Baylor-SMU, Lake Travis-Dallas Jesuit highlight 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. SMU (1-0) at Baylor (1-0) 2:30 p.m. Saturday at McLane Stadium in Waco There won’t be any shortage of familiarity when SMU and Baylor hook up in Waco this Saturday afternoon, as the former Southwest Conference rivals will be meeting for the 82^nd time. What will be unfamiliar to most in attendance, though, is the Mustangs and Bears both coming in at 1-0. The last time these two teams faced one another with both coming off a win the previous week? 1986. While SMU coach Chad Morris can count on reliable playmakers like tailback Xavier Jones and receiver Courtland Sutton, the question remains who will be distributing the ball in his up-tempo offense. Matt Davis injured his knee in the Mustangs’ 34-21 season-opening win over North Texas, and his status for Saturday is unknown. If he is unable to go, former Hewitt Midway star Ben Hicks will make his first career start in front of a hometown crowd. Whoever ends up leading the Pony attack, they’ll be facing a Baylor defense that gave up just 78 total yards against Northwestern State last week, allowing the dangerous-as-usual Bear offense to jump out to a 55-0 lead before the Demons finally scored in the 3^rd quarter. Lake Travis (1-1) at Dallas Jesuit (0-2) 7:30 p.m. Friday at Postell Stadium in Dallas Don’t ever accuse Jesuit coach Brandon Hickman of scheduling an easy non-district slate for his Rangers. After opening the season against always-dangerous DeSoto and a rapidly improving Plano East, Jesuit will look to break into the win column this Friday when they welcome perennial title contender Lake Travis. The same can be said for Hank Carter, who brings his Cavaliers to Dallas after splitting a pair of games against two of the San Antonio area’s best programs in Converse Judson and Cibolo Steele. The assignments have not been easy so far for the Jesuit defense, who have given up 98 total points over their first two contests. First it was DeSoto quarterback Shawn Robinson, a TCU pledge, and then Rice commit Miklo Smalls leading Plano East. It doesn’t get any easier this go-round as Lake Travis quarterback Charlie Brewer will be coming off a 400-yard performance a week ago in which 327 went to the combination of his brother, Cade Brewer, and Garrett Wilson. When Jesuit has the ball, look for quarterback Parker Towns to distribute the ball to playmakers Evan Jackson and John Wunderlick, who combined to account for 360 yards and three touchdowns a week ago.