Matt Stepp's Ten Thoughts From Week 7

[caption id="attachment_26216" align="alignright" width="350"]Photo by Ashley Wirz Photo by Ashley Wirz[/caption] District 2-6A Craziness In one of the state’s most fabled districts, craziness reigns supreme as the battle for the district’s final two playoff spots down the stretch should be intense. Here’s what we do know – as of the end of Week 7, San Angelo Central and Midland High sit unbeaten (MHS is 3-0; Central is 2-0). Those two look to be in the playoffs barring major late season collapses. The battle for third and fourth is shaping up to be absolutely fascinating down the stretch. Currently, Amarillo Tascosa has the inside track to one of the spots with a 2-1 record, the Rebels defeated Frenship last week but they have a loss to Midland Lee head-to-head. Frenship and Midland Lee are both 1-2 as things stand. FHS was beaten by Midland and Tascosa, while Lee is in decent position as their only two losses are to Central and Midland, but the Rebels own a win over Tascosa. Also still in the mix is 0-2 Odessa Permian. The Panthers can climb right back into the race this week with a road win at Tascosa. It appears four wins in this district will get you into the playoffs, while three will probably put you into a precarious tiebreaker scenario, where it will depend on who you beat, etc. So fans of Amarillo Tascosa, Midland Lee, Wolfforth Frenship and Odessa Permian should start plotting out the path to four district wins. Euless Trinity Loses to Winless Trophy Club Nelson In one of the most shocking upsets in the DFW area, winless Trophy Club Nelson stunned powerhouse Euless Trinity 21-20 as Tanner Keough’s overtime PAT gave the Bobcats their first win of the year and left Trinity reeling with consecutive losses. The Trojans are now at a crossroads with a 1-2 district record and some tough games remaining with Lewisville, Hebron and Flower Mound Marcus who are fighting for their playoff lives as well. Trinity’s season can go one of two ways from here, either the Trojans get things together and start looking like the team we think they can or they could continue to head south which could mean a shocking end to what looked to be a promising season. Lake Travis and The Woodlands Send a Message Consider statements made on Friday by both Lake Travis and The Woodlands, who could very well meet at AT&T Stadium in the 6A Division I title game later this year with the way they played this week. Lake Travis dispatched arch rival Austin Westlake in an impressive 49-7 win to take complete control of the 25-6A race and re-establish themselves as the team to beat in Region IV. It was also Lake Travis’ ninth straight win over Austin Westlake. While over in Region II, it appears The Woodlands, with back-to-back wins over Lufkin and previously undefeated Beaumont West Brook, has served notice they are indeed the alpha out of 12-6A.  TWHS went down to Beaumont and absolutely demolished the Bruins 72-7. It’s clear with the emphatic nature of the wins that these two squads have sent a message that they are for real and legitimate title contenders. Clear Creek Falls to 0-3 in District After a sensational 11-1 season a year ago and a 4-0 start to 2016, the Wildcats had high hopes for another district title. However, three straight losses to open up 24-6A play has the Wildcats likely looking on the outside of the playoff race, and the most crushing blow was last week’s 14-10 loss to Alvin. The Wildcats now face a virtual must-win situation in every game from here on out to simply have a chance to get into the playoffs and with a game next Saturday at home against Friendswood (for which DCTF will be in attendance), and a game against Dickinson, the road is incredibly tough for Coach Darrell Warden’s squad. [caption id="attachment_26218" align="alignleft" width="350"]Photo by Ken Parmley Photo by Ken Parmley[/caption] Georgetown Drilled In one of the more surprising results in the Austin area, unbeaten and state-ranked Georgetown fell to Leander Rouse in lopsided fashion 60-27. Rouse is a solid team and was considered a playoff contender, but many thought Georgetown was primed to compete with defending state champion Cedar Park for District 19-5A bragging rights. Those hopes were dashed in the loss to Rouse and now the Eagles will have to fight just to maintain good playoff positioning with games against Cedar Park and unbeaten Pflugerville Connally still on tap. San Antonio Lanier Surprising in San Antonio ISD 2015 was a disaster for the Lanier Voks, who posted a 1-9 record, but maybe their final week win over San Antonio Burbank a year ago was a sign of things to come. Lanier is off to a strong 4-2 start, and even more importantly, a 4-0 record in district after the Voks stunned district favorite San Antonio Sam Houston 27-21. They still have difficult games remaining on the schedule with district leader Edison next week and later against Brackenridge, but wins in the other games should ensure a sterling record and a playoff appearance for Coach Don Gaitain’s crew. Carthage Drops Two In a Row The talk of a state title has subsided considerably in Panola County as Carthage, after an emphatic win over Gilmer three weeks ago, has dropped their last two district games. The Henderson loss two weeks ago wasn’t too concerning as Henderson is unbeaten and state-ranked. Kilgore, on the other hand, had a 3-3 record heading into Friday and was thought to be on the tier below Henderson and Carthage in 9-4A Division I. That notion was put to rest Friday as KHS stunned Carthage 41-34. Now Carthage, much like Euless Trinity, is at a bit of a crossroads. On the other hand, the loss to Kilgore isn’t as bad as it seems as Kilgore might be the best three-loss team in 4A Division I. So Bulldog fans, don’t hit the panic button quite yet! Perryton’s Big Win First year HC Steven Coursey has the Perryton Rangers flying high up in the panhandle! For those of you who don’t know where Perryton, TX is, the closest Wal-Mart is actually located in Liberal, KS about 50 miles away, (that’s how far north Perryton is).  But that doesn’t matter as the Rangers are off to an impressive 6-1 start with the one loss coming in heartbreaking fashion to 5A unbeaten Dumas. The Rangers rolled past fellow district favorite Bushland 61-21 and look poised to be a contender for the 4A Division II Region I crown, along with Sweetwater and Krum. 6-3A Div. I Sorting Itself Out It appears Sunnyvale may be on their way to the district title in this deep 3A district as the Raiders rolled past the district’s only other unbeaten team Dallas Madison 55-28. The Raiders are now 3-0 in district play with wins over 2-1 teams Grandview and Dallas Madison. Kemp is also at 2-1 but the ‘Jackets fell by seven to Grandview a week ago. This week, in a rare Thursday night game in Kemp, the YellowJackets will take on Dallas Madison in what could amount to a battle for third place. Joaquin Opens District in a Big Way After missing the playoffs with a 5-5 record last year, the Rams had 2016 circled as having potential for a big season. On paper in the pre-season most thought Joaquin would be a vastly improved team and be right in the thick of the playoff race. The Rams lost competitive games in non-district to Tenaha and Lovelady, but since then they’ve rolled to four wins and they put a definite exclamation point on that start, opening up district play with an emphatic 24-7 win over prohibitive district favorite Alto. Now the Rams close district play with four games they’ll be favored in. If they take care of that, they should move to the playoffs as the district champion.