Thursday night two: Key takeaways from just a handful of games

The area round of the Texas high school state playoffs kicked off on Thursday for a few programs around the state. Most games take place Friday or Saturday, but there were a few smaller classification games involving regional favorites and state title contenders. Shallowater survives Bowie The upset of the night nearly came in Region I of the Class 3A-D1 bracket when Bowie fell just short of knocking Class 3A-D1 District 2 champion, Shallowater. Bowie took an early lead before Shallowater seemingly took control of the game in the third quarter, outscoring Bowie by 12 points in the 12 minutes after halftime. Bowie, a team that finished fourth in its district and moved on to the area round with a four-point win over Clyde last week, wouldn’t go away, however. Bowie mounted somewhat of a comeback in the fourth quarter, but couldn’t get enough stops for the upset, falling 64-50. Bowie’s offense put up 50 points, but it wasn’t enough to stop Shallowater’s season. Bowie’s season ends at 6-6. Shallowater is set to face the winner of Muleshoe/Breckenridge in the regional semifinals next week. Texarkana Liberty-Eylau one step closer Texarkana Liberty-Eylau won district and entered the Class 4A-D1 playoffs as one of the favorites to win Region II with a shot at competing for a state championship. It didn’t seem like that in the bi-district round after Liberty-Eylau knocked off Van, a team that finished fourth place in its district, by only seven points. The team allowed 41 points in that win, making some wonder if Liberty-Eylau really had a shot at competing for a championship in Region II alongside teams like Pittsburg, Argyle and Kennedale. Liberty-Eylau once again started slow this week, but made an impression with a blowout win over Sanger, 41-9. Sanger didn’t score its lone touchdown of the game until the fourth quarter. Liberty-Eylau wasted redzone opportunities early in the game, but it didn’t matter with how well the Leopards’ defense – led by defensive end and Texas Longhorn commit, LaGaryonn Carson – played against Sanger. Liberty-Eylau awaits the winner of Kaufman/Alvarado in the next round. The top half of Region II in the Class 4A-D1 playoffs is a battle royal that the Leopards get to miss out on over the next two weeks. This weekend, Kennedale must face Athens and Pittsburg takes on Argyle.