Week 10 Rewind

A crazy second-to-last week of the regular season is in the books. Buses rolled across the Big Country most of the week, as we had games on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The playoff picture has cleared up a bit, but some spots are still up for grabs as we head into the final week for Class 4A and down.

CAUGHT MY EYE

ALBANY won their 12th district title in the past 13 years with a 35-0 victory over Cross Plains Friday night. The Buffaloes kept it close in the first half, trailing just 6-0, but the Lions exploded in the second half to pick up their eighth win in nine games this season. Albany will wait for the playoffs, while Cross Plains will make up a missed game against Meridian on Friday.

ANSON stayed in the District 3-2A Division I title race with a 56-24 win at Haskell. The Tigers could end up as tri-champs if they beat Colorado City next week and Hawley loses at home to Forsan. Anson is now 6-2 on the season and has won three of four in district play.

BAIRD remained in the playoff mix with a 66-16 rout of Lingleville Friday night. The 4-5, 2-1 Bears host 5-4, 2-1 Gorman Friday with the winner (assuming May defeats Lingleville) nabbing the second playoff spot out of 13-1A Division I. Baird has not reached the postseason since 2016.

BALLINGER played keep away in the second half of their 25-13 victory of Bangs Friday to set themselves up with a great shot at their first district title since 2008. The Bearcats had a huge edge in time of possession and scored the only points of the second half after the game went to the break tied at 13. Ballinger can clinch the district title with a win over Sonora Friday, while Bangs can at least claim the #2 seed in the playoffs with a victory over Brady.

BROWNWOOD clinched a 12th straight trip to the playoffs with an easy win over Waxahachie Life Wednesay, now the Lions have a huge week ahead of them as they travel to a pair of state ranked teams to close out the regular season. Brownwood visits No. 10 Waco La Vega Monday, then heads to No. 9 Midlothian Heritage on Saturday. The Lions can help their seeding with a win, or two, but are assured of the four-seed with a pair of losses.

CISCO kept rolling in 4-2A Division I play with an easy 48-7 home win over Goldthwaite. The Loboes are now 4-0 and set for a district championship deciding showdown against 4-0 San Saba on the road Friday night. The Armadillos got past Coleman 43-10 to keep pace with Cisco.

COOPER was the only one of the “Big 3" in Abilene to win this week as they pounded Arlington Heights 48-0 Thursday night to stay tied atop the District 3-5A Division I standings at 3-0. The Cougars host Forth Worth Brewer to break the tie on Friday. Noah Garcia racked up five touchdowns and 245 yards of total offense in the easy victory.

The EARLY LONGHORNS are playoff bound for the first time since 2008 after their 52-6 win over TLCA San Angelo. The Longhorns improve to 5-4, 2-2 in their first season under head coach Daniel Price, and look to improve their playoff seeding with an upset win over Wall this week. Early ran for 268 yards and threw for 107 more in the win, led by an 119 yard, two touchdown effort from Alex Jacobs.

EASTLAND picked up the programs first district title since 2013 with a 77-41 win at Merkel. The Mavericks were led, as usual, by Behren Morton who racked up 354 total yards and five touchdowns in the win. Eastland has won six straight games and goes for number seven in the season finale at home against Dublin on Friday.

IRA picked up another district title with a 68-21 win over Hermleigh, as the Bulldogs handed the Cardinals their only defeat of the season so far. Ira wraps up the regular season at Aspermont. Both teams have clinched spots in the playoffs and will face off against powerful Westbrook and Sterling City in the first round.

LUEDERS-AVOCA only won two games in the 2020 regular season, but they were two that counted. The Raiders are back in the playoffs as the #2 seed out of District 9-1A Division II after their 52-13 win over Woodson last week. They will face the winner of District 10 in the playoffs, with unbeaten Fannindel the likely opponent if they beat 4-5 Trinidad Friday.

SWEETWATER is your District 1-4A Division II champion after outscoring Monahans 48-32. The Mustangs won their final seven regular season games after falling to Stephenville in week one. Borger, Levelland and Seminole are the likely first round opponents for Sweetwater when they return to action in the bi-district playoffs next week.

WINTERS wrapped up a playoff spot with a 41-21 win at De Leon, and looks for the number three seed out of District 4-2A Division I if they can beat Coleman Friday night. The Blizzards have won two in a row after dropping their first two district games to Cisco and San Saba. A rematch with Hawley or Anson will likely be the Blizzards bi-district playoff matchup. Winters fell to Anson 34-22 in week one and Hawley 36-13 week four.

STILL PERFECT

HAMLIN: The Pied Pipers are quite lonely in this section now as the only unbeaten team left in the Big Country. Abilene Christian, Bangs, Hermleigh and Wylie all lost last week, leaving Hamlin as the lone “perfect” team around. The Pipers haven’t played since beating Roscoe 49-13 on October 16, and will wrap up the regular season against Lockney on Friday.

IN THE BOOKS

Thanks to reshuffled schedules or week 11 byes some teams already know they’re not in the postseason and have already packed up the football gear for the season.

HIGHLAND: The Hornets once again had a winning season but it was not enough to reach the postseason in a tough district. Highland went 6-4 in their first season under head coach Ben Smith. It is the third year in a row they’ve ended up over .500 but missed out on the playoffs.

MORAN: The Bulldogs finished a forgetful season at 0-10 and will miss the playoffs for the third straight season. Moran’s closest contest was a 70-59 loss at Lingeville.

RANGER: Ranger ends up 0-9 with a pair of forfeit losses in district play. It was mostly downhill for the Bulldogs after an 11-point loss to Munday in the season opener. They only mustered 12 points over the final five games they got to play. Ranger has not made the playoffs since 2010.

RISING STAR: The Wildcats went a respectable 4-6 in their first season under head coach Clint Miller, the most wins they’ve had in a season since winning seven ballgames in 2015. That is also the last season they’ve made the playoffs.

SANTA ANNA: The Mountaineers made a lot of progress in their second season under Jack Graves, jumping from one win to six, the most for the program since a seven win 2016 campaign.

SNYDER: The Tigers ended up 2-6 and missed out on the postseason for the first time since 2014. They are 5-14 in two seasons under head coach Wes Wood.

TRENT: The Gorillas got better as the season progressed but will not be a playoff team in their first year under head coach Chris Ellison. Trent picked up a pair of forfeit wins in district play to finish 2-8.

LOOKING AHEAD

There are some great games to get out and see this week.

Brewer at Cooper
Wichita Falls at Wylie
Brownwood at Midlothian Heritage - Saturday
Breckenridge at TLCA San Angelo
Early at Wall
Clyde at Jim Ned
Ballinger at Sonora
Brady at Bangs
Dublin at Eastland
Merkel at Comanche
Colorado City at Anson
Haskell at Stamford
Forsan at Hawley
Cisco at San Saba
Coleman at Winters
Hamlin at Lockney
Roscoe at Crosbyton
Cross Plains at Meridian
Ira at Aspermont
Roby at Rotan
Gorman at Baird
Lingleville at May
Blackwell at Loraine
Olfen at TLCA Abilene
Rule at Chillicothe
Abilene Christian at Midland Trinity

STANDINGS

District 2-6A

San Angelo Central 3-0, 3-3
Odessa Permian 2-1, 4-2
Midland Lee 1-1, 4-1
Midland 1-1, 1-4
Wolfforth Frenship 1-2, 2-4
Abilene 1-2, 1-4
Odessa 0-2, 0-3

This week: Abilene is off; San Angelo Central at Midland; Odessa at Permian; Midland Lee at Frenship

District 3-5A Division I

Cooper 3-0, 4-1
Brewer 3-0, 4-2
Azle 1-0, 3-1
Justin Northwest 1-1, 3-2
Granbury 1-2, 2-4
Arlington Heights 0-1, 2-1
Crowley 0-2, 0-5
Saginaw 0-3, 0-6

This week: Brewer at Cooper; Granbury at Azle; Crowley at Northwest; Saginaw at Arlington Heights

District 3-5A Division II

Wichita Falls Rider 2-0, 5-1
Lubbock Cooper 2-0, 5-1
Wichita Falls 1-1, 2-2
Wylie 0-1, 2-1
Plainview 0-1, 2-3
Canyon Randall 0-2, 2-4

This week: Wichita Falls at Wylie; Rider at Cooper; Randall at Plainview

District 5-4A Division I

Midlothian Heritage 4-0, 8-2
Waco La Vega 3-1, 6-2
Brownwood 2-1, 4-4
Stephenville 3-2, 5-5
Waxahachie Life 1-4, 2-7
Alvarado 0-5, 2-8

This week: Brownwood at La Vega (Monday); Brownwood at Heritage (Saturday)

District 1-4A Division II

Sweetwater 4-0, 7-1
Greenwood 3-1, 5-3
Monahans 2-2, 4-6
Pecos 1-3, 3-4
Snyder 0-4, 2-6

This week: No games scheduled

District 3-3A Division I

Jim Ned 4-0, 7-1
Wall 3-1, 6-3
Clyde 3-1, 4-5
Early 2-2, 5-4
Breckenridge 0-4, 0-8
TLCA San Angelo 0-4, 0-9

This week: Clyde at Jim Ned; Early at Wall; Breckenridge at TLCA San Angelo

District 2-3A Division II

Ballinger 4-0, 9-1
Bangs 3-1, 7-1
Sonora 3-1, 4-5
Brady 2-2, 4-5
Ingram Moore 0-4, 5-4
Grape Creek 0-4, 1-8

This week: Brady at Bangs; Ballinger at Sonora; Grape Creek at Ingram Moore

District 5-3A Division II

Eastland 4-0, 6-3
Jacksboro 3-1, 6-3
Comanche 2-2, 7-2
Millsap 2-2, 6-3
Merkel 1-3, 3-5
Dublin 0-4, 1-7

This week: Merkel at Comanche; Dublin at Eastland; Jacksboro at Millsap

District 3-2A Division I

Hawley 4-0, 7-2
Anson 3-1, 6-2
Forsan 3-1, 5-3
Haskell 1-3, 2-6
Stamford 1-3, 4-5
Colorado City 0-4, 0-9

This week: Haskell at Stamford; Colorado City at Anson; Forsan at Hawley

District 4-2A Division I

San Saba 4-0, 7-1
Cisco 4-0, 6-3
Coleman 2-2, 6-3
Winters 2-2, 3-6
Goldthwaite 0-4, 2-7
De Leon 0-4, 1-8

This week: Coleman at Winters; Cisco at San Saba; De Leon at Goldthwaite

District 5-2A Division II

Hamlin 3-0, 8-0
Lockney 2-0, 7-0
Ralls 2-1, 6-3
Crosbyton 0-3, 1-8
Roscoe 0-3, 0-9

This week: Hamlin at Lockney; Roscoe at Crosbyton

District 8-2A Division II

Albany 5-0, 8-1
Cross Plains 2-1, 6-2
Santo 3-2, 6-4
Hico 2-3, 3-7
Meridian 1-4, 3-6
Ranger 0-5, 0-9

This week: Cross Plains at Meridian

District 7-1A Division I

Ira 3-0, 7-2
Hermleigh 3-1, 9-1
Roby 1-2, 5-4
Aspermont 1-2, 4-5
Rotan 0-3, 6-3

This week: Ira at Aspermont; Rotan at Roby

District 8-1A Division I

Sterling City 3-0, 9-0
Westbrook 2-1, 8-1
Highland 2-2, 6-4
Robert Lee 1-2, 2-6
Bronte 0-3, 1-7

This week: Bronte at Westbrook; Robert Lee at Sterling City

District 13-1A Division I

May 3-0, 8-1
Baird 2-1, 4-5
Gorman 2-1, 5-4
Santa Anna 1-3, 6-4
Lingleville 0-3, 1-8

This week: Gorman at Baird; Lingleville at May

District 6-1A Division II

Blackwell 3-0, 6-3
Loraine 3-0, 6-3
Trent 2-2, 2-8
TLCA Abilene 0-3, 0-7
Olfen 0-2, 0-3

This week: Blackwell at Loraine; Olfen at TLCA Abilene

District 8-1A Division II

Benjamin 2-0, 5-1
Rule 1-1, 6-3
Chillicothe 1-1, 4-4
Harrold 0-2, 0-4

This week: Rule at Chillicothe; Harrold at Benjamin

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

This week: No games on the schedule

District 15-1A Division II

Blanket 2-1, 6-3
Brookesmith 3-0, 6-2
Sidney 2-1, 5-3
Rising Star 1-3, 4-6
Panther Creek 0-3, 1-8

This week: Panther Creek at Blanket; Brookesmith at Sidney