One must-see game in each 11-man classification this weekend

[caption id="attachment_20878" align="alignright" width="300"]Photo by Artie Guerrero Photo by Artie Guerrero[/caption] The games are getting tougher to choose each week. We’ve arrived at the third round of the Texas high school state playoffs and only 16 teams remain in each bracket. Here is one game from each classification I’d attend if I was given a choice and not tied down by bosses. Class 6A – Arlington Lamar vs. Mansfield A district winner (Mansfield) meets a district runner-up (Lamar) in Class 6A-D2 to decide who likely plays Guyer for the Region I trophy is about as good as it gets this week. Quarterback Shane Buechele, a Texas Longhorn commit, leads Arlington Lamar’s offense. The Vikings are averaging over 40 points in the playoffs, but have won each of their first two games by a touchdown or less. Mansfield is on a roll and hasn’t lost since Sep. 11. Class 5A – Lone Star vs. Marshall Get to AT&T Stadium early on Saturday and watch these two teams go back-and-forth for 48 minutes. Lone Star passed an early playoff test with a 24-10 victory over Prosper before unleashing 55 points last week in a lopsided victory over Forney. Marshall remains one of the pleasant surprises in Class 5A, advancing past Lindale and South Oak Cliff to reach the regional semifinals. In the last round, Marshall and Lone Star won by a combined 90-16. Class 4A – Navasota vs. Carthage If I could only pick one game to attend this week, it’d be a showdown between defending state champion Navasota and perennial powerhouse Carthage. The Rattlers enter the game as the favorite despite the fact that Carthage is 33-4 in the playoffs since 2007. Navasota is led by an offensive attack unmatched in the state. Quarterback Shelton Eppler has 53 touchdown passes to just one interception on the season and wide receiver Tren’davian Dickson is the state’s all-time leader in touchdown receptions. For Carthage to have a chance, Jerrod McLin and the Bulldog defensive line must get to Eppler. Carthage enters the game with three losses, but all were by a combined seven points. Class 3A – Newton vs. Franklin A quick look at the records of these teams makes Franklin a clear pick, but it won’t be that easy. Newton reached the state championship game in 2014 and is still talented despite a couple of losses during non-district. Newton plays a very tough non-district schedule, which makes the schedule misleading. Franklin is a state title contender that hasn’t been pushed yet this offseason, outscoring its two opponents by a total of 87-21. Class 2A – Beckville vs. Lovelady Beckville is fresh off an upset victory over Alto and Lovelady comes into the game undefeated. Expect a lot of blowouts still in Class 2A until at least next week, but this game has potential to be really fun. Beckville is in the third round of the playoffs for the first time since 2000 and Lovelady has the athletes to advance past this round.