four touchdowns passing and running. He has completed 27 of 30 passes for 444 yards and six touchdowns so far in the playoffs.
May 62, Jonesboro 16
May made it nine straight mercy rule wins with their takedown of Jonesboro in Dublin Friday night. The Tigers only led 20-8 before scoring on a Rory Bustamante to Keith Cross touchdown pass on the final play of the first half, but pulled away from the Eagles in the second half to pick up another win.
{Side note: I got to call the May/Irion County bi-district playoff game for KOXE radio and the Tigers are scary good. They have SO MANY guys who make plays on both sides of the ball. They limited an Irion County team that averaged over 50 points per game to just 42 total yards in a dominating victory. I’ll be surprised if the Tigers do not end up in Arlington.}
Westbrook 46, Garden City 0
The Wildcats won their fourth straight game to setup a rematch with District 8-1A Division I champion Sterling City in the regional finals this week.
REGULAR SEASON WEEKLY REWIND
ABILENE HIGH is back in the postseason for the first time since 2016 after their 29-7 road win at Odessa last week to get to 3-2 in District 2-6A play. The Warbirds wrap up the regular season at home with another winnable game against 1-7 Midland.
COOPER claimed a 66-55 victory over Azle on Thursday that puts the Cougars in the driver’s seat atop the District 3-5A Division I standings. Cooper plays their final regular season game at Crowley Friday, as their scheduled finale at Brewer was cancelled due to COVID cases in the Bears program. The Cougars are well on their way to a 14th straight trip to the postseason and their first outright district championship since 2009.
WYLIE battled hard at state ranked Lubbock Cooper, but came up short 21-15. The Bulldogs are still alive as far as the postseason goes, and can get in with a win over Plainview coupled with a Wichita Falls loss to Cooper on Dec. 3. The Plainview game is Wylie’s regular season finale.
THIRD ROUND MATCHUPS
I thought about ranking the matchups this week but wussed out after arguing with myself about which would be number seven. And I came to the conclusion that they’re all pretty darn good and I’d like to attend them all if I could.
3A DIVISION I
Jim Ned (10-1) vs Brock (12-0) - Friday, 2 p.m. - Stephenville
3A DIVISION II
Eastland (9-3) vs Holliday (11-1) - Friday, 7 p.m. - Graham
2A DIVISION I
Hawley (10-2) vs Cisco (9-3) - Friday, 3 p.m. - Brownwood
2A DIVISION II
Hamlin (11-0) vs Muenster (9-3) - Friday, 1 p.m. - Graham
Albany (10-1) vs Windthorst (11-1) - Friday, 2 p.m. - Breckenridge
1A DIVISION I
May (11-1) vs Leakey (11-1) - Friday, 6 p.m. - Ozona
Westbrook (11-1) vs Sterling City (12-0) - Saturday, 5 p.m. - Colorado City
TAPPS 6-MAN DIVISION III AREA ROUND
Abilene Christian (5-1) vs Greenville Christian (3-2) - Saturday, 2 p.m. - Hico
IN THE BOOKS
Four Big Country teams headed for the postseason exits this past week, mostly because they had rough draws in the brackets. All four lost to teams that have a great shot at making very deep playoff runs.
SWEETWATER: The Mustangs ran into a very good Celina squad in Stephenville Friday night. Sweetwater tried to dig out of a big hole but came up short, 37-22. They finish the season 8-2, their best run since going 10-3 in 2017 in their first season under Ben McGehee. With Leo Holsey returning for his senior season next year, the Mustangs could be primed for an even better 2021.
BALLINGER: The Bearcats ran into a solid Spearman team and saw their season end with an 11-2 record. Ballinger made it to the area round for the first time since 2007 with a great group of seniors that helped the Bearcats bring home their first district title since 2008.
BANGS: The Dragons had the misfortune of running into Canadian in the playoffs for a second straight season. Although head coach Kyle Maxfield feels his team closed the gap against the Wildcats, it wasn’t enough to help them get over the hump in a 56-13 loss. Bangs reached the area playoffs for the first time since 2013.
ANSON: The Tigers battled the Bold Gold to a 6-6 tie after one quarter, but Post scored the next 55 on their way to knocking Anson out of the playoffs. The Tigers finish 8-3 with losses to district champ Hawley and, quite possibly, two teams that could reach the state championship game in Hamlin and Post. The Tigers made the area round for the first time since 2016.
NON-PLAYOFF GAMES THIS WEEK
Class 6A and 5A are not quite ready for postseason play thanks to a later start.
Midland at Abilene High
Cooper at Crowley
Plainview at Wylie
RIP TRAION SMITH
One more note, this one is non-Big Country. I covered Cameron Yoe football in my time at KBTX TV in Bryan/College Station and one of the best players in that area in my ten years there was Traion Smith. He helped the Yoemen win three straight state championships and play for fourth, suffering a knee injury in the first half of the 2015 3A Division I title game that likely kept Yoe from beating Brock. In fact, he had already rushed for 133 yards and a pair of touchdowns before the injury and had gone over 3,000 yards rushing for the season. He and his cousin passed in a fishing accident on Sunday. My prayers and condolences for out to his family and friends. Here’s a great story former KCEN sports anchor/reporter Jessica Morrey did about Smith bouncing back from injury as he went to Mary Hardin-Baylor to play in college. He truly was one of the great running backs I’ve seen play in person.
STANDINGS
District 2-6A
Odessa Permian 5-1, 7-2
San Angelo Central 4-1, 4-4
Midland Lee 4-1, 7-1
Abilene 3-2, 3-4
Midland 1-4, 1-7
Wolfforth Frenship 1-4, 2-6
Odessa 0-5, 0-6
This week: Midland at Abilene; Central at Lee; Odessa at Frenship
District 3-5A Division I
Cooper 5-0, 6-1
Justin Northwest 4-1, 6-2
Azle 3-1, 5-2
Brewer 3-2, 4-4
Crowley 2-3, 2-6
Granbury 2-4, 3-6
Arlington Heights 1-3, 3-3
Saginaw 0-6, 0-9
This week: Cooper at Crowley; Northwest at Azle; Saginaw at Granbury
District 3-5A Division II
Wichita Falls Rider 4-0, 7-1
Lubbock Cooper 3-0, 6-1
Canyon Randall 2-3, 4-5
Wichita Falls 2-2, 3-3
Wylie 1-3, 3-3
Plainview 0-4, 2-6
This week: Plainview at Wylie; Rider at Lubbock Cooper
FINAL STANDINGS
District 5-4A Division I
Midlothian Heritage 4-0, 8-2
Waco La Vega 4-1, 7-2
Stephenville 3-2, 5-5
Brownwood 2-2, 4-5
Waxahachie Life 1-4, 2-7
Alvarado 0-5, 2-8
District 1-4A Division II
Sweetwater 4-0, 7-1
Greenwood 3-1, 5-3
Monahans 2-2, 4-6
Pecos 1-3, 3-5
Snyder 0-4, 2-6
District 3-3A Division I
Jim Ned 5-0, 8-1
Wall 4-1, 7-3
Clyde 3-2, 4-6
Early 2-3, 5-5
Breckenridge 1-4, 1-8
TLCA San Angelo 0-5, 0-10
District 2-3A Division II
Ballinger 5-0, 10-1
Bangs 4-1, 8-1
Sonora 3-2, 4-6
Brady 2-3, 4-6
Grape Creek 1-4, 2-8
Ingram Moore 0-5, 5-5
District 5-3A Division II
Eastland 5-0, 7-3
Jacksboro 3-2, 6-4
Comanche 3-2, 8-2
Millsap 3-2, 7-3
Merkel 1-4, 3-6
Dublin 0-5, 1-8
District 3-2A Division I
Hawley 5-0, 8-2
Anson 4-1, 7-2
Forsan 3-2, 5-4
Stamford 2-3, 5-5
Haskell 1-4, 2-7
Colorado City 0-5, 0-10
District 4-2A Division I
Cisco 5-0, 7-3
San Saba 4-1, 7-2
Winters 3-2, 4-6
Coleman 2-3, 6-4
Goldthwaite 1-4, 3-7
De Leon 0-5, 1-9
District 5-2A Division II
Hamlin 4-0, 9-0
Ralls 3-1, 7-3
Lockney 2-2, 7-2
Roscoe 1-3, 1-9
Crosbyton 0-4, 1-9
District 8-2A Division II
Albany 5-0, 8-1
Cross Plains 4-1, 8-2
Santo 3-2, 6-4
Hico 2-3, 3-7
Meridian 1-4, 3-6
Ranger 0-5, 0-9
District 7-1A Division I
Ira 4-0, 8-2
Hermleigh 3-1, 9-1
Roby 2-2, 5-5
Aspermont 0-3, 3-6
Rotan 0-3, 6-3
District 8-1A Division I
Sterling City 4-0, 10-0
Westbrook 3-1, 9-1
Highland 2-2, 6-4
Robert Lee 1-3, 2-7
Bronte 0-4, 1-8
District 13-1A Division I
May 4-0, 9-1
Baird 3-1, 5-5
Gorman 2-2, 5-5
Santa Anna 1-3, 6-4
Lingleville 0-4, 1-9
District 6-1A Division II
Blackwell 4-0, 7-3
Loraine 3-1, 6-4
Trent 1-3, 1-9
Olfen 0-3, 0-5
TLCA Abilene 0-3, 0-7
District 8-1A Division II
Benjamin 3-0, 6-1
Chillicothe 2-1, 5-4
Rule 1-2, 6-4
Harrold 0-3, 0-5
District 9-1A Division II
Throckmorton 3-0, 7-1
Lueders-Avoca 2-1, 2-7
Woodson 1-2, 1-6
Moran 0-3, 0-10
District 15-1A Division II
Blanket 3-1, 7-3
Brookesmith 4-0, 7-2
Sidney 2-2, 5-4
Rising Star 1-3, 4-6
Panther Creek 0-4, 1-9
