Thursday night's must-see games around the state

[caption id="attachment_26138" align="alignright" width="350"]Photo by Jerome Hicks Photo by Jerome Hicks[/caption] Friday night’s slate improves drastically this week with more options. The Thursday night options for Week 7 are slim, but here are a few games to watch. EP Chapin at EP Bowie El Paso Chapin, the District 1-5A favorites entering the season, hopes to stay perfect in 2016 after a trip to rival Bowie. Chapin is 5-0 and won its first two district games by a combined score of 89-7. The only time the Huskies failed to score at least 37 points was in a 14-0 victory over El Paso Eastlake. The defense shut out two of its first five opponents and has only allowed more than seven points once, and that was in the season opener. Bowie is also undefeated, albeit in far less dominant fashion. The winner has the inside track for a district title. Arlington Seguin at Burleson Centennial A pair of 4-1 squads compete to move one step closer to a district championship bid or, at the very least, a trip to the state playoffs. Seguin shocked District 9-5A last week with a 7-0 victory over preseason district favorite, Everman. It was another testament to the growing domination of the Cougars defense, which hasn’t allowed more than 12 points in a single game this season. Centennial will test that defense with quarterback Payton Strambler, who has helped his team score at least 35 points in three of the five games played. Houston Lamar at Houston Chavez Lamar is the unquestioned district favorite in District 18-6A, while Chavez will fight for one of the final two playoff spots after knocking off Westbury last week to begin district play. Lamar’s one blemish this season was a five-point road loss to Klein Collins. Lamar’s offense managed just seven points in the defeat, which is the only time in five games the Texans didn’t score at least 31 points. Chavez is the clear underdog here with an upset all but ensuring a playoff berth. Del Valle at Austin Bowie Few teams received a greater realignment present than Austin Bowie. The biggest school in Austin watched state contenders Lake Travis and Westlake leave the district for Region IV. This gives Bowie a chance to claim a district title and the march begins with a home game against Del Valle, a team expected to compete for a playoff spot despite its 2-3 non-district record. Bowie’s lone loss came three weeks ago against Westlake before bouncing back with a win over Abilene Cooper. Del Valle is coming off an 18-point loss to Ennis. This is the first district game for both teams.

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