3A/2A/1A Recap

By Greg Tepper // TexasFootball.com

By Greg Tepper // TexasFootball.com Man, can these playoffs get any better? Thrillers, blowouts, upsets, comebacks. We’ve had it all. And we’re only two rounds in! So let’s recap the 3A, 2A and 1A playoff action, going bracket by bracket and adding my own analysis of the big-time storylines. Class 3A Division I Seminole 35, Lubbock Cooper 13 Alvarado 31, Abilene Wylie 0 Celina 37, Lucas Lovejoy 17 Henderson 56, Lindale 20 Tyler Chapel Hill 27, Waco La Vega 20 Navasota 44, Huffman-Hargrave 3 La Vernia 36, Lampasas 21 West Columbia 57, Raymondville 21 Scattershooting thoughts: Seminole and Alvarado made their games look far easier than they actually are, because Wylie and Cooper were absolutely terrific squads. The offense is nice -- Wayne Onderdonck keeps rolling for Alvarado and QB Jacob Burtch continues what has been a marvelous season for Seminole -- but the defenses are why these teams are here. That was on full display this week…Two games we were really looking forward to ended up being minor duds, as Celina was all over Lucas Lovejoy and Henderson dominated Lindale. For Celina, is that not the most “Celina” game ever? Play great defense, get your points where you can, and win comfortably. And now, by the way, you see why the DCTF staff didn’t jump off the Henderson bandwagon after back-to-back losses earlier this year; Dickie Meeks’ squad is for real…Game of the night in this bracket goes to Tyler Chapel Hill. In a nip-and-tuck, back-and-forth battle, it came down to Andrew Tucker, the outstanding running back for Chapel Hill, busting a game-winning 93-yard touchdown run with less than a minute remaining. And that came after Chapel Hill had stuffed La Vega on a 4th-and-goal on its own 1 yard line to preserve the lead! A shame someone had to lose this one…Is La Vernia over Lampasas an upset? I’m not sure, because La Vernia has turned into a rushing machine with RB Aaron Grubb, who racked up 233 yards and three touchdowns in the win. But looming is West Columbia, who continues to dominate the region (and, really, anyone they’ve played). It’s off a lot of people’s radar, but La Vernia-West Columbia will be must-see. Class 3A Division II Shallowater 47, Midland Greenwood 22 Snyder 34, Kennedale 10 Monahans 27, Lubbock Estacado 7 Brownwood 28, Glen Rose 14 Argyle 40, Prosper 24 Carthage 31, North Forney 12 Van Alstyne 28, Princeton 0 Gilmer 57, Van 40 Bullard 53, Robinson 7 West Orange-Stark 52, Columbus 9 Lorena 40, Rusk 0 Coldspring-Oakhurst 21, Bellville 14 (OT) Devine 21, Liberty Hill 20 Wharton 65, Orange Grove 7 Wimberley 40, Gonzales 14 Sweeny 41, Rio Hondo 14 Scattershooting thoughts: Most impressive team out of Region I so far? How about Snyder? The Tigers have roared through their first two games, beating what I think are very good Graham and Kennedale squads by a combined 40 points. As long as that defense is playing well, QB Keenon Ward (342 total yards, 4 total TDs) will take this team very, very far…Both of the mammoth matchups in Region II seemed to live up to the hype, with Argyle taking down a red-hot Prosper team and Gilmer winning a bit of a surprising shootout with Van. With all due to Carthage and Van Alstyne, if I had to guess, I’d say we’re careening toward Argyle and Gilmer meeting in the regional final…What have we learned through the first two weeks of the 3A DII playoffs? Coldspring-Oakhurst is not as invincible as we thought. Two straight close calls, needing overtime to get past an outstanding Bellville team. Methinks Lorena will have lots of confidence coming into next week’s game…At what point do we start talking about Devine RB Joseph Sadler as the state’s best player? The senior running back didn’t break the state scoring record (that’ll have to wait until next week), but he ran for 190 yards and a touchdown and had an interception to help the Warhorses past a really tough Liberty Hill squad. Class 2A Division I Muleshoe 43, Godley 27 Merkel 21, Childress 13 Eastland 51, Littlefield 22 Wall 56, Breckenridge 14 New Boston 47, Pottsboro 26 Melissa 19, Eustace 10 Daingerfield 49, Grandview 7 Redwater 49, Boyd 33 Gilmer Harmony 9, Marlin 7 Crockett 42, Newton 27 East Chambers 24, Malakoff 7 Tatum 21, Cameron Yoe 14 Lago Vista 30, Odem 23 Blanco 14, Jourdanton 13 Hempstead 17, George West 7 Hallettsville 28, San Diego 0 Scattershooting thoughts: Two traditional powers go down in Region I, as Muleshoe takes down Godley and Eastland downs Littlefield. Travis and I differed on the Muleshoe-Godley game -- I liked Godley -- and Travis nailed it, as the Mules forced six turnovers and got a huge game from QB Beau Avila. And Eastland, wow, what a buzz saw performance. I’m not necessarily surprised that Eastland won -- QB Trent Brittain, if you haven’t heard, is the real deal -- but I’m surprised they won so handily…ALERT! ALERT! DAINGERFIELD LIVES! I had the three-time defending 2A state champs written off because of what I perceived to be a bad matchup with Grandview. Well, QB Alex Allen, who completed 14-of-17 passes for 399 yards and four touchdowns while adding another two rushing touchdowns, officially told me to shove it. In my face…I picked Tatum to beat Cameron Yoe, and I felt so unconfident about the pick that I almost switched it on the site without telling anyone. I didn’t, and Andy Evans’ Eagles made me look like a genius, getting 21 points in the first half (thanks, Jalen Overstreet!) and held off a furious second half Yoe comeback to pull out the victory…Be advised: Blanco is for real. The Panthers entered the playoffs with a lackluster 5-5 record, but now have rattled off impressive wins over Edna and Jourdanton to reach the regional semifinals. QB Tanner Rogers is locked in, and the defense had led the way to a pair of 1-point victories. If you’re going to beat Blanco, you’d better beat them by 10 or so; they’re not losing close games. Class 2A Division II Abernathy 41, Nocona 6 Holliday 23, Spearman 20 (OT) Cisco 61, Sanford-Fritch 28 Idalou 41, Hamilton 0 Gunter 21, Cooper 14 Lone Oak 29, DeKalb 27 Corsicana Mildred 47, Paul Pewitt 28 Hughes Springs 61, Alba-Golden 12 Arp 52, Rogers 20 Corrigan-Camden 22, Centerville 14 Franklin 57, San Augustine 20 Lexington 31, New Waverly 7 Sonora 31, Weimar 0 East Bernard 33, San Saba 7 Poth 33, Schulenburg 28 Refugio 56, Three Rivers 25 Scattershooting thoughts: What a game between Spearman and Holliday. Spearman, who hadn’t scored a touchdown in 21 consecutive quarters, snapped that streak with a quick touchdown, but the two teams inevitably battled to a tie in regulation. In OT, Holliday kicker Hunter McCain boomed through a 51-yard field goal -- FIFTY ONE YARDS IN 2A FOOTBALL! -- and LB Cameron Englishbee forced a fumble on the Lynx’ ensuing possession to seal the win. What a victory…Oh, one more thing about Region I: the Idalou-Cisco game is going to be classic…Someone break up Lone Oak! The Buffaloes made just enough big plays to take down De Kalb on Friday night, despite being out aimed by 236 yards (file that under “stats don’t always tell the story”) and earning a playoff rematch with Gunter…We knew Arp was good. Now, after dismissing an outstanding Rogers team with relative ease, we know that Arp is really, really good…I think Franklin over San Augustine is a small upset. Junior RB Darius Floyd was sensational, running for 160 yards, and the Lions’ defense pounced on San Augustine, including Porter Brewer’s 62-yard interception return for a touchdown…I know it was a 5-point game, but Poth absolutely dominated Schulenburg. The Pirates outgained the Shorthorns 431-200, and QB Braden Lyssy was unstoppable, running for 142 yards and throwing for a pair of touchdowns. The Pirates’ next test? Undefeated and unchallenged Refugio. Go buy your tickets now. Class 1A Division I Seymour 35, Sunray 18 Sundown 55, Quanah 12 Albany 56, Canadian 27 Stamford 62, Panhandle 3 Muenster 32, Riesel 12 Lindsay 48, Bosqueville 20 Clarksville 52, Valley Mills 13 Mart 33, Collinsville 12 Price Carlisle 39, Thrall 21 Lovelady 36, Alto 21 Garrison 51, Moody 0 Big Sandy 30, Normangee 8 Mason 64, La Villa 20 Ganado 28, Goldthwaite 0 Shiner 35, Brackett 0 Winters 46, Ben Bolt 13 Scattershooting thoughts: Look, I certainly understand that far fewer people follow 1A than follow the bigger classes, but Seymour over Sunray is one of the more stunning upsets I’ve come across. Sunray came in undefeated, and Seymour took the fight to them, using a pair of touchdown passes from Zach Barton and a pair of touchdown runs by Dalton Pullin to take a 28-6 lead at halftime. And they never looked back. What a win for Seymour…We knew Albany was good, and we knew this wasn’t the dominating Canadian squad we were used to from past years. A 56-27 domination by Albany later, we knew we were right on both counts…Not a ton to tell in Region II, as all four of the teams that I think were favorites won handily. Lindsay, however, continues their run after knocking off Honey Grove in bi-district and now taking down District 7-1A DI champ Bosqueville. The Knights’ reward? Their fourth matchup with Muenster in two years…I told you guys to stay out of Garrison’s way. Moody’s a great team, and Garrison dominated it from stem to stern. They’re good enough to win a state title…I think 1A DI Region IV has produced the best pair of regional semifinals in all of Texas. Undefeated Mason vs. undefeated Ganado? Shiner’s dominating play against an outstanding Winters squad? Sign me up. Class 1A Division II Bovina 34, Vega 26 Springlake-Earth 14, Booker 6 Morton 67, Memphis 28 Wellington 22, Farwell 15 Munday 60, McCamey 39 Crosbyton 22, Van Horn 21 (OT) Bronte 44, Electra 26 Windthorst 61, Iraan 7 Mount Enterprise 56, Gorman 0 Chilton 59, Detroit 0 Hubbard 53, Beckville 31 Tenaha 51, Bremond 6 Granger 31, Pettus 27 Burton 47, D’Hanis 20 Bruni 35, Evadale 12 Falls City 47, Milano 13 Scattershooting thoughts: Need more proof that record isn’t everything? Springlake-Earth, who finished 5-5, toppled Booker, who finished 9-1, and it’s not really an upset. This S-E defense is for real. The Wolverines have lost three games either 14-7 or 15-7 this season; this time, it was their turn…Also: fear Morton. Just saying. Fear Morton…Crosbyton’s win over Van Horn qualifies as an instant classic. Let’s skip ahead to overtime, where Van Horn gets the ball first and promptly scores on a 5-yard touchdown run by James Friel, with the extra point putting the Eagles up 21-14. Crosbyton gets the ball and gets a total of negative-2 yards on the first three plays. Facing 4th-and-12 from the 27, QB Matt Schovajsa hits Nathan Childers for a 27-yard touchdown pass. And what does Crosbyton coach Brannon Rogers do? He rides the momentum, baby, and he goes for two! Schovajsa drops back to pass, finds Childers in the corner of the end zone, and Crosbyton wins. Wow on wow on wow. Game of the year?…How good is Windthorst? They made an Iraan team that, I think, was good enough to make a state semifinal look pedestrian. That’s how good Windthorst is…Business as usual in Tenaha’s playoff opener, making very short work of an excellent Bremond team…and keep in mind, Tenaha hadn’t played in almost three full weeks! Until someone figures out how to slow down QB Reginal Davis and the emerging RB Chavis Gregory, they’re the team to beat in the right side of the bracket…Can we officially declare District 13-1A DII underrated? Two regional semifinalists in Granger and Burton, and a Milano team that just ran into the defending state championsBy B // TexasFootball.com