Texas-Kansas, private school clash highlights Slovacek's I-35 Showdowns

Slovacek's logoTo honor the loyal football fans that travel great distances to support their favorite team, DCTF and our friends from Slovacek’s in West, Texas are proud to present The Slovacek’s I-35 Showdowns of the Week.Texas (3-5) vs. Kansas (0-8) 7 p.m. Saturday at Darrell K. Royal -Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin If you’re having trouble figuring out this year’s Longhorns, you’re not alone. In a complete head-scratcher of a college football season, Texas may be one of the sport’s most enigmatic teams. They’ll look to get back on track against a Kansas squad that is still trying to find any kind of footing in what has become a disaster fall for the Jayhawks. After Texas followed up their banner weekend at the State Fair in Dallas with another physically dominating if not aesthetically pleasing victory over Kansas State, it looked as if the Charlie Strong regime was finally starting to turn the corner on turning around the troubled program. That new-found identity as a hard-nosed and intimidating physical presence was lost on Halloween night in Ames, however, as Iowa State unmasked the upstart ‘Horns in a 24-0 setback that was not even as close as the final score might indicate. For an offense looking to establish any kind of rhythm, lining up against the Kansas defense may be a sight for sore eyes. The Jayhawks have surrendered more than 40 points in five of their eight losses, including a season-opening loss to FCS foe South Dakota State. Last week, they gave up 710 total yards and 62 points to the very same Oklahoma team that Texas ran past in October. This game was viewed by many in the preseason as a chance to pick up a relatively easy victory in November while perhaps giving starters some late-game rest. Instead, it has turned into an almost must-win for Texas, who is looking to avoid missing a bowl game for a second time in six seasons. With road games still looming in Morgantown and Waco, a loss against KU could potentially spell doom for those bowl hopes. Episcopal School of Dallas (9-1) vs. Fort Worth All Saints (9-1) 12 p.m. Saturday at Dragon Stadium in Round Rock It may seem odd for teams from opposite ends of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex to be meeting one another in the suburbs of Austin, but covering long distances doesn’t appear to be a problem for either of the high-powered offenses that will be clashing to take home a state title on Saturday. Led by junior quarterback Seth Washington, the ESD offense has been humming all autumn- scoring 35 points or more in all but one game this season. Sophomore Nakeie Montgomery has led the Eagles in both rushing and receiving and has scored 28 touchdowns on the season. He scored five in last week’s 56-21 semifinal win over Arlington Oakridge while piling up 248 total yards. Over in West Fort Worth, the tradition of strong quarterback play for All Saints has lived on this year with senior Luke Anthony completing nearly 70% of his pass attempts and racking up 32 touchdowns to just eight interceptions. His favorite target all year has been Kansas State commit Isaiah Harris, who has over 1,000 yards receiving. They’ve hooked up for 17 touchdowns on the season, including twice in last week’s 48-6 semifinal win over Houston Christian. Whichever team’s drive back past Slovacek’s in West to the Metroplex is a joyous one with the championship trophy riding shotgun, it will mark another notch for the consolidation of SPC power for these two schools. Each of the last five small school division title games have included at least one of these two schools, with ESD currently holding the crown from a year ago and All Saints possessing rings from the two years before that.