Texas High School Football Playoffs Set for Round Two this Week
Area districts are getting trimmed up, as we enter the next round of Texas High School Football playoffs. Last weekend, in District 11-3A DI, Region III, only one team advanced to the Area round, and that was the Franklin Lions (9-2), who beat the Hallettsville Brahmas, 51-27. Exiting the playoffs from the district are Troy Trojans. Troy fell to the Columbus Cardinals 480. The Trojans end their season with a record of (5-6) and bi-district finalist.
Little River Academy Bumblebees lost their playoff game to the Hitchcock Bulldogs, 20-7. Academy ends the year as a bi-district finalist and a record of 6-5. McGregor – in a battle of Bulldogs – lost to Yoakum 66-22. McGregor finished up as a bi-district finalist with a record of 2-9.
In their win over Hallettsville, the Lions struck quick in the first quarter, taking a 21-0 lead, and led at the half, 31-13. Franklin held off the Brahmas to get the 24-point win. QB Walker Anderson led the Lions with 97 yards passing, and 122 yards rushing with a touchdown. Senior RB Bubba Jackson had 46 yards on the ground and two TDs.
Franklin will play Orangefield Bobcats (9-2) in the second round this Thursday, Nov. 20, 7 p.m., at Shenandoah’s Woodforest Bank Stadium.
In Districts 13-2A and 14-2A DI, Region IV, it was Rosebud-Lott over the San Saba Armadillos, 31-7; Crawford Pirates over Johnson City, 29-7; Thorndale Bulldogs with a huge win over the Moody Bearcats, 42-7, and the Mason Punchers knocked out the Marlin Bulldogs in the first round, 61-15.
The Cougars (9-2) advance to the Area round to face the Refugio Bobcats (10-0) from District 16-2A DI on Friday, Nov. 21, 7 p.m. at New Braunfel’s Cougar Stadium. Crawford (10-1) takes on the Kenedy Lions (9-2) from District 15-2A DI, this Friday night 7 p.m., at Bastrop’s Memorial Stadium. Thorndale (83) plays the Ganado Indians (10-1) from District 15-2A DI, thisThursday at Bastrop’s Memorial Stadium, with a 7 p.m. scheduled kickoff. Mason gets the Schulenburg Shorthorns (65) on Friday at Cedar Park’s Gupton Stadium. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m.
Recapping last weekend’s action for area teams, Rosebud-Lott and San Saba were scoreless after the first quarter of play until QB Pryce Rabroker scored with about nine minutes to go before the half, on a twoyard run, with kicker Cody Avant adding the point after attempt to put the Cougars up 7-0. With about a minute to go, Avant kicked a 25yard field goal, giving R-L a 10-0 lead. The Armadillos returned the ensuing kickoff to the their 44-yard line, and quickly moved the ball to the Cougars 40-yard line with time ticking down. San Saba’s Jason Everett scored on the play after next from 38 yards out to cut R-Ls lead down to three going into the half. Midway through the third quarter, RB Zaylon Wells scored on a 12-yard run to put the Cougars up 17-7. Wells scored again with less than a minute to play in the third, to cushion the Cougars lead at 24-7. R-L wasn’t through though, as Colby Colbert came up with a defensive fumble recovery, returning the ball for a touchdown as the Cougars would go into the fourth quarter with a 317 advantage. The defense took over from that point on, as they held the Armadillos down to secure the win. Wells led the Cougars offense with 164 yards on 20 carries and two TDs.
Thorndale and Moody were in a dog/cat fight in the early going. The Dogs Hudson Thigpen scored a TD in the opening quarter to tie the game at 7-7. In the second, Thorndale’s offense settled in as QB Case McDaniel broke the tie with a 58-yard pass to Kohl Palmer for a touchdown, and later, McDaniel would hit Will Cloud from 11 yards out giving the Dogs a 21-7 lead at the half. Thigpen added another TD in the third quarter on a one-yard run. In the fourth, McDaniel rushed for a one-yard score, and Hayden Thigpen closed the deal on a six-yard run to give the Dogs the 35-point win.
McDaniel finished the game with 161 yards passing and two TDs. Palmer led Thorndale’s receivers with three catches for 75 yards and a touchdown, while Cloud caught four passes for 46 yards and a score. Hudson Thigpen had one of his best games of the season, rushing for 221 yards on 25 carries and two TDs.
In Marlin’s season finale against Mason, QB De’Angelo Wright threw for 59 yards in the air, and picked up 19 on the ground, while RB Brysen Maxwell-Steele led the Bulldogs offense with 10 carries for 104 yards and a touchdown.
In District 13-2A DII, Region IV, the Iola Bulldogs (8-3) beat the Sabinal Yellowjackets, 50-27; No. 6 ranked Granger Lions (110) shutout the D’Hanis Cowboys 55-0; No. 4 Junction Eagles crushed the Somerville Yeguas, 70-6, and the Burton Panthers (83) were surprised by the Brackettville Tigers (6-4) 54-35.
In the Area round, Granger will play the Yorktown Wildcats (8-3) at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 21, at Giddings Buffalo Stadium, and Iola takes on the 10-1 La Villa Cardinals on Friday, Nov. 21 at 7 p.m., at Port Lavaca’s Sandcrab Stadium.
In District 10-2A DII, Region III, all four playoff teams wound up with wins to move into the Area round. The No. 9 Chilton Pirates (10-1) came away from a shootout with the Clarksville Tigers, winning by four, 50-46. The Tigers took a 6-0 lead in the first quarter, but early in the second, the Pirates Marneko Thomas, Jr. tied the game on a 10-yard rushing TD. Down 19-6 late in the quarter, Thomas, Jr. scored his second touchdown of the game, to close in on the Tigers lead. With under a minute to play in the half, Clarksville’s Jonathan Morgan completed a 29-yard pass to receiver Kaiden Taylor to push the Tigers advantage to 26-12. And that’s how the score would end up heading into the locker room. Chilton came out in the third quarter rough and ready, as Thomas, Jr. picked up his third touchdown of the game on a 54-yard TD run, to make it a six-point game. Clarksville responded with another score to make it 33-20. X’Zavion Taylor scored for the Pirates on an 11-yard run. With about four minutes to play in the third, Taylor gave the Pirates their first lead of the game after the two-point conversion made it 36-33. The Tigers grabbed the lead back to go up 40-36 at the close of the third quarter. At the beginning of the final frame, Pirate receiver Semaj Evans caught a 30-yard pass to give Chilton the lead again at 42-40. Just when you thought the smoke had cleared, the Tigers retaliated with another TD to get back on top, 46-44. The game came down to who had the ball last, and that would be the Pirates. With less than a minute to play in the game, Taylor scored his third TD of the game to give his team the four-point win and a trip to the Area round this week.
In other games, the No. 3 Bremond Tigers (11-0) ran out to a 35-3 lead in the first quarter of their playoff game against the Simms-Bowie Tigers, comfortably winning in the end, 55-24. The Mart Panthers (6-5) came close to shutting out the Cumby Panthers, winning their game 40-6, and the Goldthwaite Eagles (83) played to a 20-20 tie at the end of regulation in their playoff game with the Maud Cardinals, before taking the W in overtime, 36-34.
In the Area round, No. 3 Bremond takes on the 8-3 Grapeland Sandies Friday night, Nov. 21, at 7 p.m. in Madisonville’s Mustang Stadium. Mart plays the Lovelady Lions Friday at 7 p.m., at Palestine’s Wildcat Stadium; No. 9 Chilton goes against the Mount Enterprise Wildcats, also on Friday at 7:30 p.m., at Kemp’s Yellow Jacket Stadium, and Goldthwaite travels to Groesbeck on Friday to play the Overton Mustangs (7-4), at Groesbeck Stadium, with kickoff at 7 p.m.
In Six-Man football, over in District 16-1A DII, Region IV, Cherokee Indians defeated the Rochelle Hornets, 70-24, and Calvert’s Trojans were shutout by the No. 3 Richland Springs Coyotes, 62-0. Cherokee goes up against ranked Oglesby Tigers Friday evening in San Saba, at 6:30 p.m. at Rogan Field.
(Info gathered from MaxPreps, DCTF, and Six-ManFootball.com)