One game to attend in every 11-man classification this weekend

[caption id="attachment_20378" align="alignright" width="300"]Photo by Russell Wilburn Photo by Russell Wilburn[/caption] The Texas high school state playoffs start tonight and carry on through mid-December. The toughest part of the playoffs for most football fans is picking which game to attend. Below, I offer the game I’d attend in each classification. Class 6A I wanted to be different and pick something like Round Rock vs. Westlake, but the game everyone is circling in the bi-district round of the state playoffs is a battle between two-time defending Class 6A-D2 champion, Cedar Hill, and Southlake Carroll. The winner likely gets another tough test in the second round because the team that advances plays the winner of Denton Guyer vs. Hebron. Class 5A Give me the tilt against Longview and Lufkin. Both teams are East Texas powerhouses, so the history comes with the competition on the field. Longview will be the favorite, entering the game ranked near the top 10 in Class 5A with an 8-2 record. Lufkin is at 7-3. Another game to watch in Class 5A is John Tyler vs. Texas High. Class 4A Once we get to Class 4A the divisions are already split in the regular season. That means the bi-district round of the state playoffs consists of first place teams taking on fourth place teams, which makes it tough to find a high-profile matchup. Since there isn’t a battle between two top teams in the bi-district round, I’d attend Liberty Hill vs. Burnet. The two towns are 15 miles apart on the same highway with nothing but pastures and Bertram between them. The two no longer play in district, so a playoff game will suffice for 2015. Class 3A Most of the top 10 in Class 3A faces a fourth place team from a neighboring district, but East Chambers finished in second in district play and gets a solid test in the bi-district round against Palestine Westwood. The Panthers are an underdog to East Chambers, but Westwood returned 15 starters from a team that earned a playoff berth in 2014, so the experience is there for an upset. Class 2A Scores tend to get lopsided early in the Class 2A playoffs, so I’m choosing to watch the entertaining offense of Refugio take on La Villa. The Indians are used to taking home regional titles, but it will be a hard road in 2015 for Refugio. Mason likely awaits the winner of this game, which means Region III of Class 2A-D1 could be essentially decided by the area round.